Tuesday, June 20, 2006

brief, all too brief

After stuffing ourselves on cheap wang-mandu in the Chongno district, John and I parted ways so he could skip off to yet more meetings. Tomorrow, he jets over to Japan to hit Osaka and Nagoya, bringing the natives more of his Kiwi charm ("Damn Kiwis! Never trust 'em!" John advised me). He'll be back in Korea again after the Japan run, but only long enough to sleep overnight and take a flight back to NZ the following morning. So this is the last I see of him for a while. Years, maybe.

Among the many regrets I have about John's visit is that his lovely wife and two adorable little daughters didn't come along; I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the kids, but I've heard so much about them. Ah, well... maybe next time. If John forges a few solid East Asian contacts, he might be back in this neck of the woods more often. Or, one day, I'll have to fly on down to NZ, the land of Peter Jackson, Temuera Morrison, et al., and visit his family in Otago (John's a proud U. of Otago grad).

Happy trails, John! Safe journey to Japan, and no deep-vein thrombosis on the long flight back to Jackson's Mordor.


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