Trip preparations

Having recently been outside the country, I feel that I am a bit more prepared for this kind of trip. I made alot of mistakes that I will try to avoid on this trip. Most of the problems came from negligence and lack of preparation. Luckily, the person I travelled with has been out of the country on a few occasions and was well prepared. One thing I didn't think of that came in handy was a compass. That compass saved us on so many occasions. Another thing that helped were trail mix bars. I know what you're thinking, "Trail mix bars?! are you nuts?! just buy some food over at a restaurant or something. Why eat that crap when there are so many delicacies to be had in another country!" Well.. it is for that reason that the bars helped out. We had an idea of what we wanted to eat and where and sometimes, in a mass transit country, you just aren't around food you want to eat or don't have time to stop. Another reason is because, with small granola bars, its easier to fight the urge to eat at weird hours when you are halfway across the world.

There are a few other things that I need to be aware of before the trip. Weather is obviously a big one. Culture and daily life are big as well. For example, in Japan, handkerchiefs are almost mandatory as they (usually) don't have tissue paper (or air dryers) in the bathrooms and restaurants usually give out moist towelletes. Respect for elders and trying not to offend others are pretty high priority. The last big thing (that I can think of at the moment) is learning the language...
I'm gonna need help learning these and will post them as I come across them.

Right now I'll write a list of phrases I think I will need to use in Korea.
"where is the bathroom"
"I can't speak Korean"
"I am lost"
"thank you/no thank you"
"sorry"
"excuse me"
"hello/goodbye"
"nice to meet you"
"do you know English?"