“Home Is Where the Heart Is”

This past month, I had the privilege to return home to see my family. It was just shy two years since I had left the USA and moved to Korea to become a Native English Teacher.

In my most recent post, I left you with my December plan to be anti-social the final weeks, in order to avoid any possible contact with COVID-19. I was, indeed, successful in this plan, although I missed out on good times with great people. As the USA changed their international arrival restrictions, I was required to take a screening test within 1 day prior to my flight.

December 30^th Daegu to Incheon

My day began at 7am, waiting for my co-teacher to pick me up and drive us to the hospital. With her help, I was able to take a same-day Coronavirus PCR test, receive negative results, and obtain an English certificate stating these results, for my flight the following day. In total, this process cost me ₩110,000 (~$100).

I finished packing, organizing my apartment, and grabbed a taxi to 동대구역 (Dong-Daegu Station) for my 2 hour KTX train ride to 서울역 (Seoul Station). Once off the train at Seoul Station, I carried my luggage through the maze of escalators and floor levels to arrive at the Airport Railroad (AREX). I pulled everything onto the train, and road along for another hour and some change, arriving at my hotel, just 15 minutes away from Incheon International Airport.

I enjoyed a simple cup of ramen, and mentally prepared myself for the longer day ahead of me…(will my flight be delayed? Will my flights be canceled?)… I imagine I dozed off for an hour or so, before my alarm woke me at 4am.

December 31^st Incheon International Airport to Fredericksburg, Texas

After getting ready, and quadruple checking I had not missed any necessary documents for my travels, I grabbed a taxi around 4:45am, arriving at the airport within 15 minutes.

My airline had kindly suggested to arrive 4 hours before my flight. Having little knowledge of the “travel during a pandemic” procedures, I figured 3.5~4 hours should be safe….

Boy, was it enough time. It was TOO MUCH time. There was only 1 airline company operating at 5:30 in the morning. I had nothing to do for 1.5 hours, except stare at the other 10 travelers hanging around, waiting for some direction.

Finally, at 6:35am, Delta’s kiosk was opened. The lines grew rapidly, as we all prepare to show our vaccination records and COVID19 screening results. I waited in queue for 10 minutes, before one of the airline workers looked at my ticket and informed me I was in the wrong line. I was actually a “priority” customer (la ti da!) due to my seat selection. Within 5 minutes, I was quickly approved, bags were checked, and I made my way through security. I only had… *checks invisible watch*…2.5 hours left before my flight.

Around 9am, it was finally time to board the plane. I settled into my seat, and started scrolling through the entertainment options. By 9:50am, we were up in the air. 12.5 hours of smooth sailing -and lots of movies and tv episodes- later, I landed in Detroit, 45 minutes earlier than expected….around 7:45am, December 31^st. With the gifted extra time, I was able to enjoy the paperless customs process (no more filling out 50 little papers, y’all!!). It was oddly smooth….

So smooth, in fact, that I forgot to check the bottle of alcohol I had purchased in Incheon Airport’s Duty Free. This mistake hit me as I was in line for the security check to go back into Detroit’s national terminal. After being told I had to check it, I swam back through a wave of impatient travelers and back to the airline kiosk to check the alcohol. It was a frustrating situation, and I kicked myself for making such an amateur mistake. With the patience and help of the airline staff, I was able to check the alcohol in my book bag.

Finally, back in the security line, people watching, I overheard the security personnel explaining to a couple that they had to have their passports to leave the country. And the couple saying like “Whaaaaaat?!?! Reeeeally?!?!?! Whaaaaaaat?!?!” *Belle rolls her eyes dramatically*

My connecting flight from Detroit to Austin was also very smooth. I ran off the plane as soon as the line of passengers ahead of me disembarked, connected to the Austin Airport WiFi, and headed down to baggage claim. As I was racing along the terminal corridors, I saw that my parents had been sending me WhatsApp messages, “We’re here.” “Where are you?” “We’re at your baggage claim!”…

As I jumped down the last stairs, and walked toward my baggage claim, I scanned the crowd. And I saw that familiar, confident walk… I could tell it was Mama, even from a distance. She had her back towards me, walking away from me…

I saw her stop… I saw her look around… and then I saw the recognition and relief on her face when she finally saw me walking towards her. We hugged, and then we walked over to where Papa was holding a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers for me.

After many hugs, “I can’t believe you’re here” sighs, and smiles, my luggage finally arrived, and we waited for my brother’s flight to arrive. When we were all together, we jumped in the car, and headed towards Fredericksburg, Texas, where we would have our family reunion.

After grabbing some fancy tacos for lunch, we pulled up to our Airbnb, and did a quick tour of the town, awaiting the remaining families to get there.

Somehow, both Texas families seemed to arrive within 15 minutes of each other. We all helped with unpacking cars, while dispersing hugs all around.

After a bit of catching up, and settling in, we walked to downtown Fredericksburg to enjoy the kid-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration. The children had a chance to run around, climbing and jumping on various obstacles, and then we watched the lighted ball drop at 6pm.

For dinner, we enjoyed pizza, and played a new (to me) board game “Ticket to Ride”.

I retired after 9pm, my body reminding me I had been awake for 30+ hours.

It was a quiet New Year’s Eve for the family.

2022 Family Reunion: Texas

Saturday’s weather was warm and inviting. We spent many hours outside, talking, playing in the sand of the volleyball court, tossing the volleyball around, relaxing. Papa made pork and sauer kraut, black eyed peas, and potatoes for our New Year’s Day lunch.

During the afternoon, some went to explore Fredericksburg’s antique shops, while others played on the playground. We ended the evening with hot dogs in the backyard.

Sunday, we already knew, would be a cold day. We didn’t do much, except play board games, watch movies, make chocolate covered pretzels, and decorate cookies. We enjoyed chicken paprikash for dinner.

In the evening, after dinner, we had our belated Christmas gifts exchange. While, there were many lovely gifts, the winner has to have been the toy chainsaw my parents gave to their youngest grandson. The children played with the chainsaw, and we had a flashlight dance party in the living room.

Monday morning brought the end to our family reunion. We slowly packed up our belongings, said our farewells, and headed off to either Austin or San Antonio.

It had been a nice, relaxing weekend, where all four siblings, and families, were able to gather after 4 or 5 years.

During the next 7 days, I spent time with my older brothers’ families in San Antonio and Austin. I had forgotten how lovely Texas was between the two cities, and loved listening to English (and Spanish) music on the car radio as I drove along.

I had really missed spending time with my nieces and nephews. I loved watching the 4 of them playing and interacting with each other while in Fredericksburg. I wish I could have bottled up some of their laughter, to bring back with me to Korea.

North Carolina

After 10 days in Texas, it was time to go home to North Carolina.

I spent 10 days in my hometown of Fuquay-Varina, mainly at the farm. I had missed the quiet and peace that comes from being away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Although I could use my parents’ car whenever I needed to run errands, I was content with staying home. I saw family and friends, who would drop by the farm to visit, or invite us to their homes.

I enjoyed the morning routine of emptying and reloading the dishwasher, and using the microwave to reheat leftovers for breakfast. (I do not have a dishwasher, nor a microwave, in Korea) I played with Sinatra, when the temperature wasn’t too unbearably cold, and took pictures of the farm.

On one of my few ventures away from the farm, I went to H Mart, the Korean chain grocery story, to buy various foods to introduce my family to. I even made 김치찌개 (kimchi stew) with tuna.

Weather ranged from cold, to warm, freezing cold and ice, to freezing cold and snow. It was a relaxing, enjoyable visit. It didn’t feel like a “vacation”, but it felt like home… and I had really missed that feeling. The majority of my trip was stress-free, excluding the worry that came with the impending snowfall the morning of my return flight to Korea.

I will leave you with more photos I took around the farm, and in town.

Sunsets

Next post will talk about the return flight to Korea, and settling back in to Korean life. Coming soon!