Seoul - Week 1

We arrived in Seoul a little over a week ago and I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write about our trip. Up until now we have been touring the city and spending a lot of time outdoors. It's mostly been cold and rainy, so I'm thrilled to be indoors writing this blog. I'm writing from our apartment which was the cause of a lot of stress - for me - before we arrived. We were only given two details of what our apartment would be like before we got here: a somewhat small studio across from the front gates of the University. Isn't the phrase "somewhat small studio" redundant?Doesn't the word studio mean that it will be somewhat small? Did this mean it was going to be extra small? I had nightmares of what it might be like. On top of the size issue we didn't know if it would be furnished, and if so, with what? would we have a bed? dishes? a stove?? I couldn't stop obsessing over this. I had no choice but to overcome my anxiety about the aparmtent and move on to obsessing over the 24 hour journey it would take to get us here. I was relieved when we arrived and I saw our place. It's a cozy wrap around studio on the 9th floor of a modern office tel just 2 blocks away from all of the action of Sinchon. I'd even say it's a somewhat large studio - compared to places I've seen in NYC. We have great views of the city, a doorman who is very nice (but who doesn't speak English so he tries to speak to us in Japanese), and we are located between two subway lines. Phew!