I have always wanted to travel to NYC, but my first stop is Westport, Connecticut to stay with a friend whom I met when I was eighteen years old and traveling to my homeland of South Korea to do a little history research on where I came from and what my culture is like.
A week extremely busy and working up to 15hrs a day has finally come to a close as I sit at the airport waiting for my red eye flight. Taking Alaska airlines on my personal adventure. As I patiently wait to get on the plane, I realized myself examining the people around me, looking at the couples, the families, the single people and wondering if anyone was in the same new scary boat as me..traveling to a place they had never been to. I also thought about how hard of a flight it was going to be for the little ones, being up past their bed times, being in a closed cabin airplane, and how scary it must be for them to get stuck with all these strange people. I also thought about how glad I was to be petite and how benefiting it would be on the airplane, as I would have tons of leg room and sleeping on an overnight trip should be no problem at all.
To bad the hope of sleeping didn't come true as i happen to sit in the middle of the row and getting comfortable in my seat was almost impossible as my feet could barely touch the floor and I seemed to lose circulation, or trying to slouch seems to make my back break and give me a huge kink in my neck, and then there was the interruptions of people and realizing how much more uncomfortable they probably were. Needless to say, I think I managed to sleep about 30 mins off and on at most during my whole 4.5 hr flight.
As I walked out the airport doors, the freezing cold air, woke my exhausted body right up and I was then warmly greeted by my friend whom I'm staying with in Westport.
Being a passenger in my friends jeep, I got the exciting ability to watch the sunset, and admire its beauty.
When entering the city, surrounded by water, I felt my heart ache, as it reminded me of the coast and all the memories I had made with my loved one. As I took a deep breath, I was invited into the city with trees and bridges lit up with Christmas lights and a beauty country scenery with gorgeous houses.
As we got to the house, I was stunned by the beauty of my friend's home, and the loving generous kindness of her family.
While getting a tour of her home, I got to see two deer outside in the neighbors yard; which is the last thing I had expected to see so far away from home of Portland, Oregon. It was however really cute to see a "pair" of deer together.
The morning was going by quickly and sight seeing and the possible creation of a list was on my "to do" until tiredness overcame me and I decided on a nap instead.
After getting a few hours of rest, I woke up to blue skies and the sun shining brightly into my room. It was time to get up and officially start day 1 of my trip.
The day ended up being filled with leisure, cooking, and filled with a house full of kids. At this time, overwhelming feelings started to rise within me and I felt like it was time for me to take a brisk walk outside. I bundled up to the best of my ability and walked outside into the very very cold. I ventured to take photos and try to discover beauty in the midst of empty trees, frozen water, mud covered trails. I think I walked about 30mins when I started to go numb in my limbs and the freezing cold air was trying to get into my innermost being. I will say, my walk was not without fail and I discovered a beautiful frozen pond, where the lighting of the sun reflecting off the frozen water...picture shown below.
As the evening progressed, moments with friends fill the hrs, along with baking my yummy three ingredient peanut butter cookies, and helping to hang up photos of peoples Christmas cards filled with memories of their families.
Day 1 was a busy one, with its hidden challenges, and a beautiful picture. The most cherishing moment of the day though, I will admit, is having my friend's 2 yr old girl giving me a hug and kiss before her bed time.
In truth, a small part of me shattered as this little one sweetly hugged me and gave me the most gentle kiss. A reminder of what I miss so much at this time in my life, but also an incredible blessing that I was not expecting.
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