This past Saturday, Sara and I stayed with her family friend, Sonia, in Dongnimmun, Seoul. Sonia also had a close friend of the family, a doctorate and scholar on Korean religion, staying for the weekend. We four walked up a neighboring hill/mountain (something in between) to a Bhuddist temple. The doctor gave us some history on religion; I learned that 90% of Bhuddists in Korea belong to the Jogye Order. The temple we visited belonged to a small order that branched from Jogye because the monks married there. At one point, the King visited the temple and was shocked and disturbed by the Bhuddist children running around the temple as a result of the marriages and demanded that something be done. The only thing to do was to split from the larger order. The only different thing about the temple we visited was that it does not have residences, again because of the marriages. Monks instead live outside of the temple with their families.
2. Summarize your project status.
I have a new project plan! It is an ever-evolving creature.
Lauren Neudorfer Plan, as of 6/25/2010
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The Psychology of Humanoid Robotics: Robotic Body Language
Week 1
Research project conception with advisory on campus
Write a proposal and plan
Week 2
Orientation at Drexel
Meet Jaemi Hubo, and Drexel Team
Research Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) in order to
understand the key issues therein
Week 3
First week at KAIST
Meet KAIST Team
Gather research materials
Week 4
Read research materials
Week 5
Write up literature review
Week 6
Learn to use MatLab robot simulation program
Begin work to simulate the six universal emotions: happiness,
anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, and fear by collaborating
with Sara
anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, and fear by collaborating
with Sara
Week 7
Finish my simulations
Do simulation write-ups
Week 8
Last week at KAIST
Work wrap-up
Work wrap-up
Summary write-up
3 minute video
Week 9
Project debrief with advisory back in US
Presentation
Week 10
Project debrief with Drexel
So, this week, I made myself familiar with Cheol's simulation program and began simulating three emotions: sadness, anger, and disgust. Sara chose fear, surprise, and happiness; we consulted each other intermittently.
3. Take photos and select one to be the photo of the week. Describe it and why you shot and selected it.
This is a picture of one of my random picks from the campus snackshop. It is a bag of cuttlefish-flavored chips; as Sara put it, the thing smelled "like a lizard or a pet shop." The taste was strong and offputting, but slightly sweet. After half of the bag, I got used to the smell and enjoyed the rest. I chose this picture because I'm proud of how much I've tried during my travels. I have always heard that traveling is a skill, but I'm learning that a big part of it is being comfortable just outside of your comfort zone.
4. What did you learn about yourself this week?
Staying with my American family friend living in Korea opened my eyes to the possibility of living anywhere in the world. I think it's funny how so many people grow up and stay close to home when the world is so small and connected these days. I learned that I'm interested in living in a different country at some point in my life; I seriously started thinking about teaching in South Korea for a year after this week.
5. Who are the new people (Koreans not affiliated with the Hubo Lab) that you met this week?
On our way back to Daejeon, Sara and I shared a taxi with a businessman. He spoke more English than we realized, so we exhausted our knowledge of Korean conversation before turning to broken English conversation. I brought out my Korean vocabulary flash cards at one point and he found them funny; he quizzed us on the words, which was such a bizarre and wonderful way to learn them. I am always surprised how easy it is to get into fun and genuinely friendly conversation with people here, despite the obvious and sometimes crippling language barrier.
