So, in celebration, I got her a hat that she clearly adores.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
so, I am back in Korea.
My time at home went so fast and was so wonderful!
The flight back wasn't too bad, though I did have to run across the entire Taipei airport...in 5 inch heels, not the most practical choice in footwear, but I was a champ and didn't break any bones in the process!
The second I landed in SanFrancisco I started crying. I was so excited to be back in America and I knew that Dani was there to pick me up and ugh, it was wonderful. After getting through customs and gathering all my luggage I was running again towards the exit and when I saw Dani I immediately dropped all of my stuff so I could run faster and give her a giant hug. Holy moly, even though we skype regularly it's just not the same as talking in person, I am pretty sure the first thing I did I was apologize for smelling. It was definitely one of those big dramatic reunions that they have in the movies, and it was beautiful. Then I gave all of my luggage to her boyfriend to lug around and we carried on like it hadn't been over a year since we saw each other.
Once we got to her apartment we grilled brats and had pbr. My word, it was so delicious. seriously. The next day Dani and I spent wandering around Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. It was so lovely and so cool to see what Dani had been up to since I left, she moved to California shortly after I moved to Korea so I hadn't had a chance to see her life there. Unfortunately, we only had about 36 hours together, so after a lovely time hanging out she brought me to the Amtrak station at 7:00 in the morning and tears were shed as we had to say goodbye for another year.
6hours on the Amtrak and an hour bus ride later and I was in LA to get picked up by Tanner, his wife (which is CRAZY! He and I have been friends since elementary school and now he is married) and Andrea! Again, it was so cool to see how much his life has changed since I left. He got engaged, married, and moved into a new apartment in a years time. Damn, that kid was busy. We all had a lovely evening! We went out to eat and walked around a bit, but turned in early because Andrea and I had quite the drive ahead of us starting early the next morning.
We were on the road by 6:30 with the end destination for that day being in Denver. It was a lot of driving, but it was so pretty!
The flight back wasn't too bad, though I did have to run across the entire Taipei airport...in 5 inch heels, not the most practical choice in footwear, but I was a champ and didn't break any bones in the process!
The second I landed in SanFrancisco I started crying. I was so excited to be back in America and I knew that Dani was there to pick me up and ugh, it was wonderful. After getting through customs and gathering all my luggage I was running again towards the exit and when I saw Dani I immediately dropped all of my stuff so I could run faster and give her a giant hug. Holy moly, even though we skype regularly it's just not the same as talking in person, I am pretty sure the first thing I did I was apologize for smelling. It was definitely one of those big dramatic reunions that they have in the movies, and it was beautiful. Then I gave all of my luggage to her boyfriend to lug around and we carried on like it hadn't been over a year since we saw each other.
Once we got to her apartment we grilled brats and had pbr. My word, it was so delicious. seriously. The next day Dani and I spent wandering around Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. It was so lovely and so cool to see what Dani had been up to since I left, she moved to California shortly after I moved to Korea so I hadn't had a chance to see her life there. Unfortunately, we only had about 36 hours together, so after a lovely time hanging out she brought me to the Amtrak station at 7:00 in the morning and tears were shed as we had to say goodbye for another year.
me and my bestie.
6hours on the Amtrak and an hour bus ride later and I was in LA to get picked up by Tanner, his wife (which is CRAZY! He and I have been friends since elementary school and now he is married) and Andrea! Again, it was so cool to see how much his life has changed since I left. He got engaged, married, and moved into a new apartment in a years time. Damn, that kid was busy. We all had a lovely evening! We went out to eat and walked around a bit, but turned in early because Andrea and I had quite the drive ahead of us starting early the next morning.
We were on the road by 6:30 with the end destination for that day being in Denver. It was a lot of driving, but it was so pretty!
Here we are right before we started the drive.
Alf was wonderful company for most of the drive.
Day two of driving wasn't quite as pretty. Nebraska is the most boring state in the world to drive through, it was painful. It does, however, have attractive State Patrol officers who are willing to help two young ladies check the air pressure in their tires. After getting through Nebraska I was so excited to be in Iowa, seriously. Being there brought back memories of visiting Erin and Andrea when they were in University, and how much I loved the drive there and hanging out with them. Once we got to Minnesota I could barely contain myself. I was so excited to be in a familiar area, driving on roads that I knew and seeing things that felt very homey. We got in to Shakopee around 10:00 that night, I could not have been happier to sit with my parents, eat some pizza that didn't have corn on it, and drink some quality beer.
The rest of the trip flew by. We got home on a Tuesday night and Wednesday was the 4th of July, so we just hung out all day and grilled, it was perfect. On Thursday Stevo, Erin, Andrea and myself did one of my favorite things to do in MN, we walked from Ft. Snelling to Minehaha Falls. It is such a pretty and fun walk, and at the falls there is a lovely pavilion that serves some wonderful MN brewed beer, which is a lovely way to end the walk. That weekend Erin, Andrea, Zach and I went to the Basilica Block party, an outdoor concert put on my one of my favorite MN radio stations, it was so much fun! The weather was perfect, the music was wonderful, and I could not think of a better group of people to go with.
That next Monday Andrea and I had a girly day with my mom filled with manicures and shopping. It was so lovely to walk into a store and not be told, "No big size". The rest of the week was filled with rollerblading trips to Lake Cleary park, sun tanning, visits with some high school friends, and a little Oake on the Water, another outdoor show put on by a radio station. On Saturday the family came over, and when I say family I mean everyone. There were babies and dogs and kids who could run and talk but had been in diapers the last time I saw them. It was a really lovely way to see everyone and catch up before heading back to Korea.
Both Erin and Andrea left Sunday morning, goodness, goodbyes never get easier. It's so great that we have been able to stay as close as we have with being as far apart as we are.
Sunday night was a very relaxed evening with Stevo and Arls. After we grilled some chicken for dinner Stevo and I sat in the basement and listened to a bunch of his vinyl records, it was pretty awesome. Monday morning we woke up a little late to head to the airport, but got there in time to say goodbye and make sure I caught my plane. I had a layover in Chicago so my friend Mike from University came to visit, it was so good to see him and grab coffee like we used to do back in the day. The flight from Chicago to Japan seemed to take ages, and the layover seemed even longer, though I did have a high school classmate of mine at the Japan airport at the same time I was, which was crazy! We tried to meet up, then realized we were in different terminals and were unable to. I barely even remember take off and landing of that last flight, I think I feel asleep the second I sat down. When I got into Korea my luggage had already been gathered for me and my director was waiting there to pick me up. He brought me to my apartment and briefly showed me my school, I then alerted the proper authorities that I had made it safely to Korea and I went to bed.
Well, now that my trip home has been covered I should probably say something about life in Busan, it's awesome and I am crazy happy here! More details to come at a later date.
: )
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