Mindy Kim and the Trip to Korea

My name is Mindy Kim. I am nine years old, and today I’m going to Korea for the first time ever!
My mom and dad were born in South Korea, but I was born in San Francisco. So my parents have been to Korea lots of times but not me. I’ve only been to California and Florida and that’s it. I’m so nervous about my first trip out of the country!
“Psst, are you up, Mindy?”
Dad peeked into my room, and a sliver of light from the hallway lit up my bed. It was still dark outside, but we had to get up really early to catch our flight.
The truth was, I hadn’t slept one bit. I was way too excited! But I didn’t want Dad to worry. So I slowly got out of my bed with a big yawn like I was just waking up.
“Yup!” I said. “Ready to go, Appa.”
Appa means “Daddy” in Korean. Sometimes I call him Dad and sometimes I call him Appa.
Dad smiled. “Good! I’ll meet you downstairs. Is your suitcase ready?” I nodded and rolled it over to Dad so he could carry it down the stairs. My suitcase was super cute, with pink hearts and a cute cat on the front. Dad had bought it for me last week so I could pack for this trip.
I wasn’t an expert on what to pack for Korea, but luckily, Dad was. He helped me pack my suit case in no time! The only thing I really wanted to bring was my dog, Theodore the Mutt. But Dad said it would be too stressful for Theodore..
“A lot of dogs don’t handle flying on planes well,” he’d explained. “And it’s too short a trip for
him to get used to everything. That’s why we’re leaving him with Mrs. Park and Eunice- it’s for the best!”
Eunice is my babysitter, but this summer, she was going to be Theodore’s. Eunice is the best babysitter ever!
We dropped Theodore off at Eunice’s house last night. He looked so confused and whined a lot when Dad and I left. It made me really sad, but I knew this was for his own good. Plus, he could play with Eunice’s dog, Oliver the Maltese! Theodore and Oliver are best friends. Even though I was super excited to go on my first trip to Korea, I already missed Theodore. I hoped he’d have tons of fun with Oliver!
“Mindy! Are you ready?” Dad called from down stairs. “We need to head out!”
“Coming!” I yelled.
I looked around my room one last time before heading toward the door. Usually it’s messy because Theodore and I like to play a lot. But last night, I’d
cleaned my room after we dropped Theodore off. So everything was super clean. It looked like someone else’s room!
“Good-bye, room,” I whispered. “See you in two weeks!”
My room didn’t say anything back, but it looked empty and lonely without Theodore and me. I took a deep breath and closed the door.