Even though I have already written ten blogs, I am writing this one because I want to. I woke up today in the same hotel as the first week, but it was so different trying to remember my old routine. I woke up a little bit later than I had the previous few days but still went to breakfast shortly after it opened and had a large meal.
In the morning, we toured TOPIS, which is in the third basement of the City Hall building. We saw the Seoul mayor outside, which was amazing, and we were able to explore some places again since we had already been in the City Hall earlier. The tour went by very quickly because it was so interesting. The Seoul TOPIS agency controls transportation, anything from the subway or bus schedules to electric cars and emissions tests. I was concerned to learn that Seoul has hundreds of CCTV cameras at its disposal, as I believed that to be a significant privacy concern. However, the citizens seemed to be okay with the risks because of the convenient system in place.
After visiting Topis, we traveled to Namdaemun market, where Dr. Yun bought us some hotteok. Then we went to the Sulbing Café, where Dr. Yun bought us bingsu to share in our groups. We then prepared for the final presentations. I really enjoyed hearing about the other students’ perspectives about the trip and hearing more in-depth about the smart systems at companies we visited. The videos that each group created were my favorite part, however, because they summarized the two extremely fun weeks with great memories and moments.
We then had a cooking class, where I made jopchae and gimbap. I ended up cooking the noodles for not long enough, but they were still good at the end. Across the counter was Dr. Yun and our tour guide, Esther, and they were both very skilled at cutting the vegetables and cooking the food. I finished my plate and was satisfied that I did a good job.
After the class, I walked toward the Hongdae market. I stopped and got a half bagel with cream cheese, Nutella, and banana, which I enjoyed. There were a lot of shops in the market area, and I stopped and got many snacks to bring back with me. After spending more time in the district, I rode a bus back for half an hour to the hotel.
The following morning, I ate my last breakfast, went to the Myeongdong Cathedral, and converted back some won into dollars. Then I packed up my suitcase in preparation to leave the hotel at noon. I had a fantastic time on this trip, making memories that I will never forget. I really enjoyed walking around the night markets, visiting historic sites, and going on the company visits.