Give everyday the chance to be the most beautiful day of your life. - Sadie Broughton
Monday, May 27, 2013 (DAYS 449 - 535)
On my last few days working at Mamallena Hostel in Boquete, I met another awesome girl, Rachel, who was traveling with her friend Dave whom are both from New York. Since they only had a short amount of time traveling (10 days) their next and final destination was Bocas del Toro. Their last night in Boquete, Rachel and I stayed up talking and laughing until past 5am as she continually tried convincing me to return to Bocas with them, which would be my third time in less than a month to the island. Still unable to convince me to go with them the next day, 48-hours later and I was standing at the dock being greeted by a smiling blonde hair girl with that typical New Yawk sarcastic attitude. Since the hostel I was working for offered a shuttle service to Bocas that also included the boat, this was a free ride, and thinking that I had to go through this route anyways to return to Costa Rica I figured now would be as good of a time as any. Checking in to Tungara Hostel, I also ran in to my friend Ivan from South Africa and we were able to be placed in the same dorm room along with an American girl, Diana from St. Louis, Missouri. Already we were forming a new group. Later, we added a few girls from the UK, Mel and Emma, and now we’re officially upgraded to the status of having a squad. The next few days were spent wandering around the nearby beaches by renting bicycles for the entire day for only $2. We felt like kids again riding from each other’s hostels and banging on the door, looking through the screen asking if so and so could come out and play. We are complete rascals.
On my last few days working at Mamallena Hostel in Boquete, I met another awesome girl, Rachel, who was traveling with her friend Dave whom are both from New York. Since they only had a short amount of time traveling (10 days) their next and final destination was Bocas del Toro. Their last night in Boquete, Rachel and I stayed up talking and laughing until past 5am as she continually tried convincing me to return to Bocas with them, which would be my third time in less than a month to the island. Still unable to convince me to go with them the next day, 48-hours later and I was standing at the dock being greeted by a smiling blonde hair girl with that typical New Yawk sarcastic attitude. Since the hostel I was working for offered a shuttle service to Bocas that also included the boat, this was a free ride, and thinking that I had to go through this route anyways to return to Costa Rica I figured now would be as good of a time as any. Checking in to Tungara Hostel, I also ran in to my friend Ivan from South Africa and we were able to be placed in the same dorm room along with an American girl, Diana from St. Louis, Missouri. Already we were forming a new group. Later, we added a few girls from the UK, Mel and Emma, and now we’re officially upgraded to the status of having a squad. The next few days were spent wandering around the nearby beaches by renting bicycles for the entire day for only $2. We felt like kids again riding from each other’s hostels and banging on the door, looking through the screen asking if so and so could come out and play. We are complete rascals.
Heading back to Costa Rica for a 3-month home stay with the Rojas family, I’m nervous and excited all at the same time. But once I get settled in to my own private room and have a chance to unpack, Pamela and I finally have a chance to sit and talk. And for the next several months the memories that I’ve collected cannot all be put in to just one set of writing, but are more personal. During this time I had great conversations with her dad, who had a passion for traveling as well and loved to practice his English with me, but unfortunately he passed away on July 5th in the early morning. I was just thankful to be there for their family during this difficult time. So many conversations occurred nightly on what became our spot on the upstairs balcony and the rekindling of the feelings we shared. Even though we both knew I already had my plane ticket booked to head to Asia with plans to meet my birth mother, the day leading up to my departure was not any easy one, but I also knew that I would be returning to Costa Rica in the near future and so that helped sustain us.
Flying out of Juan Santamaría International Airport, for the second time, it was no problem navigating through security and immigration. I arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the first time setting foot in the United States in 534 days. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel. As I approached the customs agent I was a bit nervous because of some of the countries that were stamped in my passport–El Salvador, Colombia, and Nicaragua multiple times, yet the agent was very friendly noticed I was born in South Korea and told me that it’s an awesome place and when I mentioned I would be traveling there soon he told me I’d love it. After this friendly brief exchanged he said, “welcome me home.” Just hearing those three words definitely warmed my heart and made me feel proud to be an American. I know that may sound cliché but after all of the countries and minor obstacles I’ve overcome, it felt good to be back in the United States, even if only briefly. After what I thought would be a four-hour layover in Florida, turned in to almost seven, and I felt bad as my friend Breean who I had met in Peru was picking me up from LAX at my original arrival time of midnight. Thankfully there was wifi at the airport and so I continued to update her on my delayed status. Finally, at 2am I arrived in Los Angeles and I couldn’t thank her enough for being there with her car waiting. Ah a sigh of relief hit as I jumped in the front seat and we were heading towards West Hollywood where she lives. Once we got to our small studio apartment, we both figured we would be exhausted and ready to crash, but because of the excitement of not seeing each other in months even though we only met for two days in Peru, it was as if no time had passed and we ended up staying up until almost 9am talking in the back patio of her apartment. The next evening we met up with another friend we met in Peru, Josh, who lived close to downtown LA, and since we were already in the area as I was picking up a MacBook I purchased off of Craigslist the timing and location couldn’t have worked out any better. After the transaction of grasping my new, yet used shiny black Apple, we headed to a Mexican restaurant Josh suggested where he kindly bought all of us dinner. Baller move buddy. After a night of laughs and travel stories back at Josh’s pimp pad of a house, Bree and her brother who had just flown in were preparing to leaving the next morning for the drive to Santa Barbara since unfortunately their grandpa passed away. Bree was kind enough to leave me her spare set of keys to her place, and I know most people would say, “wait a second, so you meet a complete stranger in Peru for only two days, she then allows you to stay at her place even when she’s not home by giving you her spare set of keys, really?” Yes, this is the type of community we share and live among and it makes for a wonderful trusting situation.
On Friday my friend Kevin drove up from Arizona and is kind enough to pick me up in LA before fighting freeway traffic to get us down to Orange County where Dana has organized a guy’s weekend for me since it’s been over two years since I’ve seen the fellas. It’s a great time of lounging around the pool, discussing business, telling them of my adventures, and of course, the food! Huge proper steaks for dinner at Tait’s house and the next morning it’s a massive breakfast at The Pancake House. I’ve forgotten how cheap meals are in comparison to the portion sizes, but not caring about calories or the intense intake of grease and fat I finish everything. Awe what a morning. Soon though it’s saying goodbye and heading back up to LA as I’m preparing to fly out the next day at 6:30pm. After a 10 plus hour flight that is both uncomfortable and hot, EVA Airways you just made the list, I arrive in Taiwan at 11:30pm local time. While I have a 9-hour layover I try to get some sleep on a group of chairs in the airport, but paranoid that I may miss my 9am departure it’s a few hours of dozing off here and there. By 5am I realize that if I close my eyes for any longer than 5-minutes I’ll probably wake up next week. I grab my backpack and search for a coffee and something to eat since I’m unsure I will get a meal on the three and a half hour flight to Bangkok. As I’m waiting at the gate I’m lucky enough to have wifi and receive a message from my cousin Dave who is in Japan. We sit and Skype for about 45-minutes trying to make plans to meet up while I’m in Asia, but since he is in the military it makes it a built difficult to formulate definitive plans. We promise to keep in touch after I get settled in to Thailand and see what we can work out. At 11:35am I have finally reached my destination in Bangkok. No longer feeling like a minority being surrounded by a billion other Asians I can’t help but laugh even through not sleeping for almost four days. Once I reach my hostel it’s time to crash out.
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