As we walked out of the airport we were welcomed by our Asia Institute guides. They were super friendly and helped us exchange money. We all boarded this huge coach bus and headed for our hotel. The tour guides talked to us about the history of Korea and pointed out many things. One of the most interesting facts is that half of South Korea’s population (25 million) live in Seoul and in the neighboring towns. It was so eye opening seeing these “satellite cities” where there are huge apartment complexes that look identical. Also, all the cars were white, black, or silver. The guides pointed out that everything looks very similar and nothing sticks out a lot because South Korea praises collectivism rather than individualism. As we got closer to the city, the huge buildings came into view. Something that surprised us a lot was these fields right near the city that looked like plantation fields. As we arrived into the city, the traffic began to collect. It was so cool seeing the mass amount of people on the streets, and the huge mountains in the background of the buildings. When we arrived at the hotel, we all went to our rooms and they were so cool. The lights are turned on by putting the key card in a holder next to the door, and the toilets had a cool controller that I was too confused to operate. After we were situated, we headed to dinner which was walking distance from the hotel. We passed the US embassy and ended up in this huge square. Dinner was very fancy and good. We headed back to the hotel, but some friends and I went out and found this cool street. There were so many bright signs and restaurants. We were amazed by all the places to eat and all of the sings. We headed back to hotel and got lost for about 5 minutes, but then found our way. When we got to our room, I went to my bed and passed out right away.
The Awaited Arival
