First day of work

First post! I must admit it was an emotional saying goodbye to everyone, even though we're only seconds away through technology. I was trying to stay strong when I was kissing goodbye to Cleo, but broke down in the car en route to the airport.

The apartment that I am staying in Seoul for a month is nestled in a bustling neighborhood, near two metro lines within a 10 minute walking distance. Restaurants and karaoke bar are around the corner (smiles). The most exciting part about this location is that the building next door neighbor is a k-pop management agency. No, haven't seen teens with signs skipping school to see their kpop idol. I *think* I'm old because I don't even recognize the artists' names.

My uncle didn't give me any room to get over the jetlag. I was expected to show up to work the next morning for a full day of meetings. I was dreading the infamous people who are paid to push people into the subway cars, but didn't encounter any of them (whew!). There were meetings scheduled outside of Seoul to meet people from various Agencies who had oversight on environmental protection and research.

One of the meetings was 30 minutes NW of Seoul in a city called Goyang (city motto: Let's Go Yang! Seliousry, no joke). We were getting a tour of the Ilsan Lake Park, one of the biggest artificial lakes in Asia. It is a beautiful park, but my experience was a bit diminished in 32 degree windy conditions and four inch heels. There was a section of the park that was flying all the flags of the world. I found myself seeking out any signs of home, and had a Francis Scott Key-esque moment with the stars and stripes.

The Lake Park was also my first encounter with the "hole in the ground" public restroom. Surprisingly, not very threatening.

How appropriate that after the "hole in the ground" experience was a meeting at a Sewage Treatment Plant. It was the first time visiting such a place, and I must say that it was pretty interesting. In the visitor's center (you know, because who wouldn't want to plan a family visit to a Sewage Treatment Plant?), they were touting their work of purifying and filtering the water. To drive home the perspective of environmental friendliness, the steps in the visitor's center was designed to look like an aquarium.

Let's just say that the best part of the day was eating roasted BBQ eel...YUM!