Thursday, May 13, 2004
The Odyssey Continues...
Off at Bangkok and onto (again) Thai Air to Seoul. The Bangkok airport was really superb. Huge - and sparkling clean. Had to wait there for about an hour - and got talking with these cute girls (taiwanese girls - I came to know later).
Sardars Galore
Boarded the flight - and guess what - this time too I got a sardar next to me. But he was different - he had short hair. But still - once a sardar always a sardar. Man - the kind of conversation they make! It was nice time pass.
Taking off from bangkok I saw almost a kilometer long line of cars on one of the crossings. And no - I'm not exaggerating - it was probably more than a kilometer. And we say Delhi suffers from traffic jams! You should've seen that. It must've been over 500 cars all back to back!!
Just before touching Taipei (for a one hour break) the view from the window was breathtaking! We were flying over the ocean - and it was amazingly beautiful. Especially when the plane was at quite a low altitude... the ripples on the sea. You could actually _see_ the coastline through the crystal clear water. And the cars & roads - all sparkling and neat. Taipei was beautiful - from up in the air atleast.
Off from Taipei to Seoul. Got off at Seoul. Here again - I was told immigration and all would take 2 hours. But it was all over in 20 minutes.
Rendevous with Technology
Right at the International Airport I was greeted with kind of technology that I would be dealing with throughout my stay in Korea. I got a 100 dollars exchanged for about 1,14,000 Won (yeah - that's right - that's what the Korean currency is called). Got over to the telephone booth to make a call and I'm greeted by this big huge touch screen with a conventional handset on one side and a keyboard placed at the bottom. WOW! I called up the international affairs office at POSTECH but the lady who picked up the phone couldn't speak English. So I access the Internet from the kiosk itself and mail the international affairs incharge about my arrival. Man - that piece of work really impressed me! It was freaking great!!
The rise of the Civil Engineer
On my way from the International (Incheon) Airport to the Domestic (Gimpo) Airport aboard a Limousine Bus - I witnessed all the Civil Engineering that I had ever studied in my text books down back home. There was everything - right from land reclamation from the sea to geotextiles & geomaterials, from smart cars to sexy transportation engineering, it was all there. The much touted latest civil engineering technology at work. I was ashamed of our level there in India. What the hell do we study all this for? I've never ever seen it being applied there. It's really a shame.
Well... from the Gimpo Airport I took the flight to Pohang and at the Pohang airport I was greeted by two of my labmates from POSTECH.
Welcome to Pohang
Or Phu-hung - funny pronunciation. That's what I realized right from Incheon International. Now that I'm learning Korean I know why!
Okay - two of my labmates picked me up from the Pohang airport - and (surprise, surprise) one of them owned a car. I'm greeted by an (almost) deserted airport - and the streets in the city are not crowded at all. And it's 9:00 PM in Korea... I guess all of them must be watching some crap doled out by Eakta Kapoor and her Balaji Productions! (why do I have to crack such jokes?)
So, they drive me to POSTECH (about 20 mins - nice drive) - chatting with me all the way. After the regulars - the first question they ask me is - what is your age?! Well, I tell them (look up my profile if you're curious)! And splat - the next question is - "Do you have a girlfriend in India?" (orkut profile for this one :-)
The main POSTECH entrance is awesome - with a steep 30-40 m ramp going off the road leading to a wonderful main gate. I cant describe it here cuz I ain't no great writer - but I'll let the pictures do the talking - when I get the reel developed.
The HOT Stud in town?
Into POSTECH - we're waiting in front of the SEE building (that School of Environmental Engineering for the uninitiated) - waiting for labmate #1 (I still dont remember his name!) to call an Indian by the name of Joshi from the the 4th floor. Labmate #2 (ditto :-) tells me - You're handsome. Huh?! I mean - I'm dumbstruck. All I can say is a polite and meek - Thank You! He continues - Yes! You're really handsome. Not like other Indians we have here. AWRIGHT - I suddenly feel elated - immediate Hot Stud status within the first hour in Pohang. Woooohoooo!
After a long wait - out comes Joshi. We go to our dormitory room. Here in POSTECH they dont call them hostels or halls of residence. It's called Dormitory. I'm in dormitory #18 and my room number is 101. I'm given a key to my room - a booklet (Student Housing Guide) - with all the rules and regulations concerning life in a POSTECH dormitory.
Well... it's pretty chilly out here in Pohang - with the outside temperature around 20-25 celcius - and when it rains it is lower. So the labmates (#1 and #2) have already "rented" out a set of blanket, bed sheet and pillow from the dormitory office. Coola - I think.
My shack for the next two months
The dormitories are really nice. Much better than the ones we have in IIT. The shower rooms/toilets are better. The corridors are better. I dont know - probably I like them because of their contemporary feel. Most IITK halls were built way back in 1960 - but POSTECH was set up aroung 1985 - so that's pretty recent.
I'm sharing my room with two other Indians - Joshi and Avishek. Joshi is from Maharashtra and Avishek is from Calcutta (though he's done his Bachelor's in Civil Engg from Nagpur).
Well - the room on it's own is pretty big - but just like typical Indians do - it's been stacked with stuff - toasters, electric ovens, a frigde, a television (YES - all in one dormitory room!) - and that leaves us with very little space left to walk around and jump around - and do all funny things that you are not supposed to do in a dormitory room.
Say hello, the Korean way
At the very onset I was told by Joshi about the strict "seniority" system that Koreans follow. Even if a person is a year older - you are suppoed to respect him/her in the Korean way. Like - you have to address him as Big Brother (hyung) or Big Sister (nu-na) - and the way you greet the person changes. For example if you're greeting a person your age, you say an-nyong-ha but if you're greeting a person senior to you, it's an-nyong-ha-sei-yo [Ed: Well Joshi didnt give me such details - but my lab mate Park gave me a Kor101 lecture today :-)]
Do you eat....?
That's the second question [Ed: Do you remember the first?] any Korean would ask a foreigner (especially Indian) - Do you eat beef or pork? Cuz they do. And they love it. And so do the supermarts, the cooks, the industries - EVERYBODY in Korea. The third question is - Do you drink? Well say "Yes" to #2 and #3 - and you're a national hero. They'll love you. That's what I've been doing for instant popularity (the sneaky me - muahahaha ;-)
The 13th and the 14th (of May) was the student festival in POSTECH aka Antaragni in IITK. Joshi and Avi (my roomies - remember) didnt seem too keen to go down and enjoy the festival - and I was dying to. I bottled up my emotions - cuz I didnt want to sound too persuasive right at the beginning.
After talking the let's-get-to-know-each-other-as-fellow-Indians-in-a-foreign-country kind of talk we went down to the Jigok Community Center to grab a bite.
The Cheesy Burger
Oh yeah - almost forgot this one. At the Gimpo Airport, Seoul I went to grab a bite just before the flight. I was sick of having meat/pork all throughout the flights - so I ordered a Cheese Burger (and it was the cheapest too - Won 1400 - yeay!). I'm sure you must've guessed it by now - some cheese burget it was. It had a slice of cheese (thank god for that) - plus they threw in a pork cutlet for free! Ah - so delightful. Well, to a starving stomach that was heaven. And I gobbled it up.
So, I was saying that we went down to the Jigok Community Center to have a bite. The students are all making merry there - in the hall (Students' Festival - you forgetful earthling) - but my roomies prefer to sit in the Cafeteria. The menu is limited - though I wouldn't have known a burger from a pizza (if they had it) - it was all in Korean. The experienced roomies helped me out on this one - and ordered rice and pork cutlet for me with Kimchi.
To put it mildly I had a tough time - a really tough time with the food. But then - at 1:30 in the night I should be grateful for food. I pushed (more like shoved/hammered/hydraulically pumped) it down my throat to fill my poor stomach up. I was aching for some sweet - ah - the saunf and mishri we get in our mess seemed like a delicacy now. Anyways went down to the Community Store and bought a strawberry flavoured yoghurt there (no pork/beef in this one - VICTORY!)
Then we went down to the pond. POSTECH has a beautiful pond. And sat down beside it discussing cross-cultural differences between Indians and Koreans much like professional cross-cultarists.
Then we went to our dormitory room (home-sweet-home) and slept! And yes - I sleep on on top bed of the bunk bed.
More - tomorrow.
Sardars Galore
Boarded the flight - and guess what - this time too I got a sardar next to me. But he was different - he had short hair. But still - once a sardar always a sardar. Man - the kind of conversation they make! It was nice time pass.
Taking off from bangkok I saw almost a kilometer long line of cars on one of the crossings. And no - I'm not exaggerating - it was probably more than a kilometer. And we say Delhi suffers from traffic jams! You should've seen that. It must've been over 500 cars all back to back!!
Just before touching Taipei (for a one hour break) the view from the window was breathtaking! We were flying over the ocean - and it was amazingly beautiful. Especially when the plane was at quite a low altitude... the ripples on the sea. You could actually _see_ the coastline through the crystal clear water. And the cars & roads - all sparkling and neat. Taipei was beautiful - from up in the air atleast.
Off from Taipei to Seoul. Got off at Seoul. Here again - I was told immigration and all would take 2 hours. But it was all over in 20 minutes.
Rendevous with Technology
Right at the International Airport I was greeted with kind of technology that I would be dealing with throughout my stay in Korea. I got a 100 dollars exchanged for about 1,14,000 Won (yeah - that's right - that's what the Korean currency is called). Got over to the telephone booth to make a call and I'm greeted by this big huge touch screen with a conventional handset on one side and a keyboard placed at the bottom. WOW! I called up the international affairs office at POSTECH but the lady who picked up the phone couldn't speak English. So I access the Internet from the kiosk itself and mail the international affairs incharge about my arrival. Man - that piece of work really impressed me! It was freaking great!!
The rise of the Civil Engineer
On my way from the International (Incheon) Airport to the Domestic (Gimpo) Airport aboard a Limousine Bus - I witnessed all the Civil Engineering that I had ever studied in my text books down back home. There was everything - right from land reclamation from the sea to geotextiles & geomaterials, from smart cars to sexy transportation engineering, it was all there. The much touted latest civil engineering technology at work. I was ashamed of our level there in India. What the hell do we study all this for? I've never ever seen it being applied there. It's really a shame.
Well... from the Gimpo Airport I took the flight to Pohang and at the Pohang airport I was greeted by two of my labmates from POSTECH.
Welcome to Pohang
Or Phu-hung - funny pronunciation. That's what I realized right from Incheon International. Now that I'm learning Korean I know why!
Okay - two of my labmates picked me up from the Pohang airport - and (surprise, surprise) one of them owned a car. I'm greeted by an (almost) deserted airport - and the streets in the city are not crowded at all. And it's 9:00 PM in Korea... I guess all of them must be watching some crap doled out by Eakta Kapoor and her Balaji Productions! (why do I have to crack such jokes?)
So, they drive me to POSTECH (about 20 mins - nice drive) - chatting with me all the way. After the regulars - the first question they ask me is - what is your age?! Well, I tell them (look up my profile if you're curious)! And splat - the next question is - "Do you have a girlfriend in India?" (orkut profile for this one :-)
The main POSTECH entrance is awesome - with a steep 30-40 m ramp going off the road leading to a wonderful main gate. I cant describe it here cuz I ain't no great writer - but I'll let the pictures do the talking - when I get the reel developed.
The HOT Stud in town?
Into POSTECH - we're waiting in front of the SEE building (that School of Environmental Engineering for the uninitiated) - waiting for labmate #1 (I still dont remember his name!) to call an Indian by the name of Joshi from the the 4th floor. Labmate #2 (ditto :-) tells me - You're handsome. Huh?! I mean - I'm dumbstruck. All I can say is a polite and meek - Thank You! He continues - Yes! You're really handsome. Not like other Indians we have here. AWRIGHT - I suddenly feel elated - immediate Hot Stud status within the first hour in Pohang. Woooohoooo!
After a long wait - out comes Joshi. We go to our dormitory room. Here in POSTECH they dont call them hostels or halls of residence. It's called Dormitory. I'm in dormitory #18 and my room number is 101. I'm given a key to my room - a booklet (Student Housing Guide) - with all the rules and regulations concerning life in a POSTECH dormitory.
Well... it's pretty chilly out here in Pohang - with the outside temperature around 20-25 celcius - and when it rains it is lower. So the labmates (#1 and #2) have already "rented" out a set of blanket, bed sheet and pillow from the dormitory office. Coola - I think.
My shack for the next two months
The dormitories are really nice. Much better than the ones we have in IIT. The shower rooms/toilets are better. The corridors are better. I dont know - probably I like them because of their contemporary feel. Most IITK halls were built way back in 1960 - but POSTECH was set up aroung 1985 - so that's pretty recent.
I'm sharing my room with two other Indians - Joshi and Avishek. Joshi is from Maharashtra and Avishek is from Calcutta (though he's done his Bachelor's in Civil Engg from Nagpur).
Well - the room on it's own is pretty big - but just like typical Indians do - it's been stacked with stuff - toasters, electric ovens, a frigde, a television (YES - all in one dormitory room!) - and that leaves us with very little space left to walk around and jump around - and do all funny things that you are not supposed to do in a dormitory room.
Say hello, the Korean way
At the very onset I was told by Joshi about the strict "seniority" system that Koreans follow. Even if a person is a year older - you are suppoed to respect him/her in the Korean way. Like - you have to address him as Big Brother (hyung) or Big Sister (nu-na) - and the way you greet the person changes. For example if you're greeting a person your age, you say an-nyong-ha but if you're greeting a person senior to you, it's an-nyong-ha-sei-yo [Ed: Well Joshi didnt give me such details - but my lab mate Park gave me a Kor101 lecture today :-)]
Do you eat....?
That's the second question [Ed: Do you remember the first?] any Korean would ask a foreigner (especially Indian) - Do you eat beef or pork? Cuz they do. And they love it. And so do the supermarts, the cooks, the industries - EVERYBODY in Korea. The third question is - Do you drink? Well say "Yes" to #2 and #3 - and you're a national hero. They'll love you. That's what I've been doing for instant popularity (the sneaky me - muahahaha ;-)
The 13th and the 14th (of May) was the student festival in POSTECH aka Antaragni in IITK. Joshi and Avi (my roomies - remember) didnt seem too keen to go down and enjoy the festival - and I was dying to. I bottled up my emotions - cuz I didnt want to sound too persuasive right at the beginning.
After talking the let's-get-to-know-each-other-as-fellow-Indians-in-a-foreign-country kind of talk we went down to the Jigok Community Center to grab a bite.
The Cheesy Burger
Oh yeah - almost forgot this one. At the Gimpo Airport, Seoul I went to grab a bite just before the flight. I was sick of having meat/pork all throughout the flights - so I ordered a Cheese Burger (and it was the cheapest too - Won 1400 - yeay!). I'm sure you must've guessed it by now - some cheese burget it was. It had a slice of cheese (thank god for that) - plus they threw in a pork cutlet for free! Ah - so delightful. Well, to a starving stomach that was heaven. And I gobbled it up.
So, I was saying that we went down to the Jigok Community Center to have a bite. The students are all making merry there - in the hall (Students' Festival - you forgetful earthling) - but my roomies prefer to sit in the Cafeteria. The menu is limited - though I wouldn't have known a burger from a pizza (if they had it) - it was all in Korean. The experienced roomies helped me out on this one - and ordered rice and pork cutlet for me with Kimchi.
To put it mildly I had a tough time - a really tough time with the food. But then - at 1:30 in the night I should be grateful for food. I pushed (more like shoved/hammered/hydraulically pumped) it down my throat to fill my poor stomach up. I was aching for some sweet - ah - the saunf and mishri we get in our mess seemed like a delicacy now. Anyways went down to the Community Store and bought a strawberry flavoured yoghurt there (no pork/beef in this one - VICTORY!)
Then we went down to the pond. POSTECH has a beautiful pond. And sat down beside it discussing cross-cultural differences between Indians and Koreans much like professional cross-cultarists.
Then we went to our dormitory room (home-sweet-home) and slept! And yes - I sleep on on top bed of the bunk bed.
More - tomorrow.
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>>but I'll let the pictures do the talking - when I get the reel developed.
hehehe....i bet u dont want me to tell what happened with u and a camera.....
well anyways....have fun man and do take some good pics and post them asap....
ciao
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hehehe....i bet u dont want me to tell what happened with u and a camera.....
well anyways....have fun man and do take some good pics and post them asap....
ciao
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