The plane ride to Ulsan is a restful experience, just long enough to take a nap but not so long as to fall into a deep sleep. You arrive feeling refreshed and ready to begin your time here in earnest.

After retrieving your bags, you enter the arrivals area to be greeted heartily by a group of Koreans.

Their English is a little odd, but mostly understandable. They introduce themselves, take your bags and pack everyone into a car.

They explain to you that they will be taking you to your new place in Miryang, stopping for food along the way. The mention of food gets your stomach growling and you enthusiastically endorse their plan.

The restaurant you stop at is rather cozy. It is candle lit and has little pieces of paper with handwritten notes on them tacked to the walls. Your Korean entourage orders food and, before it arrives, explains what it will be and how to eat it. It's called pajeon and is known to many foreigners as "Korean pancake" or "Korean pizza." You decide that the Korean name is sufficient for you. It arrives and is a tasty, if slightly greasy meal. Fried batter with seafood and spinach mixed in, all dipped in a seasoned soy sauce never tasted better.

The meal is filled with laughter as everyone stumbles over each others language. You begin to pick up the tiniest amount of Korean. Not bad for your first night here.

After the meal, you are driven into Miryang and to your apartment. By this point, the days activity and excitement have taken their toll and you are pretty well exhausted.

They show you around the place. It's not fancy by any means, but it looks livable. You note the bizarre kitchen/bathroom and the lack of laundry facilities.

You ask right away about these and they, in their eagerness to please, immediately move the cooking utensils and gas stove to a room without a toilet and tell you that they will look into a washing machine for you, but that it will take some time and costs money. You:

are in such great spirits and are feeling generous that you offer them your remaining cash to get one as soon as possible, then tell them you are tired and go to bed.

are satisfied with this and decide to wait for them to find one. You feel tired and let them know this. They leave and you go to sleep.

tell them that it would be impossible for you to live here without laundry facilities and demand that they acquire a washing machine for you immediately.