Finally in Korea!

I'm having this inner battle with myself - do I continue the blog where I left off (AKA at the Korean Embassy) or do I just write about my adventure getting here to Korea? Michael Jackson is telling me that I should probably write about my journey here and forget about the Korean Embassy. Okay, Michael.


So Sunday morning, the morning of my departure, was very stressful. Both of my bags were exactly 70 lbs, which was the cutoff weight, AND I (or my dad) had to pay 100 dollars to get them both on the plane. I definitely packed WAY too much stuff, but oh well. I made it here. As you all know, I decided to take Pookie with me, which added to my stress level. So here's a rundown of all the stuff I had at the airport: two 70lb bags; one cat; one purple wheely carry on; and one huge purse that had my computer, magazines, books, ipod, wallet and binder in it. I checked the two large bags, which was a relief, but going through security was HORRIBLE. My dad said that watching me go through security stressed him out. Since I had Pookie, I had to actually TAKE HER OUT of the kitty kennel and carry her through the machine thing while they put her kennel through the x-ray machine. I also had to take out my laptop, which I already knew I had to do. Once I got through the machine and was at the end of the conveyor belt to gather all my stuff, the woman officer approached me and said, "You have a large electrical appliance that we're going to have to take out of the bag to scan." The "large electrical appliance" was my XBOX, which was located at the very bottom of my bag. So they dug out my XBOX and put that through the x-ray machine and that was that. I had to repack the purple bag quickly because I was running out of time. All this doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but because I was alone and was trying to hurry because there were irate people behind me, I was beyond stressed...and sweaty.
I made it to the plane just as they were boarding. Since I was first class, I got to get on the plane right away. Luckily, the person who was to sit next to me wasn't there yet, so I could take my time and get all my stuff organized and whatnot. The flight to LA was great. I wanted to order a bloody mary, but decided alcohol probably wasn't a great idea. I ordered orange juice instead (without the vodka, mreh) and had a great breakfast that included a cheese omelet, biscuit with jam, fruit, yogurt, ham, sausage and potato gratin. No wonder we Americans have weight problems! Needless to say, I ate everything but the sausage and yogurt. It was good in my belly.
I had originally planned to sleep this portion of the trip, but decided that I should finish reading the book I had (something about Shoe Addicts) so I could just leave it on the plane once I was done with it. That way, I wouldn't have to carry it for the rest of the trip. (The book cost $5.00, so I didn't feel bad in the least).
Anyway, I finished the book about 30 minutes before the plane landed, so I was golden. I left it on the plane, along with my pillow (this wasn't on purpose). I realized I left my pillow about halfway up the gangplank, had this inner battle with myself as to whether I REALLY needed it, decided I definitely needed it, turned around and ran back down the gangplank to get it. I ran into a stewardess (is that what they're still called?) who offered to get it for me, which I gladly accepted. She came back with my pillow and book, which, to her delight, I told her she could have it. (She said she loved shoes). That was my good deed for the day.
The clock started ticking once I got into LAX. I had a two hour layover in LA, but considering that I had to walk to the International Terminal, wait in line at the ticket counter, go BACK through security and find my gate...I realized that two hours wasn't that long. But, after paying $220 for Pookie, a whole lot of sweat at security and $20 worth of magazines and water, I was on the plane headed for Korea.

This is my beautiful plane! The stewardess' were all so cute and elegant. Their outfits were adorable.

This is the best picture I could find on the internet. I didn't want to take a picture of them because I thought that would have been awkward. They had the cutest bows in their hair too. I wanted to take one home with me. Haha. Anyway. The plane was really nice. I actually had leg room and space for my ample hips to move around. Pookie, however, had no room. She didn't even fit underneath the seat in front of me, which I thought would be problematic, but turned out to be okay. I basically just let her have some of my leg room, which was fine because I had plenty to give. On the plane I ate bibimbap, this rice dish with veggies and some spicy sauce. It was okay, not the greatest. I watched two movies on the plane - "Green Zone" and "The Back Up Plan." Both were really good, especially "Green Zone. " I love Matt Damon, sigh...
I'm not going to bore you about anything else on the plane, because it's, well, boring. There really isn't anything significant to mention other than the fact that my cat is an angel and I love her to death. She didn't go the restroom, cry or anything the whole trip. She's perfect!
Getting off the plane was a pain the butt since I had to carry all my crap again. At this point of the trip, I was exhausted, stinky, oily and sweaty. Being on a plane for 12 hours isn't ANYONE'S cup of tea, and I would prefer to never have to do that again...but I'll have to eventually. Dangit. After getting all my crap together, I slowly made my way off the plane directly to the first bathroom, not because I had to use it, but because I desperately needed to apply some deodorant and brush my teeth. Because I had an aisle seat on the plane, I could go to the bathroom as much as I wanted, which, as most of you might have guessed, was a lot. After applying deodorant, I made my way to immigration, where they stamped my passport (YAY!) and then I followed the luggage logo to the baggage claim. I had no idea what my flight number was, which was actually surprising because I'm usually on top of that stuff. But I basically followed where the majority of the people were going and I struck gold. At this point, I was starting to look for Mr. Choi, but couldn't see him yet, so I started looking for my bags.


I'll continue this post in a little bit - have to get ready for work and it's already REALLY long!