How to travel to Korea with no jet lag

Arrive at night! Wow - Now, I won't say that I'm not a bit tired, but I have had absolutely no problem adjusting to a complete flip-flop of day and night. It's about 8:45pm on July 6th, and I have now been in Korea for about 25 hours. As luck has is, I was sitting right next to the cute pillow-fighting kids. According to their dad, this was their first trip to Korea, and they had travelled from Bloomington, IN. I was thoroughly impressed with their travelling abilities! They slept the entire 2 hour flight from Tokyo to Seoul (as I almost did, too). I had the best meal of the trip on that flight - a banana, a pita-pocket sandwich, and the 3rd vegan cookie of the day (that was the only edible part of the previous 2 meals - good thing I brought trail mix).

Arriving in Seoul, I had to pass through immigration (of course I chose the longest line), gather my bags (yes, the color was EASY to pick out - teal - and they came very quickly... though, I'm sure it helped that I was standing in the immigration line for so long). I exchanged some money at the airport, and I headed through the exit doors, praying that I'd see a sign with my name on it. Being one of the only non-asian people on the plane, I was easy to spot, and the rep from POLY waved his sign at me. Let me say what a huge sigh of relief this was!!!

I was driven to my apartment, where the director, vice director, and another teacher (who lives 2 doors down) met me. The apartment is quite nice. It's at least the size of my apartment in New York (and I don't have to share it). I have a kitchen with a gas range (fyi - ovens are practically unheard of in Korea). there is a decent amount of cabinet space, most of which is under the island/breakfast bar). I should be getting chairs and a refrigerator soon (apparently someone is moving next week, and I'll inherit that stuff... there's a crisper for veggies for now, which is all that's currently necessary). Along one wall is the double bed, and along the other is a large shelving system/entertainment unit. I have a tv, but no cable yet. I'll be inheriting a washing machine, too, which will go in this neat little outside room - almost a built-in, closed-in balcony. The major downfall to my apartment is the fact that the previous tennants smoked! The walls are covered with a fabric wallpaper, and the smell of the smoke kept me up a lot last night. I got Febreeze today, sprayed the walls down, and it seems to be better. After being eaten alive by mosquitoes last night, I now have the windows shut and the a/c on. I spent this evening cleaning the bathroom (the shower shoes were a good idea for this morning), so I will be able to take a truly relaxing shower in the morning.

I was picked up this morning and taken into headquarters for training. I was the only one attending, and it was quite draining. The instructor introduced me to the entire curriculum for each possible class level. There are a minimum of 10 books per level, and at least 20 levels! Tomorrow, I go in to my school to observe classes for a day, and I begin teaching on Monday.