Hello from the future!

Well, I have finally arrived in "the land of the morning calm". We arrived yesterday at Incheon Airport around 4am, and finally moved into our dorm rooms around 10am. The dorms are anything but comfortable (i.e. no working air conditioning, bunk beds, the internet on my side of the room not working, etc) but our itinerary sounds so packed, I doubt I'll be spending much time in my room anyway. After unpacking, I ate my first Korean meal in the dining hall. What an experience that was! Needless to say, I'm going to lose 20 lbs due to the fact that a) my chopstick skills are a lot worse than previously thought, b) the only thing i've actually really liked so far is white rice, and c) the kimchi (staple korean food served at every meal made up of pickled cabbage...actually quite good but the spiciest thing I've ever tasted) makes me sweat bullets. After lunch we had a long formal meeting about everything thats going to be going on the next 6 weeks...it was interesting, but at one point I asked what time it was, somehow thinking that it was 7 or 8pm and was told that no, it was only 1pm. Holy jet lag. The meeting was followed by some Hangul review and a tour of campus given by some Kangwon Nat'l University (the univ. we are staying at) KEY club members. Besides the fact that the last thing I wanted to do at that point was hike up and down hills in the 90 degree heat, it was neat because we were able to talk to some real Korean college students. At night I went into town with a few other Fulbrighters to explore a little and search for some Soju, a popular Korean drink that I found out is sort of like watered down vodka...gross. Even though I hated the Soju, I did happen to find a beer that is the Korean equivalent of Natty Light. Guess what it was called? Cass! I think I know what I'll be drinking for the next year! We also got a ton of stares on our walk through town. Guess I'm going to have to get used to that part.
Besides my very long, overwhelming, and exciting day yesterday, here are some other interesting tidbits:
-Koreans don't flush their toilet paper in the toilet. Instead, the put it in a trashcan next to the toilet. It hasn't been explained yet why they do this, but that combined with the "squat toilets" that are often used should make for some memorable bathroom experiences.
-I signed up to take Taekwondo classes every Mon-Thurs during orientation. We are having the most highly regarded master in Chuncheon come and teach our lessons. By the time I leave orientation, I could be a yellow belt! So stoked!
-I also signed up to learn about traditional tea ceremonies this coming Thursday.
-When it comes to eating meals, Koreans do not usually drink anything while they are eating. Instead they take a small cup of water after their meal. This is one thing I don't think I'll be able to cope with. The very spicy and fishy food with no drink is just too much.
-In 2 weekends we are going on a 3 day retreat to a place called Songnisan (http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/south-korea/south-korea-tourist-attractions/national-parks-in-south-korea/songnisan-national-park-in-south-korea.html) which has temples and beautiful scenery and is supposed to be excellent for hiking.

Thats all for now! I'll be posting a few pics later on today. Xo