Waking up in my own bed for the last time was an odd feeling. I only had a few hours left at home before I was off to the other side of the world and my new life. My friend Cailee was taking me to the airport to send me off and she would arrive any minute. I gathered my bags and spent my last minutes with my mom.
It was so difficult saying goodbye to my mom. As anybody who knows me knows, I am very close with my mom. I’m a proud momma’s boy. She has supported me and been a rock for me through so much and I believe I am where I am today because of the love and time she invested in me. I had so many feelings about leaving her. I was sad to say goodbye and not have her in the same state, let alone the same time zone. I had lived away while in college, but I spent most of my life in the same town as my mom and family. I was worried to leave her alone without me being close by in case of any emergency.
I was thankful for Cailee’s willingness to take me to LAX. I know it would have been an even harder day having to say goodbye to my mom at the airport and having her make the drive back home alone. After getting my stuff packed up in her car, Cailee and I headed out. My journey started.
Speaking of my journey, I was not looking forward to the 26 hours of travel ahead of me. After getting to the airport, we had to navigate parking (which is a disaster at LAX) and getting a trolley for my five plus bags containing my entire life.
Checking in took forever. The line just to check my bags took what felt like an eternity. I had a lot of time to stand and think about the decision I had made. I had to continue to hold back my tears because, although my goodbyes with my mom were done, saying goodbye to Cailee meant I would be truly alone and on my way to my new life. Once she left me, I would be on my solo trip with nothing but new people, new experiences, and unknown ahead of me.
Flying is already a challenge for me. Because I’m a big guy, both tall and wide, I never find planes to be very comfortable. My first flight was a 13 hour plane ride from LAX to Istanbul. The flight was long, boring, and had bad food. Overall, the experience wasn’t too bad because I was able to sleep and watch some movies. I was a little disappointed because I got a “window” seat in the emergency aisle to see the country as I flew over it, however, it didn’t end up having a window. I was fine with the legroom, though!
After landing in Istanbul, I made my way to my next gate to spend my five hour layover. I was still exhausted and decided to nap in the airport. I rolled up my sweater to use as a pillow and laid across some chairs. It was not the most comfortable sleep I ever had, but I survived.
My next flight would be my last. Once the plane took off, I would be eight hours away from my new home. To be honest, this flight was miserable. I’m sure it had to do with my anxiety about being on the last leg of my journey. My adventure started, but was about to hit the ground running once I landed. I was restless and uncomfortable the entire flight and I had too many movie choices to really decide on what I wanted to watch. The only positive part of this flight was my neighbor. He was a man from Germany and was very interesting. He had driven his car solo across Mongolia and the rest of Asia, with the intention of driving all the way back to Germany. He was stalled, however, by the start of the war in Ukraine.
After arriving, getting through immigration and customs, I was free to wait for my luggage. As if I wasn’t stressing enough, my luggage had to be some of the last off the plane. In the 30 minutes I spent waiting for my bags, I convinced myself that I would have nothing for my first few days in Ulaanbaatar and my ride from the airport would leave me. Luckily I am just dramatic and that wasn’t the case. I finally got all of my luggage and headed to the airport lobby.
It was really cool being greeted by a bunch of staff from my new school. 13 other teachers were arriving at the same time as me and we had a huge welcoming crew. It immediately eased my mind and it was so cool getting to meet new colleagues and friends the second I was breathing Mongolian air.
I boarded a bus with my new coworkers and headed to my new home. It was about a 40 minute drive to our apartments and it was amazing getting to see the Mongolian countryside just outside the city. The rolling green hills were beautiful and the fresh air almost smelled like lemongrass. I was no longer so stressed and I was ready to get to my apartment and get some sleep.
I was now officially living abroad.
-Michael
Chalkboard Trailblazer 