I became more conscious of my manners on this luxurious trip to Seoul, Korea. Seated in business class with more comfort than I’m used to on a flight, I tried to discreetly peer left and right to see how to properly eat the little miniature cakes and shrimp that were given to us. Was I supposed to spear the food with the little sword or pick it up with my hands. I’m trying very hard to capture all of the customs so that my guests think that I’m a polite guest. Of course, the people seated next to me are probably just as ignorant. The ones to the left are from Microsoft ’cause I just read the Microsoft Confidential papers laid out in the seat next to me. To the right is someone who went to sleep immediately after takeoff and is still asleep. I’m going to try to stay awake for the entire flight to Seoul. Maybe I will sleep on the way to Hong Kong. Already, I’m further west than I have ever been.

The stewardess is very proper. She even turns my little wine class properly so the Asiana insignia points at me. I continue to watch for this throughout the flight and the next. They all do it.

Looking out the window over Japan:

Inside Seoul’s kick axe airport:

Hey, s’up? This is the very first post I’m writing – about 10 days after the fact. So, if it ends up being junk, I’ll delete it. But, at the bare minimum I wanted to share a few pictures from the farewell dinner. At the suggestion of Tiffany, Aaron, and Pavan, I threw a small farewell party 5 days before leaving for China. I actually left for China two weeks before I had originally planned to go, so the party was thrown with only about two days notice! So, thanks to everyone who made the effort to come out. Also, thank you Tiffany, once again, for your expert cooking advice.