S Korea!!

Well we reached the Incheon International Airport, Seoul at around 3:30 pm as scheduled. After immigration clearance we came out to take bus to Daejon where we were going to work at KAIST [Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology]. The three things we were warned a lot before leaving was language,food & weather. But the weather was not so cold as we were expecting [around 7-8 °C was pleasant enough for Anshuman but not that great for me. I had wrapped myself well]. About language..as not more than 2% people speak english and while trying to learn my address [KAIST, Kusong Dong, Yusung Gu, Daejon]..I came to know what problems would lie ahead. But I had never imagined that it would be so excruciating. We could not make a call about arrival because we could not read the instructions about how to dial in Korean. But a lady obliged by lending her cellphone and reduced our problems.
Waiting at the bus stop..we were relieved that the sign boards read english but I guess it didn't matter much..the pronunciations were still gonna take their tall.


Phew! None of them was our destination!

But once in the bus it was not much of a problem..as we were supposed to get down at second out of three stops and were going to be received. But again we could not find a phone nearby..but the people around were really friendly & again were lent a cellphone this time by a young man who happened to be student at KAIST but was headed to meet his girlfriend an a cool Sunday evening..so we decided to wait for the Ph.D. candidate at ID KAIST [Design Department where we were joining as Lab Interns] who was supposed to pick us up.

Finally he arrived an what a relief it was! He is a really nice fellow and made us quite comfortable. We got our place in the dormrooms and he treated us to a nice dinner of a Korean Barbecue. I must say it has been an amazing time between my last dinner at India [Barbecue on IDC Terrace] and the first dinner in Korea. I hope the two dinners mark a great beginning to the New Year.


The lane lined with restaurants just outside KAIST Campus


Daeeop Kim : Our Host for the night..the Ph.D. Student


Me, Anshuman & Daeeop

Anshuman was too quick to learn to handle the chopsticks in one set of instructions..m still fiddling with my grip. [:(]..will pick up soon I know getting inspired from him.

Got a glimpse of the building of ID KAIST where we were going to work on our way back.


Installation in front of the department


Same installation in daylight


ID KAIST Building..yeah the Santa Claus is an installation which we missed in the dark :)

We were welcomed by the faculty members, met with our guides, got our spaces decided in the labs...and finally at the end of the day..an exclusive welcome dinner from Head of the Department.


Clockwise : Prof. Kun Pyo Lee [Head, ID KAIST], Prof. Tek Jin Nam [Head, CIDR lab, ID KAIST], Daeoop Kim [Ph.D. Student], Your's Truly & Anshuman



Side Dishes during the dinner

After two days, none of the problems seem so big..the weather is not dreadful, most of the people on campus speak english..and the food is ok if you are not an hardcore vegetarian and a little flexible!

Looking ahead to a good stay! Hoping to achieve something worth..

More to come..stay tuned..