Anyyung!

I arrived last night after almost a full 24 hours of travel. I smelled. Bad. And hadn't slept in those 24 hours because I am incapable of sleep on a plane. However, I would like to say, if anyone is planning to visit Asia anytime soon fly Singapore Air. They were actually a terrific airline. I know any boeing has to be fully stocked to fly so many people for 11 hours, but the movie selection was great. Not only did they have new releases and stuff like that, but they played classics - Singin' in the Rain and Roman Holiday, to name two. Another thing I loved was that they used real silverware, not plastic. So it made me feel less like I was on a plane, and it's also good for the environment.

The school I'm going through, CDI, gave me a Welcome Packet that included how to get from the airport to my hotel without dying or being robbed, and it was really useful. It took a while, or maybe it just felt that way because I was dead on my feet. But I finally made it to my hotel.

Culture Shock #1: How to operate normal amenities. Upon checking in and arriving in my hotel room, I was unprepared. Not only could I not turn the lights on, I also couldn't turn on the air conditiioning, or flush the toilet. (All these have been amended by this morning, no worries.)
What I finally figured out after a few minutes in the dark - there's a key thingy you have to slide your key in and leave it there for the lights to work. Once you do that, about 8 light switchs lit up for like, every light in the whole room.
Air conditioning - after sweating even more, I realized it was controlled by a remote control. I figured how to turn it on, but I still don't know what any of the other 15 buttons do. I also don't know how to turn it up or down...
Toilet - ok. So there's a toilet. But the tank isn't behind the toilet, it's off to the side. And I guess to make it symmetrical, they've got like...a control panel on the other side. So you sit on it, and it's like you're in the captain's chair on Star Trek TNG. All of the buttons come with hilarious little pictures. Like one to blow hot air on your butt, or to activate the badet. But NONE of them are for the lever to flush. So after standing over a Korean toilet for what seemed like forever, I see a wide silver lever down and in back of the control panel. Like I'm supposed to have xray vision and see it there.

It's 9:30 in the morning here. So I still have to get another shower, and a map, and then I'm going to hit the streets and forage for food. I'm sure that will also be hilarious.