The Flight...

I know I'm behind on this, so now I am going to catch up. As the title suggests, I'll start with my flight over here...

Leaving the States initially didn't seem to be a big deal. Afterall, I had never been anywhere before, so I wasn't sure how to react. I guess no reaction is a reaction in itself though, right? So I did my best and casually strolled through the airport security and after one more look at Mom and David, they were gone and I was off on my journey.

After a brief flight to San Francisco with inluded a Bruce Willis movie ("16 Blocks" I think) I had landed in the U.S. city which was to be my last for a year. I managed to find international flights and my gate with an hour and a half to spare. I was the second person there. I looked ouside the huge airport windows and was awe-struck by the size of the 777 I was getting ready to board.
My plan to teach in Korea was suddnely becoming very real. I wasn't scared because I didn't know what to expect, but I was nervous. As my flight time seemed to get closer, more and more people were at the gate. Military people, Korean people, Japanese people, families and from what I could tell, other English teachers. Calmness washed over me when I saw those who I assumed were English teachers. They too did not know what excpect. They too had to say bye to their family and friends and they too knew that they could do this.

Finally they started boarding us. Of course I was in section 4 which meant I boarded last.

"Great." I thought to myself.
"Now I'll be waiting forever to get off the plane in Seoul."

I walked down the corridor and was shocked to see how large the plane was: spiral stairs; two large ailes; eight bathrooms that I could count; and huge seats. First class was upstairs so I didn't get to see that.

I came to my seat and was greeted rather pleasantly by a soldier from Southeast Colorado. His name was Robert Duran. (That is his real name. I'm using all real names because this is a blog, not a book.) He was Latino and sported a thin and poorly grown mustache. He was very friendly and I was happy to have somone to talk with. He told me he had been on leave for what was supposed to be 40 days, but with North Korea's recent missle tests he had been called back early. I could tell he was not happy about this, but he understood that it was his job. He said he had graduated from The University of Maryland, but as the flight contiued I gathered he had not yet gone to college and was a little embarrassed about it. Periodically he would nudge me and let me read some of his poetry which he would then turn into a rap. If I can remember correctly, he let me read one titled "Superman". It started like so:

"People always ask me why I train so hard, but they'll understand when they see I'm in charge..."

Not too articulate, but who cares. He liked doing it and it gave him an outlet. After two meals and a countless number of snacks and beverages served to us by the Korean staff, the female captain told us we were starting our final decent. Robert was sleeping, so I manuevered my way around is body and opened the window. Below us was Japan. It was beautiful. The land was so lush and green. The mountains were different than those in the States, but soon the mountains faded into a plateau which gave way to Tokyo. We were still pretty high in the air, but the size of it was obvious even from there. As fast as it came, it was gone and then we came to Busan (or Pusan), South Korea. That is the southernmost city in Korea. It is the second largest city, but nothing compared to Seoul. We finally reached Incheon (or Seoul) International Airport. The plane landed in the heavy rain. Robert gave me his number at the end of the flight. I think he felt obliged to do so, but both of us knew I probably wouldn't call and that we would never see each other again. So there I was, after weeks of planning, packing and good-byes, finally in Korea.