We've arrived

I'm writing this at 6:30 a.m. in Korea. The windows in our apartment are large and the sun is streaming through them. I read that one way to try to combat jet lag is to expose your body to as much daylight as you can. So while I would typically be starting preparations for dinner if I was at home, today I'm trying to soak up the morning sun reminding my body that it is morning now, not evening.

Yesterday we left home at 6:30 a.m. and drove to my parents' house. (Or was it yesterday? Today is Wednesday in Korea and we left on a Monday. I'm all confused). They were kind enough to drive us to the airport so we didn't have to leave our van parked for three weeks. We left early in case of traffic, but had a surprisingly smooth drive and made it to O'Hare in only 3 hours. Check in was smooth, security was LONG, but we made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare. The boys and I savored our last American fast food meal for awhile and then before we knew it, we were boarding the plane.

It was hard not to feel jealousy as we walked past the first class section. Each passenger had a cubicle with almost enough room to lie down completely. It looked glorious. But we are common folk, as Jordan likes to remind me, so we ventured past into the economy section. Our accommodations weren't nearly as nice, but there was quite a bit more space than an economy flight. There was a little blue bag on our seat that had us a bit perplexed. We opened it up to find a pair of disposable slippers! Koreans do not wear shoes indoors (evidently a plane counts as being indoors) and they always switch to slippers when they enter a house, hotel, etc. I tried them on but they were way to small for my large American feet.

We had two meals on the flight and I vaguely remember the attendants coming around with a hot snack, but I was hovering between the place of sleeping and being awake at that point. The food was okay. Luke thought it was delicious. I thought it lacked flavor. But it was better than other flights I have been on. Nobody had to resort to the instant ramen cups I packed in case nothing was appetizing.

After 14 hours in the air we all eagerly looked out the window as the plane landed. Customs was smooth and before we knew it we were at baggage claim. We waited and waited for our luggage, starting to worry when we didn't see it or anyone else from our flight. Luke walked around and found it standing next to the belt along with several other cases. We must have been late to the baggage area after the long wait in customs. Some kind soul removed our luggage for us trying to be helpful.

The Korean culture is one of helpfulness and hospitality. I remember that from last time and we've already experienced it once again. Our Airbnb host reserved a driver for us. He was waiting at the airport with a sign with our names on it. He brought us to our apartment where our host was waiting for us. No emailed instructions for her. Instead, she wanted to meet us face to face and show us everything in the apartment. She was friendly, helpful, and spoke English very well. However, after about 15 minutes we were about to fall over standing up because we were so tired. Aiden and I laid down on the bed hoping she would get the hint. I felt rude, but after 24 hours of travel, we were beyond the point of exhaustion.

Sleep last night was a bit fitful. The apartment was warm as we were instructed not to run the air conditioning during the night. I woke up at midnight, 2 in the morning, 4 in the morning, and finally got up around 5. We are now ready to hit the streets to try to hunt down a coffee shop and grocery store. I'm hoping we can all stay awake most of the day today in order to help our bodies acclimate to the time zone.

Here are some pictures!