The New Kid

View from our room in the Dragon Hill Lodge.

my first view of Seoul

After 27 hours of travel we finally made it to South Korea. With a 17 month old and 4 year old it was no small feat to arrive with our sanity, however we did lose our luggage on the way. But somehow sleep deprivation makes things like clean clothes not so important. So, after another 3 hours we finally get to the hotel and collapse into bed. Oh wait, I forgot the part where my husband had to go straight into a briefing and I was literally left on the curb with my kids. Fortunately the hotel (Dragon Hill Lodge) was just across the street; unfortunately I couldn't check into the room without him and had to hang out in the lobby. After 7 years of being an army wife you learn that usually when you want/need your husband the most you have to give him up to Uncle Sam and figure things out on your own. Eventually we made it into the suite where I could have easily slipped into a semi-comatose state for about 24 hours. However, small children have trouble understanding how to adjust to changing 15 time zones. So sleep was fitful and broken. Thank God hotels put coffee 'en suite'. The next day was a blur of snatches of sleep, mugs of coffee, and trying to find the right person to protest to about being evicted from my hotel room at noon when the bus to take us down to Camp Carroll didn't leave till 6:30. So I was allowed to stay in the room till 4, then had to hang out at the hotel playground for the rest of the time. But I was able to have dinner with my husband that night. So we get on the bus; uneventful trip. We arrived at Camp Carroll around 10 PM. I was once again left on the curb, except this time the hotel was at a location unknown to me. At this point I was so tired I just wanted to sit down and cry, and truthfully I almost did. I mean really, who is in charge of planning these things? So I waited with my children and eventually did make it to the next hotel, which is where I sit now venturing into the blogging world.

To be totally honest, all of the above is like some shadow show I remember watching on television once upon a time. I mean, I know it happened, but I was basically a stumbling zombie during all this. I can't believe I didn't lose my children or my mind in this process, although I did come dangerously close to losing my temper and composure.