So, I know everyone was worried. I was worried for a bit and skipped going to a fur protest in Seoul just to be extra safe today, as it was today that the drills were starting back up.
As far as I could tell by the news and the way adults around me were acting, nobody was really worried about conflict getting more heated. I'm not completely convinced everyone was serene about the whole thing--people had their TVs on news programs and were talking about what happened--and the really odd thing was the Koreans I had contact with during the day immediately following the attack were asking me if I was scared but wouldn't really offer up their opinions. It either means they weren't nervous or they were doing the Eastern thing and concealing anything perceived as negative. It's polite not to rock the boat.
My Canadian friend, Caroline, who has been here for a while was saying that she wasn't worried but did recommend I stay out of Seoul "just in case" and then offered up a spot at her place (in the southern part of the peninsula). So, it's all a bunch of mixed messages.
When I came home from work on Tuesday, I switched the radio to one of the English stations with occasional news coverage and listened for a bit. The djs/news anchors/announcers/whatever were talking about the attack, but after 5-10 minutes they moved on to discussing an upcoming change in command at Samsung. So, I figured the attack wasn't leading to much.
Today, I tried to get a station in English, but when I turned on the radio every station was playing music or was in Korean. So, I watched the headlines on the Korean Herald's website and had kpcc up for a while. I didn't get any emails from the embassy. No frantic text messages from friends asking if I was getting out. So, I'm assuming everything's ok.
Though, I'm struck with how guilty I'd feel with my ability to just get out of a war zone. I do find myself wrestling with dark "what-if" scenarios when I'm not busy reading, cooking, playing violin or otherwise distracting myself, and I promise you all that if war does resume here, I will not stay here.
So, that's the current situation. I'll try to get my adult students to talk about it tomorrow if they don't mind the heavy topic.
~Sarah
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
First Temple Stay: Golgulsa Temple **Updated with photos 11/28**
A group of four other GEC teachers (Ashley, Heather, Janetta and Sandra) and myself decided to head out on a Temple Stay for the weekend of October 9th (yes, I'm that behind on blogging about things I do). Ashley, the head public school teacher at GEC, and I both did some Googling and found the Golgulsa Temple in Gyeongju to be highly recommended for Temple Stays--it has a Stone Buddha in one of the mountains, and is the only temple to offer the martial art Sunmudo to those staying. So, Ashley took up the coordinator roll and reserved us some spots for Saturday the 9th and got us all to the bus station on time and used her mad Korean skills (very basic, but better than the rest of us) to get us tickets. I was relieved she took the leadership roll on this.
We settled into our comfy (really, they were quite nice) seats on the bus and started chatting away since we had a 3-4 hour drive ahead of us. Well, at first the Koreans on the bus didn't take to kindly to our talking--you're supposed to sit quietly on public transit here, so talking is often shushed if people get annoyed with you--and we had to repeatedly remind each other to be quiet and eventually we settled into pairs of conversation so we weren't talking over bus seats. I was seated next to Heather, one of a couple who come from Tucson! Heather's pretty cool, she went to Catalina Foothills (posh) in the 90s, so we didn't know anybody but we both think we have met before but we have no idea where. We chatted about Tucson and life and speaking French (though, we didn't talk in French...curious).
The Korean countryside is gorgeous--lots of rolling green hills (now they're all more red, orange and brown)--but then you see the microchip apartment buildings shoot up and the nasty grey color gets in the way of the natural beauty. Korea didn't really get the memo about blending the architecture with the landscape being a good thing if you're in a rural area.
We got into Gyeongju planning to take a bus from the station to the temple, only to find out that the bus drivers were all on strike for the weekend. There hadn't been a strike in something like ten years or more, so it was strange that it was happening, but it's all good. We were able to find a taxi driver who was willing to (illegally) cart the five of us up the mountain for a mere 30,000 won (he left the meter running so we could see we were getting a deal, as usually when a driver takes a group of five s/he can name his/her own price since it's already illegal). The ride wasn't that comfortable, but it was manageable for the 20 minutes or so we were in the car.
At the temple, the meat eaters had to eat their animal product snacks before we signed into the program as the Temples are all vegan--I was nervous about this as well as really excited to know the food was animal product free.
We sat down in the office with a woman from Canada who was doing an extensive temple stay at Golgulsa and was in charge of helping us understand the schedule and rules of the temple. She was pretty cool, but I could have used some more in depth explanation as to what I should expect to do during prayer service and how the day would play out. We were given temple clothes (MC Hammer would have loved our pants) for the length of our stay and told how to get to our room.
We walked to our room, conveniently located above the dining hall, and changed into our new brown
Hammer pants and park ranger orange vests. Then it was time to head to dinner. We had been warned that you had to finish every last bit of food on your plate, you would have to stay in the hall and eat until everything was gone, or the staff wouldn't take your dish back. So, being the cautious Westerners we were, we got small helpings of everything (read: bite-sized helpings) to make sure we were going to be able to clear away the plates--most of us avoided the kimchi (I can't stand the real stuff, but don't mind spicy pickled things). The kitchen staff laughed at us, but the group of German journalists staying at the temple (turned out a huge group of them were doing pieces on the Temple Stay program and going to different temples all over Korea) followed our example.
After we picked-out which food we thought tasted good, we settled down to eat and chat with some of the Germans
before we had to head to evening chant and the Sunmudo class and demonstration (the demo was a special event added in because there was a documentary being shot on the temple and Sunmudo). I felt a lot of pressure for the temple food to be good (it was ok, but not amazing) because everyone kept saying out it would be their first vegan weekend. I kept telling them that it wasn't a good representation of how most vegans eat--white rice, a simple veggie broth soup, some potato thing and a few Korean "vegetables" (read:pickled things of undetermined origin, not Western vegetables). Everyone had terrible gas during the trip--my stomach was in a lot of pain, I'm guessing from the white rice. Yay, they now blame their "vegan weekend" for indigestion.
The evening chant was supposed to be explained to us by a man from France who was studying Sunmudo at the temple, and he did briefly go over everything, but didn't explain it well enough that any of us knew what we were supposed to do during which part of the chanting--we thought we understood until the actual service started and we all ended up just looking around and bowing when the monks and long-term Temple Stayers were bowing. I started to register that my anger problems really needed to be dealt with, and I'm not sure I have them under control now, but I don't believe I should have felt like cussing out Buddhist monks and handing them an outline of how to properly explain a religious service. >.<
After the chanting service, our group pulled the Canadian woman aside and questioned her about the order of things and the rhythm of the service, we got the low down on how things were actually done and mentally stored it away to use during the morning chant.
A quick side note, the mosquitoes at the temple were HUGE. We weren't sure if we were allowed to swat them as we hadn't seen any of the people living at the temple even brush them off or try to deter them in any way. I'm still blessed with not being a mosquito attraction, but Korean mosquitoes like me a lot more than American ones did.
Ok, onto surviving the service and starting the Sunmudo training. Sunmudo is a martial art that combines Qi Gong, Yoga and Tae Kwan Do into a crazy discipline that takes years of dedication and lots of strength, flexibility and endurance.
I was really excited about learning some of it, and was thinking of my dear friend Jeremy Wyatt the whole time we were prepping to learn, learning and any time we talked about the martial art.
We were told remove our socks (no shoes in the temple, and bare feet are considered rude in most cases) to take yoga mats from the cupboard in the back of the room and spread out. The hall is pretty long, which you can't tell from the video, and not very wide, so I was a little aggro (yes, even more so after I was ready to scream at the people running this sloppy operation) when we didn't stagger our mats, thus making it really difficult for those of us at the back of the room to see the instructor and the two kids (looked about 13 or 14 by Western age standards) demonstrating the movement at the front of the room.
Our instructor (a man from Norway who had been in Korea for seven years, and studying to be a Sunmudo master for five of them) would give instruction in Korean and then *usually* give instruction in English (he was fluent in both, but I think he was used to using Korean and just forgot us Westerners in the mix). We were first told we were going to "warm up," this turned out to be stuff that was too difficult for most people (in a couple of cases I modified the movement so I could still get a workout in) and I suspect it was to show the level of fitness required for Sunmudo--just in case we had any doubt after watching a video on the discipline.
After our warm-up we did a quick Qi Gong exercise to get our minds focused. Then we moved the mats (that smelled like feet and made me question how often they were wiped down and I remembered the wrestling mat at my high school that was in the back of the dance room--the smell was the same--and how we were always warned that you could get ringworm from standing on it--I never did get ringworm, but still) and the martial arts aspect of the class started. This was fun, but still aggravating as I couldn't see the instructor and he wasn't very clear with his demonstration of the movement. I kept wanting to stand up and say, "What, go back, count it out slowly and show us one more time." And I finally did towards the end of class when I found out it wasn't such a solemn place you couldn't question the instructor. (I was worried about offending people, since there was a 1080 bows punishment for accidentally flushing toilet paper--most Korean pipes can't handle the paper, but only a few toilets have signs warning of this--and a 3000 bow punishment for missing morning chant at 4:30am).
I think I'd really enjoy Sunmudo if I could find a small studio with a more education-experienced instructor, overall, I enjoyed the exercise but was uncomfortable with the level of anger and annoyance I was experiencing during the Temple Stay I thought would clear my mind of all the frustrations of being in a foreign country with logic that defied my own reasoning at times. I made a note to analyse and deal with this problem upon my return to Incheon.
After our lesson, we were told to sit along the walls of the room so we could watch a demonstration of the Sunmudo masters and serious students. The demonstration was really impressive and I was sorry I hadn't brought my camera in with me, but I figured it wouldn't be allowed during the chant as most temples don't allow photos in the actual temple, but this one did. The strength for the tumbling and control needed for the slower movements was really impressive.
Next, we were treated to a demonstration of Buddhist dance. A woman dressed in white danced to a Korean song, the dance had pretty simple movements but was interesting because of the mudras (hand positions in yoga and Buddhism) that were incorporated into the dance--it was "The Mudra Dance" I believe. After she finished the dance, the visitors were invited to stand up and learn it--so of course I got up and stood right in the front, not expecting any English during instruction but wanting to move in a way my body was familiar with. The dance calmed me down a bit and made me feel a little better, I could still move well if I had proper visual instruction. But I was still fighting this aggravation and anger, well, I was more disturbed by it. I've always had a temper and I've never liked it. I feel ashamed that I can fly into a rage so quickly and hope I get it under control before I have kids, I remember how terrifying it was to see adults get angry when I was little.
The rest of the night was ours, but it was already 9ish and we had to be up at 4am to make it to morning prayer on time--we were promised a guy would go around with a wooden block and wake us up, but we (wisely) set our phone alarms before we went to sleep. Our bed situation was a warming floor, blankets and a few throw pillows. My back wasn't too happy with it, but I was able to sleep alright.
Some of the girls I was with couldn't get to sleep or had trouble staying asleep--I couldn't imagine sleeping like that for a long period of time like the people doing months and years at a time in the temple.
At four, we woke up from the chorus of phone alarms and laid in the dark waiting for the sound of the wooden block, it didn't come until 4:15 and it was so quiet we would have definitely slept through it in our disgust for waking at that time of day. We hurried to get dressed and remembered we weren't going to be eating until after the service and walking meditation so some of us (ahem >.>) ate something (a banana <.<) before trekking up the hill to the main temple.
The main temple was much smaller than the one in which we practiced Sunmudo, and luckily not many people wanted to walk up the hill at the wee hours, so it wasn't too cramped. We were able to follow the order of the service much better with our questions having been answered after last night's chanting mess, but we still couldn't chant for ourselves as it was all done in Korean and nothing was marked with page numbers or references for those of us who slipped in a bit late. Chanting service isn't like a Judeo-Christian service where someone lectures leads the church in finding pages for songs and readings, there is someone who leads the timing of the chants but there are no announcements made during the service. At the end of the chanting, it was announced that there would be a sitting meditation (this had been listed on our schedule hand outs we were given upon our arrival at the temple, and was part of the reason we had eaten before climbing up the hill--though I wonder if I would have had more of a spiritual experience if I hadn't eaten and just allowed my body to experience hunger if it got hungry instead of expecting discomfort) and we were lead in a brief stretch before we were to settle into our Easy Pose, Half Lotus or Full Lotus positions. I lasted for about half the meditation before I had to switch legs. I can't stand the sensation of my legs going to sleep, it unnerves me. But, I was pretty chill and contemplative as I swapped my legs. This time, I was kicking myself for my prideful nature--other temple stayers were figiting, but not I. I was a good little Buddhist in my zen state not moving--oops, go back to counting the breath because I lost myself in thought of how awesome I am at sitting--and I am trying to balance that out now as well.
After the sitting meditation, we were told there was to be a walking meditation, so we shuffled outside and up another steep, but small, hill to the Chakra Stupa (a sculpture with symbols depicting the chakras and their locations relative to the human body. We circled the Stupa a few times and then were told to walk with 5 meters between each of us as we made our way down the hill for the traditional Buddhist meal ceremony.
We circled up outside the dining hall (it was still dark) and were told Korean speakers need to circle up around one guide and English speakers were to circle up around another when we got inside. We were given a set of four wooden bowls, a cloth napkin and a set of wooden utensils (chopsticks and a spoon). We made a circle around the English speaking host (the guy from France) and were instructed once on the complicated order of eating things in this conscious, ceremonial fashion. We were told, it was ok if you messed up, but we had to finish every last morsel of food or else the whole hall would be forced to drink the rinse water used in the last part of the ceremony. Though, this description of the Baru Gongyang says it's not that complicated, it is. There is a specific order to doing everything. And the worst part is, you have to use a piece of kimchi to clean everything and it's the last thing you eat. Actually, you drink it with the hot water used to clean everything. So, kimchi--this side dish that we'd been avoiding here--would be the last flavor in our mouths after we'd eaten. Joy.
The meal went off without too many problems, and we didn't have to drink the nasty water, so that's pretty awesome. Breakfast was my favorite meal actually, the food was white rice, tofu, pickled and spicy bean sprouts, some pickled greens (they're a bit too much like bok choy's "I'm a vegetable that's given up on life" texture, so I'm not a fan), some mushrooms, and of course kimchi (*shudder*). It's nice to have a meal that focuses on the act of eating, and not taking the nourishment, the flavor of the food that is nourishing, and actual actions involved in eating for granted. Too often, food is forgotten and eaten (I'm guilty of this) while watching TV (or a show online), reading or driving. The ceremony took only about half an hour, but it was light by the time we were finished. I was full, but I ate a bit after we got back to the room just to get ride of the kimchi flavor in my mouth.
We had a bit of free time before we were supposed to meet with one of the Sunmudo masters at the monk's dining hall for tea and a Q&A session, so three of us decided to nap while the other two went off to take photos and explore the temple. It was lovely to be able to sleep in a place without the sound of traffic and screaming and loud music coming in the windows. My body isn't used to silence anymore and I can feel it calm down as soon as my mind registers that my ears aren't under constant assault, my breathing becomes more relaxed and I can feel my body follow.
The Q&A was alright, but the questions were not answered very directly (many of us had questions about symbols and history of Buddhism, but we were given very round about answers that left us feeling less knowledgeable than the idea of this session had hinted we should be). The Sunmudo master was a good-natured guy with a sense of humor, which came out when someone asked the inevitable celibacy question. All people staying at the temple are divided by sex and no sexual contact is permitted during the time on the temple grounds.
Next up on the schedule we had our choice of 108 bows, an outing around the town to see some tourist sites and another temple, and some third option I've since forgotten. Our group decided to go on the tour, it cost 10,000 won but was the most interesting for us. We went to a pagoda site
, the beach where a king was buried in an underwater tomb (this made me home sick as I realized the last time I was on the beach was not in CA, but in Australia and I was struck with the same realization that I was touching the water that touches the CA coast) and the other popular temple of the town. The other temple was much bigger and had more Buddha statues, some old buildings that weren't painted in the traditional red, blue, green patterns, but were natural wood color, and an exhibit of Buddhist art. It was pretty nice. And the entrance to the are with all the Buddhas had these dudes guarding it:
We had to kind of rush the temple since we spent so long on the beach (we were in our Hammer pants, but insisted on playing in the waves for a bit). We made it back to the temple in time for lunch, then we had to pack up and call our cab driver to take us back down the mountain as the bus drivers were still on strike.
We packed up, left our bags in the office and set off to see the giant Buddha carved in the side of the mountain.
This Buddha was carved by some Indian monks who had been traveling through Korea, and the temple was built in that location because of the golgul--stone Buddha.
The view of what we had to hike and view from the Buddha:
After making the hike to the Buddha Heather, Ashley and I lazed about a bit. Soon, the girls who had spending money (I was out of cash) went to the shop while Ashley took photos and I read. Eventually, Ashley and I ended up napping on some benches by a pond. The cab driver appeared and we began our trip home.
The bus home wasn't as comfy as the one going out--it was four seats across instead of three seats across--but it was still decent. There was awful traffic when we were coming into Seoul and we all barely made the last buses (12am-ish) out of Seoul to get home.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and while I didn't get my mental cleanse, I did get to spend some time out of the house and see an awesome Buddha sculpture while getting to know some cool people.
I'll make another post with pictures when I get home. Sorry if this is rough, I'm not really feeling like proof-reading at the moment.
~Sarah
We settled into our comfy (really, they were quite nice) seats on the bus and started chatting away since we had a 3-4 hour drive ahead of us. Well, at first the Koreans on the bus didn't take to kindly to our talking--you're supposed to sit quietly on public transit here, so talking is often shushed if people get annoyed with you--and we had to repeatedly remind each other to be quiet and eventually we settled into pairs of conversation so we weren't talking over bus seats. I was seated next to Heather, one of a couple who come from Tucson! Heather's pretty cool, she went to Catalina Foothills (posh) in the 90s, so we didn't know anybody but we both think we have met before but we have no idea where. We chatted about Tucson and life and speaking French (though, we didn't talk in French...curious).
The Korean countryside is gorgeous--lots of rolling green hills (now they're all more red, orange and brown)--but then you see the microchip apartment buildings shoot up and the nasty grey color gets in the way of the natural beauty. Korea didn't really get the memo about blending the architecture with the landscape being a good thing if you're in a rural area.
We got into Gyeongju planning to take a bus from the station to the temple, only to find out that the bus drivers were all on strike for the weekend. There hadn't been a strike in something like ten years or more, so it was strange that it was happening, but it's all good. We were able to find a taxi driver who was willing to (illegally) cart the five of us up the mountain for a mere 30,000 won (he left the meter running so we could see we were getting a deal, as usually when a driver takes a group of five s/he can name his/her own price since it's already illegal). The ride wasn't that comfortable, but it was manageable for the 20 minutes or so we were in the car.
At the temple, the meat eaters had to eat their animal product snacks before we signed into the program as the Temples are all vegan--I was nervous about this as well as really excited to know the food was animal product free.We sat down in the office with a woman from Canada who was doing an extensive temple stay at Golgulsa and was in charge of helping us understand the schedule and rules of the temple. She was pretty cool, but I could have used some more in depth explanation as to what I should expect to do during prayer service and how the day would play out. We were given temple clothes (MC Hammer would have loved our pants) for the length of our stay and told how to get to our room.
We walked to our room, conveniently located above the dining hall, and changed into our new brown
Hammer pants and park ranger orange vests. Then it was time to head to dinner. We had been warned that you had to finish every last bit of food on your plate, you would have to stay in the hall and eat until everything was gone, or the staff wouldn't take your dish back. So, being the cautious Westerners we were, we got small helpings of everything (read: bite-sized helpings) to make sure we were going to be able to clear away the plates--most of us avoided the kimchi (I can't stand the real stuff, but don't mind spicy pickled things). The kitchen staff laughed at us, but the group of German journalists staying at the temple (turned out a huge group of them were doing pieces on the Temple Stay program and going to different temples all over Korea) followed our example.After we picked-out which food we thought tasted good, we settled down to eat and chat with some of the Germans
before we had to head to evening chant and the Sunmudo class and demonstration (the demo was a special event added in because there was a documentary being shot on the temple and Sunmudo). I felt a lot of pressure for the temple food to be good (it was ok, but not amazing) because everyone kept saying out it would be their first vegan weekend. I kept telling them that it wasn't a good representation of how most vegans eat--white rice, a simple veggie broth soup, some potato thing and a few Korean "vegetables" (read:pickled things of undetermined origin, not Western vegetables). Everyone had terrible gas during the trip--my stomach was in a lot of pain, I'm guessing from the white rice. Yay, they now blame their "vegan weekend" for indigestion.The evening chant was supposed to be explained to us by a man from France who was studying Sunmudo at the temple, and he did briefly go over everything, but didn't explain it well enough that any of us knew what we were supposed to do during which part of the chanting--we thought we understood until the actual service started and we all ended up just looking around and bowing when the monks and long-term Temple Stayers were bowing. I started to register that my anger problems really needed to be dealt with, and I'm not sure I have them under control now, but I don't believe I should have felt like cussing out Buddhist monks and handing them an outline of how to properly explain a religious service. >.<
After the chanting service, our group pulled the Canadian woman aside and questioned her about the order of things and the rhythm of the service, we got the low down on how things were actually done and mentally stored it away to use during the morning chant.
A quick side note, the mosquitoes at the temple were HUGE. We weren't sure if we were allowed to swat them as we hadn't seen any of the people living at the temple even brush them off or try to deter them in any way. I'm still blessed with not being a mosquito attraction, but Korean mosquitoes like me a lot more than American ones did.
Ok, onto surviving the service and starting the Sunmudo training. Sunmudo is a martial art that combines Qi Gong, Yoga and Tae Kwan Do into a crazy discipline that takes years of dedication and lots of strength, flexibility and endurance.
I was really excited about learning some of it, and was thinking of my dear friend Jeremy Wyatt the whole time we were prepping to learn, learning and any time we talked about the martial art.
We were told remove our socks (no shoes in the temple, and bare feet are considered rude in most cases) to take yoga mats from the cupboard in the back of the room and spread out. The hall is pretty long, which you can't tell from the video, and not very wide, so I was a little aggro (yes, even more so after I was ready to scream at the people running this sloppy operation) when we didn't stagger our mats, thus making it really difficult for those of us at the back of the room to see the instructor and the two kids (looked about 13 or 14 by Western age standards) demonstrating the movement at the front of the room.
Our instructor (a man from Norway who had been in Korea for seven years, and studying to be a Sunmudo master for five of them) would give instruction in Korean and then *usually* give instruction in English (he was fluent in both, but I think he was used to using Korean and just forgot us Westerners in the mix). We were first told we were going to "warm up," this turned out to be stuff that was too difficult for most people (in a couple of cases I modified the movement so I could still get a workout in) and I suspect it was to show the level of fitness required for Sunmudo--just in case we had any doubt after watching a video on the discipline.
After our warm-up we did a quick Qi Gong exercise to get our minds focused. Then we moved the mats (that smelled like feet and made me question how often they were wiped down and I remembered the wrestling mat at my high school that was in the back of the dance room--the smell was the same--and how we were always warned that you could get ringworm from standing on it--I never did get ringworm, but still) and the martial arts aspect of the class started. This was fun, but still aggravating as I couldn't see the instructor and he wasn't very clear with his demonstration of the movement. I kept wanting to stand up and say, "What, go back, count it out slowly and show us one more time." And I finally did towards the end of class when I found out it wasn't such a solemn place you couldn't question the instructor. (I was worried about offending people, since there was a 1080 bows punishment for accidentally flushing toilet paper--most Korean pipes can't handle the paper, but only a few toilets have signs warning of this--and a 3000 bow punishment for missing morning chant at 4:30am).
I think I'd really enjoy Sunmudo if I could find a small studio with a more education-experienced instructor, overall, I enjoyed the exercise but was uncomfortable with the level of anger and annoyance I was experiencing during the Temple Stay I thought would clear my mind of all the frustrations of being in a foreign country with logic that defied my own reasoning at times. I made a note to analyse and deal with this problem upon my return to Incheon.
After our lesson, we were told to sit along the walls of the room so we could watch a demonstration of the Sunmudo masters and serious students. The demonstration was really impressive and I was sorry I hadn't brought my camera in with me, but I figured it wouldn't be allowed during the chant as most temples don't allow photos in the actual temple, but this one did. The strength for the tumbling and control needed for the slower movements was really impressive.
Next, we were treated to a demonstration of Buddhist dance. A woman dressed in white danced to a Korean song, the dance had pretty simple movements but was interesting because of the mudras (hand positions in yoga and Buddhism) that were incorporated into the dance--it was "The Mudra Dance" I believe. After she finished the dance, the visitors were invited to stand up and learn it--so of course I got up and stood right in the front, not expecting any English during instruction but wanting to move in a way my body was familiar with. The dance calmed me down a bit and made me feel a little better, I could still move well if I had proper visual instruction. But I was still fighting this aggravation and anger, well, I was more disturbed by it. I've always had a temper and I've never liked it. I feel ashamed that I can fly into a rage so quickly and hope I get it under control before I have kids, I remember how terrifying it was to see adults get angry when I was little.
The rest of the night was ours, but it was already 9ish and we had to be up at 4am to make it to morning prayer on time--we were promised a guy would go around with a wooden block and wake us up, but we (wisely) set our phone alarms before we went to sleep. Our bed situation was a warming floor, blankets and a few throw pillows. My back wasn't too happy with it, but I was able to sleep alright.
Some of the girls I was with couldn't get to sleep or had trouble staying asleep--I couldn't imagine sleeping like that for a long period of time like the people doing months and years at a time in the temple.At four, we woke up from the chorus of phone alarms and laid in the dark waiting for the sound of the wooden block, it didn't come until 4:15 and it was so quiet we would have definitely slept through it in our disgust for waking at that time of day. We hurried to get dressed and remembered we weren't going to be eating until after the service and walking meditation so some of us (ahem >.>) ate something (a banana <.<) before trekking up the hill to the main temple.
The main temple was much smaller than the one in which we practiced Sunmudo, and luckily not many people wanted to walk up the hill at the wee hours, so it wasn't too cramped. We were able to follow the order of the service much better with our questions having been answered after last night's chanting mess, but we still couldn't chant for ourselves as it was all done in Korean and nothing was marked with page numbers or references for those of us who slipped in a bit late. Chanting service isn't like a Judeo-Christian service where someone lectures leads the church in finding pages for songs and readings, there is someone who leads the timing of the chants but there are no announcements made during the service. At the end of the chanting, it was announced that there would be a sitting meditation (this had been listed on our schedule hand outs we were given upon our arrival at the temple, and was part of the reason we had eaten before climbing up the hill--though I wonder if I would have had more of a spiritual experience if I hadn't eaten and just allowed my body to experience hunger if it got hungry instead of expecting discomfort) and we were lead in a brief stretch before we were to settle into our Easy Pose, Half Lotus or Full Lotus positions. I lasted for about half the meditation before I had to switch legs. I can't stand the sensation of my legs going to sleep, it unnerves me. But, I was pretty chill and contemplative as I swapped my legs. This time, I was kicking myself for my prideful nature--other temple stayers were figiting, but not I. I was a good little Buddhist in my zen state not moving--oops, go back to counting the breath because I lost myself in thought of how awesome I am at sitting--and I am trying to balance that out now as well.
After the sitting meditation, we were told there was to be a walking meditation, so we shuffled outside and up another steep, but small, hill to the Chakra Stupa (a sculpture with symbols depicting the chakras and their locations relative to the human body. We circled the Stupa a few times and then were told to walk with 5 meters between each of us as we made our way down the hill for the traditional Buddhist meal ceremony.
We circled up outside the dining hall (it was still dark) and were told Korean speakers need to circle up around one guide and English speakers were to circle up around another when we got inside. We were given a set of four wooden bowls, a cloth napkin and a set of wooden utensils (chopsticks and a spoon). We made a circle around the English speaking host (the guy from France) and were instructed once on the complicated order of eating things in this conscious, ceremonial fashion. We were told, it was ok if you messed up, but we had to finish every last morsel of food or else the whole hall would be forced to drink the rinse water used in the last part of the ceremony. Though, this description of the Baru Gongyang says it's not that complicated, it is. There is a specific order to doing everything. And the worst part is, you have to use a piece of kimchi to clean everything and it's the last thing you eat. Actually, you drink it with the hot water used to clean everything. So, kimchi--this side dish that we'd been avoiding here--would be the last flavor in our mouths after we'd eaten. Joy.
The meal went off without too many problems, and we didn't have to drink the nasty water, so that's pretty awesome. Breakfast was my favorite meal actually, the food was white rice, tofu, pickled and spicy bean sprouts, some pickled greens (they're a bit too much like bok choy's "I'm a vegetable that's given up on life" texture, so I'm not a fan), some mushrooms, and of course kimchi (*shudder*). It's nice to have a meal that focuses on the act of eating, and not taking the nourishment, the flavor of the food that is nourishing, and actual actions involved in eating for granted. Too often, food is forgotten and eaten (I'm guilty of this) while watching TV (or a show online), reading or driving. The ceremony took only about half an hour, but it was light by the time we were finished. I was full, but I ate a bit after we got back to the room just to get ride of the kimchi flavor in my mouth.
We had a bit of free time before we were supposed to meet with one of the Sunmudo masters at the monk's dining hall for tea and a Q&A session, so three of us decided to nap while the other two went off to take photos and explore the temple. It was lovely to be able to sleep in a place without the sound of traffic and screaming and loud music coming in the windows. My body isn't used to silence anymore and I can feel it calm down as soon as my mind registers that my ears aren't under constant assault, my breathing becomes more relaxed and I can feel my body follow.
The Q&A was alright, but the questions were not answered very directly (many of us had questions about symbols and history of Buddhism, but we were given very round about answers that left us feeling less knowledgeable than the idea of this session had hinted we should be). The Sunmudo master was a good-natured guy with a sense of humor, which came out when someone asked the inevitable celibacy question. All people staying at the temple are divided by sex and no sexual contact is permitted during the time on the temple grounds.
Next up on the schedule we had our choice of 108 bows, an outing around the town to see some tourist sites and another temple, and some third option I've since forgotten. Our group decided to go on the tour, it cost 10,000 won but was the most interesting for us. We went to a pagoda site
, the beach where a king was buried in an underwater tomb (this made me home sick as I realized the last time I was on the beach was not in CA, but in Australia and I was struck with the same realization that I was touching the water that touches the CA coast) and the other popular temple of the town. The other temple was much bigger and had more Buddha statues, some old buildings that weren't painted in the traditional red, blue, green patterns, but were natural wood color, and an exhibit of Buddhist art. It was pretty nice. And the entrance to the are with all the Buddhas had these dudes guarding it:
We had to kind of rush the temple since we spent so long on the beach (we were in our Hammer pants, but insisted on playing in the waves for a bit). We made it back to the temple in time for lunch, then we had to pack up and call our cab driver to take us back down the mountain as the bus drivers were still on strike.
We packed up, left our bags in the office and set off to see the giant Buddha carved in the side of the mountain.
This Buddha was carved by some Indian monks who had been traveling through Korea, and the temple was built in that location because of the golgul--stone Buddha. The view of what we had to hike and view from the Buddha:
After making the hike to the Buddha Heather, Ashley and I lazed about a bit. Soon, the girls who had spending money (I was out of cash) went to the shop while Ashley took photos and I read. Eventually, Ashley and I ended up napping on some benches by a pond. The cab driver appeared and we began our trip home.
The bus home wasn't as comfy as the one going out--it was four seats across instead of three seats across--but it was still decent. There was awful traffic when we were coming into Seoul and we all barely made the last buses (12am-ish) out of Seoul to get home.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and while I didn't get my mental cleanse, I did get to spend some time out of the house and see an awesome Buddha sculpture while getting to know some cool people.
I'll make another post with pictures when I get home. Sorry if this is rough, I'm not really feeling like proof-reading at the moment.
~Sarah
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Breaking The Plastic Addiction: TEDx
I'm trying to weed out the plastic from my life, but it's difficult here in Korea. I'm trying to hunt down mason jars so I can store my food in something other than bags. It's really tough to get produce without plastic bags or plastic wrap here as well.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Money and Time Management Decisions
While I've been putzing around on the internet looking for good ideas for my upcoming (and definite) trip to Cambodia with Wendy Sue Rosloff: baker and drummer extraordinaire and all around awesome, fun woman, I've been trying to think more about how much money I actually have. This was also inspired by the crushing realization that Eric and I would not be able to do Thailand as I originally thought due to budgetary concerns.
This wouldn't be a problem and easy to do if I weren't concerned with getting out of credit card debt ($2,000ish) and paying off my private student loan ($5000ish), but alas, I would rather get that all cleared up so I can start living on the money I actually have and not leaking interest out every pore. So I made a rough financial plan, and I can do it--pending no extreme surprise expenses. But, I have to decide what's important to me for post contract adventuring. And that sucks.
It's just a matter of when and if I can do it all before I go back to the grind (hopefully, a more fulfilling and allowing of vacations with friends and family kind of grind). Getting an Asian Air Pass would make traveling Asia in August a do-able course of action, but I don't know if I'll get to see all the places I want to: Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Nepal, Tibet (I would settle for Nepal only), Thailand, Viet Nam (I heard a podcast on the Pho of Hanoi and the food of Saigon and I really want to go now, not to mention the natural beauty) and Bali (not really necessary) with possible Mongolia but I'm not really interested in that immediately. I have to remember that I can probably come back, as land masses and countries are usually stable (at least the ones I really want to visit).
Staying with friends and finding temp work in Tucson would make that month totally doable and make the savings requirement on my end a lot less (I could always sell my soul to a call center for the training period and then quit, again...) and while in AZ I'd have to hit up the Grand Canyon and Sedona as I've never been to either place. I'd love to do a siblings and friends camping trip while I'm in AZ--and that means planning around my brother and sister's social and school schedules. A manageable feat, I think.
As far as travelling California and Oregon, I could always break that up into mini-trips since I refuse to work another job that takes my weekends away like the Baker did. So, Yosemite gets priority on this one, since I've never been and it involves seeing a couple of wonderful people whom I haven't seen in over a year now. I can swing by Sacramento to see my Aunt Evelyn either before or after the trip then meet up with the Fiddaments (cousins, aunt, uncle and grandparents Karen and Dave) and go to Grover Beach to see my Aunt Sandy on either the way up or the way down then hit up Ridgecrest to see my grandparents (henceforth known as Nanny and Papa, not to be confused with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dave in Northern California). I'd also want to see San Francisco as I was only there for a crappy 5ish hours before and I didn't get to do anything I was really interested in. The real hiccup would be Eric's schedule since he has a job to consider in all this, but there is always the possibility of some sort of splitting off, in which case we would have to figure out what we're bringing on the camping trip vs what Chis and Bey would be supplying (Chris is really into backpacking and has a ton of supplies--you should check out his blog on his adventures all over the West Coast, it will make you want to go Muir on the landscape). More logistics, do they ever end? Not for the travelling soul, not at all.
It's already looking pretty booked, and that's just the beginning. Maybe Oregon will have to wait for a mini-trip time later on, after I have money from a job, but who knows, maybe I'll come into a mystery surplus.
So it's a matter of figuring out the best way to get a car, if at all, really. If the whole point of coming to Korea was to get out of debt while strengthening my character, I can't really see the wisdom of signing a car loan (if I can get one), but I don't want to spend money on a crap car that I'll just have to pay on to keep running. I'm actually comfortable with the idea of not having a car upon my return, but it brings up more questions of logistics--how do I get the stuff my parents are storing in Tucson back to L.A.? I could always rent a truck, though that's pretty pricey. Or borrow a car from someone. Hmm.
I'll be living in Los Angeles which is totally car-crazy, but I'll be living in an area with more available public transit and I'll have a bike--another purchase I'll have to make.
Well, the time to go teach is nearing. I must retire these thoughts from my mind for the next four and a half hours, then I can resume working it all out on my way to Seoul. Costco card and dinner with my new vegan friend Caroline!
~Sarah
This wouldn't be a problem and easy to do if I weren't concerned with getting out of credit card debt ($2,000ish) and paying off my private student loan ($5000ish), but alas, I would rather get that all cleared up so I can start living on the money I actually have and not leaking interest out every pore. So I made a rough financial plan, and I can do it--pending no extreme surprise expenses. But, I have to decide what's important to me for post contract adventuring. And that sucks.
It's just a matter of when and if I can do it all before I go back to the grind (hopefully, a more fulfilling and allowing of vacations with friends and family kind of grind). Getting an Asian Air Pass would make traveling Asia in August a do-able course of action, but I don't know if I'll get to see all the places I want to: Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Nepal, Tibet (I would settle for Nepal only), Thailand, Viet Nam (I heard a podcast on the Pho of Hanoi and the food of Saigon and I really want to go now, not to mention the natural beauty) and Bali (not really necessary) with possible Mongolia but I'm not really interested in that immediately. I have to remember that I can probably come back, as land masses and countries are usually stable (at least the ones I really want to visit).
Staying with friends and finding temp work in Tucson would make that month totally doable and make the savings requirement on my end a lot less (I could always sell my soul to a call center for the training period and then quit, again...) and while in AZ I'd have to hit up the Grand Canyon and Sedona as I've never been to either place. I'd love to do a siblings and friends camping trip while I'm in AZ--and that means planning around my brother and sister's social and school schedules. A manageable feat, I think.
As far as travelling California and Oregon, I could always break that up into mini-trips since I refuse to work another job that takes my weekends away like the Baker did. So, Yosemite gets priority on this one, since I've never been and it involves seeing a couple of wonderful people whom I haven't seen in over a year now. I can swing by Sacramento to see my Aunt Evelyn either before or after the trip then meet up with the Fiddaments (cousins, aunt, uncle and grandparents Karen and Dave) and go to Grover Beach to see my Aunt Sandy on either the way up or the way down then hit up Ridgecrest to see my grandparents (henceforth known as Nanny and Papa, not to be confused with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dave in Northern California). I'd also want to see San Francisco as I was only there for a crappy 5ish hours before and I didn't get to do anything I was really interested in. The real hiccup would be Eric's schedule since he has a job to consider in all this, but there is always the possibility of some sort of splitting off, in which case we would have to figure out what we're bringing on the camping trip vs what Chis and Bey would be supplying (Chris is really into backpacking and has a ton of supplies--you should check out his blog on his adventures all over the West Coast, it will make you want to go Muir on the landscape). More logistics, do they ever end? Not for the travelling soul, not at all.
It's already looking pretty booked, and that's just the beginning. Maybe Oregon will have to wait for a mini-trip time later on, after I have money from a job, but who knows, maybe I'll come into a mystery surplus.
So it's a matter of figuring out the best way to get a car, if at all, really. If the whole point of coming to Korea was to get out of debt while strengthening my character, I can't really see the wisdom of signing a car loan (if I can get one), but I don't want to spend money on a crap car that I'll just have to pay on to keep running. I'm actually comfortable with the idea of not having a car upon my return, but it brings up more questions of logistics--how do I get the stuff my parents are storing in Tucson back to L.A.? I could always rent a truck, though that's pretty pricey. Or borrow a car from someone. Hmm.
I'll be living in Los Angeles which is totally car-crazy, but I'll be living in an area with more available public transit and I'll have a bike--another purchase I'll have to make.
Well, the time to go teach is nearing. I must retire these thoughts from my mind for the next four and a half hours, then I can resume working it all out on my way to Seoul. Costco card and dinner with my new vegan friend Caroline!
~Sarah
Monday, November 8, 2010
It's definitely Autumn here.
So, October 30th a group of foreigners (myself included) rented a bus...a karaoke bus
...and went to see the fall colors at Guinsa Temple. This motley group drove the bus driver mad by belting out "Bohemian Rapsody" and had to tone it down so he would drive the bus the rest of the way. Yes, half the bus was drunk by 12 noon (not me, I'm not drinking alcohol at the moment, and I thought that the people who were drunk at the temple were disrespectful and rude). Welcome to Korea. Playground for drunk waygooks.
It took us three and a half hours to get from Seoul to the temple, but it was worth the drive--though I would have liked to have left earlier than we did so we could have had more time in the National Park. The Engrish used for the lyrics to "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd were gold, pure gold.
I couldn't capture it all, but Allison (my amazing and nerdy friend out here) was in tears because of the stereotypical errors popping up on the screen.
The temple is huge! The colors blended perfectly with the landscape and the changing colors.
I hope to be able to go back and do a temple stay there, they have an awesome guide there who speaks English fluently and says things like, "Buddhism is a philosophy, and it can be used with any religion or no religion. It's an upgrade for your mind. Like you need to upgrade your computer, Buddhism will upgrade your mind. When was your last upgrade? How old are you? How many lifetimes since you updated your computer?" She's pretty cool, big smile teacher glasses and a warm demeanor.
(That's all soy sauce, soy paste and chili paste, there were several vats like this)
I think a temple stay there would be more what I was looking for in the temple stay I did down at the Golgusa Temple (though that one was cool because of the Sunmudo martial art practiced there). I'll blog about that next.
We wondered around and oo-ed and awe-ed at the colors, then walked down to a restaurant to get lunch/dinner before trying to make it to a river ferry through part of the forest. We didn't make the ferry, but it's all good. I had a wonderful day and met some cool people.
...and went to see the fall colors at Guinsa Temple. This motley group drove the bus driver mad by belting out "Bohemian Rapsody" and had to tone it down so he would drive the bus the rest of the way. Yes, half the bus was drunk by 12 noon (not me, I'm not drinking alcohol at the moment, and I thought that the people who were drunk at the temple were disrespectful and rude). Welcome to Korea. Playground for drunk waygooks.It took us three and a half hours to get from Seoul to the temple, but it was worth the drive--though I would have liked to have left earlier than we did so we could have had more time in the National Park. The Engrish used for the lyrics to "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd were gold, pure gold.
I couldn't capture it all, but Allison (my amazing and nerdy friend out here) was in tears because of the stereotypical errors popping up on the screen.The temple is huge! The colors blended perfectly with the landscape and the changing colors.
I hope to be able to go back and do a temple stay there, they have an awesome guide there who speaks English fluently and says things like, "Buddhism is a philosophy, and it can be used with any religion or no religion. It's an upgrade for your mind. Like you need to upgrade your computer, Buddhism will upgrade your mind. When was your last upgrade? How old are you? How many lifetimes since you updated your computer?" She's pretty cool, big smile teacher glasses and a warm demeanor.
(That's all soy sauce, soy paste and chili paste, there were several vats like this)I think a temple stay there would be more what I was looking for in the temple stay I did down at the Golgusa Temple (though that one was cool because of the Sunmudo martial art practiced there). I'll blog about that next.
We wondered around and oo-ed and awe-ed at the colors, then walked down to a restaurant to get lunch/dinner before trying to make it to a river ferry through part of the forest. We didn't make the ferry, but it's all good. I had a wonderful day and met some cool people.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Chickety China Warning: Don't get massages in Qingdao
This is what will happen.
My back the day I got back from China, yes, that's a bruise.
My back the day I got back from China, yes, that's a bruise.
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