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This week I learned why eating together is such an important part of Korean culture. During the day people are working, and though there are some interactions between co-workers it is all mostly related to work. This is where eating and drinking together comes in. When you go out with a co-worker you aren't just going out to eat with them, you are going out to bond with them on a personal level. This is why there are so many places available to sit down and talk in Korea. Most stores have ample seating to fit a lot of customers with many going out onto the street. Almost all of the convenience stores I have seen have had some sort of seating section where it is possible to sit down and talk.

I have finished the rough drafts of the first drafts on the tutorials of how to install PODO and Xenomai, how to integrate it with Gazebo and Rviz with a model of DRC-Hubo, and how to control the DRC-Hubo model inside of the two simulators (rviz and gazebo). While the Installation tutorials are close to being completed, the control of the DRC-Hubo model within the simulator will need more work before completion. Though I have been able to control the model with pre-programmed code I still have not figured out how to integrate ROS. I have found some code within the file that seems to be half of the answer. I will continue studying ROS to figure out the other half. I learned that these tutorials are integral to working with DRC-Hubo. These tutorials teach how set up the environment for PODO. This allows inexperienced students at the lab to experiment with different code without actually risking the actual DRC-Hubo we have.

This is a picture that one of my Korean friends (Haneul) took of us while we were waiting for our food at a restaurant that served brunch. I had been craving eggs Benedict for a while. While we ate we were able to have some interesting discussions of what it's like to be a high school student in Korea trying to get into college.

I have spent a significant portion of my life away from 'home' and had believed until now that I couldn't get home sick. But recently I have began to miss western food and being able to drive around in my car. I never knew how integral driving had become in my life in America. Though being able to use public transportation to get places saves money and the environment, I truly miss the freedom that I had with my car.

This week I met Charlie and Jason. Both who gave me their English names. Charlie went to school in America and is pretty much a 'bro' While Jason just started learning English. He is shy but tries to make conversations with the English that he knows.