Today we officially started our 30-hour travel day before we land in Korea. It’s going to be a long journey, with a 7-hour layover in Atlanta, but honestly, I couldn’t be more excited. So far, we’ve been making the most of our travel time by exploring the airports, writing our blogs, and just taking everything in. Once we’re all done, we’re planning to play Among Us, which should make the time go by a little faster.

What makes all of this feel even more surreal is how quickly everything changed. Just a few days ago, I was completely buried in finals and nonstop studying. Now, I’m sitting in an airport, about to travel across the world. The shift happened so fast that it still hasn’t fully sunk in, like, how did I go from stressing over exams to thinking about being in Korea tomorrow?

Adding to the randomness of this week, we even ran into a dog at the airport that was groomed to look like a giraffe. Yes, a giraffe, spots, shape, everything. It honestly felt like something out of a dream and perfectly matched how unreal everything has been lately.

And if things weren’t strange enough already, Sunday basically won’t exist for me because of the international date line. By the time I land, it’ll already be Monday, and I’ll be on the other side of the world, stepping into a completely different culture, language, and experience. It still feels like a dream I haven’t quite woken up from yet.

I’m so excited for what’s ahead, even if it means surviving on airplane sleep for the next day and a half.