I’m in Seoul now. Boy is this a different part of the world! The pollution is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Because Seoul was so heavily bombed during North Korea‘s attack in the early 1950s, everything here is completely rebuilt and new. It is like a huge (and I mean really, really huge) cement, steel, and glass, high rise jungle with over 10 million people–but it is immaculate: no one honks, everyone is polite, and virtually no homeless people or slums. This is about as 180 degrees from Mumbai as you can get!

One thing I have a VERY hard time getting used to is how passive the men and women are (completely unlike Americans, Australians, or Europeans). They are reticent to speak out, to move, or take action when you ask them to do something or they see something needs to be done. No matter what the circumstance, they always, and I mean always stand back, almost afraid to move, especially women, and always to check to see if anyone would object to what they might do or say. Of course I’m being a very assertive American woman and often have to say to the people working for me, just go ahead, please do that NOW for me.

I’m a bit of a celebrity in Korea. I had a press conference today with over 30 reporters. On Sunday I did a lecture to over 400 Korean women. After the lecture they stood in line waiting to get my autograph and their picture taken with me. It’s just amazing and incredibly flattering. Moments like this make all the hard work and days of non-stop traveling worthwhile.

My translators are great; they are working very hard and are sweet putting up with me. It is not easy for them to translate from English to Korean. The word order is out of synch with English. In order to say “Don’t waste your money on expensive skin care products”, the word order in Korean would be “Money waste not, skin care products expensive”.

Paula’s Choice Korea is doing great; they are growing at a phenomenal pace. This country is wired with a capital “W”! Everyone is on the internet and Internet shopping is more active here then almost any place in the world.

We watched a traditional Korean concert last night, which was fascinating. The twangy music is hard on these American ears but the audience was quite enthusiastic.

Oh, and the food here is amazing here! The variation of cooked and pickled vegetables is remarkable.

I’m here until Thursday and then off to Melbourne and Sydney for a week. It’s a 13 hour flight from here to Melbourne and then a 16 hour flight back from Sydney to Seattle. I’m tired just thinking about it. Thank goodness for Ambien.

I’m off to do more interviews, then get my hair and nails done so I look good for the interviews I have lined up for tomorrow. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the amount of time it takes to get ready for an interview.

 All the best!