En Route to South Korea...

So I left America on Saturday, November 7th. I had a 12:40 flight direct from JFK Airport to Incheon Airport, the main hub in South Korea, and then a one hour flight to Daegu.

We got to the airport with plenty of time and I was waiting... waiting for something, the realization that I was leaving everything and everyone I know behind for a year. I think I expected to feel sad or nervous or anxious, I didn't feel any of these things.

When 12:30 rolled around I got on the plane just like I would get on a plane when leaving for a vacation that I would return from in a week. But I would not be going on a vacation and I would not be returning home any time soon. A mere 14 1/2 hours later i would land in South Korea.

The flight over was actually my introduction to Korean food. I had something that I can't remember the name of and it was delicious and spicy. I was very happy that they provided forks and spoons instead of chopsticks to eat with since at this point I was not confident in my ability to eat with chopsticks without making a mess and making a fool out of myself (I still am not confident in this ability but I'm getting better).

I was hoping to be able to sleep during the flight but that was not the case. I was awake for the majority of the long flight and watched many inflight movies - some good but most not so good. I think what really kept me awake was the fact that my mind was racing thinking about the unknown that would come with this experience. I was finally getting nervous about five hours into the flight and it manifested itself in me over-thinking and over-analyzing everything.

We landed in Incheon at about 5pm on Sunday, November 8th, only 29 hours after I had started the journey the previous day. But my traveling wasn't done yet. I had a connecting flight to catch to Daegu. I arrived in Daegu at around 8pm and was met by the school administrator who took me to to dinner and my temporary apartment.

I settled into my apartment and passed out. I would be reporting to my first day of work in only 12 hours.