14 Hours of Bliss

I’m writing this from my plane, an Airbus 380-800, the largest plane in the world. It’s a double decker all the way down. It’s pretty cool because we down on the lower level have no idea there is an upper level filled with luxuriously wealthy individuals and bored old couples who are apparently choosing to splurge in South Korea. I’ve already watched a couple movies and taken a nice long nap. According to my little TV, we have 8 hours and 15 minutes until we arrive in Seoul. So far, it’s been a very pleasant flight! To start, I got a window seat, which is my favorite because I love looking out the window. Second, there is no one sitting next to me! I mean there’s a Korean guy in the aisle seat on my row, but there’s no one in between us, which I’m sure they don’t get up on the second floor. Third, the guy sitting in the seat in front of me has no idea how to recline his seat back and so I’ve had TONS of room with that including the empty space next to me.

And I didn’t know planes did this now, but they have cameras on the outside of the plane that we have access to in our seats! There’s one at the very front of the plane so we essentially see what the pilots see, which is pretty much just clouds—like we’re flying right through clouds and all you see is white. There’s another camera on the tail that faces the direction we’re flying in, so you see the whole plane and whatever is in front of it…clouds. And then there’s one under the plane that shows what we’re flying over. That’s my favorite, but only when there are no clouds and you can actually see the ground. It is very cool.

Korean Air is telling the truth when they say in their commercials, “Excellence in flight.” The little cabin section I’m in has about 15 rows with 10 seats in each row. And there are four of those sections on the lower level. We have 5 flight attendants for our cabin alone. There are four regularly dressed girls, and then one who looks like their leader. About 4 hours in, they served us dinner. I got the chicken with rice which is pretty good for airplane food. I’ve also had about four or five cans of coke because on these international flights, when you ask for a drink, they don’t just bring you a cup, they bring you a cup and give you the entire giant airplane coke can, which looks like someone just melded two coke cans on top of one another. It’s awesome! The only downside of this flight is I have to wake up the guy next to me every time I have to go to the bathroom. And I always feel bad, but it’s his fault for picking an aisle seat! You want the extra leg room, you gotta put up with moving for the people next to you. He always makes this disappointed and annoyed look on his face when me moves, and he definitely moves at a pace where I know he doesn’t like doing this for me. Oh well, only 8 more hours of that!

I had such a great time in Chattanooga with my family. When we got there, I wanted to see Pop and Nana’s new house so Dad and I went there and we got the grand tour. Then I went to Grandma and Grandpa’s to see if they needed any help for the party. Grandma wouldn’t let me help because she said I couldn’t help get ready for my own party. So I just sat there drinking margaritas with them which was really fun! The party was great, it was so easy to just be around family and see them all one more time before I left. It was a really fantastic night and I’m so thankful for every single one of them. This morning, Dad and I said goodbye to the Ericksons 2 and left for Atlanta. We had a great talk about tons of stuff. I love when we get to talk like that. He’s such an encouraging guy and always has wise and interesting things to say and talk about. I really enjoyed it.

So we got to the airport and after a quick bathroom stop we checked my bag and it was 90 lbs! The guy told us we needed to split it into two bags. I was prepared and had packed an extra bag in my big bag. We put all the dense stuff in the smaller bag—as much as we could. It was still more than 50 lbs, but the guy said the weight looked perfect and winked at me, because it obviously was not perfect. But we were glad because now I didn’t have to pay the $100 fee for having an overweight bag. It was a perfect start to the airport experience! I said goodbyes to my amazing, supportive father and went through the short security line. When I got to the other side I was lost. My gate was E3 and I was in F, so I thought E comes before F in the alphabet and the alphabet goes left to right so I should go left in order to get to E, right? Wrong! After walking to the very beginning of F and finding out the thing before F1 was a wall, I knew I had made a mistake. I always hate looking lost in an airport, so I looked around in a store over at the beginning of F for a while and then made it look like I was just over there to look around at that specific store! Brilliant, I know, since everyone would have seen me turn around and been like, “hey look! That guy’s probably lost, let’s make fun of him!” I’m just getting all my insecurities out now before I get to Thailand.

To spare you the suspense, I made it to E3 with plenty of time to spare, which is more than I can say for most of the people on that flight. I would say that probably 1/3 of the passengers arrived at the gate within 15 minutes of boarding. I was a little shocked, but if this airline would wait for 6 crazy Americans before takeoff in Houston, they would wait for some confused Koreans and older travelers.

I wish I could sleep right now, but I’m just not in the mood. I’m avoiding waking up the guy next to me, but it’s so dark in here I can’t even tell if he’s awake. Whatever. I’m going for it.

BELIEVE MEMPHIS!!

Today is my last day in Memphis for at least a very long time. I had already packed so I got to spend the majority of the day reminiscing on this great city. I remember when we lived in Greenville, and dad told us we were moving to Memphis, Tennessee, my first response was, "isn't that a major port along the Mississippi River?!" I had just learned about the Mississippi in social studies recently and that was the first time I had ever heard of this Memphis place. I remember when we visited and stayed at the Embassy Suites on Shady Grove back when it was all undeveloped. I remember visiting PDS and being fascinated by the idea of an all boys school. I remember watching gym class and thinking it looked like they were doing some kind of military training. But my biggest memory of that visit was learning about Second's plans to renovate the sanctuary and have balconies... wait for it...ON THE SIDES! Obviously another foreign idea to me. I couldn't wait to explain that concept to everyone in my Sunday School class at MRPC when we got back. It was a very fun and exciting visit to our new city.

Whenever I think about our first year in Memphis, it always makes me think about how much its changed for the better and how different thing are now. What used to be a bunch of abandoned apartment buildings surrounded by a forest of dead trees became the hottest new shopping center in East Memphis. It's been amazing watching the transformation of this city as the years went by. Remember when there was no Carriage Crossing? Remember when the only thing on Winchester past 385 was Olive Garden? Remember when we went to Grizzlies games in the Pyramid? It seems like forever ago, but these huge changes have all happened in just a few short years. I can't even imagine how different it will be in two or three more years.

I have been so blessed these 13 years with amazing friends, formidable enemies, prestigious schools, intelligent teachers, fantastic food, inspirational architecture, and so much more. Memphis will be very missed. It'll be weird talking about it, but not coming back soon after. God has blessed this city a ton since I've gotten here, and I know he has big plans for this place in the future. BELIEVE MEMPHIS!!

A Whole New Kind of Adventure

Hello, avid reader! In just a few short days, we will embark on a whole new kind of adventure. Not an adventure like accidentally driving in a sketchy part of town and not an adventure like having a conversation with a homeless person who asks too many questions. This adventure begins with...a yard sale.

I know what you're thinking, "I thought he was moving to Taiwan or Singapore?" And you're right, I am moving to Thailand next Friday, but the great new adventure, I think, should start with ridding myself of the old. I'm writing this right in the midst of my yard sale because its very boring sitting here in my garage looking at most of my belongings with price tags on them. Years of memories fill these clothes and books and window unit air conditioner. Man, if these items could talk, right? I went on countless dates in these clothes and ran some 5Ks in these clothes and even spilled some spaghetti sauce on these clothes. Obviously it's not about the clothes, its about what the clothes represent: my past. People are always telling you to leave the past in the past, but is it really that simple? No! Everyone has a crap ton of junk that has sentimental value! Do you know how many tears have been shed over movies watched on that TV? Or how many tears have been shed on these blankets? Or how many tears have been shed on these shirts? Yes, I clearly cry a lot. I remember that episode of Grey's Anatomy where the shooter comes in the hospital and kills a bunch of people (spoiler alert, no one you like dies). And I remember the exact shirt I sweat through as I eagerly waited for hopefully no one I liked to die!

Anyways, the point is, it's hard to get rid of stuff that provided you with so many memories. But it's also important to know when to let those memories go and move on to the next thing. I think its therapeutic for me to get rid of all this junk, because when I start to miss home, there won't be any material things to miss or wish I were back home with. I'm taking everything I NEED, and I guess I'm selling everything I have that I want. It's rough, but it's good.

People keep asking me if I'll get homesick. So I give a witty little answer. But truthfully, DUH! I get homesick when I'm at work! Homesickness is just a phase of culture shock and I'll have to go through it just like the rest of those folks embarking on this journey with me. I think the first month will be great. I'll be in a nice little beach town learning how to teach English to Thais and hanging out with what I hope will be really awesome people on the beach at night drinking the local beer. That part will be easy! But then when I get my placement after a month and have to somewhat uproot again, leaving all the new friends I've made and re-starting over somewhere completely new, THAT will be difficult. I mean, yeah, I'll go through the honeymoon phase again, but I think after another month, it will hit me that I'm there for a year. All the way to my birthday in 2015 when I turn 25. That'll be weird. I wonder if I'll stay in the same city or town I had been that whole year or move somewhere else in Thailand, or even move to a completely new country! I hear South Korea's pretty fun. Same thing with Indonesia and Myanmar. But who knows?

I'm not quite sure I'm ready to eat a while new kind of food. The food in Cambodia didn't phase me one bit, so I think it's safe to say Thai food won't be any worse. I think the restaurant I'll miss the most is Chickfila. The service makes me feel like a king and the food makes me feel like a dog who was just served food from the human table! I was about to describe the food, but I don't want to die of lack of a chicken sandwich when I come back and read this in a few months. Maybe I should just say their food is crap! Aww who am I kidding, they have the best fast food ever!

So far in this memory sale (that's what I'm calling it now), I've made $115. And only one of those dollars was for a shirt. So now I have 999 shirts and other clothes that need a home and will probably end up going to the Salvation Army, which is fine. I like those pacifist soldiers. I also like the thought of someone else making more memories in these clothes, and then one day having a yard sale and reflecting on their past, while also looking future square in the face. Whelp, here we go!