Day 1, Flying To Korea.

Several people have asked why I am taking this trip.

Since I was a young girl, I have always been interested in my birth country. The people, the culture, the sights. It is fascinating to think that my life story began almost 7,000 miles away in a land so foreign from what I know. 

This trip is not about adoption or finding my birth family. Rather, it is about connecting and developing a greater appreciation for where I started. 

I am attempting to embark on this journey with few questions or expectations. I simply want to experience.

Mom and I got up around 5:00am to get ready to go to the airport. Our flight connected in Dallas, and we departed from there around 10:00am. I was definitely dreading the 14 hour flight! Thankfully, between movies, games, sleeping, and eating three different times, we made it with little discomfort. Of course, Mom managed to connect with a Chinese lady sitting behind us on the airplane. The lady did not speak English, but Mom offered her snacks for her daughter, and they became friends.

I kept looking out the window to try to see the Pacific Ocean, but I could only see a field of clouds. Maybe that is for the best though. Flying over that much water is kind of nerve wracking!

I was so excited (and ready) to see this sign. 

The first things I noticed upon entering the airport were:

1) There are a lot of people that physically look like me. 

2) I definitely do not speak the language.

Most of the airport signs and announcements were also presented in English. Still, as I was perusing the soft drink section of a store (I only recognized Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Fanta) and mentally converting 16,800 KRW to USD, I realized that navigating things in Korea will be challenging at times! 

From there, Mom and I managed to buy bus tickets, board the correct bus, AND find our hotel. I was pretty tired by this point, so I did not take in much of the scenery coming into town. However, Seoul is full of colorful lights and hopping with people! Oh, and the drivers are pretty aggressive. There is a lot of honking over here!

Jet lag has not been too bad so far. We went to bed around 10:00pm and woke up at 3:00am! We decided to go ahead and get up. After all, it was noon at home!

Our hotel is tinyyy, but it is quiet and comfortable. You literally walk in and see two twin beds straight in front of you and a bathroom to the left. We will be staying somewhere else in a few days though. This is just our first stop!

Off to sightseeing... Well, once it is a little more daytime over here!