2015-03-03 , My Trip

OK, I am going to try writing at home and seeing if I can insert the file into my blog.  I haven't figured out how to get the pictures on yet...  hopefully they will be added at a later date.  I don't have internet access at home yet, and can't even start the VERY long process (6 weeks?) for getting it until I get my working visa, registration card, and bank account (in that order).  Same goes for a cell phone.  And I don't know how long it will be until I get the visa...  So for now I have no way to contact anyone, here or in the US, except when I am at work.  And since the office is small and people need the computers for work related things I don't like to use them too much.  By the end of the day (night) I am too hungry to hang around.  So let's try this.

As you can tell from the above I am totally disconnected.  I don't even have a radio or tv. Don't know what the weather will be (although I think it's a fair guess that it will be rainy since there has been only 1 day since my arrival that has been dry.)  My apartment is MUCH too quiet.  I do like music or the tv on in the background.  Luckily I have been able to continue to download audiobooks so once I remembered that I could do that, I have been able to listen to them.  But it's best if one can pay attention to a story and I get distracted when doing things.  Or I fall asleep.  It does help cut the quiet though.

Now that I've gotten rid of some frustration let's move on.  I started my new adventure with an overnight in Seoul, S. Korea.  Incheon to be exact.  As some of you may know I have been hooked on Korean dramas lately.  Since I had to have a layover somewhere to get any kind of decent fare within the short time frame, I choose S. Korea and was able to book my flight with a 20 hour layover.  Incheon International Airport is quite amazing.  It must be pretty new and it's huge.  It has all kinds of amenities for travelers including free showers, lounge rooms in quieter areas with recliners or bed like chairs for sleeping, a hotel you can book for 6 hours (or add single hours onto that), areas where you can try traditional crafts, traditional music and other entertainment at certain times, and of course all kinds of shops and restaurants.

What interested me were the free tours that people with layovers could take.  They have them arranged by the number of hours one has during their stopover at the airport.  The buses leave right from the airport and they provide guests with things like winter coats and umbrellas!

I arrived at 6pm and called the host of the BnB I had booked and in about 15 minutes he was there to get me.  On the way back to his place we stopped at a supermarket where I picked up a little food since I wasn't very hungry after eating on the plane and didn't feel like going to a restaurant.  The room had a kitchenette so I was set.  Ate a little and then went to bed.  I headed back to the airport in the morning after making breakfast with the food that was provided by the bnb - bread, jam, eggs.  I had been notified that my flight to Osaka that day would be delayed by an hour so I got my new boarding pass and then changed my tour to a longer one.

There were a few other people on the tour with me - a couple from China, a man from India? two young women, one from the Phillipines and one from Australia but working with an NPO in Israel and a man, unbelievably from Anan, a little town in Japan not far from Tokushima (and where Kathy's nephew Jared lives).  We had a nice time in a museum that showed what court life during the Joseon period was like, the origin of the written Korean language, what royalty wore, etc.  Then we went to a local market area.  The girl from the Phillipines and I shared some really delicious soup and assorted dumplings for lunch (that was my only Korean food except for lunch on the plane).  And then back we went.  I had plenty of time before my flight to Osaka which only took 1.5 hours.

From Osaka I took a bus to Tokushima to see friends from my last stay.  I stayed with Naoko and Haruto (the little boy featured in many of my blog posts).  I had forgotten what a difference a year and a half makes in young children!  Haruto is now talking in full sentences (many of which I can understand) and he knows more kanji (Chinese characters) and reads the other alphabets better than I do (I'm really bad at reading and writing Japanese, but for a 4 year old Haruto is incredible).  He has always reminded me of Peter - his mind works in much the same way Peter's did and he loves learning anything.

We did a lot of children's things - playgrounds, science museum, a children's cooking class and a gymnastics class.  And I taught them how to make french toast.  In addition, I was invited to my friend Noriko Uoi's house for a very fun 'make your own sushi' night.  And then there was a party and tea ceremony class at the tea/ikebana teacher's house.  So I was able to see many friends and I am sure I will meet at least some of them here or in Kyoto in the future.

I had given Naoko my sofa when I left Tokushima.  They weren't using it as much as expected so we arranged to have it shipped to my new place.  She had also kept an extra suitcase of mine - which her mom filled with dried radish, delicious homemade shiso juice and yummy yummy decopon - a kind of sourish orange and I took all of that to Hikone.  Noriko sent me some miso (she's the friend that owns the miso company), TP, towels, tissues, rice and different oranges - things she thought I'd need right away - it arrived a few hours after I did.  It really felt great to be so well cared for.

At the end of my stay - 4 days - I took the bus to Kyoto and then it was an easy (after I figured out where to buy the ticket) ride to Hikone where the manager/owner of ABC Kids - my new school - picked me up.  We did a couple of runs between the stores, the school and my apartment before he dropped me off.

I will leave the story there for now - I am sitting on the floor writing this and my bottom is getting sore!