My Last Day in the US

Yesterday started of a little like the bedroom scene from Charlie and the Cholocate Factory where the family members are all cuddled up in 1 bed. My dad, mom and sister piled into my bed for some morning family chat! :)

I was asked to make my special smootie for everyone for breakfast! Amy said it was like Jamba Juice, which was such a great compliment, because I love that place! I may not be a great cook, but I'm a pretty darn good smoothie maker!

Then Amy and I went out from a nice little shopping spree to some of our old favorite places: Starbucks, Fashion 21, the 99 Cent Store, Big Lots, and Sally Beauty Supply (... and no, I didn't buy anything for my hair! I've learned my lesson. This trip was for Amy!)

My parents splurged and bought a wii this year, so my dad and I played bowling (I won), baseball, tennis (he won), and golf! Talk about a workout! I was panting the whole time I was playing tennis!

As we were playing Wii, my mom said, "Jill, your birthday is coming up, and I was thinking of buying you some of this deep wrinkle cream!" Notice the slogan says, "GET 10 YEARS BACK" haha! I never thought I'd start getting wrinkle cream before I turned 30! YIKES! To her credit, she says it's for preventative measures, but I still thought it was funny!

Please someone tell me... How did this happen?! I came with 1 suitcase and a purse! You'd think I was moving to Korea for the 1st time! I apparently did a little more shopping than I realized.

Around 4:30pm, I bid farewell to my childhood home and jumped in the Expedition with my family...

... headed for Korea Town in downtown Los Angeles!

Amy found this Korean restaurant online, and had read that it was a mom and pop kinda place, and that no one spoke English! I think she wanted to put me on the spot to hear me speak Korea! It was fun though... I did all of the ordering and chatting with the server in Korea. Come to find out, she was born in Busan (where I live)! Small world huh?!

The food was perfectly authentic and delicious! I ordered Bulgolgi, Dolsut Bibimbap, and Kimchi Pajung, my 3 favorite things...

... Obvioulsy everyone else liked them too, because by the time we left, there wasn't a morsel to be found! :)

The family!

There was one last family I wanted to see before I left the US! So, my parents drove me to good ole' Santa Monica to see my dear friends; the Debennings: Zoe, Amber, Trevor, and Moses. I ended up having 3 1/2 hours with them, which was fantastic!

I even got to be part of bathtime! :)

It was a bit of sweet irony that Trevor was actually leaving to spend a week on an island in Honduras with 2 friends and needed to be at LAX at the same time I did! Our flights were 5 minutes apart! So, I piled in with the guys and off we went to the airport!

I was worried about how I would make it through the airport with all my luggage, but I just went ahead and pushed the box with my feet when I got there, and it caught the attention of a TSA worker, who I think felt bad for me. He quickly picked up my heavy box and walked me to the front of the very long baggage X-ray line! hahaha!

I'm on my plane now, about 9 1/2 hours into my flight! 4 more to go! I'm sitting with a great family: The dad is from the US, the mom is from China, and the son was born in Japan. They are moving from the US back to China so their son can attend an international school there! The dad is an Administrator at the school and has already recruited me to work there! Never been offered a job on an airplane before! :) Too bad I already have one! Or, considering the US economic situation I guess I should say, "Thank God I already have one!" :)