Okay
firstly got to mention that after reading my seniors blog about Korea, who
happens to be having his internship in KAIST, Daejeon as well, gave me a huge
inferiority complex as to what I could write about Korea which he couldn’t and
anyways it’s awesome. Turning out to be a huge blessing in disguise my
introspection and retrospection levels are on an all-time high making me
recollect those sub-consciously registered moments which my trip to Korea exclusively
offered me!
It
began for me with bidding khudahafiz (byebye)
to Daulat-Al-Kuwait which is all together another story for me to pen down
sometime later.
Flying through Jet-Airways International was the best plane
experience so far. Good entertainment facility I must say, a library of movies
and soaps to choose from and to my surprise an internal chat facility with your
other mates who couldn’t get the honour of sitting next to you. Of course I
personally consider it insane to chat to your neighbor via text msgs on “Jet
airways international” but well you can try that too if you want.
The long tiring journey took its toll by the
time I was in the connecting flight from Hong Kong in Asiana Airlines. It had
already been 16 hours from Kuwait with a 12 hour stop at Delhi and I was least
interested in roaming about the Hong Kong airport. Least interested to do
anything but unfortunately attend nature’s sweet call! If it would’ve been the
easy job I would have been more than happy with Hong Kong but seriously for the
greater task you give me tissue papers instead of water? Oh man! It was a live
troll and lol scene! Anyway my respect for Bisleri has never been greater. With
that note I sat in Asiana airlines where I got a sneak peak of what Korea is
all about. As soon as the flight begins the flight attendants graciously and
warmly welcome you. For a pot belly like me it was herculean to bend down to
respect someone else like that! It was nice to have a cute Korean girl sit next
to you and tell tales about her life and culture of Korea. My energy was all
coming back with the “time left to reach destination” sign flashing on the
screen. With the successful landing (I still get nightmares of dying in a plane
crash) it was annyeong haseyo to a reality of THE dream rising from the ashes
of a hope burned by tension and anticipation. The “Welcome to Korea” sign
accelerated my heart, widened my smile and activated my 1 diopter weak eyes
into fully functional mode as I began to look at everything everywhere. Me
being Bollywood-ish it was an awesome feeling to step on another land (no
matter even if I’d been to Kuwait first) with the nasik dhol (Indian music) playing in my head. I was ecstatic and I
can’t confine this feeling in my wall of words or for that matter in this dumb
analogy.THIS was my foreign internship!! With me knowing no one I felt independent
and lonely at the same time! Mixed feelings given this situation were quite
natural I guess.
Incheon International Airport claimed to be
the world’s no.1 for me felt awesome just because I knew it was no.1. Rest,
yeah it was big, awesome, and supreme blah blah. I straight away headed for the
outside as it was gonna be another 4 hour journey by bus to Daejeon after being
looted at the foreign exchange ofcourse, but what can one do when he is stupid
enough not to get some Korean currency at better rates in his own country. Oh
yeah and the exchange! Man you feel rich! This feeling goes no sooner than when
you pay for the limousine bus ticket. 23k Won for Incheon to Daejeon!! Wasn’t
gonna stay “rich” after all. With respect to India Korea is literally 10 times
more expensive but well I didn’t care. At the bus station found a Korean girl
studying in Australia (I guess humanities..u get the point right?) who herself
asked if I needed help ( even if I didn’t I would have said yes ) she told me
she knew the place well so there wasn’t much to worry about. She also found a
lady and her daughter going to the same station as I was to help me further
from there. So this is Korea I thought! People with their simplicity (using not
so simple devices though) and down to earth nature can win your heart in
moments.
The
bus with its pin drop silence couldn’t help but force me to keep comparing
India with Korea. I was prepared for Korea to be technologically advanced but not
for the code of conduct of each and every individual that I came across. The
fast Indian pace and the growing population have made us lose some basic
respect we ought to give to every fellow human being. It’s not that we don’t
it’s just that our datum begins from a very different level. This isn’t
cultural difference this is something else. Probably the twist of our natural
consensus when there is competition every single second. Anyways, I was
absolutely vigilant to not miss my stop. The bus stopped somewhere and the lady
asked me to get down. As soon as I got down I was asking her whether this is
the correct stop. Meanwhile the bus left! The bus left!!!!!!! With my luggage!
Crap all of a sudden I was out of my dreamland saga and it took I guess a
minute for me to sink in the fact that the luggage was gone! That lady felt so
bad she ran after the bus seconds after it left. So the scene was, me sinking
in the fact that I was in deep shit with my legs welded to the ground, the lady
running for me behind the bus on the freeway with cars moving at the speed of
light and some Koreans trying to console me. That was one hell of a moment to
put up with. I guess I was just lucky that the signal went red and the bus
stopped for the lady to catch up. Stopped but after good 700 meters of
displacement from the stop. I have never had any of my relatives run for me
like that in worse situations! She yelled in Korean and the bus took aside and
I procured my 60 seconds lost luggage. Man those 60 seconds! What an adventure
with me being hardly for 4 hours in this country. The lady took me to her
residence and told me she will drop me to Hwaam Dormitory herself! For a moment
I thought I was being abducted by a lady who strangely runs for me and then
tells me I can avoid the 4000 won taxi! Too good to be true isn’t it? Well too
good to be true in India I guess. I was already in love with this country. 4
hours of Korea and this! Imagine the 2 months stay I thought.
Well
I reached Hwaam at about 11pm…and a whole new story begins from there…I guess
it will take a whole new blog for that…as for now sitting in my office during
lunch hour and finishing with this blog …. Anneyeong haseyo…and kamsahamnida if
u reached the end….
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