Off to the Motherland

After eleven slow hours of watching movies, eating airplane food, and sleeping uncomfortably, I've made it to Korea! I'm obviously a noob at flying internationally because the blanket, pillow, and slippers welcoming me to my isle seat at 51D were luxuries I did not expect that literally made my day.

I'm currently staying at my grandma's house in Seoul with my uncle and his family. As a warm welcoming, they took me out to dinner to what is apparently my uncle's favorite place to eat. When they served cow intestines and stomach as the main course, something that I can promise did not look very appetizing, I thought of all you guys at home who would be really turned off by this Korean delicacy. I can already picture some of your faces who think tofu, seaweed, and weirdly textured food is gross. But I'll have you know that I gave it a go and I loved it! It tastes a lot like chewy chicken!

Driving here is not a joke. For those of you who make fun of my driving in Corvallis, I can guarantee that pedestrians would be in serious danger if someone put me behind a wheel here. The streets on the way to the restaurant were lined with bakeries, food shops, boutiques, other stores worthy of window shopping, and tons and tons of people walking around at 10pm going about their business. They definitely do not know the meaning of crosswalks.

I do feel slightly out of place here, like a fob wannabe. This trip was definitely not on my original things-to-do list the summer before college but i'm ready to make the most of it. Other than having my own TV to watch unlimited movies on the plane, seeing my mom again and part of my dad's side of the family was definitely the highlight of my trip so far. One day down, 17 more to go! Tomorrow I'm going to my aunt's house in Gangnung to stay for a couple days and I'll get to see some of my cousins.
More later!