Shops in the city

I’ve been in Korea for just over a week now. I have settled into my work and I am slightly less sensitive to the ridiculously hot food that is served every meal.  On Friday, my supervisor, Dr Kim, took me and a few others for a meal at a restaurant that crosses Korean and Italian food. There were lots of starters with the more unusual things (at least to me!) were octopus ink bread and fried squid. My main meal was a combination I wouldn’t have thought would go well together, steak and noodles but it did. In fact it was very good!

Hi-tech toilet seats

For me to experience Korean culture is just as important as the work I do. I have been researching places I want to visit and things I want to see. This weekend I kept it fairly local. I went to Daejeon centre again on Saturday to get some food and other essentials. I went into “Home Plus” which is partly run by Tesco. There were a few similarities but not many! I also went to what I think was Guseongdong Sanseong (mountain fortress) but it was a bit of an let down because all I could find was a bench. I’ll go again sometime and see if just missed it. It’s nice to know I still have lots of time to visit places. It’s also good to go back to places for a second time because I often miss something the first time.

Me and the bike

Today (Sunday) I borrowed a bike and cycled to Yuseong (foot) Spa. It was a very pleasant ride along the river and the cycle path was just about deserted. I think I expected Daejeon to busier than it actually is. Glasgow on Saturday afternoon seems to be more crowded! I had read about the foot spa in a travel guide so I knew the etiquette in advance. You need to wash your feet before you put them in! The water was very hot. I think it would be more pleasant in winter but it was still relaxing even when the temperature outside was about 30°C. I met a friendly man there but unfortunately I cannot remember his name and the name on his business is in Korean. I really need to get myself some business cards! He also sent of one of his kids to get everyone a cold drink. The generosity and kindness of Korean’s has been wonderful.  His children were very cute and despite all of them being less than 10 they spoke English better than I speak Korean!

My new friends

I am going to try and learn some Korean while I am here. However it seems really difficult because I don’t think I pronounce anything correctly. I had the bright idea of loading a map onto my phone which a dot in Scotland so people know where I come from. I’ve been suspected as English, Irish, French  and American so far!