Englightened by the Juche Idea

Woke up early, managed to get my bike battery installed again, borrow a lock, and sit down for breakfast by 8:30.

At 9 I left for work by bike, and made what used to be a 45 minute trek in a cab a 20 minute breeze.

At work I did some reading on my research, as well as some side-reading on Iran and North Korea. I found North Korea's official international 'unbiased' news website, which was fascinating to read (kcna.co.jp). I particularly liked the story about when the South Korea and the US "warmongers put their heads together to discuss the issue of staging large-scale combined anti-submarine maneuvers in the West Sea..." to create pretence for a war with DPRK, and "These facts disclose the sinister intention of the group of traitors to make its trumpeting about 'retaliation' over the case of warship serve the treble purpose. This is, however, nothing but bluffing reminiscent of a puppy knowing no fear of a tiger." They also refer to South Korea as "Korean puppet forces," and laud Kim Il Sung to an amazing degree; "A decision to commemorate April 15, 2012, the 100th birth anniversary of the President [Kim Il Sung], as the most significant day in human history and a worldwide festival was adopted at the 10th meeting of the Council of the European Society for the Study of the Juche Idea held in Rome in June."

Overall a good read, making me look forward to seeing this "group of traitors" myself in a few days. The website itself reads like a real-life Nineteen Eighty-Four; a how-to on ways to control and brainwash an entire population through the constant threat of war and falsities about the government's effectiveness.

Today was the first day there wasn't an organized lunch for interns. Well at least not for me (they did a training video that was all in technical legal Chinese I wasn't asked to attend). So I asked one of the partners for a recommendation and found myself at the base of an adjacent tower, in a Japanese restaurant.

The scene was chaotic. I arrived durng the peak lunch rush. I ordered pork noodles, chicken yakatori, and rice. There was confusion with the food but I got what I ordered in the end.

Spent the rest of the day working and reading North Korean news. Just before six I was asked to correct a draft of an email, which did in ten minutes, then went downstairs.

Grabbed my new old bike and began the long journey back to the hostel. I made it in 30 minutes, going slower because the battery didn't get a full charge last night - in fact, I ran out of batteries while I was crossing 工体北路, the main road near to my hostel. I turned the bike off [again] and got just enough just to roll up to the hostel. I plugged the bike in outside and sat down in the hostel.

Spent a mellow evening with the same people I've been hanging out with consistently, with the addition of Michael, whom I met today, and Hap (SC), who has been getting along great with everyone the last few days; he's a keeper. We all went to dinner down the street, which was both very filling and cheap (21 per person, or $3). We even got half a duck, which was as good as the last place and half the cost.

Played foosball and pool at the hostel. I won 5元 off of both Cole and Kuldeep on the pool table, and called it an early night after.

Went upstairs at 10:45. Asleep just after midnight.