Half the Fun

I have a leg up in this whole "flying to a foreign country to live" business in more ways than one. Obviously, I have family waiting for me at the other end. However, I'm referring to the fact that I've flown to Korea before - I visited Oni in Gwangju a couple of months ago. Being in Korea was a great experience and we had a lot of fun.

However, I have to say, as the title suggests, that I have some thoughts on the old travel adage "half the fun is getting there".

Travel is often glamourized. Movies, magazines, even radio give us flawless examples of the ultimate adventure: rugged scenery, immersion in a new culture, and perhaps a sexy travel companion. Adventures like these can happen, and they are life-changing, but they are rarely easy. More often than not, your plane is late, you miss the bus, you don't like the fish you ordered because in attempting to speak a foreign language you accidentally said "fresh" instead of "fried".

 There's no reason to feel like a failure or you're doing it wrong if you experience any sort of mishap. The trick is learning to enjoy the bumps in the road, or at the very least to roll with them.

I went on a 29+ hour journey from Nowheresville, TX to Gwangju, South Korea by myself. I had two carry-on bags (both of which left blood blisters on my shoulders from being so heavy), two checked bags that I could barely lift, and my seat on the international flight had a plastic I-don't-know-what blocking my only available stretch-my-legs area in front of me. Needless to say, parts of it were miserable, but I enjoyed the fact that I got through it without melting down... much. 

So here's to enjoying "getting there" throughout all the bumps, scrapes, layovers, delayed flights, and jet lag.

Hello, Gwangju. I'm ready for my other half.