Home Sweet Korea

Erin's Thoughts.....
Our adventure in Japan was not all we'd hoped it would be. Upon arriving to the port in Fukuoka, we changed money over from Won to Yen. We were given money from our employer for the trip and we thought we changed enough money, but it definitely wasn't enough. We underestimated the cost of everything in Japan and we didn't realize we had to pay for the expensive Visa process. To make matters worse, I got hit by a massive cold. We went to the Korean embassy and applied for our work Visa's and then went straight to the hotel because I felt so sick. The valuable time we could have spend exploring the city was spent in an extremely small hotel room that had a bathroom the size of one on an airplane. We both had a rough night, I didn't sleep at all because I was throwing up the entire time. We didn't have enough money for drugs, but we also couldn't find tylenol or anything because it was in Japanese and we didn't have anyone to ask for help. In the morning we tried to exchange more money, but the banks wouldn't let us do it without a passport (which we had left at the Korean consulate for the Visa process). It was hard not to cry at this point! We found a Starbucks and fortunately they take Visa so we were able to get something to eat and drink. The Visa process was successful and we got the stamp we needed and then we had to walk back to the ferry port. We were able to see a bit of the city at this point even though I felt miserable at the time and got burnt from the sun, it was good to see what we did. Anyways, I realize this sounds very pessimistic, but I couln't wait to get back to Korea. Home sweet home- I guess that's a good sign!
So...we learned a valuable lesson about changing over money- bring way more than you need! We look forward to another opportunity to go to Japan because it seems really neat. They drive on the other side of the road and the driving is definitely more sane than Korea. The people seemed really friendly and welcoming, but prices are very high.
At this point I'm still trying to recover. Getting tylenol and a good night's sleep has helped. I had to teach for 6 hours yesterday and hardly had a voice by the end of it, but definitely on the mend.