14 hours and a world

is how far away I am.  I've flown 14 hours.  I've travelled across fourteen time zones.  But really, I'm in a different world.  But let's begin where I began.
Midnight, Chicago.
I say goodbye to my family (who I was very happy to have there to see me off), and cross through security.  Once on the other side and settled in, I proceed to wet myself.  Not in the usual way.  Not that I have a usual way.  But I spill my water bottle all over my lap and begin my trip soggy.  A good omen, I say!  As I sit in the plane on the runway (to my surprise and good fortune), I discover that the young man sitting next to me is a Korean who has been living in America to study for college.  Someone of my age, familiar with the two languages I'll be teaching and studying, and familiar with the differences between the two cultures. 
TRAVEL TIP: talking to strangers is much easier and more necessary when alone.  They know thtings you don't.  Also, your friends won't see you say "an nyeong!" to someone who replies "hey, I'm from Chicago"
After sleeping on the plane, I study Korean for about an hour.
Pluses:  has an alphabet.  is phonetic.  isn't chinese.
Minuses:  not exactly ordered like English
I'll elaborate.  To type my name out in english, it would read J-e-f-f  D-a-v-i-s
If I were to order that like I was writing with Hangul, it would read,
Je  D   vi
 f    a    s
Tricky?  it's growing on me.
Then my new friend and I go on to discuss the differences I can expect from his culture.  I learn many things.
1.  Koreans aren't as big on their traditional games, but love baseball!
2.  Internet is easy to find anywhere, if you can remember the Hangul characters for INTERNET.
3.  Soju is a wonderful liquor, almost Korean roulette, as it's no surprise to buy two bottles and have one twice as strong as the other.
4.  Do not, under any circumstances, discuss the goings-on in a Room Salon with a woman.
After my crash course in Korea and Korean, our flight arrives in Incheon.  I watch on the screen as the magnificent 777 completes its beautiful arc on the map through Canada, Alaska, Eastern Russia, around a quick detour that avoids the upper half of the Korean peninsula for some reason (I'd assume atmospheric pressure, or prevailing southerly winds, or some science) before finally touching down on the island airport of Incheon. 
As soon as we landed, the humidity hit.  For anyone not familiar with East Asia meteorology, allow me explain.  MONSOON.  I had arrived in the season of rain.  And rain it did.  My friend from the plane and a professor I had met at the consulate collected their bags, shook hands with me, and we parted ways.
And then I was alone on the far side of the world.
for about seven minutes, when my contacts showed up.  My recruiting agent and my boss picked me up and drove me to the apartment (which I"ll cover in the next post, when I can take pictures).  My boss' GPS summed up the technology gap pretty well.  Its screen was four times the size of my GPS'.  It showed him every lane of the road with graphics better than some video games.  And it told him how much money to get ready for each toll.  Stunning.
Anyway, I've got to unpack before the Institute director shows up this afternoon.
'Til next time!
Jeff M. Davis