First full day

It is 9:30 pm here and I am about to go to sleep. Basically I did not nap today so that I will sleep tonight and adjust to the time here. Today we had orientation where we filled out forms, met staff, met each other, toured the campus, etc. I ate my first Korean meal which was delicious and soooo cheap too. Plus, I got to finish some other people's for them so I got to try different things. I do not know what it was called, but I know you can't find it in America.

There are some very nice people here as well as interesting. Students come from all over, USA, Can, Mexico, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, and I'm sure other places that maybe slipped my mind. People from all different places, with various stories. One guy from Vancouver is very interesting. He told me about his father being from Iraq and escaping the Saddam Hussein's rule, going to Italy, getting a fake passport, coming to the USA, then ending up in Canada as a refugee. His mother immigrated to Canada from poverty in Bolivia. Incredible! I had a conversation with him about politics which he is very passionate about and it was wonderful to hear his story.

Besides that, I spent the day doing not much special. I went to the gym after dinner (which is very small) but still got a good workout in. I was the only non-Korean in there and was the only one who could not communicate with them. Korean rap music was blaring and it actually was very catchy. I won't be surprised if I have some Korean hip hop on the ipod upon my return. The language barrier does make things difficult. I could barely find a cup of coffee this morning (AHHHH). And I am so powerless. I cannot even order in a restaurant without one of the students who know some Korean. The comforts of home are surely missed but this is part of what I was looking for. Being uncomfortable and overcoming the challenges. They may seem small, but after my workout I came back to the dorm. I got really thirsty but do not have a water bottle yet. I can't drink the tap water but they have water coolers all over the place but no cups. So I ended up drinking out of my hands from a water cooler and spilling it all over the floor. Then I went downstairs and bought a small can of tangerine juice, took a few sips, poured it out and am using it as my cup. So anyways, I cant just go to the tap and sip some water from a nice glass yet hehehe...

Well that's enough for now. Wasn't up to do anything tonight. Going to sleep then up for an early morning run and then more orientation. Hope people are reading this...