Today I said, "Hello" to a child.

After taking the Redeye to Incheon, we hopped on the express train to downtown Seoul. We immediately went into culture shock. The train left precisely at 8:00am. Greg remarked that he could eat off of the airport's floor. Upon arrival in downtown, we felt like slobs as businessmen and women dressed sharply headed off to work.

We really had no idea where to go after the train station. Blind luck led us to Gyeongbokgung Palace. The complex was absolutely enormous. Signage made sense. There were crosswalks and traffic signals. Few people were honking and we didn't have to risk our lives to cross the street to the palace. This is quite novel. The palace was a very nice surprise to run across. Cherry blossoms are in bloom here. The temperature was a pleasant 62 degrees and nobody was trying to sell us anything. In fact, on that matter, we saw dozens of school children at the palace today.

It was unusual to have children say hello to me and ask my name without trying to sell me a flute and postcards at the same time. I was so taken by this that I even said, "Hello" back. A full conversation was had. We asked each others names and said it was nice to meet each other. This was an important milestone for me. These children were actually pleasant.

Anyway, we are both exhausted, but holding on. Greg is very excited about the new stamp in his passport. See what else he has to say at his blog. Some day, we'll actually get home. But April 25th is going to be the longest day of our lives . . . .literally. It will be the 25th for about 40 hours.