This picture is from our trip to Gyeongju last week, but I didn't learn the significance of the pig until this week. This week, after flying back to Seoul from Jeju Island, Yee Ling, Sara, Mike, and I shopped in Myong-dong for a while. This time, I noticed all of the pig keychains and charms everywhere. There were actually keychains for every animal in the zodiak, but the golden pig especially. I asked around, and learned that Koreans put a lot of stock in the Chinese zodiak. The year of the golden pig is especially lucky, and parents even plan to have their children in that year in the hopes that the children will have lucky lives. There is also some belief in reading blood types like horoscopes; they believe that some blood types will be better paired with some blood types than others. It is common in Korea to ask someone for their blood type.
2. Summarize your project status.
This week, I collaborated with Sara, Liz, and Peter to gather photos, videos, and ideas on content for our 3 minute video. We split up the work by topic and made plans for combining our work later. I then started drafting my culminating report on the program. I also packed and said my goodbyes to everyone in the lab and at KAIST.
3. Take photos and select one to be the photo of the week. Describe it and why you shot and selected it.
This shop is the convenience store on every street corner all over Korea. I chose it for my photo of the week because, over my time here, this has become a familiar and dear sight to me. I'm surprised at how much South Korea has come to feel like home. Despite the language barrier, I have come to feel like less of an outsider, to feel like I belong to some extent. I know my way around KAIST, Daejeon, and Seoul, and that makes them feel like they are my own.
4. What did you learn about yourself this week?
I learned that I enjoy speed and danger and the accompanying rush of adrenaline. Sara, Mike, and I rented ATVs on an island off of Jeju and had a hell of a time tearing around along the coast. I've never had the chance to do something like that before, and I really loved it.
5. Who are the new people (Koreans not affiliated with the Hubo Lab) that you met this week?
Our last day in Jeju was a bit rainy, but we were determined to find a waterfall, so we caught a taxi and had him drive us out to a remote one on our tourist map. On our way off of the site, though, we realized just how remote it was. There was a mile walk back on a dirt road just to get to a paved one. And then it started to rain harder. We made our way to a parking lot (also dirt) and found someone in his car. He came out and asked us where our umbrellas were (in broken English). When we shrugged, he pulled umbrellas out of his trunk and gave them to us, then offered us a ride. While we drove, we chatted and our new friend told us that he had an American friend who had been in Korea to teach, but had gone back home. He said he missed his friend, and that's why he offered to drive us. We talked more about his life (he was born and raised on Jeju Island) and said our thankful goodbyes at our next stop. I will miss that kind of kindness and sense of community when I leave Korea.
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