난 너에게*

* = from me to you.  Davichi, 2010.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging with a brief...uh, I don't know what this is.

Today, my best friend left to go back to America.  She's currently been on a plane for about 5 hours.  Without her, Korea will be a very different place.  Without being overly presumptuous, I think I can say that Yale will be a very different place (for her) without me, so we're both going to have a bit of adjusting to do.  But there's consolation; there's my planned trip in November (we're going to Woodbury Commons!  for some reason, all Koreans know and fantasize about visiting this place), the fact that she has an internet phone that enables me to text and call her directly from my Korean cell phone (technology for the win!), and the knowledge that no matter where we are or what happens, the way we feel won't change.  That sounds kind of ridiculous in English, but Korean speakers will often say in consolation, "내 마음 알지?" which literally translates to, "You know my heart, right?" or more accurately, "You know how I feel, right?"  What I mean to say, I guess (queen of eloquence right here) is that we will always have great love, respect, and feelings of deep friendship for the other.  A couple of thousand miles and a few months can never change that.  언니, 난 언니의 마음 알아.  언니 나의 마음 알지??  ㅋㅋ

언니, 사랑해

Because this post can't just be a cheesy mess, I'll add something...uh...less cheesy?  Anyway, because Unni has been so busy this week, she hasn't had time to see me or to say goodbye, so her parents, because they are the epitome of AWESOME,  invited me to come out to the airport to see her off there.  Her flight was at 11, so they told me to be there by 9am.  To which I respond: what's 9am?  Because I have been sleeping so much this break that I haven't woken up - at all - before noon.  But I will do anything for Unni, lucky girl, so I decided to get up at 6:45am (I planned to take an airport shuttle from outside of the Hyundai Dept Store and didn't want to chance it - in order to be there by 9, I'd have to be on a shuttle by 8:15 at the absolute latest).  I set an alarm and purposefully put it on the loudest setting - AND STILL MANAGED TO COMPLETELY SLEEP THROUGH IT.  It actually seems as though I turned it off in my sleep.  Now, this of course has a very good explanation - I didn't hear it (nor do I remember hearing it) because I was extremely extremely drunk last night having some fun with friends and got home at 4am late.  Ahem.  Anyway, I somehow miraculously woke up at 7:45am.  I shot out of bed like a bullet.  I have never, ever moved that quickly, I don't think.  Within 5 minutes, I was dressed and had applied a semi-full face of makeup (I only kind of looked as hungover as I currently feel).  I dragged my shoes outside and flew out the door, sprinting noisily to the bus stop in shoes that one should never run in.  I'd been to that bus stop before and knew vaguely where it was, but was too impatient to wait at the cross walk to go correctly to it (it's located in the middle of a giant multi-lane, two-way street - ah, city life), so I illegally jaywalked across 4 lanes and then (here's the kicker) jumped the fence that separates the bus stop and the highway.  Would I have done such things for anyone but Unni?  Or a better question, would I have done such things had I not still been slightly buzzed?  Or a better question still, would any of these things have been necessary if I had not been inebriated and HEARD MY ALARM WHEN IT WENT OFF?  Eh, maybe.

Anyway, my sprint paid off and I was on an airport shuttle by 8:05 and on my way to Incheon.  The trip only takes about 45 minutes from Sinchon, so I was more than on time - I got there before Unni and her parents by about 10 minutes.  They were easy to spot when they arrived, courtesy of Unni's giant blue cello case.  I thought we wouldn't be able to spend very much time together, but we actually got to spend a full hour - her parents let me wait with them on line for check-in, and because airports are sloooow, we obvs had a lot of time to chat.  Her boyfriend came, too, and it was actually a lot of fun for a morning spent at an airport terminal waiting to say goodbye to your best friend  After check-in, we had some drinks (non-alcoholic) with her parents and then she was off to great wide open (okay, so Yale is not that mysterious).  Of course, I was the only one who cried like a baby, but what can I say - I'm definitely a crier, and I don't think that's gonna change.  Having sent their daughter off numerous times before, Unni's parents were totally fine, and so I looked mildly crazy to onlookers - even at an airport, whitey still sticks out.  Anyway, we waved and waved until the giant blue cello case was no longer visible, and then her parents drove me home (but not before buying me two sandwiches and a cream puff that my omghungovergonnavomit self really didn't need - gotta love Korean parents).

I can't wait until I see the blue cello case and its owner again.  Safe trip, 언니, 먼곳에 있어도 우리 사랑 변치않을거야.  I love you.