The Journey to Seoul

We left for the airport at around 4:30 AM on Tuesday morning and made it with plenty of time to leisurely get checked in for the flight and through security without any problems. On the way to the gate, we saw the wife of one of Jim's former co-workers who was working the American Airlines gate for one of the Chicago flights. Of course, we had to stop by and show her the video of Lydia on the iPod. The flight to Dallas was uneventful and our connecting Korean Air flight was in the same terminal. When we checked in for the flight, the ticket agent saw we were going to be traveling with an infant. We explained that was for the return trip and that we were adopting from Korea. It turns out, the gate agent had taught a Korean language class for Dillon International a couple of years ago. How cool was that. Of course, we had to show the video of Lydia. . .(I really feel sorry for the people who were behind us in line.) These little things just made the trip that much more special! Below is a picture of the plane that would take us to get our little girl.

The Korean Air flight was very enjoyable. The flight attendants looked very stylish with their fancy scarves and their hair pulled back in a bun held in place with a fancy hair bow. (We'll have to try to get a picture of one on the way back.) The service was what you would normally get in first class on a domestic US flight. Snacks, hot towels before the meals, two full meals, and excellent service. In addition, each seat had its own touch screen video display and headphones with access to several movies, music, and game selections along with access to realtime flight status information. They even offered Korean language lessons. There was more than enough to keep you entertained.

Our flight left Dallas at 11 AM on Tuesday and arrived in Seoul at 3 PM on Wednesday. After deplaning, we had to clear immigration. Of course, I chose the slowest moving line of all, and then got scolded when we both tried to walk up to the immigration officer together. It had to be one person at a time. Still, this was better than some of our experiences coming back to the US through Miami. Having cleared immigration, we collected our checked bags and cleared customs without any incident. Just outside of customs, the driver for Eastern was waiting for us with a sign with our last name on it. Very classy. It was cold and windy as we walked out to the van. Temperature was around 45 degrees, a far cry from the 80 degrees we had the day before back home. The Incheon airport is actually to the south and west of Seoul, about an hour drive to the hotel we were staying at. Along the way there was a "Welcome to Seoul" sign across the highway.
We were finally here! As we drove through Seoul I was impressed by how modern a city it was and how good the roads were. (It made Oklahoma's roads look like a something you'd find in a 3rd world nation.) There are mountains around the city, which really appealed to me. Also, there were people everywhere. All in all, Seoul is a beautiful place filled with a rich culture and friendly people. As we approached the hotel, it hit me that we were going to be removing our girl from this beautiful land and from this culture. It was a very humbling thought. I just hope and pray that we can be parents worthy of this wonderful gift we have been given.