With anxiety induced adrenaline still coursing through my body after having made it passed immigration, my next step was getting to my hotel. Nervously, I made my way in the general direction of the terminal entrances and pulled out my phone to dial the pre-saved hotel number in it. I looked out the windows into the dark as I waited for someone to answer. My mom and I had known I would be arriving late so we meticulously planned what that first night would look like.
“Hello, how may I help you?” they asked in English.
“Hi, yes, I would like to be picked up please.”
“Which terminal are you located at, 1 or 2?”
I tried to orient myself as to where exactly I was. I thought I was in terminal 2 but it might’ve been 1, the signage wasn’t very clear. I strolled out into the slight humid heat of the June night with the hotel concierge on the phone.
I hung up and waited quietly on my own for the hotel shuttle to arrive.
The shuttle arrived at the hotel as fast as it showed up at the airport leaving me to take in the blurry view of the people and streets we flew past. I could feel the fatigue of the day’s stress truly kicking in as I watched everything move out the window. I could barely believe I was actually here.
I arrived, checked in, and finally, finally made it to my room. I could rest at last; I could rest knowing I’d made it. After taking a quick shower and getting ready for bed I made my way over to the window and looked out at the hotel across from mine at the glowing signs and advertisements. I was actually in Korea. After some of the most draining 48 hours of my life, I was finally here. You see, getting here was not a simple ticket booking or a dizzying shuttle ride to the hotel. I made it after having my passport expire years prior and having to figure out how to get my Venezuelan passport extended or renewed or whatever had to be done so I could travel out of the US amid political unrest. I made it after looking into any possible travel restrictions as a Venezuelan going to study in Korea; after having done the math to see if our budget could barely afford it. I made it after having conflicting sources tell me whether I would or would not need a visa. After all this, I had made it.
Nicolle is a senior majoring in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and minoring in Korean, who is passionate about the arts, travel, language, and culture. She studied abroad to South Korea the summer of 2019.
nicollecollege@gmail.com
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