Today involved taking/proctoring a sample SAT test and beating my head against a spreadsheet of vocabulary words. Although it was good to refamiliarize myself with IF statements and random number generators, I can safely say it was a pain in the butt.
In lieu of a full, trite retelling of my day, I'll tell you about bits of impressive technology I've noticed.
Rewinding back to Shanghai, the hotel room had one interesting feature. The electrical power could only be turned on if you placed your room card in a slot near the front door. To clarify, the card has to remain in the slot as long as you want power. I thought this was brilliant -- what better way to ensure that the air conditioning and lights are shut off in an empty room! Yes, it's inconvenient, and I suppose a couple with two room keys could get around this. But it struck me as something that, while meeting resistance (har har) in the US, might be a decent idea.
My room in Gangnam does not have a standard lock and key. Instead, the lock is controlled by a customizable 4-digit electronic passcode.
That in itself isn't what fascinates me -- the lock is completely electronic. In order for me to leave my room, I have to press and hold a small circular button.
I'm not sure what happens in the event of a power failure. My early attempts to open the door by manually moving my lock (because I was unaware of this feature) did not pan out.
I suppose now is a good time to mention a bit more about my residence. It's relatively cheap, W20,000/night (about $20). If I had wanted a window, it would have cost me W25,000. But the room is well-ventilated, air conditioned, and tidy.
As a resident, I can use the kitchen, which comes with free (unlimited!?) kim chee,white rice, ramen, and instant coffee.
The coffee perhaps deserves special mention. Instant coffee in the states generally sucks. It's unclear that it's much better here; however, the coffee crystals dissolve completely over here, and each package contains milk/creamer and sugar. I imagine there are black variations, but both my residence and my workplace use the cream/sugar packages. In any event, it's actually quite good.
I once bought one regular coffee at an upscale-looking coffeeshop called Angelinus Coffee, and it set me back W4,500. That's the price of a cheap meal here. I think I'm going to stick with instant for now.
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