Bicycling on a Dollar a Day

We were introduced to the engineering building today with a short lecture on things to do around campus; where to exercise, restaurants, swimming pool, entertainment, ping pong, even a Burger King (yuck!) on campus next to the dorm we are staying in. The seven of us with four Korean students whom we will be working with for the next five weeks joined for lunch adjacent to campus in a popular location for inexpensive restaurants and entertainment. This was the first restaurant Gustavo and I had eaten where we did not have to sit on the floor nor take our shoes off at the entrance. Subsequently, the prices were a little more expensive. Was this because of the extra costs of chairs and higher tables? Maybe there is a correlation there. No dog for lunch today. We were then dismissed until the evening meal where again we will meet with the other students and our professors of KAIST. We will travel maybe by taxi to the city. The city center is only three miles away from the dorm. After lunch, two of the KAIST students walked with Gustavo and I to a bicycle shop on campus to help and translate for us to buy two used bikes. Daejeon is mostly flat and very bicycle friendly as a couple main rivers join together after surrounding the city. I paid 80,000 won while Gustavo paid 70,000 won. With the exchange rate being 1,181 won per US dollar this equals $68 and $60. The manager also included a bicycle lock and said he would buy the bikes back for half price when we leave in five weeks. A little more than a dollar a day for having bicycle transportation at our disposal. Unlike my home university in Greensboro where one may find three or four bikes locked up adjacent to a building, here at KAIST, bicycles are very common with parking spots where one can lock their bike are very crowded. Bicycle riders enjoy covered parking three to four rows deep and are usually in front and behind the buildings.

Our hosts have several entertainment and cultural events planned for us over the next five weeks in including a trip to Seoul next weekend for the two nights/three days stay in the city. Population 10.5 million in 2010.