Week 14 -- Jangtaesan and Virginia Tech

1. (What I learned about Korea)

On Saturday I went down to Jangtaesan, one of the 8 "scenic sights" of Daejeon. Jangtaesan is a mountain and has a well known forest on it. The forest was filled with people picnicking, relaxing by rivers, and having fun as families. There were also gardens and a small inn area near the top of the mountain, and an observatory where I could look out over the city at the very top. It was a very tranquil place, and now I've seen another Daejeon Sight. Only 3 more to go (Gubongsan mountain, Daecheonghosu Lake, and the Yuseong Spa).

I also used the busses for the first time. A lot of people have electronic travel cards that they just swipe when exiting the bus. I don't have one, so I paid cash, but it was interesting to see the ease with which people paid. I think Septa could take a few tips from them.

Today I journeyed to Ssoonghyeon lecture hall. It was another peaceful place. I got to see the various buildings and I learned some of the history of the shrine. It was only a half hour's walk from my dormitory too. The other Cultural Assets in Yuseong are much further out, so it will be harder to see them, but I'm going to try.

I saw a movie for the first time in Korea -- Transformer 2. They sell squid as a snack in movie theaters in Korea. I stuck with popcorn, having already tried squid, but I was intrigued by the concept nevertheless. The theater experience was fundamentally the same, though.

Finally, for the first time in Korea I went to a McDonalds. I discovered that they sell some different food here, including shrimp burgers. I got one, and it tasted kind of odd, but still pretty good.

2. (Project status)

I got through a lot of the motor controller documentation this week. This is substantially different than the other documentation I did earlier in the spring; this is requiring me to look through the different sets of motor controller schematics to identifying what setting the various pins does. Still, it's going smoothly.

There was a small hiccup early in the week due to computer troubles, but that's mostly fixed now.

3. (Photos of the week)

First photo is from the observatory in Jangtaesan, the second is from Ssoonghyeon.

4. (Things I learned about myself)

I learned that I can bypass computer difficulties and continue working even when technical failures happen.

5. (New people I met this week)

Derrick Lahr from Virginia Tech arrived this week. I'd met him on the PIRE trip in November, but we had a lot more contact this week. He's a very nice guy, and friendly too. He came with Clayton and I to see Transformers.