I sit here typing this adventure as I sit at a computer in Hancock, Michigan. This is the only adventure to be written outside of Korea, and is the last one that will be written at all. That is not to say that more adventures of a similar variety are not to come it just means that this one has reached its end.

 

It was hard for me to leave. My Friday 3pm class threw me a party and had a couple pictures taken, which I may never get to see. The Korean teachers all gave me gifts and said good-bye. I said my final good-byes to all my students and fought back the urge to cry. My director appologized for not having a small party  like she does for all the others who come and go (I didn't get one when I came either), but she was busy. I am not sure that was the reason, but I wasn't expecting one anyway.

 

I went back to my room after work and tried to finish packing. I managed to do this in two hours. After that I went out to meet with friends. We went to two or three places, and then everyone, except me and one other, went home. This friend and I stayed out until around 5am. We had to be up at 8am to get to the airport on time this did not turn out to be a problem for me.

 

Even after not having slept, I was not able to sleep on the plane. The flight from Busan to Tokyo was uneventful. When we arrived in Tokeyo, however, I was astounded! The airport seemed to work with all the speed and efficiency of the United States government! We got off the plane and were herded into the general direction of a security checkpoint. All this time they were calling out flight numbers in 3 different languages, trying to make sure that the people who were on those flights didn't miss them.

 

After going through security almost all of my 2 hour layover had vanished. IT wasn't long before I was on the plane on my way to Detroit. Unfortunately, I was sitting right across the aisle from this Chinese couple with what seemed to be their grandchild. They spoke no English and caused a few problems with not putting on their seatbelts and things like that. That wouldn't have been so bad, except the child was not a happy one he screamed for around 2 hours of the flight, at which time he was sufficiently tired enough to pass out.

 

On the other side of me there was this woman from Thailand. She had brought some fruit with her to give to her inlaws, but when she heard that fruit would not be allowed into the US, she gave me some. I had never seen this fruit before. Some of it had little, pink, spiny-like appendages one was like a pear, only a little more bitter. The fruit was good. Most of it had to be pealed, but that was done with one's hands.

 

The airline food seemed to be a shock to my system. I did not feel good for much of that flight, or for much of the night either. The in-flight movies were not too bad, but they took forever to begin. I tried to sleep, but I was not able to do so.

 

When I arrived in Detroit, I was tired, I was cranky, and I was not looking forward to the 5 hour layover I had. I didn't want to go through customs, but this is the things they do when you come into the country, and they wouldn't make any special exceptions for me. They took everything out of my 3 bags. After going through it all and asking a lot of questions, the customs official looks at me and says, "Your not much of a packer." I already knew this, but he really didn't have to comment on it.

 

After this was done, I only had another 3 or 4 hours to wait. So, I sat down and read. It was at this time that I learned of Former Presidant Reagan's death. It seems that bad things are always associated with my leaving places maybe if I just stayed in one place people wouldn't die. This is not realistic, but I can see where someone could easily form this thought.

 

As the time to catch the flight to Nashville came closer, a group of middle school students on their way home from New York arrived. They sat next to me and started chatting. It was good to be listening to people chatting in English, and hearing a southerner who already speaks with a southern accent try to immitate a southern accent

is just a blast.

 

The flight to Nashville seemed longer than the leg from Tokyo, but I finally arrived. I called the mother of the bride to be to get a cell phone number. I obtained this number, hung up, and tried to call. The cell phone was off. Not a problem, I would just call the mother again no answer. To make a long story short, I was at the airport in Nashville for 3 hours, not sure of what was going to happen. What a way to end a long, long day!

 

With all of this said, I am glad that I attended the wedding. I was forced to cut my contract short, miss out on some money, and leave my students, but it showed me that I really do hold certain things above money. I always liked to think that I did, but one really doesn't know for sure unless they are faced with a circumstance that proves it. I know that had I missed this weding, I would have regretted it for a long time. Even now, after 2 or 3 years, I still wish I could have been at the wedding of two other friends. At that time I was unable to come up with the money to get to New Orleans, though  I tried everything I knew. Yet, I still feel bad about it.

 

The wedding was a blast, I met a person from Chile and shared some of my Korean stories with her while she talked about her home in Santiogo. It was just the international flavor that was needed to end an adventure I would love to repeat.