March 5, 2016
Flying
So, I attempted to switch my sleeping schedule while I was still in the U.S. It kind of worked? But I was left exhausted by the time I got on my plane from Phoenix to San Francisco. From there, I had to wait approximately four hours until I actually got on the plane to Korea. It was a long wait, but I got the chance to eat breakfast and recharge my phone. Once I was on my flight, I had a little misdirection as to where I was supposed to sit as someone sat in my chair first. I didn't have the guts to tell him I should sit there so I assumed, as it was on the other end, that he had mixed up the sides. Luckily, a couple came and talked to him and I was moved over to the window seat. They were an interesting pair, but they didn't bother me too much. I slept for most of the time and watched movies and ate food the other half of the time.
When we finally started to fly over Korea, I was ecstatic. Let me tell you that it was like looking at a live google maps. (That might not make any sense, but it does to me, so let me be...) The land was very brown and you could distinctly see where the cities were because there were large spots where buildings upon buildings were clustered together. It was breathtaking for me since I've never had an aerial view of land before.
So, I arrived a bit late in Korea and I was even later in coming out since the luggage took forever. I thought they lost it since most of the other guys on the same plane as me already had their luggage. I felt bad for making the guy outside for me wait, but he was really nice and very hospitable. We had a few conversations but the language barrier got in the way. He told me that he had a lot of things to say but he didn't know how to say them in English. I honestly should have taken a Korean class instead of attempting to learn it on my own. But hey, I new goal for the next however many years.
It was dark when I finally got to the hospital. But wow was the view amazing. I wasn't able to get any pictures since I couldn't think properly due to the lack of sleep, but Seoul was so colorful and bright. There were little lights along the Han River too and I thought they were gorgeous. What made it even better was that Asan Medical Center is right next to the Han River. So, we crossed this lovely bridge onto the other side and the hospital was right smack in the middle. Plus, it's huge! I didn't think it would be so big, but it is. Imagine UMC and maybe double or triple the size and you have AMC.
I was taken upstairs to the ICU, where Dr. Hong is based. We said our hellos and she kindly took me out to dinner. Another great thing about the hospital is they basically have everything. There was a nice sky restaurant on the top floor, with the view of the Han River, which was lit up. All in all, the views were absolutely amazing.
The day after, I woke up quite early since I still wasn't used to the time. I met with the International officer, Ms. Eileen, and she gave me a quick tour, my lab coat, and my ID. After that, Dr. Hong took me to my shared dorm room and I was settled in for the rest of the month. I didn't do much but eat lunch and sleep since I was still a bit jet lagged.
That was just a brief spiel about what happened from 3/1-3/2. There's a lot of things that went on the following days so I'll post about that separately.
Interesting Fact of the Day
English is the International Language of Flight. All flight controllers and commercial pilots are required to speak English.
*Fact obtained from randomhistory.com
Flying
So, I attempted to switch my sleeping schedule while I was still in the U.S. It kind of worked? But I was left exhausted by the time I got on my plane from Phoenix to San Francisco. From there, I had to wait approximately four hours until I actually got on the plane to Korea. It was a long wait, but I got the chance to eat breakfast and recharge my phone. Once I was on my flight, I had a little misdirection as to where I was supposed to sit as someone sat in my chair first. I didn't have the guts to tell him I should sit there so I assumed, as it was on the other end, that he had mixed up the sides. Luckily, a couple came and talked to him and I was moved over to the window seat. They were an interesting pair, but they didn't bother me too much. I slept for most of the time and watched movies and ate food the other half of the time.
When we finally started to fly over Korea, I was ecstatic. Let me tell you that it was like looking at a live google maps. (That might not make any sense, but it does to me, so let me be...) The land was very brown and you could distinctly see where the cities were because there were large spots where buildings upon buildings were clustered together. It was breathtaking for me since I've never had an aerial view of land before.
So, I arrived a bit late in Korea and I was even later in coming out since the luggage took forever. I thought they lost it since most of the other guys on the same plane as me already had their luggage. I felt bad for making the guy outside for me wait, but he was really nice and very hospitable. We had a few conversations but the language barrier got in the way. He told me that he had a lot of things to say but he didn't know how to say them in English. I honestly should have taken a Korean class instead of attempting to learn it on my own. But hey, I new goal for the next however many years.
It was dark when I finally got to the hospital. But wow was the view amazing. I wasn't able to get any pictures since I couldn't think properly due to the lack of sleep, but Seoul was so colorful and bright. There were little lights along the Han River too and I thought they were gorgeous. What made it even better was that Asan Medical Center is right next to the Han River. So, we crossed this lovely bridge onto the other side and the hospital was right smack in the middle. Plus, it's huge! I didn't think it would be so big, but it is. Imagine UMC and maybe double or triple the size and you have AMC.
I was taken upstairs to the ICU, where Dr. Hong is based. We said our hellos and she kindly took me out to dinner. Another great thing about the hospital is they basically have everything. There was a nice sky restaurant on the top floor, with the view of the Han River, which was lit up. All in all, the views were absolutely amazing.
The day after, I woke up quite early since I still wasn't used to the time. I met with the International officer, Ms. Eileen, and she gave me a quick tour, my lab coat, and my ID. After that, Dr. Hong took me to my shared dorm room and I was settled in for the rest of the month. I didn't do much but eat lunch and sleep since I was still a bit jet lagged.
That was just a brief spiel about what happened from 3/1-3/2. There's a lot of things that went on the following days so I'll post about that separately.
Interesting Fact of the Day
English is the International Language of Flight. All flight controllers and commercial pilots are required to speak English.
*Fact obtained from randomhistory.com