I'm here!

Well, I have arrived safely and smoothly in Taejon!  All of my flights were on time and all of my luggage arrived with me.  Yay!  I even have it all unpacked.  So far I am doing really well here.  The people are really kind--and from all over the world so it's great, my apartment is awesome and the city is fascinating.  We have been having meetings about all kinds of things, both relating to school and to life in Korea, so I have been pretty busy.  I did have some time to go exploring, though. :)  I went to an everything store the first day we were here and it was so hard to know what we were actually buying since we couldn't read any labels.  It is funny though because there is a clerk in almost every aisle trying to get your to buy certain "bargain" products.  If you buy them, often times you get something else free (like a towel or a smaller bottle of shampoo, etc).  Things are more expensive that I was expecting, but still not outrageously priced and food is really cheap.  Most things are comparable to the U.S.  The hardest thing to get used to so far, is taking out the trash!  I know that sounds crazy, but it is quite a complicated process.  You have to throw away everything in a specific green bag that you buy at the store.  They are different depending on which part of town you live in.  Some of us only live a couple blocks away and have different bags.  Then everything that can be recycled has to be separated, but they don't have bins like in the States.  You also have to put food in a separate bin, as well.  Other things that I have done include going to the "mall" in new downtown, riding in a taxi (SCARY!), and eating in a traditional Korean restaurant.  The entire staff and families went to the restaurant today and it was quite an experience.  First off, you take your shoes off at the door.  Then, many plates of food were already set out on the tables.  The tables are at floor level and at some tables you sit on a pillow, at others there was this half-chair thing.  To sit at the table you step down first, so it feels like you are sitting in a normal chair, but instead you are on the floor!  I have pictures if you don't get it.  :-P  Then, they brought us each out a plate of raw meat, which we put in a pot of boiling water to cook and then ate with a rice-filled lettuce wrap.  It was actually pretty good.  Then, when our meat was all cooked, they put in noodles and things for a soup.  It was really good, probably the best thing I've eaten.  I tried seaweed today as well as more kimchi, which I still can't eat.  It is sooo spicy.  Tomorrow is a free day so I can sleep in until church and then just explore and relax the rest of the day.  I hadn't really felt any jet lag until today, but I have been sleeping well.  There are about 10 other people here my age and we have all been hanging out/exploring the city together so I have enjoyed getting to know them.  And luckily, they are all as adventurous as me!