This week we left our home in Utah for the last 9 months and moved to South Korea! I say this week cause the days are all messed up in my head because of the time difference. Anyway, this last week we said our final goodbyes to family and friends and left early on Tuesday morning for the airport. We flew from SLC to LAX where we had a six and a half hour layover. Not too bad. We ate Panda Express to get ourselves into an Asian mood. So far so good. From LA we flew to Hawaii. This is where the fun begins....
It started with a 17 hour layover in Honolulu. We didn't realize that they make you take your checked bags when you have an overnight layover, so our original plan of sleeping in the airport past security went out the window. Instead we were put on an abandoned travelers list (I'm not joking that's the real name of the list) and took a section of the airport that we were allowed to stay in overnight. It was an outdoor area full of benches. Luckily it was covered. At this point, it's almost 11:00PM and we're starving cause we haven't eaten dinner. Slight problem. We're not allowed to leave the abandoned travelers area once we've checked in "but don't worry there are some vending machines." Ya...those vending machines are there alright...but they literally only have water in them. Not gonna cut it. We decided to download uber eats to have food brought to us. Our only option was McDonalds. Really? Haha. So we ordered Big Macs and drinks and fries and tons of chicken nuggets cause there's a $5 delivery fee and we're gonna need breakfast too cause we won't be able to check our bags until 10:30AM the next morning. So we stocked up on McDonalds. Booyah.
We slept alright. Not great. At 4:00AM the security guard who was there all night came walking around and told us we were no longer allowed to be sleeping. Is this real life? So we have to get up and walk back over to the airport. By the time we change and brush our teeth and walk over it's about 5:00AM. I really wanted to go to Pearl Harbor since our flight didn't leave until 2:30PM but I didn't want to lug all of our bags there. Inside the airport, there was a really nice man at the Hawaiian Airlines desk. He checked our bags right away and made sure we were sitting next to each other on the plane and then sent us off to go have a nice time at Pearl Harbor. I was so grateful that he checked our bags early. We got on the bus and rode over to Pearl Harbor. It was only about a 20 minute ride. We got there a little before it opened so we ate our chicken nuggets while we waited to get in.
We got in and got passes for the USS Arizona tour right away. At the beginning of the tour we watched a brief documentary on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack didn't last much longer than an hour, but it must have felt like an eternity on that day. We went out on the boat to circle the USS Arizona memorial, which is one of the only ships that wasn't recovered and restored to it's full capacity. Over 1,100 men were trapped inside the boat when it sunk and remain inside. We weren't allowed to dock at the memorial which was unfortunate.
After our USS Arizona tour we walked around the harbor and read most of the plaques and walked through the exhibits. So many people lost their lives that day in such tragic ways. As we listened to the stories told by the survivors I had chills. There were so many emotions running through me as I walked around and reflected on the events of December 7, 1941. I don't think it's possible to be in that place and not feel the weight of what happened there.
After our USS Arizona tour we walked around the harbor and read most of the plaques and walked through the exhibits. So many people lost their lives that day in such tragic ways. As we listened to the stories told by the survivors I had chills. There were so many emotions running through me as I walked around and reflected on the events of December 7, 1941. I don't think it's possible to be in that place and not feel the weight of what happened there.
Once we had our fill and had seen everything we wanted to see, we went back to the airport with a few hours to spare. Our flight left at 2:30PM. Ten and a half hours later we landed in South Korea. Can you say 안녕하세요?! That's okay, me neither. We watched Jumanji and Coco to pass the time and tried not to sleep so that we wouldn't be so jet lagged once we got here. Spencer was much more successful than me at the not sleeping part.
The bus ride to Myeong Dong was an hour. It was about 11:00PM when we were finally on the free shuttle with Mr. Ko up to our new apartment for the next 3 months. And I do mean up. We definitely live on the side of the mountain. We will be living in a cute 1 bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms and 4 beds but no couches while we're here in Seoul. Our kitchen consists of two burners (so small and close together that it's impossible to use them at the same time), a microwave, and a fridge. The bathrooms double as showers. There is a TV and a nice AC unit on the wall in the main living area. We also have a table and a desk. My favorite part about our apartment is the windows. We're on the third floor and we have 3 huge windows that all have great views!
We're so excited to be here in Seoul and starting this new adventure together. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be living in Asia. Is this real life?!