Korea - Day 6 - Relief

This morning started out early with a 3:00am Skype call back home. It was great to catch up with my family face-to-face. I then got ready for work, packed my belongings and checked out of the hotel, knowing that I would be able to check back in for at least the next two days. I left my suitcase at the front desk, ate breakfast and walked out the door. A short taxi ride later found me at the gate where my contact picked me up and escorted me onto post.

Having the air conditioning run all night helped cool the classroom from 82F to 68F. And with that start to the day, I felt everything would be OK. For lunch we went to a small Korean restaurant on-post. I had the fried rice with beef, which was quite tasty.

Overall, weather-wise, it was a bit cooler today. The walk back to the hotel was quite pleasant. I made a couple of stops, at an arcade and at a convenience store. At the store I bought a melon ice cream that I first learned about in Honolulu. For 700 won (about 65 cents) it was a welcome refreshment.

I arrived back at the hotel, knowing I would have to check in again. Upon arriving I found myself at the back of a group that just arrived from Japan for the conference that has the hotel booked. If ever there is an opportunity to break stereotypes, this was it. The Japanese group was chattering among themselves while the Korean hotel staff called back and forth to each other. But when the two groups had to interact they spoke...English.

After waiting for that group to be checked in, I stepped up to the counter and went through the process. Taking my key, I headed up to the 16th floor where I have a room for the next two nights. Being on the other side of the hall gives me a different view from my window. I suppose I can say I've seen all of Daegu now. Another Skype call home to wake up my wife and I'm off to bed. It's 7:00pm and I'm very, very sleepy.