Sick for Independence Day

I've been sick the past few days. It's not anything serious, probably just the common cold: a sore throat, runny nose, cough, and occasional dizziness. I've spent the last few days getting as much sleep as I can, but I've been recovering slower than I'd like. The good news is I'm 50% better and this will be a quiet weekend so I should be tip top by the start of next week. I'm not exactly sure how I got it, but it was probably some combination of sharing food/drinks with a bunch of people, staying out late, and inhaling tons of secondhand smoke. At first I was in denial that I was actually sick, thinking that all the smoke had irritated my throat but eventually I came to terms.

On the upside, I think I've finally found an apartment. It was the place I've had my eye on since I arrived two weeks ago, and we signed the lease yesterday. I plan to move in Wedenesday and get furniture shortly after. Things will be pretty bare, so next weekend will probably be devoted to decorating the place. The whole negotation process for the apartment had way too many people involved. In Korea, everybody uses an agent when renting an apartment. Since I don't speak the language, there was an intermediary between me and my agent. So, when negotiating I spoke to my representative who spoke to my agent who spoke to the landlord's agent who spoke to the landlord. This is further complicated by the fact that I required approval/help from several people from my company: two people in legal, two in finance, one in relocation, and one in human resource. In total, eleven people were closely involved in my apartment search, which is why it's taken so long. Since the whole process has been such an ordeal, I've been terrified of it falling through so was reluctant to say much until now. And that possibility still exists until I actually move in. I've got my fingers crossed.

In addition to getting sick, I lost my camera at Peter's party. I left it next to the window; somebody must have picked it up thinking it was theirs. Until I buy a new one or a camera phone, there will be a severe shortage of pictures on my blog.

Earlier this week I decided to check out this sushi place near Peter's apartment called "42 in NY" or something like that. It's pretty good and only 20,000 KRW (~$22 USD) for all you can eat sushi. I was hungry so went alone since I had half an hour to blow before meeting somebody for apartment issues. One of the sushi chefs was very friendly (and wanted to practice his English) so struck up conversation with me. The usual: where am I from, why am I here, blah, blah. He also specially made me some sushi. Later he asked if I was single; after I nodded he loudly stated my waitress was also single. She was horribly embarrased and she and her coworker giggled excessively (common in Korea). She went to serve another patron, spilling his drink, and the chef jokingly stated, "she very nervous." I'll probably be back soon. =)

Shopping and Staring

I still don't have internet at Peter's place, so I went into work today to use the internet and catch up. This combined with flat out laziness explains why I haven't posted in a few days. I think I've found an apartment; my biggest concern is getting all the necessary approvals (there's so many!) before the landlord backs out. It's an awesome place with a great view from the 28th floor that comes furnished. If it falls through again, I'll be homeless for at least another several weeks. I just want a place I can call home.

Friday night we had a small party at Peter's place. About 20 people showed, and at 4am the half that remained went out to a small club in Abkujeoung (the "Beverly Hills" of Seoul) which was deserted. It was lame so we stayed an hour then called it a night.

I got stared at all day Saturday. I went furniture shopping (since I need to pick up a few things if my apartment deal goes through) and then to Techno-Mart, a 10-story mall that sells nothing but electronics. The closest US equivalent I can think of is a Fry's, except an order of magnitude larger and hundreds of individually owned booths, so the prices are very competative. The whole day the only foreigner people I saw was an Indian couple. Since Seoul is so homogeneous, everybody stares.

Lost My Shirt

I lost my shirt the first night in Seoul. I arrived safely in Seoul Monday evening and immediately went out with some friends for a late dinner and some karaoke despite being exhausted. We knew the owner so we were treated well. I gave my shirt to a friend earlier in the evening and winded up forgetting it when we left the Noraebang (karaoke room). We had a blast and will go out again for this popular Korean pastime soon.

Yesterday I gave my passport and signed away power of attorney to a complete stranger. This is a necessary step to get my visa to legally work here while avoiding the hassles of going to the embassy in person. So, for the next week I’m “stranded” without a passport, but fortunately most places seem to accept my California driver’s license as valid identification. After this I’ll have an alien registration number enabling me to purchase a mobile phone and open a local bank account. This will be a big step forward, as my temporary phone is primitive and getting access to cash is difficult since so few ATMs work with foreign cards.

The weather here has been muggy like everybody warned. It’s rained since I arrived and the wind howls all day on the 18^th floor of Peter’s apartment where I’m staying until I find my own place. Hopefully this will happen soon, but this is difficult due to the language barrier, radically different payment method, and my furniture requirements. Despite some minor bumps these first few days, things are going well and I’m happy to be here.

The Eleventh Hour

Several people requested I blog about my adventures in Seoul so I'm going to give it a try. It's just one of many firsts that await. In my typical procrastinating fashion, I've delayed posting until the last minute. So, I'm sitting in the international terminal of SFO scarfing a pizza with only an hour left.

Yesterday was surprising quiet, a much needed change from the busy past two months. I explored Chinatown, watched some movies, did a little shopping (for deserts!), and bummed around the hotel. No errands, no international phone calls at midnight, no projects at work to simultaneous catch-up and wrap-up, and no goodbye celebrations. Just moving out of my apartment, which took the relocation team all of 55 minutes. In this time it went from a totally disorganized mess of stuff to neatly boxed in a truck. Moving to Seoul has been a thousand times easier than mine from the bay area from the east coast. If only I knew where I will live when I arrive, I'd be set.

Shown on the right is everything I'm taking to Seoul: two 65 pound large suitcases, a 25 pound carry-on, and a small backpack. If I forgot something, I buy it new when I arrive. I've got my fingers crossed a forgot a lot of cool stuff! :P In closing, I'd like to thank everybody for being so supportive the past few weeks. I will miss you and look forward to seeing you again in a few months. Until then, I'll try to keep you updated here and would love to hear from you via email.

I've got to run now - I have a plane to catch!