Days kinda run together at this point, with spurts of two hour sleep on the tile floor, it has been hard to tell morning from dusk and dawn. We will wait until everyone is healthy enough for the hour and a half bus ride back to the ancient city. Buddha has shown us true karma on this trip (we were scolded for wasting too much food for yesterday's breakfast and the hungry ghost was mad at us) Life's a funny thing. I'm fully recovered as of 8am and now just waiting patiently outside as the others fight their battles. This serene place is great to explore on your own, it has given me a great reading environment.
It took about two hours to get everyone packed up and carry the sick people to the bus, but by now their number was down to about five. The monks got together to bid us farewell and we started our long bus ride back to the ancient city. I have to mention here that our bus driver got lost (he just wouldn't listen to us backseat drivers trying to show him the right way) :-)...Magellan strikes again. So our 1.5 hour bus ride turned into 4, but we eventually got back to the Hilton. I can only imagine what the bell boys thought as we filed off the bus with every other person looking very green. It took about three minutes for us all to find a bed and fall into it...we slept for 15 straight hours...nice
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wed Part Three...The Plague....
For me, an early victim, it hit during evening chanting. At the first bow, the mixture of incense and tummy problems, my stomach lurched and I knew that something was wrong. I made it through the whole ceremony, but when we got back to the room and three others were not feeling good, I balled up on the floor to try to sleep it off.
The jury is still out on the cause (dehydration, exhaustion, jet lag, altitude, lack of sleep, or just plain food poisoning) but whatever it was it got us all. 20 of the 27 were down and out within six hours. The entire large middle room of our building was covered with pallets, buckets, wet cloths for the sick. Our premed students Beth and Sana led by EMT Allon were running to and fro nursing everyone and keeping people hydrated and warm.
The monks did acupuncture on some people that wanted it. They would hit pressure points to help your body expel the bad things or try to reroute your circulation to stimulate healing. I passed on the needles, but i definitely heard when others were having it done. We slept intermittently and finally Dr. Yi made the executive decision that we would not take our fallen troops to the male monastery tomorrow. My sickness subsided by about midnight (after about six to eight hours) but others were just falling victim to the plague, so I joined the ranks of nurses and helped with the others.
The jury is still out on the cause (dehydration, exhaustion, jet lag, altitude, lack of sleep, or just plain food poisoning) but whatever it was it got us all. 20 of the 27 were down and out within six hours. The entire large middle room of our building was covered with pallets, buckets, wet cloths for the sick. Our premed students Beth and Sana led by EMT Allon were running to and fro nursing everyone and keeping people hydrated and warm.
The monks did acupuncture on some people that wanted it. They would hit pressure points to help your body expel the bad things or try to reroute your circulation to stimulate healing. I passed on the needles, but i definitely heard when others were having it done. We slept intermittently and finally Dr. Yi made the executive decision that we would not take our fallen troops to the male monastery tomorrow. My sickness subsided by about midnight (after about six to eight hours) but others were just falling victim to the plague, so I joined the ranks of nurses and helped with the others.
Wed Part Two...the Afternoon Hermitage
This is monastic college and the monks here are separated into cohorts by their year for their classes and dormitories. We got to sit in on a few of their classes where they are studying and discussing different sutras. They also showed us a video documentary of Umansa. I found myself watching as a Telecom critic (focusing on their editing, angles, and shot choice) but I still learned alot about life in the monastery when weather here is a bit warmer.
A fun filled activity for the day was arts and crafts time. We made prayer beads and lotus flower lanterns. In true inartistic Brittany style I got tons of help from the monks, but my final product was an awesome lotus flower crown for our newly named King Ling Ling (my panda that I travel with...picture to come)
After lunch, we had a little down time to wait and relax before we would go on a hike to a nearby hermitage. We got to try our hand at the huge dharma drum and it was fun to watch everyone try to keep the complex rhythm. Ryan Friday won...of course he was the captain of his high school drum line so he did kinda have a leg up.
The hike to the hermitage was a long grueling hike much like the stairs at Carnarvon gorge in Australia. But the mountain road was filled with beautiful overlooks of the valley below. When we got to the shrine at the hermitage we gave our respects to the Buddha then had tea with the hermit. The long walk back down the mountain was the first time anyone on this trip has hit me up for UGA sports knowledge, but we proceeded to spend the next 2 hours talking about the upcoming seasons for football, basketball, and baseball and the next couple of recruiting classes. Like all good Athens residents, when in doubt for conversation fodder, refer back to Georgia football.
We rested for a moment, but then off to dinner. By this point we have been up for 15 hours and exhaustion was starting to set in...no one ate much at dinner and we were all ready to hit the hay....then it began.
A fun filled activity for the day was arts and crafts time. We made prayer beads and lotus flower lanterns. In true inartistic Brittany style I got tons of help from the monks, but my final product was an awesome lotus flower crown for our newly named King Ling Ling (my panda that I travel with...picture to come)
After lunch, we had a little down time to wait and relax before we would go on a hike to a nearby hermitage. We got to try our hand at the huge dharma drum and it was fun to watch everyone try to keep the complex rhythm. Ryan Friday won...of course he was the captain of his high school drum line so he did kinda have a leg up.
The hike to the hermitage was a long grueling hike much like the stairs at Carnarvon gorge in Australia. But the mountain road was filled with beautiful overlooks of the valley below. When we got to the shrine at the hermitage we gave our respects to the Buddha then had tea with the hermit. The long walk back down the mountain was the first time anyone on this trip has hit me up for UGA sports knowledge, but we proceeded to spend the next 2 hours talking about the upcoming seasons for football, basketball, and baseball and the next couple of recruiting classes. Like all good Athens residents, when in doubt for conversation fodder, refer back to Georgia football.
We rested for a moment, but then off to dinner. By this point we have been up for 15 hours and exhaustion was starting to set in...no one ate much at dinner and we were all ready to hit the hay....then it began.
Wed. March 11th...Buddhism's Newest Converts
The 3am wake up call was not too bad, even though we slept on the floor on only one inch pads. We went back out to the four instruments, but this time they were waking up all of the creatures, so they started out soft and built up volume. The chilly mountain air proved more potent than coffee and had me alert and active in less than five minutes.
We went to the main Dharma hall for the 3:30 morning chanting. It consists of four different songs with various combinations of bows and half bows then a final part with 108 full prostrations. Your knees and thighs get to burning when you are about 40 bows into the cycle. I had to use my hands on many of them, so I felt like I was just doing a lot of push ups. The monks are amazing with their bows. They are so fast, smooth and light as they lower themselves to their ma and get back up without having to take a step or a stumble. Practice make perfect. The chants are unified and monotone and very calming. It is almost better to not understand them, kinda like an opera.
Our next activity was a meditations session. Our professor monk taught us how to sit in the lotus position, hold our hands, and breathe with our diapraghms. We meditated for about a half an hour then talked about our breathing. (Where we felt the air touch our nose and throat, the temperature and consistency of the air) Concentrating on your breathing helps you clear your mind, but sometimes I would find my brain wandering back to Tony Horton P90x yoga/mediation and I would have to fight the urge to giggle. Sitting in the lotus (painful form of Indian style) has stretched my hip flexors, knees, and ankles a ton. It makes me value all of the time when I can comfortably stretch out my long limbs.
Random thoughts: I love their floors here, I want to have heated tiles installed in my house. The heat gradually rises up through your pillows and blankets to create a very embryotic environment. I'm reading a book on Psalm 23, and I can't help but laugh at the irony of studying Christianity in a Buddhist college. The paper walls and paper doors here are beautiful and amazing. The paper is a special paper that regulates heat and humidity...kinda cool.
Now we moved on to our formal breakfast. Kimchi, rice, spinach soup and greens are good...but maybe not at 6am. Everything is very ordered and must be silent, you should not even make noise moving your bowls. They are worried about creating waste so you have to literally lick the bowl clean. We ate fast because we were under pressure to do everything right and I did not eat alot. The meal did not hold me over for too long and I let the dreaded "Ben and Jerry's sweet tooth :-)" get the best of me and I ate a Twix bar about 10am.
Next was morning chores, and we were told to sweep the yard in front of our building and the main dharma hall. One problem, it is dirt out there...why would we just sweep dirt around? The Koreans like their order in their world, so we did. They sweep in large semicircle fashion, and once we got done it actually looked pretty good. I guess it is like when we cut a baseball outfield in a lattice pattern, just for looks.
The nuns took us on a tour of the temple grounds. There are 40 buildings in the complex and huge fields around because they grow all of their own food. They are vegetarian here, another wrinkle in the meals for us carnivores. Korean architecture is unique because they build the roofs in such a way as to try to blend in with the mountains. When you look down on them from a cliff above, they succeeded in blending in with nature, it is really beautiful.
We went to the main Dharma hall for the 3:30 morning chanting. It consists of four different songs with various combinations of bows and half bows then a final part with 108 full prostrations. Your knees and thighs get to burning when you are about 40 bows into the cycle. I had to use my hands on many of them, so I felt like I was just doing a lot of push ups. The monks are amazing with their bows. They are so fast, smooth and light as they lower themselves to their ma and get back up without having to take a step or a stumble. Practice make perfect. The chants are unified and monotone and very calming. It is almost better to not understand them, kinda like an opera.
Our next activity was a meditations session. Our professor monk taught us how to sit in the lotus position, hold our hands, and breathe with our diapraghms. We meditated for about a half an hour then talked about our breathing. (Where we felt the air touch our nose and throat, the temperature and consistency of the air) Concentrating on your breathing helps you clear your mind, but sometimes I would find my brain wandering back to Tony Horton P90x yoga/mediation and I would have to fight the urge to giggle. Sitting in the lotus (painful form of Indian style) has stretched my hip flexors, knees, and ankles a ton. It makes me value all of the time when I can comfortably stretch out my long limbs.
Random thoughts: I love their floors here, I want to have heated tiles installed in my house. The heat gradually rises up through your pillows and blankets to create a very embryotic environment. I'm reading a book on Psalm 23, and I can't help but laugh at the irony of studying Christianity in a Buddhist college. The paper walls and paper doors here are beautiful and amazing. The paper is a special paper that regulates heat and humidity...kinda cool.
Now we moved on to our formal breakfast. Kimchi, rice, spinach soup and greens are good...but maybe not at 6am. Everything is very ordered and must be silent, you should not even make noise moving your bowls. They are worried about creating waste so you have to literally lick the bowl clean. We ate fast because we were under pressure to do everything right and I did not eat alot. The meal did not hold me over for too long and I let the dreaded "Ben and Jerry's sweet tooth :-)" get the best of me and I ate a Twix bar about 10am.
Next was morning chores, and we were told to sweep the yard in front of our building and the main dharma hall. One problem, it is dirt out there...why would we just sweep dirt around? The Koreans like their order in their world, so we did. They sweep in large semicircle fashion, and once we got done it actually looked pretty good. I guess it is like when we cut a baseball outfield in a lattice pattern, just for looks.
The nuns took us on a tour of the temple grounds. There are 40 buildings in the complex and huge fields around because they grow all of their own food. They are vegetarian here, another wrinkle in the meals for us carnivores. Korean architecture is unique because they build the roofs in such a way as to try to blend in with the mountains. When you look down on them from a cliff above, they succeeded in blending in with nature, it is really beautiful.
Unmun Temple... Tuesday part 2
We had a long bus ride to the monastery, and during that time, Dr. Yi informed us on some of the protocol for the nuns. (BTW...the nuns and monks are interchangeable words here. They are female monks, and they call themselves monks because they have done away with gender as they enter the temple, so the word "nun" is not exactly correct) She taught us about the bowing procedures and explained the history of Unmun Temple...this is coming later in this blog. Either way, we were very excited for the upcoming culture immersion.
The nuns welcomed us graciously and showed us to our building. They have heated tile floors here, which is great because it is chilly up in the mountains. Their temple is full of buildings, some are shrines to Buddha, others that are living structures, dining halls, and teaching classrooms.
This is a monastic college, so the women here are studying to become ordained monks. They shave their heads and wear gray robes and slip on shoes that they have to take off before entering any building. They are learning about their sutras and dharmas to become completely ordained.
They speak incredible English, it is kinda eerie that they have been living in isolation yet have amazing pronunciation. There is one American girl here from Colorado, she has been in Korea for 6 years and living in Unmun for 2 years...two more and she will be a monk. She is our defacto tour guide and is amazing for translation and explanation of all of the cultural practices. The monks must have a mentor before beginning their training, then they have 2 years to see if they can live this lifestyle, then they shave their heads and begin in the monastic college. From college you can go on to graduate monk studies or intense mediation (24 hours) or to become a teacher of other monks.
They had a welcoming ceremony for us and the Buddhist media was here to document all the white faces in the temple. They showed us how to bow (full prostration) and greet all of the professors (a half bow).
After the orientation, we were allowed to explore the grounds seeing the carvings and decorations on the outside of the shrines. One cool fact about their construction is that Koreans refuse to waste building materials. So they try to build structures using the natural shape of the wood as opposed to cutting it down into straight lines, so many of their buildings have some curved lines.
We ate our first meal here and their number one rule is to eat everything on your plate. Every grain of rice, so you have to really gage your appetite before filling your bowl. Partially to save on waste and partially because they use only one water basin to clean all of the dishes, they cut down on excess at every meal.
After dinner they played the four ritual instruments. One is a giant drum for the beings with pelts (animals and humans), they play a giant wooden fish (for the beings in the water), they play a metal cloud (beings in the air) and a huge brass bell (the souls in hell) Because this is the evening, we were putting all of the creatures to bed. The percussion session was pretty cool though, their rhythms are awesome.
We went next to the Dharma hall for evening chanting. There were two different chants and we did various bows. A half bow is the typical karate bow you think of. And a full bow, you start with hands in prayer, do a half bow, back up then squat down to the floor, put your forehead on the floor, lift your palms upwards to your ears, then raise back up to a kneeling position and then stand again. We only did about fifteen bows in the evening session, but it still took a toll on my knees. Tomorrow morning should be interesting.
We also had a few more education sessions. One was about formal bowing and meditation poses. The other is about their "barro gonya" or formal eating. They have four bowls and eat systematically and leave no waste (it's actually pretty gross so I won't describe too much , but think like drinking your milk but with real food) The four bowls are pretty cool though they mean four things. 1) Equality...the same food and the same amount for everyone 2)Cleanliness...we're not going to leave any mess in the bowls 3) Thrift...there will be no wasted food 4) Togetherness...you eat in this fashion when there are more than three people together
Long day and a long night in the temple...not ready for my 3:00am wake up call, but the floor is calling my name at 9pm...so we are lights out..Until tomorrow...miss ya'lll...Britt
The nuns welcomed us graciously and showed us to our building. They have heated tile floors here, which is great because it is chilly up in the mountains. Their temple is full of buildings, some are shrines to Buddha, others that are living structures, dining halls, and teaching classrooms.
This is a monastic college, so the women here are studying to become ordained monks. They shave their heads and wear gray robes and slip on shoes that they have to take off before entering any building. They are learning about their sutras and dharmas to become completely ordained.
They speak incredible English, it is kinda eerie that they have been living in isolation yet have amazing pronunciation. There is one American girl here from Colorado, she has been in Korea for 6 years and living in Unmun for 2 years...two more and she will be a monk. She is our defacto tour guide and is amazing for translation and explanation of all of the cultural practices. The monks must have a mentor before beginning their training, then they have 2 years to see if they can live this lifestyle, then they shave their heads and begin in the monastic college. From college you can go on to graduate monk studies or intense mediation (24 hours) or to become a teacher of other monks.
They had a welcoming ceremony for us and the Buddhist media was here to document all the white faces in the temple. They showed us how to bow (full prostration) and greet all of the professors (a half bow).
After the orientation, we were allowed to explore the grounds seeing the carvings and decorations on the outside of the shrines. One cool fact about their construction is that Koreans refuse to waste building materials. So they try to build structures using the natural shape of the wood as opposed to cutting it down into straight lines, so many of their buildings have some curved lines.
We ate our first meal here and their number one rule is to eat everything on your plate. Every grain of rice, so you have to really gage your appetite before filling your bowl. Partially to save on waste and partially because they use only one water basin to clean all of the dishes, they cut down on excess at every meal.
After dinner they played the four ritual instruments. One is a giant drum for the beings with pelts (animals and humans), they play a giant wooden fish (for the beings in the water), they play a metal cloud (beings in the air) and a huge brass bell (the souls in hell) Because this is the evening, we were putting all of the creatures to bed. The percussion session was pretty cool though, their rhythms are awesome.
We went next to the Dharma hall for evening chanting. There were two different chants and we did various bows. A half bow is the typical karate bow you think of. And a full bow, you start with hands in prayer, do a half bow, back up then squat down to the floor, put your forehead on the floor, lift your palms upwards to your ears, then raise back up to a kneeling position and then stand again. We only did about fifteen bows in the evening session, but it still took a toll on my knees. Tomorrow morning should be interesting.
We also had a few more education sessions. One was about formal bowing and meditation poses. The other is about their "barro gonya" or formal eating. They have four bowls and eat systematically and leave no waste (it's actually pretty gross so I won't describe too much , but think like drinking your milk but with real food) The four bowls are pretty cool though they mean four things. 1) Equality...the same food and the same amount for everyone 2)Cleanliness...we're not going to leave any mess in the bowls 3) Thrift...there will be no wasted food 4) Togetherness...you eat in this fashion when there are more than three people together
Long day and a long night in the temple...not ready for my 3:00am wake up call, but the floor is calling my name at 9pm...so we are lights out..Until tomorrow...miss ya'lll...Britt
March 10th, The steadfast Ox and the Ancient City
This morning we left the hotel for a local mountain that is covered with carvings and sculptures. We hiked up the mountain to look at the Buddhas, but all of their heads had been removed by the Japanese during the 1910s. Either way it was still cool to see their use of practically every visible rock as a testament to their love of Buddha. We saw some monks at one of the carvings and they told us to bow to Buddha to find a good husband (we bowed alot :-) ..) and he said he was celibate in this life because he had not done enough bows in his past life. I am glad they have such an amazing sense of humor about their lives. He actually pulled me aside to tell me I was very beautiful, which I thought was an interesting testament to the effect of western culture (how many Asians are blond with blue eyes...ironic). We also went up to the top of a hill on the mountain that had a giant stone pagoda, it was incredible to see the detail that still remained hundreds of years later.
Our next stop was the museum of History...we went to the Buddhism and Archaeology buildings. It was filled with golden crowns and pottery and other royal artifacts found in the tombs of the kings buried in local burial mounds. The underlying theme that I could not shake for the entire time in the exhibit was the continuity across cultures of the world. Somewhere in history it was decided that wearing a piece of medal on your head made you more special than everyone else. Also, alot of their pottery looked like that of ancient Greece and Rome. It proved they were very in tune with nations around the world, it just took a little longer to get there.
We also found out it is the year of the ox, the steadfast ox, the worker that will persevere through anything. Something I will take back with me as I have to persevere through these last weeks of class. Become the ox...that will have to be my motto for the next 8 or so.
Our next stop was a king's burial mound, they were very similar to other cultures (like Egyptians and Inca, Aztecs) they buried their leaders with things for the afterlife. Here though, they actually killed his horses and servants and buried them with him. Tough life. They laid gifts in with the body and food, then covered the site with rocks about 20 feet high, then mud and sticks for waterproofing and planted grass on the whole mound. The bodies did not survive because they were not mummified and the moist air and wetness of the soil contributed to their wearing away as well, but all of the gold survived. It was 22 karats...wow.
Korean culture has been a joy to travel in because they are into the meshing of the ancient with the modern. All of their buildings have traditional designs, even their gas stations. It is cool to see them embrace it. We ate another traditional lunch, but afterwards we all went and raided the convenient store for sweets. All this salty food is making us crave ice cream and candy...so funny.
Our next stop was the museum of History...we went to the Buddhism and Archaeology buildings. It was filled with golden crowns and pottery and other royal artifacts found in the tombs of the kings buried in local burial mounds. The underlying theme that I could not shake for the entire time in the exhibit was the continuity across cultures of the world. Somewhere in history it was decided that wearing a piece of medal on your head made you more special than everyone else. Also, alot of their pottery looked like that of ancient Greece and Rome. It proved they were very in tune with nations around the world, it just took a little longer to get there.
We also found out it is the year of the ox, the steadfast ox, the worker that will persevere through anything. Something I will take back with me as I have to persevere through these last weeks of class. Become the ox...that will have to be my motto for the next 8 or so.
Our next stop was a king's burial mound, they were very similar to other cultures (like Egyptians and Inca, Aztecs) they buried their leaders with things for the afterlife. Here though, they actually killed his horses and servants and buried them with him. Tough life. They laid gifts in with the body and food, then covered the site with rocks about 20 feet high, then mud and sticks for waterproofing and planted grass on the whole mound. The bodies did not survive because they were not mummified and the moist air and wetness of the soil contributed to their wearing away as well, but all of the gold survived. It was 22 karats...wow.
Korean culture has been a joy to travel in because they are into the meshing of the ancient with the modern. All of their buildings have traditional designs, even their gas stations. It is cool to see them embrace it. We ate another traditional lunch, but afterwards we all went and raided the convenient store for sweets. All this salty food is making us crave ice cream and candy...so funny.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday March 9, 2009 Temples and Buddha
(Since I haven't been able to find a computer that will upload pictures, I will specify the names of many of these places so you can google them to see them. I'll have to put up pictures at a later date)
Well...this morning came too quickly. After 28 hours of being awake, I don't think that my body moved once it touched those 1000 count sheets. The breakfast spread was unbelievable. There was a full Western buffet, and a full Korean buffet too. A little odd to have rice for breakfast, but I tried it. We had a four hour drive to the Ancient capital of Korea in its Southeast corner.
Gyeonju is much smaller than Seoul, and surrounded my rural areas focused on rice and strawberries. They are in the middle of cultivating the area for the rice that they will plant in May. The streets here are lined with cherry blossom trees. They bloom about April 1st so it is a shame that we are here a few weeks early. I bet it would be so beautiful. During our drive we passed some of the old Olympic venues, they were huge and beautifully designed.
When we first got o Geyonju, we ate lunch in another traditional Korean restaurant, at this one we ate on the floor, shoeless and all. It was cool because the stone floors were heated. Korean food is a "family style" type meal where everyone is served rice and soup, but when you first arrive the table is covered in 30 soup sized bowls filled with different foods that are kinda like appetizers. They range from Kimchi (fermented cabbage) to anchovies, to egg somethings, fried fish, bamboo, prawns, and some dishes just have spices to put on the meats. We made lettuce wraps, and they were very good. The food here is very spiced, not spicy just spiced.
We went to the burial grounds, Taenungwaon, across from the restaurant. They look alot like our Indian mounds. They buried their kings, royalty and aristocrats in these mounds. Kinda an economic way as opposed to the Egyptians and their pyramids. Also, we saw an old observatory, Chomsongda. It dated back to the 7th century. It was only about 30 feet high, but they said that because of the lack of pollution back then, that was all they needed to interpret the stars clearly. The Koreans are on a lunar calendar with 24 seasons. They building symbolically embodied those seasons and various elements of the solar calendar too.
Our next stop was the Pulguksa Temple. This old temple dates back to the 7oos as well, but only part of the original remains. All of the temples are built from wood and accented with stone. When the Japanese occupied Korea in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they destroyed all of the temples by burning them. This temple still has the remaining stairs...which are beautiful, and two stone pagodas. The rest of the temple was rebuilt to replicate the original in the early 1900s. The two pagodas were interesting because one was masculine and one was feminine. I was so interesting to see that depicted in sculpture of such a simple object (Sokkat' ap Pagoda is the masculine one).
There were many shrines to Buddha inside of the temple gate. I did not realize that Buddha has many depictions and is very similar to the saints of the Catholic church. There is a Buddha who hears your cries for help, one in hell, one in heaven (even though they do not believe in heaven because of reincarnation and nirvana), one for prosperity, one for becoming Buddha during your current life. It is amazing to try to wrap one's head around the Eastern religions because they are so intrinsically different from the Western religions, and yet there are certain things that are so similar. (see next section)
Our last stop was up on the highest mountain in Korea to see the Seokkul Grotto. This is a natural cave that has been converted into a shrine to Buddha...please look up a picture of this one, it is amazing. The Buddha is carved from limestone, so it is perfectly preserved. He is sitting in the peaceful lotus pose and looks very meditative. Some of the similarities I was talking about are depicted here. The disciples of Buddha are carved in the rock. Buddhism also was influenced by Hinduism, shown through similar "guardians" of the temple, much like the knights of western times. The carvings in this temple even seem to have some Hellenic influences, showing that the Koreans had some interaction with the Greeks...perhaps the silk road? Kinda cool to think they were actually world travellers although we think our generation was the first to "globalize".
The history here is so rich, I hope I can scratch the surface for you. I will get pictures to you soon enough. Until then I miss you all and hope that all is well.
Selah from Korea's Hilton (always something American around here)...BML
Well...this morning came too quickly. After 28 hours of being awake, I don't think that my body moved once it touched those 1000 count sheets. The breakfast spread was unbelievable. There was a full Western buffet, and a full Korean buffet too. A little odd to have rice for breakfast, but I tried it. We had a four hour drive to the Ancient capital of Korea in its Southeast corner.
Gyeonju is much smaller than Seoul, and surrounded my rural areas focused on rice and strawberries. They are in the middle of cultivating the area for the rice that they will plant in May. The streets here are lined with cherry blossom trees. They bloom about April 1st so it is a shame that we are here a few weeks early. I bet it would be so beautiful. During our drive we passed some of the old Olympic venues, they were huge and beautifully designed.
When we first got o Geyonju, we ate lunch in another traditional Korean restaurant, at this one we ate on the floor, shoeless and all. It was cool because the stone floors were heated. Korean food is a "family style" type meal where everyone is served rice and soup, but when you first arrive the table is covered in 30 soup sized bowls filled with different foods that are kinda like appetizers. They range from Kimchi (fermented cabbage) to anchovies, to egg somethings, fried fish, bamboo, prawns, and some dishes just have spices to put on the meats. We made lettuce wraps, and they were very good. The food here is very spiced, not spicy just spiced.
We went to the burial grounds, Taenungwaon, across from the restaurant. They look alot like our Indian mounds. They buried their kings, royalty and aristocrats in these mounds. Kinda an economic way as opposed to the Egyptians and their pyramids. Also, we saw an old observatory, Chomsongda. It dated back to the 7th century. It was only about 30 feet high, but they said that because of the lack of pollution back then, that was all they needed to interpret the stars clearly. The Koreans are on a lunar calendar with 24 seasons. They building symbolically embodied those seasons and various elements of the solar calendar too.
Our next stop was the Pulguksa Temple. This old temple dates back to the 7oos as well, but only part of the original remains. All of the temples are built from wood and accented with stone. When the Japanese occupied Korea in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they destroyed all of the temples by burning them. This temple still has the remaining stairs...which are beautiful, and two stone pagodas. The rest of the temple was rebuilt to replicate the original in the early 1900s. The two pagodas were interesting because one was masculine and one was feminine. I was so interesting to see that depicted in sculpture of such a simple object (Sokkat' ap Pagoda is the masculine one).
There were many shrines to Buddha inside of the temple gate. I did not realize that Buddha has many depictions and is very similar to the saints of the Catholic church. There is a Buddha who hears your cries for help, one in hell, one in heaven (even though they do not believe in heaven because of reincarnation and nirvana), one for prosperity, one for becoming Buddha during your current life. It is amazing to try to wrap one's head around the Eastern religions because they are so intrinsically different from the Western religions, and yet there are certain things that are so similar. (see next section)
Our last stop was up on the highest mountain in Korea to see the Seokkul Grotto. This is a natural cave that has been converted into a shrine to Buddha...please look up a picture of this one, it is amazing. The Buddha is carved from limestone, so it is perfectly preserved. He is sitting in the peaceful lotus pose and looks very meditative. Some of the similarities I was talking about are depicted here. The disciples of Buddha are carved in the rock. Buddhism also was influenced by Hinduism, shown through similar "guardians" of the temple, much like the knights of western times. The carvings in this temple even seem to have some Hellenic influences, showing that the Koreans had some interaction with the Greeks...perhaps the silk road? Kinda cool to think they were actually world travellers although we think our generation was the first to "globalize".
The history here is so rich, I hope I can scratch the surface for you. I will get pictures to you soon enough. Until then I miss you all and hope that all is well.
Selah from Korea's Hilton (always something American around here)...BML
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday March 8, 2009...My First Asian
Time is a blur right now...still haven't really slept and I think it is the wee hours of the morning back at home. The sun was up for the entire trip, so it is always hard to relax when I can see it peeping in below the shades on the plane windows. I had a couple of minor naps, but I'm still ready to hit the bed for some serious relaxation.
As we crossed over the bay next to Korea, the islands jutted out of the water much like those I would expect in Hawaii, however, the mountains on the mainland were not as jagged. They were more like the rolling hills of Central Europe mixed with the dry countryside of say, Nevada... what an interesting landscape...I was intrigued because I have never really seen anything like this. Getting off the plane and stretching my legs was very rewarding, but the lack of sleep is still hitting me like a sack of potatoes.
However, we had an hour long bus ride from the airport to our hotel and although I wanted to rest, I could not bring myself to let my eyes close.
The main form of housing here in Korea is apartment style condo high rises. They can be up to 30 or 40 stories tall. There are huge complexes of them, think Gameday Hotel on serious steroids times 25. 
Land is such a commodity that people cannot afford to live in houses dispersed all over the country side, it is better utilized for crops or livestock. Over 10 million people live in Seoul, that is about 25% of the country's population and it takes about 2 hours to drive from one side of the city to the other. They, my friends, have some serious traffic issues so the government subsidizes the public transportation...(good idea, a train perhaps for ATL??) 
You would not believe the hotel we are staying in---5 stars all the way, I will have to put up pictures for you to see.. It is insane, we really do travel in style.
Despite all of the food that they stuffed us with on the plane, the tour guide had dinner planned for us so we unloaded our stuff...and walked that way. Not more than 100 feet from our hotel is the World Famous..Outback Steakhouse ( I could do some Alice Springs Chicken right now btw...) 
A sweet sweet reminder of home. We did not eat there, but I couldn't help but smile at God's subtleties in our lives.
We ate at a traditional Korean steakhouse that flame grills the meat in front of you. Not hibachi, more like campfire, it was interesting and awesome. We nibbled on all sorts of native dishes from Kimchi to other things I couldn't identify, they were spicy, but good.
Don't think we'll be losing any weight on this trip. On the way back to the hotel we got to explore the city for a little while. The street vendors are hilarious selling everything imaginable. The most interesting stuff is some of the food ( I guess its like the hot dog man) but it is all fried stuff...and weird too. It's fried octopus and who knows what else all that stuff is. There are kebab guys which make me laugh because they are actually selling kebabs. A random couple of sushi people, not sure I would trust unrefrigerated sushi, but whatever. 
Seoul is definitely the city of lights and one that will always be bustling even late at night. I am excited about our return night here on Friday. We won't be so tired and we can actually go see the place.
BTW...the Diamond Dogs are 11-0 and suiting up for Quinnipiac this afternoon. Sweeps are great!!
I love you all and miss you. Hope that everything is good Stateside
Love Britt
As we crossed over the bay next to Korea, the islands jutted out of the water much like those I would expect in Hawaii, however, the mountains on the mainland were not as jagged. They were more like the rolling hills of Central Europe mixed with the dry countryside of say, Nevada... what an interesting landscape...I was intrigued because I have never really seen anything like this. Getting off the plane and stretching my legs was very rewarding, but the lack of sleep is still hitting me like a sack of potatoes.
However, we had an hour long bus ride from the airport to our hotel and although I wanted to rest, I could not bring myself to let my eyes close.
The main form of housing here in Korea is apartment style condo high rises. They can be up to 30 or 40 stories tall. There are huge complexes of them, think Gameday Hotel on serious steroids times 25. Land is such a commodity that people cannot afford to live in houses dispersed all over the country side, it is better utilized for crops or livestock. Over 10 million people live in Seoul, that is about 25% of the country's population and it takes about 2 hours to drive from one side of the city to the other. They, my friends, have some serious traffic issues so the government subsidizes the public transportation...(good idea, a train perhaps for ATL??) 
You would not believe the hotel we are staying in---5 stars all the way, I will have to put up pictures for you to see.. It is insane, we really do travel in style.
Despite all of the food that they stuffed us with on the plane, the tour guide had dinner planned for us so we unloaded our stuff...and walked that way. Not more than 100 feet from our hotel is the World Famous..Outback Steakhouse ( I could do some Alice Springs Chicken right now btw...) 
A sweet sweet reminder of home. We did not eat there, but I couldn't help but smile at God's subtleties in our lives.We ate at a traditional Korean steakhouse that flame grills the meat in front of you. Not hibachi, more like campfire, it was interesting and awesome. We nibbled on all sorts of native dishes from Kimchi to other things I couldn't identify, they were spicy, but good.
Don't think we'll be losing any weight on this trip. On the way back to the hotel we got to explore the city for a little while. The street vendors are hilarious selling everything imaginable. The most interesting stuff is some of the food ( I guess its like the hot dog man) but it is all fried stuff...and weird too. It's fried octopus and who knows what else all that stuff is. There are kebab guys which make me laugh because they are actually selling kebabs. A random couple of sushi people, not sure I would trust unrefrigerated sushi, but whatever. Seoul is definitely the city of lights and one that will always be bustling even late at night. I am excited about our return night here on Friday. We won't be so tired and we can actually go see the place.BTW...the Diamond Dogs are 11-0 and suiting up for Quinnipiac this afternoon. Sweeps are great!!
I love you all and miss you. Hope that everything is good Stateside
Love Britt
Flights...soooo...long
Saturday, March 7, 2009
An early morning ride to the airport with few words...I'm not your typical morning person, so this comes as no surprise to those of you who know me well. So even though this was my trip to my 7th continent, I couldn't get too excited just yet. The morning in Athens was crisp, much like the early September mornings of the first days of elementary school...a sign that spring is on its way. Pulling onto Riverdale Road reminded me of a certain taco that I once saw in Atlanta's finest transportation station. AZ State...ugh...Unloading at Hartsfield airport for yet another March adventure, but this one seems different. My typical travelling companions have all decided to go on the Fellows "senior" trip to Egypt so this quick 14 hour jaunt to Seoul will be a nice chance to get to know the underclassmen. I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment that only about 1/4 of the group know my name. I'll chalk it up to being busy on all different corners of campus instead of focusing on attending all of the Fellow's seminars.
When we arrived at the gate, a mammoth of a plane awaited our embarkation. this two story hunk of metal is the most spacious plane I have ever flown on...my long legs were happy about that. But there was something peculiarly familiar about the terminal we were in...then it hit me, this was the exact same gate that I flew out of only 10 months ago to head to Tanzania. And being a creature of habit, I had established my domain in the same seat in the gate area and proceeded to text...the same number from my pre-Africa days...my isn't history's repetition a beautiful thing?
This was a tough Spring Break to leave Athens behind. All of my friends are headed either somewhere tropical or Egypt and I'm off to find nirvana and enlightenment in the far East. Needless to say, the predicted 30 degree weather in Seoul does not have me dying to land there...especially after the 6 inches of snow we just got in Athens. But the experience is going to be amazing. I am so excited to say that I have traveled to all seven continents during my college career...thanks Uncle Bernie :-)
After some textbook readings and 007 watching, I snoozed a bit on my comfy new pillow (not a neck doughnut) and awoke at 5pm Eastern time. My Diamond Dogs have been on the field against Quinnipiac for 2 hours now. (This blog won't be complete without a UGA athletics update) They are off to a 10-0 start, the best ever by a Georgia team. Not too bad. Coach Pete Hermann is leading a charge against the Gamecocks on the hard court and the Association just added a pretty penny to his severance package. They Gym Dogs face UCLA and hope to continue to prove that Courtney Kupets is the best gymnast ever (a total freak btw...she's been SEC player of the week 5 times)... 9 hours of flight left and I'm dying to hear how CD hit, if Bristol's Finest brought the fire, and if the babies defended well...Only time will tell....
I love you all and cannot wait to tell you all about this amazing trip...BMLee and Associates...out
An early morning ride to the airport with few words...I'm not your typical morning person, so this comes as no surprise to those of you who know me well. So even though this was my trip to my 7th continent, I couldn't get too excited just yet. The morning in Athens was crisp, much like the early September mornings of the first days of elementary school...a sign that spring is on its way. Pulling onto Riverdale Road reminded me of a certain taco that I once saw in Atlanta's finest transportation station. AZ State...ugh...Unloading at Hartsfield airport for yet another March adventure, but this one seems different. My typical travelling companions have all decided to go on the Fellows "senior" trip to Egypt so this quick 14 hour jaunt to Seoul will be a nice chance to get to know the underclassmen. I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment that only about 1/4 of the group know my name. I'll chalk it up to being busy on all different corners of campus instead of focusing on attending all of the Fellow's seminars.
When we arrived at the gate, a mammoth of a plane awaited our embarkation. this two story hunk of metal is the most spacious plane I have ever flown on...my long legs were happy about that. But there was something peculiarly familiar about the terminal we were in...then it hit me, this was the exact same gate that I flew out of only 10 months ago to head to Tanzania. And being a creature of habit, I had established my domain in the same seat in the gate area and proceeded to text...the same number from my pre-Africa days...my isn't history's repetition a beautiful thing?
This was a tough Spring Break to leave Athens behind. All of my friends are headed either somewhere tropical or Egypt and I'm off to find nirvana and enlightenment in the far East. Needless to say, the predicted 30 degree weather in Seoul does not have me dying to land there...especially after the 6 inches of snow we just got in Athens. But the experience is going to be amazing. I am so excited to say that I have traveled to all seven continents during my college career...thanks Uncle Bernie :-)
After some textbook readings and 007 watching, I snoozed a bit on my comfy new pillow (not a neck doughnut) and awoke at 5pm Eastern time. My Diamond Dogs have been on the field against Quinnipiac for 2 hours now. (This blog won't be complete without a UGA athletics update) They are off to a 10-0 start, the best ever by a Georgia team. Not too bad. Coach Pete Hermann is leading a charge against the Gamecocks on the hard court and the Association just added a pretty penny to his severance package. They Gym Dogs face UCLA and hope to continue to prove that Courtney Kupets is the best gymnast ever (a total freak btw...she's been SEC player of the week 5 times)... 9 hours of flight left and I'm dying to hear how CD hit, if Bristol's Finest brought the fire, and if the babies defended well...Only time will tell....
I love you all and cannot wait to tell you all about this amazing trip...BMLee and Associates...out
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