Well, I’m here. I’ve actually been in country for about a week and change now, but this is the first chance I’ve really had to mess around with the web page.

I uploaded a few pictures I took around base so far. Unfortunately I’ve just been too busy and it’s just been too cold to get out and get any shots of Korea itself. They’re coming, oh yes, but not just yet. I have lots of plans to go out and see the country, there are all sorts of tours and what not, and a great train system that goes just about everywhere for very little money. Realistically though that’s going to have to wait until January at least. For now my main concern is not freezing to death.

Initial thoughts .. Osan AB is much like any Air Force base in the world. You have the exact same stuff you find everywhere else, right down to the Popeye’s and the Burger King. At the same time, it’s very much different. The vast majority of the folks stationed here are not allowed to own a car, so everyone walks or bikes everywhere. That gives the whole place a very college campus sort of feeling to it. The second odd thing is everyone lives in dorms. Everyone. Enlisted, officers, everyone. Even the “Family Housing” looks like dorms, they’re huge multi-level apartment complexes. Of course, some people live outside the gates, but they’re in apartments. Actually, I’ve yet to see an actual house in this entire country other than a few from the air as I was flying in.

I’ve wandered around Songtan a few times. I don’t really know how to describe it other than it really does look like something out of a film. Supposedly there are a hundred and five bars in the few blocks directly outside the Osan main gate. There’s probably twice as many little shops and vendors. Everything is built vertically, everything is small, everything is colorful, and nothing is easy to find. Many places are nothing more than a little sign and a staircase going up or down. Streets don’t really seem to have any particular organization, they just kind of meander around wherever they want to go. Drivers here take a similar approach, it’s very Darwinian. The worst of the bunch are the guys driving these little moped things around .. you get out of their way, or you get hit, simple as that. There are little creepy looking alley ways everywhere. I’m assured by just about everyone here that Songtan is exceedingly safe. It has it’s seedy side of course, and you have to watch out for drunk Americans at night, but other than that you can walk around relatively comfortably without fear of being mugged or worse. The best way to sum the city up in one word would be “busy”.

I can’t say I’m particularly enjoying myself so far, but that’s to be expected. There’s alot of culture shock you run into when you first get here. Hopefully it will fade once I get a bit more comfortable. I will say one thing for Osan, it’s like one huge support group. Everyone here is in some stage of coming or going, you’re definitely not alone. There’s a palpable sense of camaraderie I’ve not felt at any of the other bases I’ve been to so far. Everyone is coping with separation and loneliness here. You can almost feel it in the air. It’s reassuring in a way .. no matter how down you get about your own situation, you only have to look as far as the person next to you to find someone else going through the same thing. As a result, everyone is very friendly and willing to just stop and talk, help you out, etc. Don’t get me wrong, given a choice I’d be getting on a plane back to the States right now, but all things considered it could be worse.

That’s it for now I suppose. Hopefully future updates will be a bit more interesting as I start to get out and about. Oh yes, I also uploaded some pictures of the boys from the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony back at Little Rock that I took before I left, check them out if you’d like.