And the journey begins...

August 14, 2010

I was never one to think I would start my own blog but as I thought about this new journey in my life it only made sense for me to take this avenue. So I have started this blog mostly so I can look back later in life and remember where I have been and what I have done, but also so that you all can embark on this journey with me at your own leisure and desire.

And so the journey begins...

I left the wonderful state of Minnesota on August 11th at 9am after another set of tearful goodbyes with the family. I was quite nervous, not so much for my arrival in Korea but mostly for getting on my connecting flight with no issues. After a short flight to Atlanta, I got off the airplane and found the first Delta employee so I could ask what the quickest way would be for me to get my next boarding pass. Twenty minutes later, after a slight panic attack that I would have to explain to some high ranking officer why I missed my flight, I was finally checked in and waiting to board the flight. Can I say just how non-helpful some airlines seem to be (my apologies for those working on airlines that know what they are doing and have customer service skills).

I took my seat, the middle one of course on a Boeing 767 (one of the giant planes) and hoped that the flight wasn't completely booked and that I could move to the window seat. Not my luck though, I actually was sandwiched between to Air Force officers, a one-star general and a colonel. For those of you not familiar with the military rank structure, those are ranks most officers will never reach and if they do it is not until a good 20+ years into their careers. Anyways Dave and Mike (no big deal that we were on a first name basis...lol) were both headed to Korea for the joint exercise that is currently underway. For those of you not familiar, this is the 3 week exercise that takes place annually where all the branches come to South Korea to train with those stationed here and the South Korean military. It is also why North Korea shot up a few missiles last Monday, something they rarely do. Well back to the flight, it actually seemed to go rather quick for the 13.5 hours I was in the air. I slept about half the time and watched a few movies as well for my inflight entertainment. Around 2am central time on August 12th we hit ground and the real journey began.

I was quite surprised how easy it was to go through customs, get my baggage (thank God for luggage carts) and find the military liaison at the airport. People were very helpful and I only had to wait about 20 minutes for the next shuttle to the base. I had a few flashbacks to the transportation system in India on our drive, the cars are much bigger but the fast paced, white knuckle drive was very familiar. Another forty-five minutes later and I was at the welcome center on Yongsan (the military base in central Seoul). Time update, it was now about 7pm Seoul time. After a short welcome from the cadre, we were brought by bus to a hotel off base (due to the joint exercise I mentioned earlier the on post hotel was booked that night). It was a decent establishment and I was out like a light by 9:30pm due to my jet lag and the wake up call at 5:30am I needed to start the next day.

Day zero, as they called it at the inprocessing site, consisted of briefs lasting from 8am to 1130am. I have never understood why the Army calls them briefs, because in my opinion there is usually nothing brief about them! It wasn't too bad though, after a lunch break I headed back for the remainder of the afternoon consisting of a lot of sitting around. The upside was that the Army decided to give me yet another Anthrax shot! I am now up to 5 and have finally finished the series, now I only need my annual booster, woohoo!! I had a few conversations with my brigade liaison who is helping me to figure out my housing situation once I arrive at Camp Carroll. He also enjoyed my arrival because he got to call the woman I am replacing and tell her that I have arrived. He let me know this was an enjoyable conversation because he teased her and said that I was being moved to a different assignment and almost had her in tears before saying he was joking. Good to know that there is a sense of humor in my brigade!

After a long day, I was told that the remainder of my stay would be in the Dragon Hill Lodge (the on base hotel). This was great news because it is a pretty classy establishment with a full on food court and many other amenities. It definitely pays to be an officer because if I was still enlisted I would be in the barracks here with no privileges including not being able to leave post during this weekend. After getting all my bags up to my room, I grabbed some dinner and updated my Facebook status, of course, before crashing at about 8pm.

It is now Saturday afternoon, I definitely caught up on sleep today. Initially I woke up at 730am and was very upset that although sleeping for 11 hours I was wide awake at such an early hour. I jumped onto the internet and was lucky enough to find my brother Chris on facebook as well. Its nice to be closer in time zones with Chris and Stephen, I foresee an easier time talking to Chris, for sure, over the next months. I then forced myself to go back to sleep and finally reached my normal sleep pattern of getting up at noon on Saturdays! If there's one thing that I excel at in this life it is my sleeping ability! After getting out of bed and putzing around for awhile I finally showered and headed out to explore the base a little. Don't think for a second my first stop wasn't at one of the many Starbucks locations on post. After getting some coffee and doing some walking I ended up at the post exchange (PX), which is like the military's version of a Target or Walmart. I got a few necessities including my new unit patch for my uniform and headed back. I now find myself lounging around again and will soon start trying to be productive for the rest of the day.

So far a quick list of pros and cons

1. Pro: I haven't once been asked why my last name is Chan, I think they figure I am married to a Korean which from walking around it seems there are many military folks walking around with Asians.

2. Con: the humidity sucks! I love that you can walk pretty much anywhere, in fact getting to downtown Seoul is in walking distance, but I am sweating like a banshee out there.

3. Con: I have numerous cable channels in my hotel room but I can only understand about 10 of them...note to self- need to learn Korean!

4. Pro: I have already used this time to start this awesome blog!

Hope you all enjoy thus far and the many adventures to come! Unfortunately I packed my camera cords in my stuff that was moved from South Carolina, so it will be a few weeks before I can get my own photos online. Until then here's a few pictures I have found online from where I am.

One last note: Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Mother in the world!!! Love you Mom!