Back in Beaverton

I left Corvallis today to head back home before I actually leave. I heard it snowed today -- the day I left -- so I didn't get to enjoy it at all. Also, the sun wasn't as bright in Beaverton...

Things got really hectic before I left. I tried to get together and spend some time with everyone before I left, but each remorseless day failed to yield additional hours! If I didn't quite find the time to enjoy your company, take this message as my apology.

As my plans currently stand, I leave on February 1st at 12:15PM. The plane ride lasts, according to my ticket, 10 hours and 45 minutes. I arrive at the Narita airport in Japan around 4:15 PM local time. I am at Narita for two hours (is there anything fun I could do for two hours?) and leave for Incheon at 6:15PM. My ticket says that trip lasts 2 hours and 55 minutes, putting me officially in Korea at 9:15PM local time on Saturday, February 2nd.

Responding to a couple commonly asked questions as I told people I was leaving:
1) I only speak a little Korean. I can roughly say that I do not understand Korean, yes, no, hello, goodbye, I am American, thank you and a couple other phrases taught to me by my new BFF Jibin!
2) I am not 100% sure when I will be coming back to Oregon. My university's term ends on June 20th, so coming back before then is very unlikely. I recently applied for a scholarship with the State department to spend my summer learning Korean, which if received, would have me returning in middle August. I also could extend my stay for the summer semester, although I am not sure when the summer session ends.
3) I will be attending Ewha Woman's University in Seoul. I had two choices: Ewha and Yonsei. Yonsei was described to be closer to Portland State in that there are roughly 30,000 students and the campus is closer to a metropolitan environment. Ewha is closer to OSU by enrolling roughly 20,000 students and possessing the "closed-campus" feeling found in Corvallis. It's been some time since I compared the two universities, but if I remember right, I had like six reasons for Ewha over Yonsei.
4) Although I haven't signed up for classes, I expect to focus on Korean language, culture, history and philosophy. I was talking with an advisor once about what classes I would take and I said I might take a science class to move closer to graduation -- she told me not to. I agreed.

For those around Portland, I am here until February 1st. I obviously don't have much to do, so let me know and we can spend some time together before I take off!

Best wishes!

Before I leave...

Good day dear friends and family! As requested, I have decided to chronicle my time in Korea through a blog. I've never successfully stuck with journals past a week or so, but I will keep my fingers crossed that for the months I am in Korea will provide enough adventure to keep this going.
This is my pre-pre-departure post. That means this is before I leave Corvallis. After I get back to Beaverton, I start the pre-departure posts. Quick on the heels of this classification comes the departure and finally the arrival stage. Right now, I would like to try to keep everything in stages so I can say to someone "hey, check out the post-arrival, pre-semester, post-phone post. " I think that will really allow for precision about my experience.

Countdown to pre-departure: 2 days
Countdown to departure: 11 days