Goodbye California, Hello Taipei

Do you ever feel like everyone is looking at you at the airport?

Well that’s exactly what I feel right now… I mean, granted, I did just spend the last 30 minutes crying into a payphone at my gate in SFO, and granted the payphone probably hasn’t seen a customer since like 1998, but whatever! It still does not give people the right to stare… hasn’t anyone ever taught them that staring is rude? I’m sitting here thinking I’ve probably got boogers hanging out of my nose… which, come to think of it, I probably do since I’ve been crying… Ooohh, so maybe that’s why.

Still.

I’ve been sitting at this gate for about an hour now. I must say my experience with China Airlines has thus far been unsatisfactory. And yes, we haven’t left the ground yet. After all the packing, measuring of the bags, weighing of the bags, re-packing, and re-weighing of the bags, my two check-in luggages got through alright (yes, an ode to my excellent packing skills, thank you!) but in an unexpected turn of events, my carry-on luggage was the problem. Now I have traveled far and wide with my trusty cheerleading duffel bag. It has never failed to pass the carry-on test, so this immediately tells me that it is in fact China Airlines that is quite mistaken, and not me. Or my bag.

Also… why does it cost 25 cents for TWO MINUTES of phone time on a public telephone??? Is this the phone company’s (“Pelican Communications, Inc.” haha, right.) idea of a way to earn money? Because I’m pretty sure the population who would actually use a payphone (aka the percentage of the population that doesn’t own a cell phone) can’t actually afford a phone call at 25 cents/2 minutes. It just makes no logical sense. Someone needs to write a letter… like my mother, who does these things quite often.

I’m not ready to go. Though, even if I had another week, I don’t think I’d ever be ready to go. I can’t help but feel that I’m leaving so much behind… even though I know I’m supposed to think about what lies ahead. I know in my head that this will be a great adventure, and a great experience for me, but, like so many things in life, it’s easier said than done. In my heart, all I can see and feel is how badly I want to stay—for my family, for my friends, for familiarity and comfort, and avoidance of the unknown and uncomfortable, something I’ve had the luxury to bypass till now.

They're calling for boarding now, over the intercom... Though I may not be ready to leave, it looks like I don't have a choice. Goodbye California!!!