I'm not supposed to be here. 

Not in the sense I'm a foreigner in a distant country, but literally. I snuck into the campus gym without building access, and I'm paranoid the admin will find and kick me out. 

Still, working in that quiet, empty space, it was a good time to reflect on my LiA trip so far. A lot has happened, which I'm happy to briefly share. 

I was warmly welcomed into the lab during my first week. After talking with my professor and specifying my LiA goals, we got to work immediately on the project, which is developing a soil health framework for Korean Organic Farming Systems. While Cornell has a robust soil health analysis system (nicknamed CASH), it may not be suitable for Korea's unique agricultural and environmental landscape. Likewise, my professor has developed a program, but it is still in early development. 

Thus, my goal for the past few weeks was to compare the two frameworks, identifying their strengths and limitations. Later on, I hope to combine the best of both systems into a reusable scoring tool that can evaluate the health of organic farming soils.

Up until now, most of my work has been administrative-- planning and researching the necessary context for the final product. However, in the coming weeks, I anticipate conducting fieldwork for organic soil sampling and conducting chemical and biological analysis. 

Outside of the project, life has been pretty eventful too. A recent "water-bomb" has hit Anseong-si, with the monsoon season finally coming in after a few anticipated weeks. I've never experienced a monsoon before, so seeing the intense flash-thunderstorms for the first time was fascinating.

Likewise, after getting settled in, I've been doing a plethora of side-questing. Whether it be visiting Seoul for the weekend, exploring cafes and heritage sites in Suwon-si, or trying new restaurants with my coworkers, I've been having a great time exploring what the country has to offer! 

Of course, there have been multiple challenges since getting here. But, exercising in that gym, I was grateful for all the resources and opportunities given to me. I am excited for what the next few weeks have in store!