Here we go again! Time for my poor body to have no idea what time it is.
We spend most of our last morning walking around Seoul in the rain, using our last hours here to make sure we have gotten everything we wanted to. (As of this writing, there are no plans on returning, so it is now or never.) We stop in one more cafe for one last cafe latte and wait for the rain to subside before venturing back to the hotel.
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| An American, in Korea, at a French cafe |
The family has arrived to take us to the airport, so we pile into the vehicle and take off. At the airport early, we have time for lunch (a last Korean meal: banchan, I have made my peace with you; mandu (Korean dumplings), I think I will miss you most!) and then get the surreal chance to see a friend from America who is arriving for a stay in Korea the day we are leaving. We meet up with him and have a chance to spend an hour or so laughing and comparing thoughts about our trips.
Just like old times...but in Korea
Finally we must go through security and I am sad for my mom-in-law as she says goodbye to her brother and sister. It has been 10 years since she has seen them last, who knows when she will see them again. I cannot imagine going that long without seeing my sister.
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| The family sees us off |
Our plane leaves Wednesday at 6:10 pm. We eat, then settle in and try to sleep as much as possible. It is fitful plane sleep and a short 9 ½ hours later we land in Seattle. Local time is 12:40 pm, still Wednesday. We arrive before we left. The three of us depart the plane and like in a trance, collect luggage, go through customs, get a shuttle and get to our hotel. Our bodies are screaming for sleep but Joe and I take a shuttle to a nearby mall and try to walk around for a few hours. It is only 3:00.
We eat (first stateside meal: a yummy bowl of Vietnamese pho) and spend some time walking around before finally getting back to the hotel and falling deliriously into bed. We are asleep by 8 pm, (perhaps a mistake) and now it is 12:48 am and I am wide awake.
I will conclude this entry from the Seattle airport the next morning. Joe and I ended up being awake for most of the night. Oh, reentry into our lives is gonna be fun!
Surreal is right--it was surreal to have a meal with you in KOREA...and then just a few hours ago, I was there AGAIN--I met my mom as she arrived, and we ate just a table away from where we sat in that airport eatery...Glad things went well on your return trip...I feel privileged to be photographically included in your blog! (please don't feel bad if I don't do the same in mine; I keep my blog 'face-free;' it's sort of an anti-Facebook way of doing things--semi-anonymity...) And phó in Seattle--that Vietnamese soup is almost as common as coffee in that town! (ahh, I miss...) So. Back home now for you. Have fun with the reverse-jet-lag. Is this the end of your blog? Or will there be 'post-production'-continuation as you go through your hundreds of your photos...will there be a 'best of' collection? Take good care...My 'familytime' here begins now.
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