Departing on September 4

I got my plane ticket a couple days ago and confirmed my departure date.

I'll be flying out of Pittsburgh at 9:20 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, and heading to San Francisco. The flight will take about five-and-a-half hours, getting me there by 11:44 a.m. Pacific Time.

Once there, I'll have about an hour-and-a-half-layover to stretch my legs, get some lunch and hopefully get a beer. I get back on a big Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at 1:15 p.m. and take off for the long leg of the journey. For that, I'll be in the air for a little more than 12 hours.

Total trip time, including my layover, is estimated at 19 hours 5 minutes. I figured I could study my Korean language books on the trip over and be fluent by the time I get there.

If all goes well, I should land at Incheon International Airport at 5:25 p.m. Korean Time on Friday in Incheon.

It'll be really nice to get there on a Friday evening. That will give me the chance to check out my apartments and get any essentials I might need. I'll also be able to get a little rest before I start work on Monday.

The best part is having my buddy Dan out there. He thinks he'll be finishing work by the time I'm in my apartment that evening. We already have plans for him to show me around the city a little bit.

I'm sure I'll get a little bit of culture shock while I'm there. No matter how prepared I am going into this, it certainly will be overwhelming to see and hear everything in Korean. If I'm desperate for English, I guess I can just find a McDonalds or Coca-Cola. Good old westernization, making me feel at home. Ha.

There may only be a couple more posts before I leave. If anyone can think of any good travel tips for long flights or spending time in a foreign country, feel free to post them. I'm certainly open to suggestions.

Until then, I'll be eating as much beef and macaroni and cheese as possible. From what Dan says, that'll be hard to come by one I get there. Looks like Kraft and steak for dinner until I go!