chapter two- arrival in korea

AS I WALK OUT OF THE AIRPORT BREATHING MY FIRST FOREIGN AIR, THERE AR 30 TO 40 PEOPLE ALL HOLDING BIG POSTERS WITH NAMES. I SCAN FOR A SECOND FIND MY NAME. HOWEVER, MY ESCORT SPEAKS NO ENGLISH SO IT IS QUITE AN ADVENTURE GETTING IN A TAXI VAN AND TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO HIM WHY ALL I HAVE WITH ME IS A LAPTOP BRIEFCASE. NOT SURE HOW I WOULD EXPLAIN WHAT THE LANDSCAPE AND CITIES LOOK LIKE AS MY TAXI LEAVES SEOUL AND HEADS DEEP INTO A RURAL AREA CLOSE TO THE COAST—OTHER THAN “RRAANDDOOMM AND MOUNTANIOUS”. THERE ARE VERY FEW ORDINANCES IN KOREA SO THAT YOU MAY SEE A SKYSCRAPER NEXT TO A HOUSE NEXT TO A FARMER GROWING SOME CABBAGE. MOSTLY MOUNTAINS AND HILLS, BUT IN THE AREAS BETWEEN THERE IS CERTAINLY SOME KIND OF UNIDENTIFIABLE BUILDING PROJECT GOING ON AS WELL AS RANDOM ENGLISH SIGNS THAT MAKE LITTLE SENSE SUCH AS “MAD COWS.”