I want to start off by saying that I didn't reflect on how long 16 hours really is until I started traveling to South Korea.
August 16th 2016
Morris and I drove to the Indianapolis airport in the rain with my 4 checked bags of luggage weighing just at or a little over 50 pounds each plus my carry on that I know is a couple of inches too big but needed the extra room and figured I would risk it and a book bag. If you live in Indiana, you know that driving on 65 is not all that awesome. For those of you who don't know, there's construction everywhere in West Lafayette including on highway 65. (Something I am definitely grateful to get away from). This particular highway is mostly two lanes the whole way with a lot of trucks driving. The speed limit is 70mph on most of it but for trucks that is not the case. So you have speed demon drivers who try to weave in and out of the trucks who are in slowing the traffic down...in the rain...with an extra heavy car, getting cut off is not really my cup of tea. But regardless of all of these things, Morris and I arrived safely at the Indy airport.
Just driving up to the departures wasn't going to be helpful because I am insane and have a ton of luggage. So we park and drag all my luggage to the Delta counter. The lady was gracious and let my lightly overpacked bags go by but I definitely had to pay for the two extra bags. Morris and I hug goodbye. I realize that the longer I let the hug go on the more difficult it was going to be to say goodbye so I let go earlier than I wanted. We parted ways and I realized as I turned the corner that there is food before the TSA line so I hurry up and call Morris to see if he wants to sit and have breakfast for a few minutes. We did. It was delightful and then we said goodbye for real. I have already been asked if that was difficult but honestly it wasn't. I think mostly because this whole trip seems like a dream and not reality.
I went through the TSA line with no issues and headed to my gate. I sat in my seat for my flight to Atlanta and was pleasantly surprised that I had an empty seat next to me. I think I slept a little but not all that much. It was a really short flight. Getting off my flight, there was a lovely gentleman there directing those of us with connecting flights. He pointed to Terminal F and off I went to find my flight to Seoul.
I decided to cave and buy a neck pillow. I was slowly starting to think about how long 15 hours in a plane was going to be. I have been on a few planes before, the longest being to Europe but that was only like 6 hours. Buying a neck pillow seemed like the right thing to do.
I checked in for my flight and they asked me if I would be willing to change seats. They would still give me an aisle seat but it would be closer to the front and then another family could sit together. Me, being the person I am, happily obliged. I would come to regret that decision for the next 15 hours.
So here I want to pause and share my confusion about boarding planes. The system seems ridiculous. Why do they board first class first? They sit up front and are therefore disturbed by the rest of us who have to pass them. Also, passing those luxurious seats is just not fair. They looked amazing and would lay down into a bed...super jealous but I don't have that kind of money. They charge like 4x more for those seats!
Anyway, I found my seat next to two children probably ages 8 and 12? They seem to be brother and sister. They are well mannered and fairly quiet so it's not terrible to sit next to them. They do get restless and move and or need to use the restroom every time I am just about to be asleep but that's nothing compared to the "demon child" who is sitting behind me.
Okay, fine, demon child is a really strong word and it could be worse. But for the age she looks, she definitely shouldn't be acting how she is. She is the loudest person on the plane. I am pretty sure she is about 7 or 8 years old. She doesn't realize she is loud because she has her headphones on but yells "mom" fairly frequently. And by yell I mean whine relentlessly to her poor mother who is trying to sleep. She decides to sit in such a way that her feet are on my seat so every time she moves I feel....everything. I didn't realize this at first and was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. It is a really long flight to sit still. There is a tablet like monitor on the seat so it will get touched along with the food tray and the pocket but I saw how she was sitting when I walked past and then I understood why everytime I was about to get into REM sleep I would be stirred awake. I keep thinking I should turn around and say something along the lines of "Hey kiddo, I know this is a really long flight and my feet are restless too but if you could be more gentle to my seat I would really appreciate it and be able to sleep" but I am not sure how this kid would take that and if mom would be okay with me "disciplining" and by discipline I mean politely asking her kid to stop. So I sit here and write instead.
My head hurts. My stomach feels funny and really I just want to be in a less cramped space to walk and then sleep. But that time won't come for another three plus hours.
In other news, the tablet entertainment on the plane is awesome. I partially slept through the following movies, Up, Monster's Inc, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. I watched Zootopia and currently have Captain America: Civil War playing in the background. And this is just my individulal screen. I also have played Pac Man and can probably do many other things but I havne't played with it enough because of trying to sleep.
We have had two meals already that were definitely interesting. I have never had Korean food so I am not sure if it is typical Korean food or airplane Korean food. I will find out soon enough though.
Maybe demon child will finally fall alseep because it is 11:39pm EST and I am pretty sure she hasn't slept at all yet. But that also means it is 12:40pm in Korea which means I should try to stay awake to get used to the new time zone...not that I could sleep anway. I still keep getting kicked and it's just not comfortable to sleep on a plane. I am not sure how one travels so frequently on long plane rides like these. Perhaps I will find some trick for next time.
August 17th 2016
In case you were curious, demon child did end of falling asleep for like the last two hours of the trip but of course at that point I couldn't sleep and was basically just trying not to get sick.
My flight landed and we taxied a really long time to get to the tunnel with which we would exit. I could see lots of water and I imagine it is the shape of the country and runways that made the airport so far away. And really it probably wasn't that far, I just really needed to get off that plane.
I went through immigration and got all of my bags and was met with a man who had a sign with my name on it. He spoke very limited English but we mangaed to get all of my bags in the van and take off for an hour car ride to Suwon. I wasn't really ready for that because I already felt sick and now I am in a older van that's really bumpy with an over zealous aggressive driver. Not a great combination but I managed not to get sick. We arrived at the school. They were suprised by all my baggage but we made do. I stepped in to the school briefly while we chatted about the next couple of weeks. A different man took me to my hotel room. I am finally not moving anymore and that feels great. I am over tired and hungry. Tomorrow I will have to find my way back to the school because right now we are in the middle of summer camp so they have much longer hours at the school than normal. I think I will manage.
Pictures to come. Stay tuned for me adventures here in Korea.
