A Day with Lots of Firsts

I am writing this post from the Seoul airport in South Korea, where I have a 4 hour layover before my flight to Mongolia with my 45 fellow Peace Corps Mongolia volunteers.  My travels from home have included many firsts for me, including:

• My first 14-hour flight, which included tons of complimentary movies and music, a full dinner, snack and breakfast, and about 20 beverage runs (and the necessary trips to the airport bathroom after all of that liquid)
• My first time eating Korean BBQ chicken (it was good, and came with a kind-of-strange-but-tasty carrot, cucumber, and egg salad)
• My first time in Asia
• My first time in a non-English speaking airport/country
• My first time (in several years) traveling without a cell phone, since my contract has ended and my phone wouldn't work here anyway
• My first shared experience with my Peace Corps Mongolia colleagues
• My soon-to-be first time in Mongolia!

I found this photo online, but all of the korean air flight attendants and airport personnel wear this, and they look so cute!  

So far, the trip has been without any major problems.  We have had minor baggage problems and other sorts of things, but I expected this with such a large group.  Working through the different conflicts has helped us to rely on each other and help each other out more, and if 2 heads are better than 1, it can't get much better than 46 smart and resourceful people handling a situation.  I am feeling pretty sleepy because I haven't slept much the past two nights (first packing, then we woke up very early to take buses to the DC airport), and the long flight accommodations weren't quite comfortable enough to make  a long sleep possible.  

I am so excited to be in Mongolia soon, and I will update again when I have a chance!  

Peace (Corps) Out!