heureusement, ici, c'est james

Made it past quarantine. Guess I don't have bird flu.

After that reassuring step forward, I carried through customs, quickly found my luggage and stepped into the real world. But since the real world in Korea is full to the nuts with hangeul - the Korean alphabet - it's the most alien real world I've ever known.

Amid a barrage of hangeul on reception placards, I smiled at some familliar nomenclature - "James Johnston" etched in black on white.

I introduced myself overzealously to a man I would soon find out spoke almost no English. I should not have mistaken the Roman characters for a cue. I threw around a few names of school types to find out if he actually knew who I was or where I was going.

"Yes," he said. "Do not worry." He threw my luggage into some kind of hired van.
"Okay." Was it a taxi? A rental? Did I have to pay anything? Where were we going? I voiced a few variations of these questions, but the language barrier rendered me unresponseworthy.

The interior was upholstered with buttons and leather in such a way that it resembled an old-fashioned wing-backed armchair. But this image of luxury was buried in a nest of contraptions that flashed, beeped and buzzed. The GPS gadget was particularly annoying - heralding every half-degree turn with a ding-dong. The driver was reveling in self-gratifying beepage. Electronic positive reinforcement for drivers. But even better was the "vu meter" which seemed to do nothing but flash to register the decibel levels inside the car. Great investment, to be sure.

As my fascination with the interior disappeared, I began to notice the haze. They say it's more a symptom of moisture and less a product of pollution, but it's wasn't a pretty first impression. I guess there is only so much you can do when you live in one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Hard to believe that there are almost twice as many people living in S. Korea as there are people in Canada. There are hundreds of businesses within a single city block. I have no idea how many people that amounts to, but if one block can support that volume of business, that's a lot of people. The roadways are always clogged with traffic (above). Walkways and doorways to homes pop up everywhere, often in the most unexpected places.

The driver stopped at an intersection and we sat there for a few minutes until someone walked up to the car. He introduced himself as Dr. Lee and led me to another building across the street. "There is your apartment," said Dr. Lee. I didn't have to pay after all. And there it was - home sweet home (at right).