Today we went to the U.S. Army base in South Korea called Camp Casey. Camp Casey is the northernmost stationed base, so they are always on high alert due to its proximity to North Korea. When we first arrived, they made everyone get off the bus and check in with our passports to verify that we were American. They were very strict about taking photos, so I wasn’t able to take photos.

After checking in, we drove to about the middle of the camp and parked the bus. From there, we walked around while a Pitt alumnus who is stationed there gave us a tour of the grounds. The base had a lot of cool amenities, such as a pool, paintball field, archery range, and a golf course. They explained that these facilities help keep soldiers busy and out of trouble.

Our first stop on the tour was the motor pool, where we saw military vehicles, including a Stryker, which not only fires weapons but also has a built-in lab. After that, they showed us some of the equipment used to detect gases on the battlefield. They mentioned that soldiers often carry over 100 pounds of gear.

After the tour, we had lunch at the Impact Zone, which served American food. This was actually a treat for me because I’ve been missing food from home, so I was really happy about that.

Overall, the entire tour was fascinating. It felt like we were in the U.S., even though we were still in Korea—the food was American, the signs were in English—it was really interesting.

After leaving the base, we went on a two-hour hike at Soyosan, which was beautiful. We ended the hike at another Buddhist temple in the mountains, which was incredibly cool to see.

We ended the day working on our final presentation for the class, where we are making a smart closet. I will explain it more in a future blog.