About four months ago, I was still enjoying my 8-month-holiday at home: walking through various streets on scorching hot days, feeling the healing wind from the sea on my face while seated behind a scooter, contemplating on the traffic, bidding farewell to friends and students, packing till wee hours, and thinking about life in a country 9000 miles away.

The journey from home to the States was really long. I had never imagined one day I would spend 33-36 hours just to reach a place. Usually my flights to Singapore only took two hours or so. Moreover, I will never forget that first time my flight departed at midnight.

Calm morning at Incheon

I first stopped at Incheon Airport at 8 am and stayed there for 9 hours. I couldn't remember how long I sat at the waiting area near the boarding gates staring at blue-white giant steel bodies, looking at a few Korean staffs walking swiftly back and forth, fixing my eyes on the calming sky early in the morning, and thinking about how I survived the 5-hour-long flight.

From Nha Trang (my hometown) to Incheon, Korea

Early morning in Incheon. Interestingly, Korean Air membership is named "Morning Calm"

The next thing on my mind was food. Pushing the trolleys with huge luggages and trolling along the transit area, I tried to find a place that had affordable authentic Korean dishes. Finally, I ordered bimbimbap and got a small bottle of banana milk. Everything tasted good--I just wished there were an egg in my bimbimbap.

And, of course, there's always room for Gong Cha

After food came shopping for duty-free stuffs. The cosmetics industry in Korea is really a big thing. Prior to the trip, I made a promise to myself that I must get every single skincare product I needed from here. And, obviously, I had my mission accomplished for there were tons of affordable and high-quality choices from numerous brands here in many duty-free shops.

However, 9 hours proved to be really long because, despite making multiple trips to the same shops, shopping alone could not eat up all the time I had at Incheon. Luckily, there were some Korean traditional shows going on at the transit areas, so I stopped the trolley for a while to watch them.

After a few hours of moving on my feet, exhaustion and sleepiness kicked in. And I was so thankful for that I made the decision to layover at this airport. Incheon literally has everything a passenger wishes for, from duty-free shops, delicious food, art exhibits, tradition shows to well-equipped free resting areas and free showers. I lied down on a T-shape couch (sofa? or just a very comfy chair?) to sleep and wait till the cleaning hours in the free showers were over. And I must admit, the free shower was so freaking clean and comfortable.

I boarded the plane to the U.S.A. at around 12 pm that day. The queue of passengers was longer than I expected and it seemed like I was the only Vietnamese there.

Over the sky of South Korea

San Francisco on a windy afternoon

When I booked the flight to my university, I went for the most affordable choice, even if stopovers would be long. And I connected the flights myself, meaning I bought a ticket from home to San Francisco, and another from San Francisco to the final destination. Therefore, my layover there was 12 hours long.

But before jumping into my experience with San Francisco, let's talk about what happened during the 10-hour-flight from Seoul to here. The big plane for a long- haul flight amazed me. But I regretted booking a window seat because it was so inconvenient to get to the washroom because I had to disrupt the other two people seated on the same row. However, the window seat was perfect for a good sleep. I passed out on the plane and was so unconscious that I didn't know the food was being served. And I appreciated the Korean Air flight attendant so much for posting a sticky note on my seat that read, "May we serve you now?" I missed a chance to try their bimbimbap but the other choice was really delicious.

It was so interesting to see the change from daytime to nighttime and vice versa on the long-haul flight from my window seat. The sunlight was so prominent when I boarded and, soon enough, when the plane flew over Japan, it was pitch dark and I could see the marvelous night lights from cities all around Japan.

When we almost reached San Francisco, the sun came out really strong again. I still remember the way a beautiful flight attendant used hand signs and politely asked me to shut down the window so the sunlight would not interrupt other passengers' sleep.

I don't know why I always meet some interesting random people on my trip. About half an hour prior to my arrival, I had a quick conversation with another international exchange student who sat next to me. I thought it would be hard to initiate a conversation with him because, for the last 10 hours, we never ever spoke a word to each other. But I was wrong. The conversation was short and sweet enough to get to know a new friend. We talked and stared in awe at the magnificent mountain ranges, the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Francisco when the plane was flying over them.

Mountain ranges. Can you see that LAKE IN HEAVEN?

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) became the very first impression of the States in my mind. I might be too biased but I prefer airports in Asian countries way more than those in the U.S.A. Maybe the concepts of these buildings differ due to contrasting cultures and needs of passengers in different countries. To me, airports in the States are like huge and crowded terminals/ports only served for the purpose of departures and arrivals. In Asian countries, airports are filled with shopping malls, many food courts, comfortable resting areas and a lot of other facilities for long-haul passengers. I always feel that, just by the look, Asian airports have a grander and more futuristic architecture style.

After claiming my baggage, I searched for food again. I couldn't resist my craving for a bowl of Bee Hoon noodles so I pushed my trolley towards an Asian food stall. The lady who took my order surely interacted with so many passengers that she realized I was from a South-East Asian country just by a glance.

This bowl of Bee Hoon noodles reminded me of Singapore food

I didn't expect that, without passing security and going into departure halls, there would not be much to do outside that area. I kept walking and took the train to different terminals. It was so windy and cold there on that day. I still remember shaking and shivering as I walked to the train platforms and from one terminal to the next. I finally ended up in a meditation room. There was even a sign saying, "Sleeping is discouraged here" or something along that line. But I was too tired, so I pushed my luggage trolley in and saw a few passengers sleeping there. The room had a very nice view of SF houses on far away mountains. I sat down on a chair and slept for several hours. When I woke up, it was almost two hours before my departure.

The next flight set off at 12 am so I had a quick Skype call with my best friend while trying Welch's Fruit Snacks which I thought would be dry fruits but they turned out to be jelly.

I always love night flights because of the sparkling lights I can see from my window seat. And for domestic flights, the planes do not go up too high in the sky, so the blinking lights felt very much closer to my eyes on that day.

San Francisco at midnight

Dallas one early morning

I arrived in Dallas at around 6 am when almost everyone was walking around with a cup of Starbucks, or resting on the chairs at the waiting areas. A few "News" stores opened and the terminals looked relatively empty.

Dawn in Dallas

I quickly grabbed my 6-inch Subway sandwich and shaken ice tea from a nearby Starbucks. Honestly, during my time in Singapore, I had never liked Starbucks. Maybe I chose the wrong drink then. Yet, the shaken iced tea in Dallas Airport (DFW) tasted so good and I decided to try more things from the Starbucks on my campus.

I don't really have a clear memory of DFW that day but I do remember how the vintage interior design of the whole building caught my attention. The airport felt down to Earth, friendly and hospitable. For the first time, after so many hours of traveling across the ocean, here at DFW, I could say "Hi!" with a smile to almost everybody I passed by.

Early morning at DFW Airport

The stopover at DFW was only a little bit longer than one hour so I couldn't go around and do much things before boarding for my last flight.

Green Monroe from above

As I walked towards the plane gate, one of the staffs was asking everybody to leave his/her carry-on outside. I didn't understand the reason why they did so till I was already in the steel body. It was an American Eagle flight so the plane only accommodated 70 people. Each row only had three seats: one single seat by the window and the other two on the opposite side. It shocked me so much when I could touch the ceiling of the plane by raising my arms up. And, of course, for many other taller passengers, they had to bend down and slowly walk towards their seats.

It started to rain the moment the plane took off. And I was a little bit sad for no reason looking at the raindrops on the window.

It rained when I flew to school

It only took one hour or so to fly from Dallas to Monroe. The plane didn't go up that high so I could see land and trees outside the window. Leaving a big city with so many skyscrapers like Dallas, I was amazed by the view of Monroe from the plane. The houses were not close to each other, buildings were of average height and there were tons of trees. It was so green that it shocked me, because that was the first time I saw a green view from the plane window instead of a blue and white one.

Green Monroe as I see it

Finally, I reached the home to my university. Monroe Airport is a regional airport but it felt cozy and homie thanks to its small size, trees and gardens. I claimed my baggage and left for college from the airport.

The journey was really long and I bet more things happened but I can only remember these details. I used to fly back and forth between Vietnam and Singapore. Yet, only through this long journey, I can fathom the meaning of "being across the oceans," "being oceans away from home,' "crossing multiple time zones" and "being lost trying to remember the current date and time."

It felt strange when I was physically transported but my mind kept wandering from one place to another without catching up with my body.

And that's the end of my journey for now.

Till next time!