Mom's Side of the Story: A Guest Post by My Mother, Kelly Shepherd

Part I: Arrival

I had never flown before I left for Korea and everyone kept asking me if I was nervous and I wasn’t until the morning I was going to leave. Suddenly I began to panic a little bit but I had the ticket and I was going. My first plane was a little puddle jumper and it reminded me of starting out on a roller coaster ride, which I hate. I felt hot, nervous and claustrophobic. For one brief moment I almost yelled, “Let me off!” but I told myself to relax and breathe. I always wondered why people hate to fly. It seemed kind of glamorous to me. It’s not.

It was a very long trip and I was very tired but by the time I made it to the Incheon Airport, I was so excited to see Ryan and my plane had been late. I was hurrying so fast down that moving walkway, that I didn’t notice my shoe string getting caught in the end and fell flat on my face. I jumped up fast and tore my shoe string out. “You all right?” “You all right?” Yes, Yes, I said without looking at anyone and got the hell out of there.

I made it to the lobby and got all of my luggage on a big cart. My stomach hurt from being so tired or the atmosphere or something. I wanted a 7up and tried to walk into a little convenience store. “No cart!” I put my cart back at the entrance. Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t read anything and hadn’t even looked at my Korean money to see how to spend it. It was hopeless so I left without anything. I could tell it was Ryan from very far away by his walk and hurried up to him so fast, he didn’t even notice I was standing right next to him.

Ryan has already written about the first night and I can’t add anything to make it seem more pleasant. On top of it all I had a headache and stomach ache so all I hoped was that it had to get better. Just getting rid of my damn, heavy suit cases had to be an improvement.

Part II Daejon

When we got to Ryan’s apartment, I felt more relaxed and got to watch something I understood, That 70’s show, while he made us lunch. I thought his apartment was very nice and bigger than I expected. We then found a hotel for me that was so cheap and much nicer than the first one. I chose to ignore what the sex toys in the hallway and the THREE sex channels on TV (that I found that night) might mean. I was just grateful for the nice place, and it was such a relief to dump the luggage. We went shopping. Cheap stuff, lots of purses and shoes, what woman wouldn’t be happy about that? We went to a very nice Vegetarian restaurant for dinner but I had a hard time eating because I was still having trouble with my stomach. 7up is called cider in Korea and Ryan got me some. It helped, yeah!

The next day we headed for a hike in the mountains. WOW! The pictures are beautiful but they can not capture what you actually see. It was overwhelming. I still don’t think I’ve processed it all. First of all, it was packed and we only saw one other foreigner the whole time. People were staring but you learn to ignore it real quick. Most everyone there, especially Ryan, was in better shape than me. I thought I might have a heart attack but of course I didn’t. Ryan had to keep encouraging me. Come on mom, just a bit further, it’s going to be better in just a little bit (I think he was lying sometimes!). The whole while, I had the false hope that going down would be better. It wasn’t except that my breathing wasn’t so hard. I was so happy on the way up to see a few people, a couple toddlers and old men, who seemed to be having as much trouble as I was. Anyway, I made it to the top and going down, I must admit, I was grateful that Ryan was injured. I think there would have been trouble otherwise. After all, I have trouble walking through an airport without falling and he wanted me to RUN down a mountain. The views, the temples, the bamboo groves, everything was amazing and then our luck with a stranger’s kindness getting us home.

By the time we got back to Ryan’s place, I collapsed on his bed and didn’t want anything to eat for dinner but “cider”. By this time, I felt sorry for Ryan who had to limp out and get me my cider, then later limp me all the way back to my hotel and then he had to limp back home. I felt bad but couldn’t do these things on my own. He insisted I get something to eat for later and I was grateful that I listened because after I got a bath and settled in, I was starved!

Part III Still Daejon

The next day, I went to visit at Ryan’s school. I was grateful that it wouldn’t involve any climbing. I made it out to get myself a cup of coffee and to his school on my own. The students are adorable and just as rowdy and ornery as any American kids. It is a very nice school and I really enjoyed my visit. Ryan introduced me to everyone and to kids he has on different days. They seemed disappointed that he wouldn’t be teaching that day. I was amazed about how much these kids do: For some, regular school, English school, extra math classes, martial arts AND private lessons. American kids have it easy! I also had some acupuncture for my back during the day and with it were some electric stimulus treatment, some hot packs, a massage table and some suction things. I was treated for over an hour and all for less than ten bucks!

We had lunch with two of Ryan’s friends. They were so kind and lovely. They bought me a gift and paid for our lunch. We ate at the same vegetarian restaurant I couldn’t eat much at before. This time I felt great and enjoyed the food and company.

That evening we bought our bus tickets for the next day’s trip to Seoul, did a little shopping and met some of Ryan’s coworkers for dinner. It was a wonderful way to spend my last night in Daejon. I really enjoyed his friends and the sit down of the floor type dinner!

Part IV leaving

Ryan was to pick me up at my hotel at 7:30 am and I woke up at 7:27 so I threw on some clothes and threw my stuff in my bags and we headed out. We got my stuff to the hotel in Incheon and they assured us, I could be shuttled to and from the airport in the evening so I was confident I could make it on my own. We had a great lunch in Seoul and did some sight seeing and shopping. I was exhausted and not hungry yet by the time we should have been having dinner, so reluctantly I admitted to myself that it was time for me to head back to my hotel on my own. I wanted to spend all the time I could with Ryan because I probably won’t see him again for another year. We hugged good-bye quickly and I got on the bus before I could cry. I was the only one on the bus but I sat one seat back from the driver so he wouldn’t see me struggling not to cry. On the way to the hotel, I made the switch in my mind from sadness in leaving Ryan to happiness in going home. The trip home involved a lot of standing in line, but since I knew more what was up it seemed easier. I was exhausted but thrilled to see the rest of my family. We had a great dinner together and they surprised me by having our new home decorated with Christmas lights!!

Part V In conclusion

I am so very glad I made the trip. I think anyone who has the chance should travel outside of the US. The top five things in Korea for me besides seeing Ryan were :

1. The people.
2. The mountains.
3. The Shopping
4. The fruit (especially mandarin oranges)
5. Swaton and the students/staff there

The thing I can live without.

Smelling squid.
The crowds
squatters
not knowing the language
subways, trains and buses ( I really appreciate my car!)

I am grateful for the whole experience and for getting to see Ryan where he lives. He seems happy and I appreciate how well he took care of me while I was there!!