Enlight 21

My Coming Home

Author: Ryan Yang | Category: Lifestyle | Date: 04-23-2020

The end of the 2018 summer was approaching. I had been on a family trip to South Korea with my mother and my sister. Our father had left in the middle of our five-week trip to return to his work, which he was given a break from for three weeks. In Korea, we would spend time with our grandparents who made us amazing food and meet with friends whom we have not seen for a long time, especially being that the last time we visited was four years ago. Now, summer was ending: the FIFA World Cup was already over and the time we had in Korea was coming to an end. When I go back, I would have to complete my summer homework for school and begin to prepare for my first year in high school. Now, the only thing ahead of me was busywork.

It was the last day of our five-week trip to Korea. My sister and I would try to make the most of our time before we leave. We watched Korean dramas, went to the outside playground to enjoy the fresh air and see the faces of our Korean neighbors, and ride the Korean subway for the last time. Our grandmother and mother prepared a meal of Korea galbi and pork belly for lunch. It would be our last homemade meal in Korea for the time being.

Two hours later, at around 2:30 PM, we would leave our grandmother’s apartment and head for the airport by bus. At that moment, it did not hit me that we were going back home, leaving this amazing country. We rode the bus to the airport, trying to take as many pictures of the scenery outside as possible. When we arrived at Incheon Airport, we would have our final meal with our grandmother, eating Korean style porridge. It was kind of sad knowing that we only had a few minutes left with our grandmother before we leave for home. We would try to talk with her as much as possible, and to cheer her up, we promised that we would visit again as soon as possible. After eating, time was running and it was time to say goodbye to our grandmother. We gave our hugs, took pictures together, and waved her goodbye.

After entering the terminal, we explored the duty-free stores and the interesting features that the airport provided. As Incheon International Airport is known as one of the nicest airports in the world, it surely was not a disappointment. We bought many Korean snacks to eat at home as well as Korean toys to save as souvenirs. As time passed, we soon boarded the plane. The plane ride was pretty quick as I enjoyed the movies that were offered, ate the nice food that Asiana Airlines is known for, and slept with no distractions. Finally, we heard the announcements, which said, “Welcome to San Francisco International Airport.”

I looked out the window and it surely was nothing like Korea. There were no tall buildings but instead large spaces of land, and the roads were less packed with running cars. We walked out of the plane, and that’s when it hit me that our trip to Korea was really over. Rather than Korean faces and fashion, the airport was already filled with Americans as well as many people from many different places throughout the world, which was surely different from Korea. After picking up our luggage and walking out of the terminal, we saw the drivers in cars in front of the airport, waiting to pick up family members, friends, and loved ones. I spotted my father driving through the road and I quickly shouted, “Dad’s coming!” We walked out and put our luggage into the car. We were now heading back home.

On our drive home, I tried to find anything that reminded me of Korea to recall the wonderful memories I made during my time there. The only thing I could think about, however, was the summer homework as well as the beginning of high school that was coming my way. At that moment, I was so sorrowful and I prayed for next summer break to come as quickly as possible.