Day 0

The journey started on the night of 28th November. Alas, I had made a mistake with my flight bookings and had to travel alone. I decided to make the most of this. During my stopover at Seoul, I signed up for the City Tour. The tour bus travelled along Incheon Grand Bridge which is one of the longest bridges in the world. There was then a brief stop at Wolmi Park which until recently, was an army camp. Afterwhich, the tour bus took us to Shinpo Market which the locals described as Incheon's Chinatown.

During the City tour, I had a chance to meet a fellow tourist from coincidentally, California. We lunched together at a small eatery at Shinpo Market where we had this delectable seafood stew. A huge variety of seafood such as crab a number of shell food could be found inside that pot. Over the hot pot, we both exchanged travelling experiences while he also shared a little about his working experiences.

Next up was the long flight to LA, kept entertained by the in-flight movies and dramas. Caught a few movies and some shut eye before landing in LA. I spent the night at Four-Point Sheraton which was just outside the airport. After taking a short nap I ventured out on to a bus that took me to Manhattan Beach, a short 30 minutes drive away. As we neared the beach, we were able to see the sun set along the horizon. It was a picturesque sight with the sky burning a bright orange.

I had fish and chips and a fruit beer in a bar at Manhattan beach before walking up to Manhattan Pier. As it was dark, pictures were a little hard to take. The beach was quite a sight as I took in the vastness of the ocean and the clear night sky that was not punctuated with the lights from buildings, ships and all.

The one takeaway from the first day us about the friendliness of the locals. Conversations can take place at the bus stops and inside the buses, with the locals game enough to share their life stories or experiences. And even if no conversations take place, a simple hello will be be cheerfully broadcasted through the bus. It has made me feel welcome in this foreign land.

The following morning, I set off from the hotel to meet up with the rest at the airport. From there after a simple lunch, we took the bus to Santa Barbara where Peggy and her husband, Steve awaited our arrival. They drove us and our entourage of luggage to West Cottage. 

Behold our humble home (for the next 3 weeks)!

We were then ferried to the grocery store to get our dinner and supplies for the next few days. A quick meal of fried and grilled chicken was washed down with some refreshing orange juice. The next few hours were spent playing games which saw some of us get out our crazy side.

And so begins our 7 weeks in the US where we will be learning more about US education and of course having lots of fun. Till the next time.