June 2nd & 3rd

So today's theme for lectures and tours was hydrogen fuel cells. This morning, we received 3 talks from 3 different Yonsei professors on 3 types of fuel cells and the challenges each faces. After that, we got to test drive the experimental fuel cell vehicle Yonsei has. It's surprisingly silent, and runs 100% on hydrogen fuel (in gas form). There is a filling station on campus that they use. I actually had the chance to drive it, and it was a heck of a lot of fun - too bad I don't have $500k to blow on a car.

Yesterday, Dr. Biswas and Dr. Chen gave their talks on aerosols and environmental health, respectively. We also took a couple lab tours and had lunch with a number of Yonsei students. One of them recommended his favorite bar to me, which is right near Yonsei, and so that night when everyone else went to the casino, I decided to check it out. The bar itself was a single, small room, probably about 350 square feet, with old wood floors and walls. I initially sat down in a corner booth, but two of the guys (who were regulars) in the bar invited me to their table. One of them was a Yonsei professor, Dr. Sue, who spoke excellent English and has apparently been to the States a number of times. The other man there, who was a classmate of the professor, was Mr. Park. As we talked about where I was from and what I was doing in Korea, 4 Yonsei students came into the bar, a couple of whom were apparently students of Dr. Sue. Subsequently, Dr. Sue invited them over to join us, which they did, and I ended up spending the rest of the night talking with them and a couple other students who came in later. Definitely one of the best, if not THE best, nights I've had in a long time.