When we last left off, I was waiting to
board my international flight from LAX to Incheon International
Airport outside of Seoul, South Korea. This flight left on time (for
once) at 12:20am with me aboard clearly as a minority. Fast forward
12 ½ hours and I step foot for the first time on the Asian continent
waiting 2 ½ hours until my flight from Seoul to my new home, Busan.
The thought of me being a minority when I was 1 of 15 non-Asians out
of 350 is nothing compared to being the only non-Asian on the entire
flight into Busan. Once I finally arrived – 4 days, 5 airplanes, 4
airports, 2 continents, and 1 car ride later – I stepped foot into my
apartment, home for the next year.
By all Western standards, it is a very
small place...but it suits the minimalist in me. It should help me
to learn the art of dispossession. From my front door, you enter a
small room used to remove your shoes out of respect in typical Korean
fashion before entering another's home.
Don't be a heathen!
My living/sleeping quarters
are separated from the entry room by sliding frosted glass doors
decorated with bamboo and mountains. The room comes equipped with numerous
shelves for storage, a full-sized bed, and a wardrobe closet.
From there, the kitchen is located
behind another set of sliding glass doors and has a
refrigerator/freezer, a dual burner gas stove, a sink, and a washing
machine (which again, is extremely small by Western standards).
The bathroom is the final room to this
Asian abode. Entire bathrooms in Korea are used as shower stalls.
The waterline runs in at my bathroom sink which not only has a faucet
but also a shower head. Strange, I know...but Koreans probably think
you're weird for having your shower segregated and in a stall.
You've probably noticed my phenomenal
wallpaper in the background of my photos and that's completely
accurate, it is indeed phenomenal.
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