The morning before my flight left I was a nervous wreck. I was sick from the night before and leaving my boyfriend was so upsetting. I got up and took a shower, letting him sleep. When he woke up, though, I couldn’t pack and my mind couldn’t think as to what I needed. To this day I still feel like I am missing something. I quickly looked around as to things I needed and put it in my suitcase, so I wasn’t even later to the breakfast my parents were already waiting in the car for. My boyfriend, my step-mom, my dad and myself went to eat at Farmerboy, even though I was too sick to even really eat anything and I still couldn’t let my boyfriends hand go. I only ate scrambled eggs, white toast with grape jelly, bacon, and hashbrowns, with a coke to drink. After we finished eating, we went back to my dads house for one last thing I needed and then we headed out at about 11AM. At the airport, I checked my baggage and started to say my goodbyes. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I was crying more than my family and I couldn’t stop hugging them. I was terrified of the journey ahead of me. Yet still I walked through that security gate. Now if anyone ever says that you need to buy food before I long plane. They are wrong unless you eat constantly. I bought a bag of chips and a chocolate bar and I didn’t touch them the whole trip. Even today, I still have the chocolate bar. I would recommend buying a water though because you want to keep your hydrated.
Back at the airport, I had a rough time. First of all, you have to arrive at the airport like an hour before your flight, but my flight was delayed about an hour so I had to wait even longer. Even worse, delaying my flight to Detroit could make me late for my connection. And I was right, it did. Arriving in Detroit 30 minutes after I got onto my plane, I ran to my next gate. Running was so hard with my carry-on luggage and my laptop. I had to occasionally stop to walk. I was still late to my next flight, and even though I could physically see my plane, they were no longer boarding. I had missed my flight. Talking to the airport attendant, I was most likely to not arrive on time to my destination. I was going to arrive a day late and miss my field trip to Jeju Island. Luckily, they found another flight for me that would get me there on time. The bad part: It was leaving in 2 minutes. Yet again, I ran, waiving my ticket in the air, until I had finally made it onboard the flight. I had made it, but I knew my luggage didn’t. It was stuck in America and I was on my way to Shanghai, and no I did not have my original window seat. I sat in the middle row, in the middle. It was very uncomfortable and I could not sleep for the entire 13 hour flight. I couldn’t even see the television and I hadn’t received headphones. The only thing that got me through the flight was the really kind old lady from china whom sat beside me. We talked frequently on the flight. Four movies played, none of which I got to watch. They were The Tourist , the Green Lantern, and two other movies of which I cannot remember. On the flight, I was served two meals, a snack, and frequent drinks. My two meals were chicken and beef, served with a roll, a salad, and fruit. The 13 hours were long and I had to walk frequently because my legs were killing me. It was very uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep a wink. It didn’t go fast, but I eventually arrived in Shanghai. Yet once again, I had another problem. I got lost and no one spoke English. Only through headshakes and nods could I figure out where to go. I thought I could just straight to my next flight, but I really had to go through customs and enter China. Which was cool except I was supposed to pick up my baggage, which was confirmed to still be in the US. So I left the airport only to reenter the airport at another location. At least I got stamped into China. My connect flight in China was two hours later than my original connection time, putting my time to arrive in Korea at 12:15 AM! This meant that I would miss my meeting with my US friends and I would have to take an expensive taxi to my hostel. My only good thoughts thinking this were that at least I would arrive on time to my field trip.
Entering the airport again to head to Korea, I was tired and just wanted to lay in bed. The bad experiences so far made me want to run back to my family and cry, but I knew I couldn’t. I was on my way to Seoul, flying on Korean Air. I found out that it really is true that all the stewardesses are beautiful. Their uniforms were so nice and precise, with their cute bows. The flight was only an hour, but I still got another meal. At that time, I was still so full that I didn’t eat much. I couldn’t even see what I was flying over because it was dark.
In Korea, the airport was empty. I had to talk to the baggage people about having the baggage shipped to my university, so I got out even later. The man helping me though was so nice and he spoke English well. Since I had missed the last bus, he helped me locate my hostel, call the, use the internet, and he even walked me out of the building to help me get a taxi for a cheap price. Nicest man I have ever met! The taxi ride was long, about an hour, and the man spoke no English, but it was a nice quiet ride. I just took in the sites until I got to the destination where my hostel family would be picking me up. They too were some of the nicest people ever. The hostel was small but really nice. It had a giant cartoon picture on one of its walls, and best of all, the hostel was close to the YG Family Office, where I could possibly see G-Dragon! I felt comforted to be someplace were nothing else could happen to me. I was finally with my USAC program partners and I could sleep. But, oh no, wait! I lost my passport! I looked through all my bags and could not find it, but it was night time so I had to let it go for the night. The only problem is I couldn’t sleep knowing my passport was gone. The few hours I rested my eyes were heaven, since I hadn’t fallen asleep in like a day. The morning came quickly and I was one of the first to wake up, so I took a long deserved shower. It was so refreshing. The moment came, though, when I had to wake up my hostel father and tell him my passport was gone. He called the taxi and the airport for me, but there was no sign. I had to leave for my school without it.
The subway station we took to get to school was just like any other. I had to buy my ticket and find my way to the train. Only, we got on the wrong train so we needed help getting on the right one. One of the elevators we took even had baby poop smeared all over it. Disgusting! But we made it out anyway and took the final walk to our school. It was a long walk and all up hill. Even worse, I had to drag my luggage up the hills and I was already tired. I said we should have taken a taxi, but my USAC friends didn’t want to, so we walked. I got sweaty and hot really fast, but my determination got me up the hill, although my body wanted to die from lack of sleep and from my airplane legs.
In the University, I finally was able to contact someone who could help me get my luggage and solve my passport problems. It was only then that I realized I needed my passport to get to my field trip destination. Could it get any worse? Good thing I kept a copy with me or else I wouldn’t have been able to go, although I didn’t get confirmation that this copy would work until we got to the airport to leave again. The problem this time was not that my copy didn’t get me a ticket, it was that once again, my flight was delayed. This time for two hours. My group and I were missing out on the first part of our trip. I figured I was the bad luck. So without passport and without suitcase, I headed to Jeju island with only one set of spare clothes. I may be wearing dirty clothes now but at least I am not in the clothes I wore to Korea. I was now in Jeju Island!
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