Born again

The day I had yesterday made me feel like I was born again...and not in a good way.

When you're in the womb, you're warm and safe, and all your needs are met. Everything is done for you. You don't have to worry about a thing.

That's kind of what it's like staying in the media village. You know where to get food. You know where the shuttles leave from. You have wireless internet wherever you go. It may not seem like it while you're there, but you really are coddled.

Yesterday was my last day in the media village. Because we tried (unsuccessfully) to squeeze three people into a two-person suite, I had to find myself a place to stay. After a LOT of emails to various contacts, I was eventually set up with a room at something called the Bali Motel (don't bother trying to look it up...you won't find anything).

I went there in the afternoon, met with the guy who sold me the room, a Utahan named Everen, who proceeded to go over everything I needed to know about the place.

And then, when his briefing was over, that was it.

And that is where the title of this post comes from. Because at that moment, I was completely and utterly on my own.

I didn't know where to get food.

I didn't know where to find transportation.

I didn't know how to get online (#firstworldproblems, but kinda crucial in my line of work).

So I set off for the bus terminal across the street, which is where I was supposed to get the shuttle to take me to Olympic Park. And when I got there, there were no signs about shuttles and no people who knew much of anything about them.

I did find a woman who knew enough English to explain to me where to pick up the bus from and which one would take me where I needed to go. I crossed the street and hopped on the first bus that came by, a city bus that had the numbers "202" on it (I remembered the woman mentioning that during her spiel).

It took me all through the city (as city buses are wont to do) before stopping in front of a row of seaside hotels. Everybody got off. I asked the bus driver if he was going to Olympic Park and he just motioned across the street, to another bus stop.

So there I was: at a nondescript bus stop, somewhere in Gangneung, freezing my ass off, not quite sure where I was going.

After about 15 minutes, another "202" bus came by, so I got on. It eventually came to a place I recognized -- the bottom of the road the skating arena is on, which was one hell of a relief.

I went to the arena, got a little work done, then left to return to the hotel. On my way out, I stopped on the road to try and find where the pick-up spot was for the bus that would take me back to the hotel (every bus goes on a different route, and only certain types of credentials can get on certain buses).

And who did I see there but Everen.

After sharing our confusion about the buses, he and I agreed to split a taxi back to the hotel (he's staying in the room next to mine). We walked a bit before realizing there was no cabs in the area, so we stopped off a place called Uncle Bob's for dinner.

Everen got a breakfast plate and hot chocolate, I ordered two hot dogs and a beer, and we talked for a good hour and a half, just getting to know each other. He's kind of an eccentric guy (this is his 15th Olympics, he's a huge hockey fan, he writes for a subscription news service called Around the Rings, he does 360-degree photography, etc.), but also incredibly nice (that's a weak word, but it fits Everen to a T).

Uncle Bob, who looks like a cross between Peter O'Toole and Sir Ian McKellen, came over, and we talked to him for a bit. (He's a Minnesotan who came to Korea first in the military and then again during his business career before settling here for good -- and, yes, he is Minnesota nice.)

Uncle Bob

And as I sat there, I thought, "Man, this is not how I expected this day to turn out."

But that's one of the things about traveling abroad and being taken out of your comfort zone. As I wrote before, the Olympics are just this big unwieldy thing, and they force you have to figure out a lot of things on your own -- especially when you're staying a little more off the beaten path and are more or less acting as your own boss. That's why it's important when you're here to open yourself up to new experiences, even if at first they make you feel uncomfortable and out of place -- because you might just end up eating hot dogs and drinking beer at a roadside coffee house with two of the nicest guys you've ever met.