Gwang-Ju

After a 15 hour flight, Erin and I arrived at Incheon airport. My luggage is still in America and I am beyond upset. The wonderful people at BWI did not tag my bags correctly. When I got to the luggage counter the Asiana Airlines man saw my furious face and just looked like he was too scared to tell me what I already knew. He just bowed and smiled a nervous smile. He apologized and then told me that he didn't know when I would get my stuff. So for now, Erin is being gracious enough to share her clothes with me. After waiting 4 hours in the terminal, we finally met our liaison who was supposed to take us to the bus terminal for our "3 hour" bus ride to Gwang-ju. FYI- It was NOT 3 hours at all. It was 6 hours. The scenery reminded me of the PA turnpike. At times it looked like were driving through the Poconos or Deep Creek Lake. 

I am currently sitting in a bedroom in my "host-family's" apartment. It's a very swanky place with many bedrooms and a massive balcony (def. not your typical apt in Korea). Erin and I are extremely uncomfortable though because we can't even do what we want. I want to be able to go out and about and all Erin wants to do is have a bowl of cereal. We are extremely hungry. This morning we had what looked like thickly sliced potatoes in a grey gooey broth. I can tell you with certainty that it was most definitely NOT potatoes they were chewy/gelatinous ground rice cakes with tofu. I am trying not to gag as I recall how I had to eat this (In front of the father) while fighting my gag reflex. I am sleeping on the floor in this Korean style bed. All it is is a thin futon mattress on the floor. You'd think it would suck but since the floor is heated it's not that bad. We had to take our shower in this space agey bathroom. Erin just said it was like "from the Jetsons". I agree. She followed me to the bathroom to figure out how to use the shower. It wasn't as simple as one might think because there were roughly 12 knobs on wall under the shower head. After breakfast, Erin and I were invited to take a walk. We ended up hiking up a mountain that was beside the building. FYI- mountains are everywhere!!! After wheezing and coughing our way back to the apt. we were then served lunch which was a step up from breakfast. It was Ramen noodles with unidentifiable things in the liquid. I am working really hard at trying to keep things down. Erin stated that she will try any of the foods presented to her at least once. She has come to regret that decision.
I am currently rationing out my Pop-Tarts (I have 2 left) so that I can eat something in the morning. Another thing that is getting old fast is this "Cashew tea" that they drink instead of water. I have for the last 2 days drank all my water from the sink in the bathroom because they don't drink water from the tap or the bottle. This morning I asked for a glass of water to take some Tylenol and I was given lukewarm tea. Sigh...have I ever told you guys how much I despise tea? I absolutely avoid it at all costs. I also miss caffeine...a lot. That is all for now.