Week 23 -- Buddhas and ICHIT

1. (What I learned about Korea)

This Saturday I went to several of Daedeok shrines and other historical structures.

One of the more interesting ones I went to was Okryugak. This was an old pavilion built for study. It was constructed over a small stream, and was put next to a temple. It was very serene, and it was nice to take a few moments to rest there after the hiking I'd been doing (I'd walked up Gyejoksan while there, as well as to Yonghwa Temple nearby, and also walked up another mountain to look at the Wusul Fortress monument.) It was good to get a rest.

I also saw Ssangcheongdang. This was a small building within a larger old structure. I was only just able to get into the larger one, as it was getting a bit late, but I'm glad I did. It was fun to look over the old architecture, and to examine the sprawling grounds.

I also had occasion to examine some Korean instruments this week, with Dan. Dan plays several string instruments and was able to go into detail about some of them (including one that was very much like a ukelele). It was a good learning experience.

2. (Project status)

I presented successfully at the ICHIT conference.

I also got video of the HUBO arms dancing, verifying that the RoboNova algorithm is indeed scalable.

3. (Photos of the week)

The first photo is of me at the ICHIT conference:

The second two photos are the two famous Buddha statues that I saw on Saturday. The first is the one at Yonghwa Temple, the second at Birae Temple.

The fourth and fifth photos are for comparison -- the other two famous Buddhas I've seen in Daejeon, both over a month ago. They've both been on the blog before, but I'm including them again for reference. One is the carving at Bomunsan, the other the statue at Bongsosa.

4. (What I learned about myself)

When I was climbing to the Wusul fortress monument, I went off path. It was a slog through a lot of brush and undergrowth, but I was able to get through and get up the mountain. I showed that I can overcome such an obstacle.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met several people at the conference, and we discussed the dancing robot project. It was a good time.

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.