First Business Trip

“How was the flight?” Brad said, I could hear the clattering of dishes and the sizzling of food. It was hard to tell what he was making, he has always been terrible at orienting the camera so that I could see what he was up to. “Long, thankfully I managed to sleep most of the way. I just got to my hotel. I have a few hours before our meeting with our counterparts. I’m thinking of snagging something to eat. I saw a cute cafe on my way in.” Brad’s face pops on screen and with an excited grin he exclaims “Ooo! I’ve heard so much about South Korean cafes, eat something for me and send me pictures!” I laughed, “Of course, how’s Jenna?”

“I told you not to worry! I'm taking care of her and everything else while you're gone. You focus on work.” In the background I can hear Jenna begin to cry probably out of frustration, “Oh shoot” Brad said looking towards where Jenna’s high chair is usually placed. “Sweety you’re going to get your milk soon it’s warming up now.” He turns back to me and blows me a kiss. “Darling, go get some food and text me how the meeting goes!” And the screen goes blank. I shake my head and laugh a bit. I grab my work bag and the cash I got from Incheon Airport and head out of the hotel room. I thought about asking Seojung to join me but she wasn’t feeling so well after the flight. It’s fine. I say to myself. This might be my first time in another country, but this is nothing I can’t handle.

Despite my affirmations, I nervously walk out into the crisp air in Seoul. Snow has just begun to fall here but it isn’t sticking. Before leaving Seattle we had a cultural competency meeting at my work to go over some basic do’s and don’ts during our week here. Some basic rules like, when handing any money over, use both hands to show respect and when someone offers to buy you food or drink to accept it. Seojung said not to worry as she would handle translating for the most part but let me know if I was ever on my own to use the Papago app for help if the person didn’t speak English. I know a lot of people here in South Korea learn English, but I should have the app prepared just in case. I walked into the small cafe I saw on my way here. It's got a cozy atmosphere with lights and plants adoring the ceiling and walls and there are books lining one of them for patrons to read while spending time here. There’s a couple of locals here working on laptops and sipping small coffees. 

I walk up to the barista and she looks at me patiently as I look up at the menu. The menu is in Korean only so I snap a picture with my phone app and it translates the words for me in real time. I read the coffee options carefully and look at the barista and with uncertainty in my voice say “Can I have a mocha?” The barista shakes her head in confusion and says something back to me in Korean. I quickly type my question into the app and show it to her and she nods. I pointed to a pastry and she picked up the lemon pound cake and a macaroon. Afterwards, I’m able to pay and get my sweets. I took a couple of photos for Brad. He sent me a picture of Jenna. It seems she took her bottle and spilled it all over the floor again. She is looking triumphantly at the camera. I take a seat at one of the small tables and start to review my notes for the upcoming meeting. A couple of hours pass and I get a call on my Whatsapp. It’s from Seojung. “Hey, Kevin” Her voice sounds hoarse. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it. I must have eaten something bad cause I’ve been vomiting for an hour now.” I reply, “That’s awful, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to grab you something?” Hopefully they have a translator there.  “Don’t apologize, it's not your fault,” Seojung croaked,  “I’ve let the VP know and they’ll be sending someone to pick you up from the train station. But you’re going to have to go the rest of the way on your own. I’ve sent you the address but Google Maps doesn’t work very well here...”

I interrupt her before she can go into too much detail, “Seojung it’s okay please just get some rest I will make it there no problem.” I hear her retching for a second and she mumbles “O..okay good luck.” I hang up and look at the time. I’ve got an hour to get there.

We took a taxi from the airport so I’m not entirely certain where the train is. I go back up to the barista having typed my question into Papago. “Where’s the nearest train station?” She begins to attempt some English, but I hand her my phone as I downloaded a Korean keyboard on it so she can reply. She types, “Just down the street for about 5 minutes.” And she points west from where I’m standing. I bow and thank her in Korean. I’m sure I butchered it but I walked out quickly to avoid any further awkward conversation. I walk down the alley towards one of the main streets. There’s hundreds of cars driving past. I look around and I see the word train in English on one of the signs. It looks like all the trains are underground and I begin my way down. I see there’s a couple of ways into the main train area with various turnstiles. One is marked with green and the other with yellow. This is going to be harder than I thought. There’s English marked next to Korean but I'm not sure exactly which direction I should be going. I look around for some sort of help and see a shoe salesman outside his store. The store is lined with heels, business shoes, and casual shoes. I walk up to him with a typed message. “Do you know how to get to Gangmyeon station?” He enthusiastically hands me a pair of shoes, they’re some slides not my style but cute. I look at him confused, he then stumbles through some English and points at the slides, “You buy?” I shake my head and point at my phone again with more urgency this time. He continues to push me on the shoes. I have a feeling if I don’t purchase these he won’t be much help. So, I place my bag down and pull out my wallet and hand him some cash. I’m not sure how much they were so I made my best guess. He finally bows and says “Thank you very much!” and points to the green line. I rush in that direction.

Before making it to a hotel I had gotten a travel card. We put cash on it and it can be used for buses, trains, and taxis here in Korea. I go through the turnstile with my travel card. I make it down and wait with all of the other people for the train to come. There are various warnings when it arrives in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. I walk on and notice a map, I use the app to help me figure out what stop I should get off at. However, It doesn’t seem to translate properly as I don’t see a Gangmyeon Station on this route. A couple of stops go by and I don’t hear the PA system mention Gangmyeon. I tap on a nearby man’s shoulder and ask him about Gangmyeon with the app. He reads it and responds to me in English. “I’m sorry you're on the wrong train. You’ll want to get off at the next stop and go to the yellow line instead.” 

Panicking, I thank the man profusely. At the next stop, I hop off the train but I don’t see any easy signs for the yellow line. Quickly, I run up the stairs and see some directions to the yellow line, they aren’t clear but I make my best guess. I begin walking quickly in the direction it’s pointing but I come up against some construction. I look around to find a way out and only see a way above ground. I go above ground but don’t see another entrance. Out of exhaustion and confusion I stop a group of young girls that come out of a nearby karaoke bar and ask them how to get to the yellow line. They look confused and I pull out my phone to use the app again. And they say “Ohh, yellow! Cross over there.” They point south of me towards the walk signal and I thank them and run across the street towards the other underground entrance. I sigh with relief when I see the yellow line entrance. I scan my card and wait for the train to arrive. I get on and check the map on this train. I see that I have 8 stops till Gangmyeon station. Once the PA system begins to say “Next stop is Gangmyeon station”. I get up and make it back up to street level. I look around for anyone who looks out of place and a man walks up to me and says, “Kevin right? Good to meet you. Are you ready with your presentation? Where’s your laptop?”

My skin gets hot as embarrassment fully washes over me. Shamefully, I look down at the pair of slides in my hand but no bag.