Uniforms and Children's chopsticks

      Today was not the most exciting day at the shipyard. In the morning we were with the environmental research division and we learned about water and air pollution. There was a lot of chemical engineering going on in those labs, so we were a little out of our comfort zones, but it was cool to see how those two divisions aid in the production of a ship.
     The water division actually did a lot more than just watch out for the water pollution. They design desalinization plants, filter the ballast water, and they create potable water on ship vessels. They encompass a lot more that I would have thought going into their lab. At the end of their lecture we had some hot citron tea that came from a jelly type thing, it was strange that it didn't come from a tea bag, but it was still quite yummy.
    For lunch we had ramen noodles! Just like the kind that us college kids are used to! But I think the ramen that we had for lunch was much higher quality. Well, as much quality as you can add to ramen. It was a tad spicy, but it was still a good lunch.
     The afternoon was not too exciting, we got lectured for 2 hours or so about all the different types of welding equipment and how they are used. We then learned about how they are trying to improve the welding process, which was very interesting to hear. We got all dressed up in our full uniform and we headed to the welding research center. This is where they find new ways to weld and do quality control checks on the welds. It was a pretty cool place.

Our full uniforms! 

     We headed home and went to get some dinner. Tonight it was going to be Gim-bab. But we had to make a stop at the dollar store first so the Korean students could give us a gift. We had no idea what it was going to be.... But we followed them in. we all started dying of laughter when they stopped in front of our gifts. 

Beginner Chopsticks!!!!!

   We were having trouble learning the Korean way to use chopsticks. Apparently there are different ways to use them, and we were not using them the way the Koreans do.... so new chopsticks it was! 

     So we got to eat the gim-bab with our new chopsticks. The gim-bab was really good! It is kinda like a sushi roll, but the meat inside of it is all cooked. The standard fillings are carrots, eggs, rice, crab meat, and a pickle type thing. These were all accompanied by different meats, such as fried shrimp, pork, or tuna salad. It was really good! 

    After we got back to the dorms, we played a traditional Korean game with wood dice. It was cool to see the different types of games they play around the world. And then like any good student from the U of M, we started to teach them euchre. It was a little tough to explain it through the language barrier, but after about a half hour or so, they were starting to get the hang of it. I'm sure by the end of our three weeks here, they will be euchre champions!

Teaching euchre!

     It is getting late now, and after game night, I am super tired, so I am going to head to sleep! I will check in again tomorrow!

-  Jake