I made it!

Well I made it to Korea. It was a long flight...12+ hours and I lost a whole day. Today is already April 1. But I caught up on all the new movies, Crazy Heart...didn't like it; Sherlock Holmes...liked it; Lovely Bones...liked it; It's Complicated...really liked it. (What else is there to do on an airplane for 12 hours?) They fed us twice...once I got bibimbap...it's a bowl with vegetables and ground meat (not sure what kind of meat it was)...you're supposed to mix it with rice and they gave us some sesame oil and a tube of hot pepper paste. It was really delicious. They also put hot water in a bowl and called it soup (as she was pouring the water, I'm thinking ramen noodles...yum) I'm sure it was seaweed water. Bleah! And a little salad of what tasted like pickles...probably called cucumber salad. The second meal was more of an American meal...regular airplane food--I was happy to see a roll and butter.

It was foggy and gray when I arrived. I was a little foggy too come to think of it. I dozed, off and on, but it's tough to sleep on the airplane. The seat were the MOST uncomfortable ever. I had nothing to declare through customs...so I didn't even have to stop. There was a sign and a driver waiting for me when I got out. I asked him if he spoke English and he said "Not too much." It's about a 30 minute drive from the airport to the Holt Guest House. Interesting to see the countryside. It looks a little like Sonoma County...rolling hills, trees--but everything is brown still. It's been cold here and spring has definitely not sprung. Lots of huge apartments...looks like projects to me...lots of Kias, Hyundais, Daewoos, saw one Cadillac, one Bentley, and some other cars I couldn't tell what they were. Most of the highway signs are in Korean (hangul) and English.

The one thing I still can't get over...look at all the Koreans! lol I know that sounds funny, but I've grown up in a white people world. Everyone was always white, or some variation thereof. I've ALWAYS been the minority. Here...everywhere I look there are Koreans. I find myself looking at how they do their hair, what color they've dyed their hair, if it's curly or straight like mine, the clothes they wear, how tall (or short mostly) they are. It's funny. I can totally just blend here...except when I open my mouth. haha. The lack of speaking Korean is going to be a challenge. But everyone was really nice so far, even if they didn't speak English. They tried their one or two words on me...like I do when someone from a different country visits us. It's all going to work out. Some things are just universal.

I have a lunch appointment with Ms. Seol...the lady who has been coordinating things for me from Holt. So eager to meet the folks I've just been talking to through e-mail and on FB. I'll take pictures today and will hopefully be able to post soon. Signing off for now.

I'm leaving on a jet plane...lalala

Can you hear the virtual drum roll? I can. A 12-hour flight...Mr. Lee is supposed to meet me at the airport with a sign...now is that cool or what? I read that I'm supposed to stay up late when I travel west and go to bed early when traveling east. So...I'm up late watching movie reruns. I hope I'll be sufficiently tired when I arrive so I'll be able to sleep. 16-hour time difference sounds like some major jet lag to me.

I've got a lunch date scheduled with the post-adoption coordinator, the woman who has been helping me on the Korea side.

I've got butterflies! Will I like the food? Will I be able to communicate well enough to get around? Will I find a name? Will I be able to do all the things I'd like to do while I'm there? Will I be the oldest on there (probably). But, I'm always up for a challenge...so I guess you'll find out when I find out the answers to these questions.

Next post from Korea!

2 days to go...ruh roh

My bags are nearly packed...I think I've gotten everything I need off my list. But am I prepared?

Part of my trip back will include teaching pre-school children English. I'm taking Dr. Seuss books with me...my kids like 'em...I hope these kids will like them. I think there will be some guidance regarding the teaching (hopefully).

I'm participating in a Homecoming Program that is sponsored by Holt, the agency through which I was adopted, and the Republic of South Korea. Apparently, so many Korean adoptees are wanting to find out about their roots, that there are a number of programs that sponsor these return trips. It's awesome. I have tons of support. Someone will meet me at the airport when I land and I'll stay at the Holt Guest House for a few days until I secure my visa (for teaching), and figure out the lay of the land, so to speak. After that, I'll go to a homestay for the remainder of my trip. I'll stay with a Korean family (who I hope speak a little English, at least).

Through FB, I've connected with several other ladies who are also a part of this program. Some of them have also received scholarships to study Korean at a local university. We're all very excited about our trip. Most of the people with whom I've chatted have been back to Korea before...so maybe I'm the only one that this will be my first trip?

I understand that it's easy to get around (lots of public transportation), there's a great wireless network across the country (so it will be easy to stay in touch), and I hear it's cold...record cold temps of late. So I'm wearing my winter coat, since I'm a cold weather wimp, of late. By the time I return, though, it will be warm...so I'm having to take both cold and warm weather clothes...and hopefully layers will work for me.

Once in Seoul, I will be able to review my Korean adoption file. If there is a name associated with my adoption (birth parent), Holt will assist me in a search, if I so choose. I've been of the understanding all my life that I was abandoned, so there was little hope to finding a birth parent. But through recent contacts, I learned that the stigma of giving up a baby, or having one out of wedlock, was so great, some of the mothers didn't want the adoptive parents to know her name or even of their existence. A few of the adoptees have been surprised that there is a name there in their file. I'm curious, of course. But I understand and am prepared if there is none.

Well...it's a lot to have in my little brain right now. I want to thank all my family and friends for their kind words and support. Until next time...

3 days to go

Well folks, this is the first of hopefully many blog entries to share with you my first trip to Korea. As you may or may not know, I was born in Wonju, Korea and abandoned by my birth parent(s). I was super lucky to have someone looking for me though. My dad was in the Army and stationed in Korea at the time. My mom was patiently waiting for him to come home to Indiana. They had decided before dad went to Korea that they would try to find a child to adopt. I was that child.

Dad said he remembers he would visit the orphanages and there was one particular little girl who would always say "Daddy, Daddy," when he came into the room. He thought for sure this was his little girl...until one day he was there and another soldier came into the room and she also call him Daddy. He decided to keep looking. He was given a call by the folks at the orphanage sometime in September 1960 (yes, I'm nearly 50), and was told that they'd found another child. It was me. Yay!

So, while dad finished out his Army time in Korea, he was able to care for me on the weekends at a Presbyterian missionary's home. And, he took lots of pictures to send home to mom to document my progress. We didn't make our journey home until I was nine months old. But what a journey it has been since then.

I am so thankful for my parents (Johnny and Elaine), and I'm thankful too for my birth mother who chose for whatever reason to give me up. I can't even imagine how painful that must have been.

But now I'm going full circle...and I will return to the land of my birth. I depart SFO on 3/30. It's about a 12 hour flight and I will be landing on 3/31 at approximately 5:45 pm.