Longest day of my life

---

Maybe getting up at 3:45 wasn't a great idea. But I couldn't sleep anymore and I felt energized! So I got up and started studying the English grammar & reading packets we are soon to be tested on. May I just add that I hate noun, adverb, and adjective clauses? It was a perfect time to be on my computer because I got to skype with my sister, cousin, and Jake's mom and sister. I also got to see BLUE SKIES in Seoul. It took three days but now I know it happens.
Yesterday we slept through the breakfast offered by the hotel from 7-9:30. Then we found out it's an American style buffet, so we did not make that mistake again. We went down to the hotel bar/coffee place and had a nice American breakfast complete with creepy dim lighting and cute purple booths. We decided to eat a lot there because that is pretty much our only free option. We had eggs, potatoes, a very strange, dry kind of meat, cereal, toast and juice. Breakfast was a success, unlike yesterday's lunch.
After breakfast we successfully asked the front desk for an extra pillow, an iron, (all our teaching clothes are basically destroyed with wrinkles) and a hair dryer. Despite the "English spoken here" sign, it was not as easy as you think it would be to get those things.
A few more things I want to make note of before I forget:

*the toilet paper is really annoying. there are no lines in it, so you just have to rip it and it doesn't tear evenly.
*the first 2 days I would hear a very real sounding moo at night. awaking from my dreams of Orting, I quickly realized it was a loud motorcycle driving past on the street. It seriously sounds like the long, soulful moo's from my childhood.
*there are 14 (or 17) options on the bidet in the bathroom. I'm not sure why anyone would need that many options when going to the bathroom but I greatly appreciate the warm seat 😊
*speaking of bathrooms. It is true that walls are thin in South Korea, as I was told. I can hear the people in the neighboring rooms as they use the bathroom. Great fun...
*I learned quickly that motorcycles and cars use the sidewalks if they are tired of waiting at a stoplight. Watch out!

After studying English for way too long, and spending too much time on the internet, I fell asleep for a couple hours and had a miserable nap. I think my body was wanting to go to bed for the night but that wasn't allowed.

I'm afraid we gave in to our hunger for the familiar. Or maybe we were just curious because we ate at Hooters for dinner. I'm partly ashamed, but we had to try it and compare it to the sates. Jake ordered boneless wings and cheesy fries. His boneless wings came with bones and his fries came with no cheese! Ha ha....he said the worst part of it all is that he ordered that specifically because it was impossible to mess up. I asked for a water and Jake never did so he didn't get any. As soon as we walked into the restaurant we saw a whole table of Americans, Texas Longhorns hat and all. American rap was filling the speakers: have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire, two is better than one, and Jason Derulo. Well, at least now we know where to find Americans.

After that we walked around for as long as we could handle it. It is SO windy here, and FREEZING. I had to run in a coffee shop and get a vanilla latte that was mmmmm delicious. I'm afraid Koreans may do coffee better than locals in Seattle! Is that a sin to say that? Yum! As soon as you walk in a coffee shop here it smells amazing. It's definitely not cheap though! It cost more than at home. But it was delicious and I feel at home in any coffee shop. I decided coffee shops are a universal language.

After that we headed back towards the hotel and I finally saw my first MCDONALDS! Along with Subway, Coldstone Creamery and Route 66.

It's almost 10pm which is officially the longest I have been able to stay up since we got here! Tomorrow we have our first day of training and a medical examination. Slightly nervous....

---

Photos

Dunkin
This picture is taken from inside a Dunkin Donuts and yes, that is one right across the street.

For here
Starbucks knows how to make you feel at home. Forget the plastic cups!

Blue skies
Blue skies from our hotel

Breakfast
American style

A good laugh
I got a few good laughs out of watching Jake try to iron with an iron that may or may not actually work.

Comments

[Johann]

Thanks for the blog! What an adventure you have. You will settle down in a few days after you pass the test, which you will!!!!!! I remember coming to the US and how strange everything was. How difficult it was (and still is) to find a German bread. You will learn a lot! Johann

[Mom]

OMW! Laughing too hard!
You guys are quite funny, you should do some stand-up comedy while your there, make a few extra bucks! You shed great light on the little hardships that foreigners must endure while traveling to totally new countries! I love it! Jake, once again, I wish I could have been there (a wallflower) watching your face as you enjoyed your "cheesy fries" and "boneless wings!" But since I couldn't be there, I get to use my imagination while reading Bethany's blog and I think that maybe it makes it even better! Enjoy to the max and soak in your new surroundings!