Korea!!!

So I'm in Korea now.
I spent Sunday hanging out with family and friends, and packing and getting ready to leave. I didn't get to bed until two and then got up by four so that I could make my six o'clock flight.
I somehow developed a killer cold, which is unfortunate, but I took several rounds of Airborne that helped me a bit.

The flights were generally pretty uneventful. I did run into my friend Ian's parents in the Chicago airport! They were heading back to Malaysia and were on my flight to Japan. I was pretty tired and had been worried about sleeping through the boarding of my flight, but they told me that they would wake me up if I didn't show up in time. I found a lovely piece of sun-warmed tile in a slightly more quiet and less crowded part of the airport, and partook in a two hour nap. That was nice, considering I wasn't able to sleep on the airplanes.

My long flight, the one to Japan, went well, but I was in one of the chairs that couldn't go back at all. Every time I started to fall asleep my head would just flop around, promptly waking me. I had no problems getting my baggage or going through customs (immigration), but after that I got a little confused about where to go. I asked a couple of people and finally found my way to the open area where I could change a little money. I watched some Korean history films (or something like that). I amused myself by making up dialogue for the characters. "I'm jealous of you because you look so much cooler than me in your mickey mouse hat." "Well, I stole it from a kindergartener, so that also shows that I'm tougher than you." "I will kill you for those words." Etc.

Around eleven, I went to the "sownuh" to sleep until Sarah's plane got in at five the next morning. It turned out to be a very ritzy place. They stored my bags for me and gave me a locker for my shoes. I had a small private room with glass doors and bench-like bed to sleep on. There were really nice showers with no doors, which I used, and bubbling pools and saunas, which I didn't use. I was very tempted by the pool, but I decided against it. I'm pretty sure that they would go in naked, but I wasn't quite sure and didn't feel like messing that one up.

In the morning I checked out and walked back to the arrival gate to wait for Sarah. It turns out that Sarah got in a little earlier than I had thought she would. She had been running all over the airport trying to find me! She paged me, and even went to the sownuh to ask if I were there. The lady told her that she didn't know! Oh well, at least we eventually found each other.

We took a bus to her town and were picked up by her dad. Before heading home, we went by the school where her mom teaches third grade. As soon as we walked into the classroom, this little girl came running at me waving her arms! I wasn't quite sure if she wanted a hug or a high five or what, so I ended up giving her double high five/hand shakes. I asked her what her name was and talked to her a little. The other kids were not nearly so precocious. After Sarah told her that I was from America, another little girl ran to a globe and tried to find America on it. I helped her find it and then showed her Colorado. :)

After seeing the school, we went home. Sarah's dad is a pastor, and they live on the top floor of their church building. Some people guys were working on the balcony out front, and they ran over and carried our bags upstairs. That's nice, since there's no elevator. We ate a great lunch, and now I'm tired.

So I think I'll take a nap now. Signing off for now.