Travel Day - Trip to Pohang

I actually began this post on Saturday afternoon, while on the KTX.  Here's what I wrote:

As I type, I'm actually sitting on the KTX, rumbling through city and countryside.  But what a journey to get here!  Our train was scheduled to leave at 4:30pm.  We had planned to leave at 2:00pm, figuring that 2.5 hours to journey to Seoul Station was enough.  We didn't foresee getting turned around at Bupyeong Station, and ending up stopped at Yongsan Station, though!  With somewhere around 70 lb. of luggage each in various suitcases, just getting on the 91 bus from the SUNY Korea bus stop was a struggle.  My roommate was the only one with the foresight to walk in the road rather than the sidewalk, since the sidewalk is separated from the road by a wildgrass section almost like a hedge.  Once on the bus, we took up most of it...

Don't worry, we moved once we figured out how to compact our bags.

We did a slightly better job on the crowded subway.  For this leg of the journey, we took the subway from Campus Town to Bupyeong.

I suppose it's worse during weekday rush hour, right?

We got a little lost at Bupyeong, but with our resident translator's language skills, we managed to get both directions and elevators to our next train, this time, to Seoul Station.  While waiting for the elevator, I took some photos of the shops.

Bright, glittery, and packed with the latest in clothes and jewelry.

10 minutes into the train ride, however, the idea of riding the express train was floated, and we agreed to get off at the next stop to switch to the next train.  We waited at the subway station with our sea of bags, trying not to take up too much of the rest benches.

4 people, 4 backpacks, 7 suitcases.  Yea.

While on the train, we crossed a lovely bridge into Seoul.

Teal?  Turquoise?  Sea green?  Whatever the color, I love the structure of the bridges here.

The problem came when  we reached Yongsan Station.  It turns out that Express trains only run to that stop!  A conductor luckily came down the aisle and asked where we were headed.  We managed to get back to the stop before and catch the next train to Seoul Station, but we had lost some time by then...

Too late!

Our resident translator managed to get us tickets for the next train, at 5:30pm, though.  With the cancellation fee split between the four of us, it wasn't too bad, and we did enjoy the comfortable seats on the train.  At this point, I realized that the internet wasn't all that reliable, and never published this post.

It really does look like an airplane on the inside, only more space and softer seats.

Interestingly enough,while we were waiting for our train to Singyeongu (closest stop to Pohang), I noticed that the station looked almost exactly like Jamaica Station on the Long Island Railroad.

Great minds think alike..?

Another view once on the platform.

This is going to be familiar once I get back to New York...

We also got to Singyeongu in time to catch the 8:00pm bus to Pohang.  Um, there are no pictures of the bus, the taxi or our somewhat arduous trip up the various hills of POSTECH to our dorm, because both of my hands were occupied, or, in the case of the bus pictures, it looks a little psychedelic.

In any case, we all survived the journey and managed to get ourselves unpacked enough to sleep.  More on the rest of the previous week soon!

Last Day of POSCO and On to Pohang!

It's difficult to believe that we've already spent 6 weeks in Korea, and finished our internship at POSCO, especially since I'm nowhere near caught up with blog posts!  I wrote a little piece on my other (slightly neglected) blog tonight, just thinking about our time here.  Shhh, don't tell Fire that its birthday came and went.  I'm waiting for the time (and oven!) to celebrate properly.  Speaking of celebrations, though, our departments at POSCO kindly sent us off with a dinner party.  Our mentors and even the head of the Product Applications Center (very, very, very important person!) invited us to a dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.  We even got a private room!

I'm sorry about your head, Jay!

POSCO has been terrifically kind to us since we arrived.  Plopping off a handful of college students amongst busy engineers and researchers, three of whom do not speak the language and asking said busy engineers and researchers to give them work is quite a task.  Our mentors have been incredibly patient and friendly, as have been the bosses and staff.

Today, we capped off our internship with presentations by each of us.  The employees were kind enough to ask us our thoughts on the program and our experiences, and then we were presented with lovely certificates of program completion.  Believe it or not, the cover that holds the certificate is blue velvet.

It's so beautiful, just like POSCO's buildings :)

And so we bid a fond farewell to POSCO.  POSTECH, here we come!

Chinatown in Korea?

Day 32. Considering that China is merely across a small sea, it's a little surprising that Korea doesn't have more Chinatowns.  It's due to some past history that few Chinese people live in Chinatowns, resulting in many Korean-run businesses and restaurants.  Still, authenticity or none, we took the train to the end of the Incheon line, greeted by this rather grand arch.

My roommate gazes upon... the traffic passing by, determined not to let us be run over.

And just in case you were left in any doubt...

Yep, you're in Chinatown.

Our first order of business was to find a restaurant for lunch, as it was well past noon by then.  We passed several restaurants, including one bearing this sign.  We kept going...

Just in case you were looking for someplace tourist-approved.

Past something that kept reminding us of lunch...

Cute!

Past these intimidating stairs...

Oh, and you thought the hills stopped in Seoul?  Hehehe...

We finally stopped at a place that didn't seem too foreboding or expensive.

Yup, this was one of the quieter places...

And were greeted by some very Korean side dishes.

Clockwise from top: pickled daikon, black spicy sauce, raw onion.

And some delicious Chinese food!  It was rather better than expected.

Clockwise from top left: Soup, fried dumplings, beef and broccoli, shrimp fried rice.

We left, but not without a photo with a guardian lion first.

Then a stop at a quiet little rest place, and a rare shot of the three of us!

Thank you, camera timer, you are my friend.

A stop at a souvenir shop.  Oooh, replica weapons!

From bows to swords to axes...  I believe the jewelry was on the other end of the table.

Afterwards, we wandered away from official Chinatown to a park nearby.  We passed by this intimidating statue while we labored up the stairs.  It was hot and humid that day, like most days during the Korean summer...

I should probably know, but to be honest, I don't know who this is.  Anyone know?

I played with the friendliest feral cat in all of Korea.

Flopping down on its side to ask for attention.

Old men playing Go in the shade of the trees.

This would be a lot more exciting if I knew the rules.

Mandatory flattering photo amidst the trees!

(Never mind the mosquitoes)

Two of us took a swing (or 16) at the batting cages.

Hit a home run into the opposite wall!  You can do it!

After wandering some back alleys, side streets and quiet, rural neighborhoods, we managed to find our way back to Chinatown, where the tourists are supposed to go.  We were greeted again by a nice arch.

When in Korea, do as the Koreans do...  Display that peace sign proudly!

On the way back, we passed by another station on the line, Bupyeong. 

We spend a lot of time on the Korean train and subway system.

There are underground markets and a department store called Lottemart, similar to the E-Mart.  Sweet treats to be had in Korea include frozen yogurts and smoothies.  We have Red Mango in the States, Korea has:

Along with more traditional goodies, like kimchi soup, one stall over.

That's the big trip of the weekend!  More adventures to be posted soon. 

Week 4 of POSCO

Days 26-29.  Boy, oh, boy, do Koreans know how to party!  Last Monday night, the entire Product Solutions Group (2 floors of our side of the building!) enjoyed a celebratory company dinner at a restaurant in the outdoor street mall of Songdo to honor several new team members joining POSCO.  From the bosses to the interns, our group filled the restaurant (admittedly, the restaurant was a small one).  Sheep meat grilled over hot coals, beer and soju and soda and a few tiny bottles of this incredibly strong Chinese spirit, bowls of noodles so spicy it made even the Koreans sweat, laughter and joking speeches and shouted conversation, the dinner lasted nearly three hours.  By the end of the night, it seemed that everyone was in a good mood and some may have been slightly drunk. 

We traveled directly there from POSCO on the 91 bus and sadly, I didn't have my camera on me.  I do have a few to share from around Songdo Global University Campus, though.

11 floors straight up!  This is one of the entrances to our building, Student Housing A.

Right outside of our building is the cafeteria.  You can see the fence around the grass in the bottom part of the photo right before, which is actually the sloping, grassy roof of the cafeteria.  This particular photo was taken out of my roommate's window, while they planted some trees.

5 weeks later, I still love the idea of being able to walk on top of the cafeteria!

The bus stop is right on campus, right across the street from POSCO.

Pondering the current location of the bus...

The 91 bus has become a familiar sight to us.

Hello 91 bus, you are my friend.

Later that night, a photo of the rainbow lights on campus.

These lights change color quite often.

That's about it for Week 4!  More adventures on the weekend :)

4th Weekend - Grocery Store and Park Exploration

Days 23-25.  The weekend before last was uneventful, with trips to E-Mart, which is somewhat like a Wal-Mart in that it sells everything from clothes to food (but better quality, with a real grocery store), and the Sunrise park the highlights of the weekend.

The first thing that interested me was the carts, as we walked into the store.  Each cart is linked together with chains, and the chains are released with the insertion of a 100-won coin, or about 10 cents.  Fun enough, you get the coin back when you put the chain back into the front of the cart.

A great, simple way to prevent cart theft.

I was surprised by the amount of make-up and skin care products, next to the health booth.  It blends neatly into the supply of organic flours and sugars, right by the refrigerated sauces and other ingredients, which leads into the produce, meat and fish area.  The staff offers samples from small tables, perpetually talking about their products.  It makes for a constant stream of Korean from all angles, which most of the shoppers quietly ignore unless they're interested in the sample.

Skinfood is a very popular skincare chain in Korea.

 One fascinating thing I found, though, was the snack aisle.  A good chunk was taken up by various brands of what is sold in the U.S. as Choco-Pies, or Moon Pies, 2 slightly dry cakes sandwiching a marshmallow fluff filling, dipped in a chocolate coating.  I really didn't know they were so popular here...

There are more on the other side of the aisle!

Unfortunately, I was somewhat low on money that weekend, and didn't purchase much besides cereal.  We went back next weekend, though, to get more groceries and simply explore :)  This day, though, we walked around outside, and noticed the base of the highway running overhead.  One of my favorite things about Songdo, and Incheon in general, is how thoughtfully the city was built.  Small touches like this one amuse and pause me for a second, to notice the aesthetics worked into every aspect.

Painted bamboo on the column, and is that real bamboo around it?

A day or two later, I walked to Sunrise Park, snapping photos along the way.  On the sides of the road between the bike paths and the sidewalks grow these rose hip-like fruits.

They remind me a little of tomatoes.

I passed a building that reminded me that no matter how hard it seems...

Most of the time, anyway (reference: 2012 Olympic gymnastics).

When I reached the park entrance, I was greeted by these adorable critters.

Friendly land-whales.

And I felt a little sad that I wasn't a kid anymore.

If the family wasn't there, I so would have played on this structure...

But then I looked up, and admired the reminder that the park was a green oasis in the midst of the modern and developed Songdo.

This path wraps around the park, and marks the meters  you've gone!

And stopped to peer at the occasional flowers, on bright display against the green backdrop of cattails.

Light pink and green is actually one of my favorite color combinations.

I appreciated the unobtrusive wooden steps as opposed to the typical harsh staircases and concrete walkways.

I wonder how long it took to set down the paths for the whole park...

Cattails lined the small lake in the center of the park.

Maybe there are fish in the pond?  Certainly plenty of insect life!

On the way back, I observed the signs leading me back to our dorm.  I've always liked taking photos of road signs to prove that we were there and to show the weather.  Usually, there's a lot of bouncing and some timing involved, since I'll be in a car, but this was a rare treat to see this sign with the luxury of stopping to set up my shot.  However, it's not all that well-placed since I was hungry and simply impatient to get back.

Home sweet home on the right, at least for another 3 weeks!

Eight flights of stairs later (don't judge; it's my workout!), I sat down to enjoy a pastry that my roommate had kindly brought back for me.  The crust was a cross between a moist cookie and a very dry cake, filled with sweet red bean paste, one of my favorite flavors.  The top was decorated with some sweet chestnut pieces.

Glasslock is my friend.

And that was it for a calm and quiet weekend :)