It has been an amazingly blessed trip so far. Amazingly. Atlanta went without a hitch, and even though I was seated in the middle seat, I just happened to be sitting by one of the sweetest and most interesting people I’ve ever spoken to. I started off sitting in the wrong seat, and when I ended up having to sit next to her, I thought I was bothering her because she kept sighing so I felt bad for existing, like I do :-) she started looking through a cookbook that was written in Spanish so I wasn’t even entirely sure that she spoke English. It wasn't until after she ordered something to drink, a snack pack, and a nap pack that we started talking. She silently ate everything and later asked me if I wanted her cookie. Then we started talking. I commented on her cook book and she ended up showing me every single picture, what was in it, and the tradition behind it, as well as all these stories about growing up in Puerto Rico. She told me that she was coming back from there to say goodbye to an Aunt who was dying. Then she told me that the love of her life had died just two months ago from cancer, which was also taking her Aunt. She lived near Phoenix, and I wondered if it was lonely for her there because she said she had no children and all of her other family was still in Puerto Rico.
At this point in the story I guess it’s okay to add that my flight was supposed to go to LA, but these people were going to Phoenix. I was told not to worry because we were literally dropping them off and then going on to LA…but they never actually mentioned that, all the way to getting off the flight, so that was a little worrying…
Anyway, she told me a story about this man who travels to a town and in this town he finds a graveyard. On the tombstones is says “so and so, 5 years” or “so and so 3 years” and the oldest one he saw was 15 years. So he goes to someone in the town and says “did you have some sort of epidemic here that killed all of the young people?” and the person said “No. Those years are the years those people actually lived and enjoyed their lives.” And for the rest of our flight together we talked about things we’d done, things we chickened out from, or things we planned to do that added to that number on our tombstone (or took away. She told me I had to try the really poisonous fish in Korea if I possibly could because if I didn’t, I would have to take away a year on my tombstone.) and things like that. She had been in the Navy, traveled to almost every state in America (she volunteered to serve in the Navy, she said they didn’t even pay her, because she went to medical school and the government paid for it, so she thought that was a good way to pay them back.)
(Phoenix sunset...this wasn't my plane, but I fell in love with Phoenix)
Anyway, we talked the whole time and that made the first flight go quickly. It was a beautiful evening in Phoenix! I’ve never seen mountains like that! And not a man made thing as far as the eye could see! And then out of nowhere more development then I have ever seen! It was suddenly flat as a pancake and everything was crammed in there. Any mountain that happened to crop up was built closely around. Never seen anything like it. I couldn’t find my camera or I would have taken video! It was lovely! And she had lived there most of her life, so she was telling me about everything I was seeing, which was awesome.
(I walked all around that airport trying to find good pictures of these mountains. They're amazing!)
(But everything had to be behind glass...but look at those mountains!)
She gave me a hug when she got off the plane. Sweetest thing. She left me feeling so refreshed and excited! All the heavy self doubt that sat hard on me as soon as I got on that plane was melting away. I hate to say, I think I was close to panic, sitting there thinking “what the heck have I gotten myself into?? Do you have any idea how long a year is??? What’s wrong with me!!” So, thank you, lovely woman, for helping to remind me of my original excitement for the adventure.
The layover in Phoenix was fairly uneventful, but it was a nice break. It was almost an hour and it was a lovely airport so I got a souvenir, took a few pictures and made a few calls. After talking to the woman on the plane I felt a lot more confident the second time I boarded.
The girl sitting next to me on this small flight was closer to my age and very interesting. While I had almost all of my journey still ahead of me, she had been flying for days from Hawaii to Florida, and to New England, to wherever else, and finally back to LA. She works for PalmOlive and her territory is CA and HI, but she had to go to Florida for a conference or something, so she was ready to get back to her new husband and stepdaughter. We talked the whole time about international business and travel, adoption, teaching, school systems, all kinds of things, and then it was time to say goodbye to her as well and get ready to figure out LA and get on the plane to Seoul.
LA, I have to say, was my least favorite part. When I got off the plane I asked the first person I saw how to get to my next stop and they told me I had to take a bus to get there, so I didn’t spend any time in the actual airport because I was nervous about getting to this other airport (just the international one but still, a bus ride away…LAX is enormous!) so, outside I go, looking for the bus with a big A on it that was supposed to magically take me there. So there I am, with other clueless individuals, being approached by several helpful transporters (for a fee, of course) all the while looking for the magic bus. Finally it arrives and we all trust that the bus driver knows where he’s going…although no one believes it for a second.
The best part was security. When I got to the bucket/belt thing I took off my shoes and started to take off my rings and earrings and everything but the guy told me not to (the incredibly rude guy who was like seventeen and standing at the end of a very long line of international travelers) but when I got through obviously I went off so he made me stand in a glass box until this rude girl pulled me out and wanded and padded down every single inch of me for ten minutes before finally accepting that it was the rings/change/necklace I was willing to take off and the zipper,ect that she knew everyone had. Not my favorite. Found my gate easily (the girl at the ticket counter was very sweet) and waited for the plane to be ready for boarding. Only about an hour to kill. I went to a silly little shop and bought a silly souvenir and then sat down to wait and stare at this Best Buy Express vending machine that literally had iPod touches, DS’s, everything you could think of other than laptops in it for impulse purchase.
When I got on the plane (the girl had asked me if I wanted a window or aisle seat, and while I was sure aisle would be good for getting up and going to the bathroom, I knew that window would be best for sleeping. For some reason it was the last thing on my mind that there would be three in a row…so I chose window thinking it wouldn’t be a big deal to get out if I needed to. But there were three in a row) I sat down by the window, popped two Tylenol pm and am fairly confident that I was asleep before we finished climbing. But it was late in my head…about 3am, so I tried to stay awake until I was dead tired so that I would sleep most of the flight. I woke up at some point later because I smelled food. I hadn’t really realized that I was totally out of it, but I was knocked out enough for the couple next to me to nearly finish eating, and for there to be a little sign on my seat saying “have a good rest? Let me know if you need something to eat!” along with a pillow, blanket, headphones, and slippers. Pretty nice, huh? So, when she came back around the woman next to me flagged her down for me which was nice because I really was starving, and she asked me if I wanted steak or Korean. Not sure why I said Korean, but I guess because I wanted to see what it was. I still don’t really know. It was a lot of things, including a soup that was wonderful, a salad made out of sprout looking things, a pile of wet, orange, fishy tasting pasty stuff, very finely ground beef, slimy mushrooms, and suspicious-tasting something that looked like carrots in one dish, and then another dish had a very fleshy fruit sliced up and very, very tiny dried fish (those were actually quite tasty) and then melon slices and kimchi and then a container of rice. I didn’t know how to eat it, so I just did. I didn’t use the spicy paste that came with it or the sesame oil although I know now that I was supposed to
There was a little tv in the chair in front of me, it was playing Bounty Hunter, Alice in Wonderland, an Elvis movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and a couple other things I didn’t recognize, so I put it on Bounty Hunter, plugged in my head phones, wrapped up in the blanket and woke up with only three of my original 11 and a half hours remaining. Awesome.
When I woke up the people next to me were both out walking, so I left as well for my first ever airline bathroom experience. They had toothbrushes with tiny little tooth pastes, mouth wash, soaps, lotions, perfumes, and all kinds of things, so that was awesome. I brushed my teeth, stretched a little and went back to sit down. I kind of slipped in and out of sleep after that. The people next to me started talking when about an hour later I really had to get out and that’s when I found out they spoke English and we talked a little after that. They were very sweet, told me that I should be okay getting around the airport to get a bus and everything, and several places I had to visit. The wife told me not to expect too terribly much from Ulsan but that it was a nice place. So, I can live with that.
For some reason, though, when I saw the lights from Seoul I absolutely freaked. I was convinced that I would never get the bus, I would never find my luggage, and I was so scared I couldn’t think straight. That was the first time I cried. Not a proud moment. The Korean couple didn’t say a word, so I worked on pulling myself together and wrote a small prayer to God asking Him to please help me get through this.
It was easier than going through LAX. Thank you, God!! Everything made sense, and everyone was friendly. Everything was clearly marked, I got through immigration with no problem, there was only one working turnstile for luggage (I was very concerned how I was going to find my luggage…was it on US Airlines? Or was it on Asiana? Or was it on Mars??) so I found it easily, walked out after asking about getting some currency found an ATM, got money, bought a phone card (that I still don’t know how to use…) and went outside to find the bus. People all around me were helping me get to where I needed to go, and when I found the bus, I had just missed it, but a gentleman told me that only ten feet away was another bus and it was about to arrive. And so it was. The moment I got in front of the sign that clearly said “Gimpo Airport” it pulled up, someone got out and loaded my bags, they sold the tickets right there (which was good because both information and the ticket booths were not yet open) the ticket was only…six dollars I think? And off we went for my first view of Korea.
Korea is humid. So humid. It was raining when we landed and it was still kind of spitting when I was on the bus, but the humidity was really something. When we took off I have to admit I fell in love with everything about it. The ocean was right there, so that helped, but there’s just something about it, even at 5am that I really liked. And still I just have a peaceful feeling. But I know that’s God.
I got off the bus and found the check in, but the realized that I left my luggage on the bus. But someone was there waiting for me to come back so that was awesome. While I was in line waiting to get my ticket a little Korean girl started talking to me, which was really cool. She was 14 and had already spent a year in New Zealand which I thought was amazing. Her little sister, after prodding from her mother says “I want to talk to you” and then she chickened out and didn’t say anything else
So, got my ticket, and began my search for something to drink. Found something awesome and used my Korean money, tried to use the phone several times to no avail, found a bathroom and saw a bidet for the first time, tried to do a video blog but I look like a hot mess and everyone thought I was crazy or something, because the airport is so quite, so I’m sitting in an empty gate near my gate, just decompressing with a drink that I have no idea about…it’s cold and red and has tea bags in it…it’s pretty good.
I guess I should think about going to my actual gate
(the bidet...and my violin case...very random.)
(these were the instructions on the wall. Illustrated and translated for dorks like me! How thoughtful! There's even a setting designated to children, do you see? I don't know what that's all about...)
. I wish I could figure out a way to call home…I still have more than an hour.
Wow. What an Adventure, Jean!!! I'm so looking forward to reading all about it and seeing your photos!!!
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