Week VIII: Islands and mountains

I spent the weekend with Mamie in Tongyeong. We had a blast. On Saturday we took a fary to an island and hiked around on it. On the other side there was a beautiful light house and the weather was beautiful too. Then we watched a Korean horror movie which was interesting and really scary. On Monday I hoped a bus to Wolchulsan National Park. Upon arival I explored town a bit and realized I had really sent myself off into the middle of nowhere, I thought people stared at me a lot in Seoul but here I think it is possible that some people had never seen a foreigner in there lives. It was a bit like Mexico, old ladies comming up to me and touching my blonde hair. The park was beautiful, I think they need to rename this mountain range the rocky mountains, they were much rockier than our rocky mountains. On Tuesday I entered the park and met some young Korean guys who spoke English. After helping me find a minbak (traditional Korean inexpensive lodging), they invited me to hike to the peak with them. It was an amazing hike, so steep with lots of treterous terrain and a huge bridge spanning this huge gap. The next day I set off to find the ceramics center. I hoped on a city bus to this village but I didn't know exactly where to get off. Then the bus driver and all the old ladies on the bus looked at me and said something and motioned for me to get off the bus. So I did. Then I didn't know which way to go but there was this touristy looking place so I went there. Well that happened to be the birth place of some famous guy so after exploring it for a while I asked the lady (in broken Korean) where the ceramics center was. She pointed across the highway where there was a sign pointing to the center. I followed the signs and after being lead through this little village I came upon a huge building under construction. Apparently the ceramics center is temporarily closed because they are building a new and bigger building. It was a little dissapointing but a good adventure none the less. I spent the next couple days enjoying the wilderness and then made my way back to Seoul. It was weird comming back to Seoul almost felt like comming home. That's all for now.

Week VII: Warrior monks

My time in Gyeongju was amazing, my favorite part of my stay in Korea so far. On Tuesday I went to Bulguksa temple and this white stone Bhudda in a temple carved into the hillside. It was beautiful. Then on Wednesday I took the road less traveled and went to Golgulksa temple which is the world headquarters of Sun Moo Do. Sun Moo Do is a traditional martial art from Korea and is closely tied into bhuddism. The temple has alot of bhuddas and other statues carved into the rock and the only temple that is in a cave. It was so beautiful. I arrived during a Sun Moo Do class and watched. The head instructor asked me where I was from and why I was in Korea and when he found out that I did Soo Bahk Do he was very happy to meet me. The Grandmaster of Sun Moo Do is actually a Soo Bahk Do Master also. The instructor invited me to have tea with him and then stay for lunch. After lunch I continued on 4km up the narrow paved highway to Girimsa temple. It was well worth it. It was the same size and beauty of Bulgulksa with a fraction of the people. The thing about sight seeing in Korea is that I am one of the attractions and hoards of children are thrilled to see me and want to say hi and ask me questions that they learned how to say in school. This is cute for about a day and then it gets really old and annoying when you are trying to have a peaceful visit to a temple. Thursday morning I went to the national museum which had some really amazing ancient pottery and bronze artifacts. However there were hundreds of children who all wanted to talk to me and point at me as I past. My experience at Golgulksa was so amazing that I decided that I should at least do one night of temple stay. Temple stay is where you follow the rotine of the temple and live like the monks for a day or a week or even years if you want. I arrived at 5:00pm on Thursday and got my room and then went to the dinning hall for dinner. After dinner we had a bit of free time and then went to the Do Jang and trained for a couple hours and then went to bed. The training was awesome and I could do a lot more than their normal visitors because of my Soo Bahk Do background. The forms are really cool, very artistic and have a lot of jumping and balancing moves. Sun Moo Do is less of a practical martial art and more of an artform. At 4:00am the next morning a monk came around hitting his wooden goard to wake everyone up for morning chanting and bowing at 4:25. We chanted for a half an hour, meditated for a half an hour and then did walking meditation for an hour. Breakfast was at 6:30 and then we had free time until training at 8:30. During this time I went to the top building of the temple and just sat and watched the sunrise. Morning training consisted of a half and hour of stretching and then we hiked to the top of the ridge and did breathing exercises. Much like what I have experienced in Soo Bahk Do training. We hiked down and proceeded to do 108 bows (the full bow where you get down in to a sort of childs pose and then stand all the way back up. It was hard but a good experience. Then tea time we had this great tea made from bamboo leaves. Then lunch. So that was my temple stay experience. I wish I could stay longer it was so amazing. It was so nice to be away from the city, the crowds, cars, and everything. There are monks and junior monks up there that never leave, that would be so strange to just follow that schedual every day for years and years. So after lunch I came back to Gyeongju and got a bus to Tongyeong to go see Mamie.

Week IV and V: Dinner with the Kwan Jang Nim

The last couple weeks I have just been continuing my routine and finishing up my language course. After a month of studying Korean I am still very helpless when it comes to communicating what I need and it has proved trying at times. I will be very relieved when I return just to be able to go places and communicate simple things. On Friday the Kwan Jang Nim arived in Seoul and taught the evening adult class. The class was awesome and he told his cookie story (for those of you who have heard it) which made a different impression on me the second time. Afterwards we went to dinner and I got to talk to the Kwan Jang Nim on a more personal level. He asked me all about Crested Butte (he remembered going there 10 years ago) and Tyzzer Sa Bom Nim and the studio. He also wanted to know about me personally. It was a really cool experience. Then on Sunday was the Dan test in Degu (4 hr. south of Seoul). To tell the truth I was dissappointed in the skill level of the candidates and what was required of them which was much less than in the US. However Korea is a different culture and they have a lot less support and organization than we do. After the test there was a demonstrations and me and some other foreigners did a team form using Ki Cho Hyung Sam Bu. Then today I traveled to Gyeongju which was the capital during the Shilla dynasty. There are so many mountains to climb, temples, museums, palaces, and other sights to see. It is good to get out of the big city too. I don't have my computer with me and I forgot the plug for my camera so I will not be able to post pictures untill I return to Seoul. I will try to keep the blog updated with new entries now that I am traveling around the country.