Yes, you are freaking out... man.

Bonus points to anyone that gets the title quote...

Anyway, everything is packed and ready to go, I've got a cab reserved for an ungodly hour and I'm hoping I can manage to calm down enough to catch a few zzz's. My emotions have been up and down today, I just have to tell myself that 2 months is not a lifetime - it's too easy to get caught caught up in the things you'll miss rather than the excitment that is coming.

For instance, I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone at the Korea site and to trying kimchee. I might even try the "Squid doused in the fire of a 1000 suns" that Shakes keeps raving about, but probably not the Squid Jerkey... and I've been warned repeatedly that Sea Cucumber is NOT a vegetable, so that might be out. But there are lots of other things to look forward to.

I've never been to a city as big as Seoul. I mean, the logistics are mind-bottling - how do you fit 10 million people into 200 square miles? According to Wikipedia that's 44,000 people per square mile... I hope my neighbors use their Dial. And then there is the history: a sort of history that we westerners just can't fathom. For comparison, Portland was settled in 1843. Notre Dame Cathedral was finished in 1077. But Seoul first appears in the books in 18 BC. I can't wait to see the buildings and temples that have been around for nearly 2000 years. Now, that's what I call quality craftmanship.

And this concludes our lesson for the day. The next time I write I'll be on another continent and in a very different timezone. Keep your fingers crossed that someone remembers to pick me up at the airport!