My Arrival in the Land of the Morning Calm

After chasing the sunset across the international date line for fourteen hours I finally arrived in Korea. I am finally coming out of my jet lag daze. Here a few observations and stories from my first few days in Korea.
I think that I finally also realized how tall I really am. After pushing my way through many Koreans, (by the way personal space and the unwritten rule of not getting into one's personal space went out the window) I realized that is pretty cool to be able to gaze over the top of about eighty percent of people in an airport.
After a night in Seoul, I made my way north to inprocessing (that is the army term for getting your shots, making sure you exist on the computer for pay purposes and death by Powerpoint slides on many topics from don't drink too much to the pc advice of if you didn't bring it over, don't bring it back) I am currently in the middle of all of these fun activities. I was able to meet with my sponsor (the person I am replacing who both internally and externally gave a polite chuckle as she showed me around during her last twenty four hours in Korea). I was able to escape the inprocessing center and all of the unavoidable WTF that goes along with it for a few hours to see my new digs. Upon my return to the inprocessing center, I was able to experience a Korean taxi ride first hand. Within a forty five minute span (the time it took to get from my new office back to the inprocessing center) I learned alot about Korean rules or better yet "suggestions" of the road. One of these rules is what a red light really means. If there are no cars or relatively few cars on the road and near the intersection, stopping at a red light is optional. You can also pass people in any form whatsoever, as long as there is some stretch or patch of road available. Finally, it is probably better just to try to take a nap as you make your journey in one of these cabs. Either that or guzzle a bottle of Soju (Korean vodka) prior to entering the taxi.
On a final note, I was able to experience part of the Christmas season at a tree lighting ceremony on Friday. The ceremony was complete with a Korean Presbyterian Choir. They sang Jingle Bell Rock as well as the first Noel. The only thing that went through my head was the Peking Duck scene on a Christmas story. Fararas and an off key solo were slung about freely and with passion during the performance. This is a preview of my Christmas in Korea, I am sure.