Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts
Lola O.
As always hello everyone! I hope that life has been very kind to you so far in the New Year! I'm back in Phoenix, Arizona:)! I got back Friday night, and the jet lag is still messing with me.

Okay, so I ended up packing at the last minute, because I fell asleep on Thursday night. I woke up Friday around 4AM and just got all the packing, cleaning, and last minute errands done. So I ended up having to bring 2 luggages, a carry-on, and my backpack because all the souvenirs and things I wanted to bring back for good wouldn't fit into one. Oh, the consequences of being a shopaholic! All my friends who lived by me were working so I had no help to the bus stop to take the airport bus. I took a purse strap tied the carry-on to one luggage and rolled everything to the bus stop by myself. People kept staring at me, it would have been great if they offered me some help! I got to the airport around 4 PM and found out my flight would be leaving at 6 PM instead of 6:20, great news for me! The earlier I leave the better.


I went through security with no problems, boarded the plane, and that is when things started to go wrong and weird. I requested an aisle seat. They put me in a middle seat. I always need to sit in the aisle. I hate flying, too many people in a small space. It makes me extremely anxious to be stuck between people, especially if I don't know them. Well I sat down, and the guy who was in the window seat started talking to me a mile a minute, and asking weird questions. He gave me bad vibes, so I asked the attendant if an aisle seat became available could I change my seat? She told me the flight was full, so it was unlikely. I just said to her, if one does become available please give it to me. Not to mention my row was by the bathrooms which just made it even less appealing. Middle seat, creepy guy, and bathrooms. No, No, and NO!

The guy who had the aisle seat came and sat down. I noticed an empty seat in front of me in the exit row, it was a window but with plenty of leg space so I was going to sit there. He asked me what was up, because he saw me looking so anxious and I told him I hate sitting in the middle. Aisle guy was really nice, and said he'd trade seats with me. The guy was like 6'3 so I felt bad and asked him if he was sure. He said no problem. Great! Then the creepy window guy said he'd take the exit row seat. Even better. So aisle guy became window guy, and  I got my aisle seat, with no one in the middle. Perfect! The only problem for the next 10 hours was creepy guy. He stared at me so often it made me really uncomfortable. He would keep turning around to glance at me, and then get up to get something out of the overhead bin above me over and over. He just made me really freaked out.

I will probably never fly again without using Korean Air or Asiana. It is worth the money for a more comfortable journey. This flight had no individual screens to choose what you want to watch, and so I was dying of boredom the whole time. For some reason I thought it would be the same as when I first traveled to SK, so I hadn't prepared anything. I got to San Fransisco in one piece. I went through immigration and then I went to get my luggage to go through customs. I was trying to pull my luggage but there were too many luggages under mine and I cut my pinky finger. At first it seemed to not be a big deal, but then so much blood started coming out. I had nothing but wet wipes so I wrapped my finger, got my other luggage, and went to customs. The security guy could tell something was wrong. I'm pretty sure I looked like I was going to cry, because that is how I felt. He took me to another security guy who bandaged me up, the cut was pretty deep and painful. He also let me take a shortcut out.

After, I rechecked my luggage, went through security again, and made it to my gate almost two hours later. Seriously, you have to have a layover coming into the US. Immigration and customs takes so much time. I had about two hours before my next flight so I just watched Grey's Anatomy and skyped my family. The second flight I got my aisle seat, and the only bad thing was the crazy turbulence we went through. I arrived in Phoenix the same time I left Seoul. Time differences are such a mind trip. I got to baggage claim, and all of a sudden my brother was behind me. I was so happy to see him. I kept hugging him over and over. It felt and still feels like I am awake in a dream right now. Somethings are different, and somethings are the same. It feels a bit alien to me because I've been out of the loop.

My brother and I got my luggage and headed to my mom waiting in the car. Wow! My mom was looking so beautiful. I couldn't stop staring at her. I was so happy to see her. It was a great moment. Phoenix is so hot right now. I packed all the wrong stuff. You can even wear shorts if you wanted to. As we drove on the highway  to my mom's house I had that feeling of returning to home. I think no matter where I go AZ will always be where home is. It's so beautiful here. The sky is beyond lovely. The air is fresh and clean. The roads open and not filled with people or cars. There is room to breathe, to be, to think. I've missed home. I've missed these open spaces. I've missed my family and friends. It feels good to be home. Although the time is short, even being here for one moment, is a moment that counts.

There are a lot of people I need to see, and places I need to go to while I'm here. I want to make the most out of my days. I cannot wait to drive my car. Hopefully tomorrow. The only thing I miss is the stillness and solitude of having my own space. Right now everyone is sleeping so I have a moment to catch my breathe, and put my thoughts down. I feel different. I have to ask myself, is this for real? Am I really here? It's as if my vision is blurry and my head is filled with clouds. I'm kind of floating around in this waking dream.

I'm happy to be back. To be here. To eat my grandma's cooking. See my mom's gorgeous smile. Look at my little brother living on his own. Just seeing them in their element, living their lives it makes my heart feel happy, feel peace. It just feels good to see all the people who mean so much to me, who have been there with me through everything, who continue to be my reasons for making my life something wonderful. This is home to me. Not a state, not a city, not a house. Home is people I love. It will always be found in them no matter where I go or they go. When I'm with them, I am at home. It feels great to be home!!!

Be blessed,
~Lola O.~
Lola O.
I'm sitting in my apartment skyping my sister, and waiting for My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho to premiere. All the stress and nervousness I've been feeling today is slowly drifting away. I love those moments when everything begins to settle down again, and you wonder why you felt so overwhelmed in the first place.

Today was the last day of my afterschool program until school starts back up again. Tomorrow is the last day of camp. I am so excited for it to be over. Overall it was a pretty good experience. I had no more than ten students in both classes, and I got to do whatever I wanted so we had a lot of creative teaching. I love being able to make my students laugh and enjoy themselves, and I think I was able to accomplish that in the past 3 weeks. I know they are looking forward to some relaxation, and they sure deserve it. I'm feel really sleepy right now, but it's a good kind of tired. Like I just finished working hard, and now I can rest.

Since the stress of camp is over, the stress of traveling comes to play. I'm trying to not get anxious, or stressed out. I am a nervous traveler. Airports and airplanes make me anxious with all the people and the rush of everything. I guess I must have a bit of a phobia, since I don't like crowds and never go to the mall or drive in peak hours. Yeah....I'm a weird one:)! I haven't really started packing yet, I am only bringing a carry-on and a backpack for Hong Kong. I have a list of things to do tomorrow, but I'm going to try and enjoy the experience of planning and preparing for my vacation.

I think once I am sitting in aisle seat on the plane I will feel all the tension release and I can really begin to relax and enjoy myself. I was planning to stay in a hostel but I might get to stay with a friend of a friend while I'm there, which would be a lot nicer than the 8-female dorm I booked at least I think/hope so. We'll see how that works out. I'm going to be flexible and just go with the flow. I don't really have a detailed plan for my time in Hong Kong. I do have things I want to see and do, but I'll decide as I go where I want to end up each day. The weather doesn't seem very good in HK right now (just like Seoul) but I'm hoping it with clear up and sunshine will fill my days. I'm dreading the humidity, but I've got to take the good with the bad.

I am really looking forward to my first solo travel adventure. I've never done this before, and I'm glad to finally be able to go and afford a real vacation to somewhere I've never been. I feel like the more experiences I have doing things solo or things I've never done before I grow a little more into the person I want to be. I'm a cautious person by nature, but I am learning to let life guide me, and not spend so much time lost in my thoughts. Every little step I take leads me closer to the next page in my story.

I've got a lot of things to look forward to up till the end of September. Hong Kong, Jeju, Incheon Wave Festival, and Tokyo. Sometimes it feels so unreal being here and having the opportunity to see and do so many things. I'm really happy and thankful that I get to see more of this world we live in. I get to see and do things I used to only dream about. I love how those dreams are becoming a reality. I want to enjoy it and soak up as much of its awesomeness as I can.

I probably won't write anything about my travels till I get back, but I have scheduled photo diaries to fill the void until I get back on the 26th. Wish me luck, and I hope you are enjoying your vacation(s) as well.

Alrighty my drama is about to start i.e Lee Seung Gi time:)

Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism


Be blessed,
~Lola O.~