The First Meeting

It was May 1st, 2010 around 5:00pm in the Incheon airport of Korea. I was about to see the girl I had been so anxious to meet for the last month. I had no trouble going through immigration, picking up my bag and going through customs. When I finally went through the one-way doors, however, about a hundred Korean people were there waiting for their family and friends. There was no way I could see her amongst all those other people.

She had given me instructions on where we could meet in case I couldn't find her or if either of us were late, so I found my way there and waited. It wasn't but 10 seconds before a pair of hands covered my eyes from behind, and I knew who it was. I quickly turned around and found her smiling but very shy. She was even more beautiful than in her pictures. We hugged and I told her just how pretty I thought she was. (We were both dressed very well for our first meeting). On the bus, we kissed for the first time. We both admit that it seemed sudden, but we felt comfortable since we had sort of known each other for two and a half months already. The first night was when we both confessed our love for each other.

The next morning, we made our way by bus to the Gyeongbokgung palace near downtown Seoul. I was also introduced to more Korean culture when we visited the nearby museum. There, I saw traditional Korean clothing as well as how Korean people originally heated their homes through the floor (which is still true for Korean homes, although it is now done through electricity).

Later that day, we met two of Karam's best friends: Mijung and JeongSoo. They were so nice to me, and since JeongSoo had a car, we drove to Seoul University where he went to school. As it started to get late, we had planned to see the Banpo Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. It's a bridge that crosses the Han river and has fountains and lights all along the sides. Unfortunately, that night they didn't have a show. You can see the bridge in action here.

The next day, we had or first real movie date to see Avatar in 4D. It was pretty cool because the chairs moved and they even had smells during the movie to give you an even closer experience to "being there". For example, during many of the scenes on Pandora, there was a really sweet, fruity smell. When there was a fire, it smelled like something was burning. After the movie, we visited the Bongeunsa Temple. I had never been to a Buddhist temple before so I found it to be very interesting. One of the most notable was the fact that it was so quiet, even though it was in the city.

On the 4th, we spent the morning and afternoon at Lotte World. It's an amusment park located in the city. For a half-indoor and half-outdoor park, it was huge. There is also a shopping center, folk museum and lake connected to the park as well. We had a lot of fun together on the rides and just walking around. That evening, we met Mijung and JeongSoo for dinner and Karaoke. It was a blast! They even had some english songs I could sing as well. We had many drinks and laughs that night.

The last full day I had with her was a little more laid back. We slept in and then that evening we went to Namsun Tower. The tower stand 236m and is located on top of a small mounting near the center of Seoul. From there we had a great view of the city at night. It was a very romantic ending to a perfect vacation.

Finally on the 6th, it was time for me to go. We had to get up early to get to the airport on time and neither of us slept well that night. I suppose we were both sad about being away from each other again. We shared one last meal and ice cream before I left. When it was finally time to go, Karam was crying so much. I was trying to be strong but I was also feeling terrible inside. I knew I would have to let her go eventually. At that time, we had no idea when we would see each other again. With Karam's work schedule, it could be many months before she could get time off. I promised I would come back as soon as I could, and finally walked away. It wasn't until I was through the security and turned to see her for the last time when I finally cried. On the flight, I kept looking at her pictures on my phone, remembering what it was like to have her in my arms. Little did I know that I would be able to see her in just 3 months; and our relationship would get much more serious.