The Final Countdown

---

Here goes the longest day of my life, quite literally. After a full day in Chiang Mai, we are to hop on the plane at precisely 11:15pm on January 24th and fly back in time. After a 20 hour flight, we should arrive back in the states on January 25th at 10am. We will gain back a full 12 hours. My body will definitely take a toll. Especially since I have to grab another connecting flight home after we get into Dulles. The price I pay for living long distance. Even though I'm going to try to stay up for as long as I can on the flight so that I can sleep soundly on the 14 hour flight, I know my body is going to be out of whack. My stomach too. It took my stomach a couple days to actually feel hungry at the appropriate times, since it was still thinking I should be asleep while I'm out doing the daily activities. I'm confident that my body will catch up eventually. Here goes nothing.

Even though it's a packing and travel day, we still spent a whole day doing activities in Chiang Mai. First, the morning started out with breakfast and a program evaluation with the professors. We gave great reviews of this trip and the professors offered insights onto how they think the program can improve in the future. Although it's going to be tough to beat because I'm pretty sure we got lucky with the best trip ever. What's great is that I didn't have to plan anything, I'm just here for the ride. I get in a van without knowing where I'm going. Okay, that sounds a little creepy, but you get the idea. The professors plan and organize everything for us and fill up our schedules so that we don't usually have to worry about what to do in our free time. I'm grateful for that. I don't think I could ever experience a trip like this again because I don't have the connections for that. I truly felt the culture on this trip, not just like some tourist watching from the outside. I loved being able to see firsthand the daily lifestyle of Thai people, and getting an inside glimpse at the healthcare setting just topped it all off. Truly grateful for this trip.

The afternoon we went to the community to do a homestay, since we got rained out on the first weekend of the trip. I had no idea what to expect. We were given trash bags to throw on like ponchos, gloves, and masks, and headed inside a very dusty and underkept house. I don't blame the family for the dirt though, the man is 81 years old and taking care of his disabled wife and 2 sons with cerebral palsy. He was doing all he could for an individual person but it was time we helped him out. We gave his house an extreme home makeover. Dusting, cleaning the floors, the windows, the screens, any object in the house, it was all done. We helped bathe his sons, and he said that it's the first time they've gotten a proper shower in over 2 years. He just didn't have the resources or the muscle power to move them into the bathroom, so they would just get wiped down with rags. Wow, can you imagine that. How grateful are we for resources and support. Then we took one of the sons outside on the wheelchair to get some fresh air while we were cleaning the inside. It was the first time he'd been outside in 30 years.. 30 years! Can you imagine being stuck in the house for that long? I can't even fathom it. What's amazing is that even though the house may not be the best cared for, his wife and sons are being cared for so well. They lay all day on mats on the floor, yet we did not find one pressure ulcer or sign of skin breakdown. They looked well cared for, given the resources they had. And this man had a huge smile on his face the whole day. That kind of joy that you can have under these circumstances is something I may never understand, but I'm so grateful I get to see it in other people. I am so glad that we were able to help him, even if it was just for a day, and see how some community members live out here. Truly an eye opening experience.

The evening was spent packing and taking naps, trying to sleep a little so that we can force ourselves to stay up for the first flight. I did pretty good actually. Managed to stay awake the whole 4 hours. Yeah I said 4, the predicted 6 hour flight actually hit a nice tailwind and chopped off 2 hours of the flight. It was magical. It was the 4 hour layover that really got to me though. Nine overtired, slightly manic girls running wildly through the Seoul airport was definitely a sight to see. After a solid 2 hours of running around crazy and trying to stay up, we crashed. We then turned into nine exhausted, sleep deprived girls who were laying on the floor of the Seoul airport, passed out sleeping. Cut us some slack, it was technically 6am for us. A whole 23 hours with no sleep. After a solid hour long nap on the floor of the airport, I felt rejuvenated. Next up was the 15 hour flight. But wait, it's now only 13 hours! We were ecstatic. And I just about passed out the second I sat on that plane. Success. I had my blanket, my eye mask, a pillow, and some great naps. I slept about 9 hours I think, so my all nighter was definitely worth it. Flight 2/3 completed. We breezed through customs, baggage, and security, so I was making good time to get on my connecting flight home. Boy was I sick of getting on flights. But it was only an hour and a half so I could manage. After a reunion with my parents, which felt oh so good, we drove home. Home, what a great word. It felt so good to finally be somewhere familiar, but I was already missing my newfound friendships. I managed to stay up until about 8pm, which is pretty good I'd say. So, in closing, one of the best experiences of my life was finished off with the longest day of my life.

Farewell,

Ma Yu Ree

---