Jitter Bug

It's that time again. When you're about to leave a city/place/whatever and you have those jitters the night before. You drive through the city one last time and you look around and think to yourself, "Well, this wasn't so bad. I think I'm actually going to miss it." And then you get to thinking of all the things you wish you could have done, all the things you wish you could have done over, and all the things that you actually did. It's like your life flashing before your eyes but in a good teary-eyed, nostalgic way that really puts that final chapter of your adventure to a close.

That's the kind of the feeling I had driving through Olympic Expressway with my aunt to my uncle's house for one last time. Looking at the numerous bridges that had been beautifully lit by colored lights, diverting attention from the muggy waters below to the beautiful cityscape lights above, really made me think about my time here, the relatives I "reconnected" with, and the wonderful friends I made. It's the same feeling I had when I left New York City after one summer and the same thing I felt when I left Amherst--minus the urban skyline.

Leave it to Seoul to really put me from hero to zero once more. I hate to use this blog as an outlet to complain, but Cheryl is no longer here so I have no one to complain to. I arrive at my uncle's to finish packing most of my luggage and I find that my aunt has already packed all of my clothes into one big suitcase. Hmm..now I don't remember ever being able to do that, but I'm extremely grateful. She always does things without my knowing, and more often than not, they're really kind things, such as washing my shoes that I'd intended to throw away and always giving me an extra banana milkshake in the morning. So I was extremely relieved that now I could pack the rest of my things into my other big suitcase that would be checked in at the airport. Little did I know, my aunt and uncle had their own plans of what to put in that suitcase. They had originally told me that there wasn't much stuff at all to send back home with me. The usual Korean fare for relatives going back to the States is just a bunch of random Korean spices and foods that don't have to be declared through customs. Because Lord knows, you can't buy that stuff in the States (you actually can, but it always tastes "better" when it's direct from the Motherland in a suitcase instead of a cargo plane).

But after they had stuffed numerous bags of made-in-Korea food and packages of seaweed, I realized there was absolutely no room for any of my other items, most importantly my shoes and other miscellaneous items. My shoes!! I realized that I would have to take some stuff back to the States but not enough to feed all of North Korea! My goodness. And if you know me, you know that I'm not such a great packer. In fact, I spend the entire night before packing for big excursions and I almost ALWAYS overpack--although I always manage to forget that ONE important item.

So not only do I have to sit there and contemplate how I'm going to get all my crap into a bag, but I've got my uncle making fun of all the shoes and clothes that I've brought, telling me that the next time I come to Korea, I shouldn't pack that many clothes or shoes. Just two or three pairs are enough. Two or three pairs???? I think during the course of a day here in Korea, I've worn three different pairs of shoes. In one day!! And that's not including when I go clubbing! And I sit. Continuing to sweat profusely. Because that's what happens when I get stressed and when I just sit around in general. At one point, I literally just SAT there, looking at my luggage, clueless as of what to do while my uncle continued to talk loudly (not shout) at me, telling me what to put where.

Here's what I've got. 2 big suitcases, both of which I pray to GOD are at the 30 kg mark. And 3 carryo-ons. here's where things get tricky. My uncle just told me to ask an "American" who doesn't have two carry-ons to carry one of mine onto the plane because I speak English well and can somehow cajole some unknowing American into doing that for me. Realizing the potential for this plan to fail, I put my own personal nonessentials into that bag (gifts for two VERY special people included--SORRY!).

Now on top of my usual leaving-somewhere-and-going-somewhere-else jitters, I've got the customs-jitters. Bad enough that they've got the crack-down on terrorism because of that crazy business in London. And I've got the usual flying-makes-me-hysterical jitters because I've seen too many movies and tv shows involving terror and planes. And as much as I hate to admit it, I've got the I-carry-around-too-many-shoes jitters. I mean, you just don't laugh at someone's cowboy boots. They may have been only 20 bucks and they may be too big for me feet, but I love them. I love my boots. I love my shoes. And they love me.

Note: none of my shoes were placed in the nonessentials bag.