[France/Paris] The smell of the day in 2010

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For me, Paris, France is a city with many memories and pains

It became the destination where I started my first overseas trip, and there, joy and sadness,

And this is where I learned how to overcome that sadness.

Today, after a long time, I want to take a time machine and go back to that time.

My first trip in 2010, Paris

Since I was 20, I got a job and went to a company. Due to the difficult shift work, the life pattern was broken, and the vacation was only 4 days...

Europe wants to go, a time so short that we can't even dream of it, and that time has not been given to us. To take a long vacation, I had to go to the company for at least 10 years, and it was a benefit that I could enjoy after 10 years. However, it was the meaning of the sky. So, after the company's economic crisis, Suyeon went to another department, and she was given the opportunity to take a long and long vacation.

I started preparing for the overseas trip I dreamed of. I decided on two places: Paris and Santorini, Greece, where I wanted to go while looking for which country to travel to. If you think about it now, the route was a mess, but I didn't want to miss the precious opportunity that came to us.

However, in the early 20s, there was no money for traveling, and we did not use a credit card, so we borrowed 2 million won from the bank. I wasn't ashamed to get a loan to go on a trip. I thought it was time for money. We didn't have time...

So I bought a round-trip ticket and bought a flight ticket from Paris to Athens.

At that time, it wasn't the time when Skyscanner was active as it was now, so I bought a flight ticket to the site called EasyJet.

And since it was my first overseas trip, I decided to use a Korean guest house at my first destination. Of course, the pickup

I matched the dates with the schedules in such a large frame. Then I told my friend.

"Let's go backpacking this trip!"

I've seen it somewhere, so I wanted to go backpacking too much. I bought a backpack like that, and I was ready to travel with excitement.

In those days, when the smartphone was just released, the concept of Wi-Fi was not captured

When Suyeon Lee was a Galaxy and I wasn't a smartphone, our travel preparation was over, relying on an English dictionary instead of a translator, rather than a Google translator, relying on an article described with pictures on a blog.

Korea time November 29

Everything is ready and we head for Paris.

We haven't even said a single word in English, so we excitedly put ourselves on the plane. Itinerary from the Netherlands via KLM to Paris

It's not like 3 3 3 seats these days, it's a seat with lots of seats you only see on TV, and an airplane up to the second floor!

I thought that traveling in Europe is a really good flight. And the Korean woman who happened to be next to us

I met someone who told me to go to see my sister. It was very brief, but the Koreans I met on that big plane became willing.

For a long and long time, I ate rice, read a book, and talked with Soo-yeon about the excitement of a travel destination I will meet in the future.

And after a while, the plane arrived at Schiphol Airport. My first trip abroad, my first stopover, my first arrival report were all terrifying and exciting.

When I was in Korea, I arrived at the place where I was studying and followed the place where people traveled to report immigration.

It was an airport that wasn't that big when I think about it now, but it was a strange and huge airport for us.

Soon it was my order. Suyeon was behind me, and she showed her passport with a trembling heart.

The employee started asking me questions, and my back began to sweat. 'If I knew this, I would be eager to study English when I was in school'

As I practiced saying that I had been on a trip, I froze in the form of questioning me again, not knowing if there was a problem with my pronunciation. It didn't help much...

Would we look funny and cute, the staff laughed and stamped it. I can't forget the feelings of the moment. I was trembling and scared.

Trying something for the first time seems to be very exciting, trembling and terrifying. But with the relief that we did it soon, we stopped safely and arrived at Charles de Gaulle International Airport. There, I met a Korean person who picks up and was relieved to go to the hotel safely.

When I arrived at the hostel, it was already dim and the time was turning back on November 28th.

Buildings over 100 years old and elevators filled with 3 people

I liked the squeaking sound I heard every step of the way.

Everything else in Korea and other incandescent lamps was exciting.

So our first day has passed.

The beginning of an event

I woke up early in the morning. The winter flies were too cold and we relied on a radiator all night to sleep.

And lying in bed, I looked around. The strange bed, the unfamiliar closet, and the unfamiliar look, everything was unfamiliar.

A strange landscape, a strange smell, and strangers

I finally felt like I was in Paris.

From the early morning, I held the camera and pressed Shutter.

After eating the American breakfast from the manager's sister, we set out.

As the manager's sister explained, I changed the subway and arrived at franklin D. Roosevelt station.

At the end of the road, the Arc de Triomphe was seen and pretty light bulbs were decorated in preparation for Christmas.

Below are some of our few 10-year photos.

I was hungry while taking pictures on the street. Because I hadn't taken off the tea yet, I refused the atmospheric restaurant, and we headed for McDonald's.

Wasn't it the easiest to order?

After receiving the hamburger, I went up to the second floor and settled down. When I was looking for a camera to take a picture, I couldn't see the camera that had to be on my wrist.

I asked my friend to wait and started looking back at the road I had come. I didn't drop it on the ground or place it where I ordered the hamburger, but I couldn't find the camera.

Then I noticed two men passing by, one of them putting something in his chest pocket, as if in my eyes it was my camera. So I followed the man and thought about what to say.

So the two men went to McDonald's where we went, ordered a hamburger and settled on the second floor where we were.

My heart started to thump. I thought there would be a way to quickly tell this to Suyeon and make sure they weren't rude to them.

Because we weren't able to speak English, and we didn't have a translator, I was a parent in front of them and finally turned on my cell phone.

Without knowing what's going on with me...

As soon as I opened my cell phone and tried to open the dictionary, text began to come one by one.

Cell phones are abroad, such as consulate numbers, etc.

And after a while, texts were coming in one by one to my mother and sister.

Characters starting to come in order

'Other grandfather is critical"

'where are you'

'Other grandfather died'

And the moment I checked the missed call, I couldn't do anything.

For me, the camera was no longer important.

My heart started beating like crazy. I still can't forget the feeling of stiff facial muscles.

I didn't know what to do, so I called my sister first.

On her cell phone, the surprised sister's voice and nutmeg came out.

Gradually talking to my sister, I called my mom.

'Mom... I'm Paris here...'

'What??? Paris, France?? '

I didn't know what to do. I hung up on the phone after telling me that I would like to check the flight ticket.

It was day on November 29th. Korea was passing the dawn on November 30th.

There was nowhere in Paris to call for help. I contacted my sister-in-law, a Korean-American homestay manager, and explained her self-interest, and asked for help.

If you think about it now, it's as simple as finding and paying for an air ticket on the Internet, but in those days, the Internet had to be done with a modem called ADSL (a communication method that allows you to use the Internet using an existing phone line), and you can refund your reserved flight and accommodation. We had to make sure we could get it and if we could change the date of the round-trip ticket we booked.

Actually, my relationship with my grandfather wasn't very strong, but I thought I should go back to Korea right away. At that time, I thought I should.

After checking on the slow internet, the refund has already passed. Eventually, the flight and accommodation fees booked by EasyJet were not refunded.

The last hope was to explain the autonomous species again by calling a site that only makes reservations online. However, the return response was not refundable.

Eventually a new plane has to be cut off

We have calculated all the money we have exchanged for our own reservations and used for personal expenses. The amount that is not enough to break a new plane

There was no credit card. Also, there was no cash of 1 million won right now. Since I was a child, I have been living in difficult circumstances, so I have no courage to ask my house for 1 million won. 'Shall I borrow money from my sisters in the company?' I answered the phone, but the only answer that came back was that there wasn't that much money right now.

I had to have money to go to Korea. Mental robbed. It was panic. I was watching Suyeon quietly next to me.

After worrying, Suyeon picked up her cell phone and called somewhere

"Mom has 2 million won that I borrowed the other day... Can you send it to me now?

"Okay, let's talk to Korea."

And after a while, Su-yeon answered that she had sent her money. So I hung up on the flight leaving tomorrow morning.

And we cried for a long time in the room. I cried crying, and Suyeon was staring at the window and stealing tears.

When each other calmed down, Suyeon opened her mouth. Actually, I didn't have the money mom, so I borrowed it from people in the town and sent it urgently...

It seems like we cried for a long time. If I think about it now, it would have been enough for Suyeon to travel according to her original schedule, but maybe the way to comfort me in sadness was to return to Korea together....

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