Entry #12 - I'm off on the Road to Korea

Well, technically, I am in Korea in the lounge right now, but I couldn't resist the homage to History of the World. At the end of the morning in the office, I made my goodbyes as Grace and Cindy took me to the hotel for a quick lunch. We all had a wanton soup in the same cafe that Mike and I eat our breakfast in. The Western feel of restaurants sure is dull by comparison, although it is always nice to be able to read the menu. After finishing, I went up to my room one last time to grab my suitcase and checked out of the Swissotel (yes, that is how it's spelled).
We hopped in the standard old tiny taxi and took the 20 minute ride to the hotel. Funny that by far the craziest driver I had was the one that picked me up from the airport - the rest have been fairly sane. Along the way I was told that at work Mike was taking part in a special lunch event. Apparently, every once in a while, the employees take part in a random lunch. That is, the use a program that randomly assigns you to a particular lunch group (this is across all of the teams in the company). The point being, to meet and spend time with people in other groups in the company. Once assigned a group, they go out to any restaurant that they choose. A terrific idea that would be fun to implement in some fashion back in Milwaukee.
All too soon we arrived at the airport, and after guiding me to the departure point, I bid farewell to Cindy and Grace. Walking into the checkout area was pretty easy as the Dalian airport is surprisingly small for a city roughly the size of Chicago. It is much smaller that Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, if you can believe that. The only item of note is that the guy who checked me in took awhile to understand that I had a connecting flight in Korea and wanted my luggage to go to Chicago, not end up on a carousel in Korea. Only time will tell if he got it right.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 2:15pm, but we didn't push off until about 2:45. Being the only westerner on the entire 737 felt a bit strange, but had no problems. In fact, the same guy who was barely able to check me in got me the exit row seat! Nice surprise. It was funny that I didn't have anyone sitting next to me or even the next seat over from that - this is despite the fact that the plane appeared full. Oh well, I wasn't going to complain. The quick 1 hour flight to Korea was uneventful, yielding a late afternoon landing in Korea.
Upon deplaning, I took the long walk searching for where I should go next. We got messed up a bit after getting off the plane in Korea on the way out as well. Trick is, to find the "Transfer" signs and go up an escalator to a different floor. I found the Asiana desk, got my ticket and headed to my favorite lounge - the Asiana lounge in Korea. That is where I have crafted this uneventful blog.
From my reasonably comfortable chair here, I see that it is 5:45 and I have one more hour to wait before heading off to ate 6 to board the 747 for the long flight home. Maybe presents me a moment for some mini-observations that I was never able to craft into the flow of the blog (or I forgot).
1) Dalian was much cleaner that I expected, with street workers sweeting the sidewalks
2) While it seemed cleaner, it had a distinct smell (to be fair many American cities do as well). This smell, like car exhaust, permeated the air outside and even the hotel room; this was a bit uncomfortable. That being said, my asthma didn't bother me - just a bit tight after playing basketball.
3) I was very impressed that the Rockwell employees for the most part spoke very good English. I didn't recall it being much of an issue communicating at all.
4) If you make the trip yourself, try your hardest to keep an open mind on the food. If not, you will miss out on some truly spectacular flavors.
5) Practice your chopsticks! I was not good when I came here, but now am adequate (with the exception of noodles - man they are difficult).
6) It was interesting to see just how huge Christmas is in China. They only really know it as a time for presents, but the stores sure feel just like back in the States. Even the hotel constantly played American Christmas songs non-stop.
7) Don't eat raw seafood in China - For as much as I love it, that one day of agony was not fun - at all! That also goes for non-bottled water. Personally I also became concerned with hot tea after becoming ill. Although that was probably unfounded as it most certainly would have been boiled.
8) Know the basic words in Chinese - it will impress your guests and make you life much, much easier. These words are: Hello, Yes, No, Please, Thank You, What, How much, Too expensive, and goodbye. For some reason, I also said duibuqi quite a bit (that means I'm sorry). I found a good site at http://www.standardmandarin.com/basicchinese.aspx that also would say the words out loud. The main thing I didn't know until I came out here is that there are 4 main tones to speaking Chinese. Steady, Rising, Falling, and Falling then Rising. The site explains it fully, but it takes a little getting used to in order to speak properly (or at lest close enough).
Lastly and most importantly) Being away from your family for an extended time really makes it clear just how much they mean to you. I can't wait to come home and see the kids running for daddy (and their presents!) See you soon!

If all goes well, I will land in Chicago at 6pm or so (Saturday US time), and be home by 9pm.

I may have yet another blog for a final wrap up after I get back (probably not until Sunday at the earliest), so check back next week in case I forgot something exciting.

Goodbye for now...