I woke up just before 4:00 a.m. to the sound of rain on my window and the whirring of the air conditioner. I had a bit of a restless night but was grateful for whatever sleep I had managed to get. It could be a pretty miserable day.

I caught up on some more work; why not be practical in my 8×12 cell? There is no real coffee in the room, though after an hour I decided to go for the packet of instant I found in the drawer. Even the illusion of coffee would be better than no actual coffee. Either it’s wasn’t terrible or I was that desperate.

The restaurant opened at 7:00. I was the first in line and went to the coffee machine on the way to my table. Why wait. I was not sure if coffee is a thing or not Korea. If the hotel coffee wasn’t any good, there were 2 huge Starbucks within walking distance. Having said that, my standards drop rapidly after a few hours without coffee on a trip like this. (24 hours after starting this email I have an update – coffee is a HUGE thing here. There must be 3-4 coffee places in every block. All crowded.)

The Breakfast buffet consisted of a ridiculous number of options suitable for Koreans and non-Koreans alike. Korean breakfast is essentially the same as Korean lunch and Korean dinner with no real specific breakfast foods. For me it was a struggle – mostly because all of my unfortunate choices were too dry to eat comfortably. Except for the eggs. I requested over medium and got not over at all and barely cooked at all. I had to forego the eggs entirely due to the high slime factor.

Things got better on day 2 when I discovered an entire section of fruit – delicious – and some Portuguese egg tarts which are, well, eggs so an easy stand in for breakfast food and one of my absolute favourite things to eat.

Yesterday and today were virtually identical, except for the fact that on day 2, I actually knew how to get to the office (its a 4 block walk) and how to navigate the security gates and elevators . They were ridiculously complicated requiring 2 different pass cards and the ability to divine which elevator might actually be the one stopping at my floor. I rode up and down more than a few times while trying to figure it out.

Sidebar. There is so much to figure out when travelling. The hotel room thermostat is always a bit of a mystery that I just have to keep poking at. The shower is almost always anyone’s guess and trying to turn it on the first time almost always results in a cold damp Robyn and a soggy bathroom floor. Then there is the lighting, the elevators in every building I enter, and the endless mystery of Asian toilets. Somehow I always get it in the end, but I often wonder what people would think if they could see me working out such simple everyday tasks.

My meetings lasted a good chunk of the day though I had to step out a few times to take Zoom calls with colleagues in various parts of North America and Europe. My cell phone clock app is currently showing 5 different time zone so I can figure these things out. It broke up my day a bit, which was nice, and also gave me a break from the perpetual mask wearing. we all agreed to mask and do a daily COVID test to prevent further spread after one person in the group tested positive for COVID. She is trapped in her hotel cell and has been joining our calls from there via Zoom. I cannot imagine what a crap experience that must be!

By the end of the day all I could think of was sleep. A few of us went to the rooftop bar in the hotel for a drink and I gamely tagged along if for now other reason than to keep myself from falling asleep for a few more hours. We gazed dismally at the rain and sipped some scotch. The bar was a very impressive collection of familiar and unfamiliar scotches. It seemed a better choice than wine by the glass that was labelled as ‘white wine’ and ‘red wine’ with absolutely no qualifying information. I am not sure that wine is a thing in Korea.

By 9:00 I was done and slipped out while the others decided to go down the street for dinner. Too tired to eat even a single bite of my protein bar, I fell into bed then tossed and turned for a good chunk of the night.

Today was a new day filled with the promise of a few adventures, and some actual photos. I am too weary to write about it now, but promise something much more exciting tomorrow.

I will close with a few funny signs from my rainy wander today:

Bong Bong – clothing

You and I – Carpet (really?)

Human Space – maybe apartments? It was a bit unclear.

Second Breath – Coffee

Shit House – a restaurant

Angry Chicken – fried chicken takeout

I heard about Frozen Bride (ice cream) from one of my co-workers but never found the sign myself.

My personal favourites:

Fat Cat – a clothing store for plus sized women

Butfit – a women’s gym

Good night friends. I need some zzzzzzzzzzzz’s