The Journey Ends

John and I arrived home last night. When I woke up this morning, I was confused and didn't know where I was. My mind is still connected to the sights and sounds of Korea. It was an amazing trip. The biggest surprise for me was how much the Koreans remember the Peace Corps. When I told the Koreans that I had been a PCV, they all had some story about how they personally had a volunteer as a teacher when they were in school, or their mother did, or their nephew, or their friend. I am astonished at the impact we, as a group, had on Korea. And I am astonished and embarrassed by the deep gratitude the Koreans feel toward us. Koreans truly believe that we helped them, and they are sincerely grateful. I don't feel I deserve their thanks. I was in Korea to learn about another culture, to help a little, and most importantly to have a good time. I received far more than I gave. Most former volunteers feel the same way, but somehow we managed to make a difference.

So, I say goodbye to Korea, but a little bit of my spirit will always remain in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Blast from the Past--Going back to my old sites

New Construction of a traditional house

On Wednesday we took the bullet train to Daegu. I was disappointed that it didn't feel that fast. We had a guide assigned to us and he took care of everything. He even bought John a can of Pringles. My former co-teacher lives in Daegu so we were meeting her but first her husband for sightseeing. (she had to work) It was raining as usual. We visited the house of one of his friends that was being built  in the traditional Korean style. 

Teahouse with my co-teacher and her husband

In the evening I finally met again with my co-teacher Chae EunYoung. We had been corresponding off and on for thirty years but this was the first time we had met since we were 23 years old. We had the usual Healthy Korean meal. We had the typical dessert which was a bowl of sweetened water with some rice in it. No wonder Koreans are thinner than Americans. After we drove out into the countryside to a private teahouse that one of her friends built. I guess if you are a Korean with a house in the country and a little money, you build a teahouse for you and your friends to enjoy.

The next day we went to my old hometown, Sangju. I had my old address so we actually found my house. The courtyard and outhouse were gone but I recognized it.  Then we went to my old school. One of my friends who was my Korean language tutor still worked there. She was surprised to see that I didn't look  like a "grandmother" and that I was much thinner than she remembered! 

The school was very modern; we looked at the computer room and then went into some English classes. The girls were fascinated by John. They had no questions for me only for him.  They wanted to know his name, his age, whether he had a girlfriend, his hobbies, and if his hair was naturally curly. Every word he spoke made them gasp in delight. When he waved to one of them in the cafeteria, she almost collapsed with excitement. We had lunch with the students in the cafeteria.

Don't you love the sign?

Computer room

Eating lunch in the cafeteria

Peace Corps Revisit Tour

The official visit started Monday. We had a briefing at one of the Korean ministries. The talk by the Korean professor about education in  Korea was actually interesting. Almost 100% of the Korean students go to high school and graduate and more surprisingly over 70% go to college.The job market is tight for college grads unless you go to one of the big three schools. Competition is fierce for spots in those schools. Students study from 7am to 11pm in high school to prepare.Korean students score far higher on international tests in reading and math than US students.

Yongsei Digital Library

After the lecture we went to Yongsei University (one of the big three). Its Digital Library was amazing. From its central computer a student can look for a book on a topic, read 30+ pages of the book, order it, and then receive a text message when the book is ready for pick up. There were hundreds of computers and laptop connections in the building.

John and Heidi at the Ambassador's house

Traditional Korean garden at ambassador's

After lunch We went to the US Ambassador's residence to meet her. She was a former Peace Corps volunteer in Korea. She gave an interesting talk on the Free Trade Agreement with Korea  and about North/South Korea relations. It was very interesting and informative.






The Ambassador's residence was a recreation of a traditional Korean house. It was an impressive melding of old and new Korean style.

Dinner was a traditional Korean meal with mokoli (an alcoholic drink that tastes like fermented spit.) octopus cooked with seaweed, cold noodle soup, and many small  unidentifiable dishes. John kept giving his mokoli to me and they kept refilling his glass.

Tuesday has been a bit of a wash literally.  We were supposed to visit the folk village, but because it was raining they changed the schedule to go to two museums. At the Korean National Museum there were thousands of examples of Korean ceramics and thousands of Korean students on field trips. There was an interesting student band and dance group outside the museum. One student was playing the conch shell. Student bands are a little different here.

Last stop was the Korean War Museum which chronicled Korean history, which of course consisted mainly of wars--with each other, Japan, and China. It was somewhat interesting. Korea's most famous contribution to war was the turtle ship--an early iron-clad war ship

Back to Seoul

We had a pleasant bus ride back to Seoul. The bus drivers here a obsessed with seatbelts. The driver walks back into the bus after every stop to be sure we are buckled up. I wondered what he knew about accident statistics. The bus dropped us off in Gwanghwamoon. That's where the Peace Corps office used to be. I didn't recognize anything except the US Embassy and the Koreana Hotel. The Koreana used to be the newest building in the area. Now it looks shabby.There are high rises everywhere with video projections on them like in Times Square. In the middle of the road is a long park with fountains and statutes--no more sleazy Yogwans (inns) or tabangs (tearooms).

The hotel is nice and most importantly it has a washing machine in the room. Clean clothes again! We lounged by the pool this afternoon.

View from Seoul Tower with the locks of love

Note the sign on the top of the building offering massages

We went to the Seoul Tower to get a view of the city. The thing to do here is to bring a padlock with a note and attach it to the fence.  That way you and your love will be forever locked together..Sorry, David, I didn't have a lock with me.

Next we went to Itaewon.  Itaewon is next to the army base and we used to go to the bars there. It's now the "international" section of Seoul. There are tons of shops and they sell extra large clothes, but in the back alleys it hasn't changed much. There are massage parlors and gentlemen's (ha) clubs and lots of bars. During the day it seemed very tame, but I don't think I would take John here at night. It would be a different kind of educational experience.

We also went to a huge bookstore. Apparently that is where everyone in Seoul hangs out on Sundays. It was packed with people. Unlike American kids, Koreans still read books. John's Kindle broke so we had to buy some books to read.

Time for bed. Tomorrow we meet the Ambassador, and John gets to wear a suit.

John goes Bicycling

Perhaps the most pleasant way to enjoy a city is on two wheels, and Gyeongju is certainly no exception.  The city actually is a cyclists paradise.  The flat geography and large biker friendly sidewalks allow for easy exploration of this great historic area.

We began our tour of the city within one of its many large parks.  The narrow, winding path rolled through large ponds filled with lily pads and blooming flowers.  Cranes gracefully patrolled the waters further enhancing the pastoral scene. We pedaled on to a garden full of a variety of colorful flowers and eventually to the Gyerim Forest.  The wood was full of large gnarled trees looming like ancient guardians of woodlands.  We left the park and bicycled around the countryside and through the rice fields which was a pleasant but exhausting trip.

After a simple lunch we returned to the park. A strange simplistic music floated over the fields.  We quickly cycled toward it in time to see a brightly clad percussion band marching through the forest.  We followed them and ended up at a traditional Korean wedding.

The day was completed with another visit to the lovely lily ponds within the park.  The cool evening breeze had just come in and the day was coming to a comfortable close.  This historic city holds much to be seen and done and in no better  way than on a bike.

Bike Trip

We rented bikes today and it was the perfect way to see the city. In the morning we rode out to Namsan, a local holy mountain covered in Buddhas, pagodas, temples, etc.  The rules for bikes seem to be that a bike can go anywhere a walker can go, so we started by biking through some beautiful gardens. We then moved out to the countryside and rode through small farms and rice fields to the mountain. It was actually sunny today but still humid. We turned around at 11 because it got too hot and returned to the inn.

At the bakery we bought the Korean version of pizza which was interesting. At 3 we went out again and came across a tradition wedding reenactment. Very cool.

We then rode out into the countryside again and stopped to watch women working in the fields. We visited a fortress and a temple.

On the way back we stopped in this wonderful field of lotus flowers--acres and acres of flowers. The plants grow in shallow water like waterlilies but they are two feet tall. They  were absolutely breathtaking.

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant where we had Chap Chae Pap (a kind of fried rice). I practically lived on this stuff when I was here before, and it was just as good as I remembered.  The ajamoni (lady) of the restaurant was scolding me, I think. She seem to be commenting on our tans/sunburns. She wanted to know why I wasn't feeding John meat; she thought John's hair was strange; and she tried to clean the bicycle grease off his legs. Some things never change.

We splurged and had dessert at Basking Robbins, and the day was over. Tomorrow we return to the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

A picture's worth a thousand words

The tombs near our hotel/inn

The main attraction of the Temple we stayed at.

Rock piles in Bulkuksa Temple, which we visited.

The road up to the grotto we visited at Bulkuksa Temple.

Anapji Pond, basically a park near our inn.

The Ancient Shilla Capital



Entrance to the inn



John in our room

John and I are staying at a traditional inn in the historic city of Kyeongju. It reminds me of some of the nicer inns I stayed in 30 years ago except this one has flush toilets!  





We went to see a famous temple called Bulguksa. It was built in the 9th century. I visited it the last time I was here and at that time it had just been restored. The paint has faded now; I think it is time for another restoration. It makes me feel old. I did the bows I learned at the temple--a bow from the waist and then three bows with your head on the floor and another bow from the waist. The temple lady gave me a stick of inscense to place in front of the Buddha, so I must have done the bows right.

We hiked up to a grotto called Seokguram that has a famous Buddha statute. It was a long hike in the rain, but the cuckoos were calling (the birds that is) and we saw numerous interesting frogs.  At the top John got the chance to ring a Buddhist bell. The bell makes a wonderful deep sound that echos through the mountain. We heard it serveral times during our hike.
click to hear bell
 

John rings the bell



One of the stranger things we encountered on the hike was an exercise area. There were various things set up for situps and the usual kinds of exercise, but included in the equipment were three heavy duty hula hoops. What a great idea!

On the hike was an exercise area including a hula hoop.

John Becomes a Monk

Why have I not been blogging your ask?  Well I have become a monk (temporarily). For the purpose of this blog I will compress two days (an afternoon and a morning) into one.  So here goes. 

We awoke to the sounds of wooden bells (not really a bell, more of a clopping thingy) at 4 o'clock.  After groggily slipping on the incredibly baggy pants they supplied us and a tee shirt we began our ascent to the top of the mountain.  After reaching the top we entered a temple and Chanting began.  They distributed chanting books so even we foreigners could participate.   My inability to quickly read the Korean alphabet severly limited my participation in this activity, which appear to upset the monk standing next to me.  After Chanting for a while, we went outside to do meditation.  We began with sitting meditation which is basically your stereotypical meditation.  The sun was justing beginning to rise over the mountains as we began.  It was a lovely scene which I was unfortunately unable to enjoy.  During meditation you are suppose to close your eyes which of course limits your ability to enjoy the beauty around you.  I just didn't have the guts to keep them open and risk the monks wrath.  The second issue I experienced with meditation, at least outdoors, is that apparently the flys also enjoy the zen activity and crawl all over your arms and face, which certainly detracted from the experience.  I wonder if killing flys isn't allowed during meditation, because I certainly broke that rule.  We then began breakfast which was a lovely Korean standard.  We had rice (what a surprise!), kimchi, and other greens.  If I haven't written about kimchi (mispelled?) then I think I am obligated to do so now.  Kimchi is basically pickled cabbage flavored with many exotic spices.  Awful.  I keep forcing myself to eat it because it is the MAIN traditional dish of Korea but it is absoluely horrid.  Anyway, onward.  We sat at the inofficial foreigners table with our two german pals and the Ohio sisters (I never did learn any of their real names) and began our meal as we talked of the upcoming day.  After our pleasent breakfast we were allowed an hour of free time.  After wasting away this precious hour we all went to Sunmodo class.  I learned some kicks and many flexibility exercises.  We meditated briefly and then continued.  After class we got to do our 108 bows.  A bow consists of clasping one's hands, lowering yourself to your knees, placing your forehead between your hands, gesturing, and rising back up.  The whole process was timed to a recording of a chant which took about 45 boring minutes.  We witnessed a demonstration of Sunmodo which honestly wasn't that terrific.  It was neat to see what we were learning being done by professionals, but other than that it wasn't terribly entertaining.  We had a few hours of free time afterwards which I used to get some much needed rest.  Our second Sunmodo session began and we learned much of the same as the first, although we did learn a type of dance which was pretty interesting.  Afterwards we returned to bed, and that is a day of a monk in training.

John and I Become Monks

We couldn't post a blog yesterday because John and I were communing with the universe at a Buddhist temple in the mountains. The temple is unusual because it uses the practice of martial arts as a way to meditate.We arrived in the afternoon and were given our baggy monk pants and a vest to wear. Our room was quite nice considering it was a temple. There was no furniture just blankets to sleep on.

We had our first meal and it was....well... monk food. The rule was that you had to eat everything you took on your plate or there would be consequences. It was all vegan food so we figured how bad could it be.



Martial arts room before class



We went to our first martial arts (called Sunmodo) I got nervous when the master picked up a big stick and started hitting his palm with it. I had no idea how hard it would be. It was about 80 degrees with 100% humidity. I didn't know a person could sweat that much and still survive. It was like hot yoga but in extremes. I was the only one over 30 in the class. We collapsed into bed at 9:45.



Demonstration of how it should be done



The next morning we were woken up by a wooden bell at 4 am. We walked up to the temple on the top of the mountain and did chanting (in Korean) for half an hour. Then we went outside and meditated as the sun rose over the mountains. The meditation ended with a walking meditation where we followed the master in a line for a slow half hour walk.

The morning class was a little easier than the night class. It was a kind of warrior yoga. Not at all like my yoga classes with little old ladies in Foster.

We left in the afternoon to return to civilization--exhausted but spiritually renewed. (or maybe just exhausted).

Last day in the mountains

You can see how steep it was. Sorry I couldn't turn picture.

We spent the 4th of July crossing raging mountain streams and clammering up the mountainside. (I'm beginning to sound like John.) We started around 7:30am and it was a perfect day. We hiked along a river and then up a cliff to a cave high in the mountain.  It was incredibly steep but there were ladders. It was worth the pain because from the top we could see waterfalls, mountain peaks, and the river. 

We went to the beach briefly. John went into the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Korean beaches are a little strange because few people wear bathing suits. No, they aren't naked; they were shorts and T-shirts. No one sunbathes and they hid under umbrellas. I think most people can't swim because they rent floats and stay on them.

We had a nice bus trip. I sprang for the first class bus even though it was a dollar more. It has only three seats across, a TV, and double the leg room. It stopped at one rest area. The rest area was much better than in the old days. It used to be that the food choice was soy hamburger or soy hotdog. Now there are many choices. And the toilets are sit down toilets not squat ones!

Three other things I noticed that are different. No one carries their babies on their backs any more; no one squats while waiting for the bus; no one spits on the streets any more. Can you believe it?

And then it rained

It poured today. The Korean word for rain is pee. It's one of those words you remember.  We decided to go hiking anyway. It was go hiking in the rain or sit on the beach in the rain. The hike was not bad. I have never hiked carrying an umbrella before but it works.

We climbed up to Ulsan rock. It's a rock that rocks. John got help from a Korean gentleman in the art of rock rocking. The rock was carved with Chinese characters giving instructions as to how to rock it.

Next to the rock ws a cave that belonged to a hermit. As you can see from the picture, he was kind of a flashy hermit.

Hiking in Korea is very civilized. There are outdoor restaurants along the trails, and most people dress like an ad for EMS. Tomorrow will be our last day at the park and it's supposed to be sunny.

John Goes to Soraksan National Park

After a long bus trip through the mountains of Northern South Korea we finally arrived at the spectacular Soraksan National Park.  The mountains were stunning.  We first visited Biryong Falls .  The hike consisted

of trekking through a valley until you reached a series of gushing waterfalls and eventually Biryong Falls.



One of the waterfalls leading up to Biyong.



Biyong Falls in all its glory



Two of the minor waterfalls



Mom standing under a tree.

The mountains in all their glory.

After the falls we decided to take the cable car up to the top of  .  The ride up was crowded and we had to wait, but it was well worth it.  The view was pretty spectacular immediately exiting the cable car, but the higher you climbed, the more astonishing it became.  Upon finally arriving at the top, I could hardly believe my eyes.  It was the most fantastic landscape I had ever seen.  I couldn't possibly explain it in words, and the pictures do it absolutely no justice.  Look it up on google for more photos.

Soraksan National Park

We managed to navigate through the Seoul subway to the bus station. We actually got on the right bus to Sokcho but it meant having an anxious bus driver directing us through ten parked bus to the one we want. Then, we even managed to take the city bus in Sokcho and get off at the right place. It was nothing less than miraculous.

The bus ride to Sokcho was spectacular. The mountains aren't that high but they are fantastically shaped like something from a movie. It's a surprise for me because when I was here before, the mountains looked like the opening scene in M.A.S.H. beautiful but bare of trees.  The government had started a reforestation program and the results are wonderful. The mountains are covered with 20- to 30-year-old trees.A beautiful landscape is even more lovely.

After checking in at the youth hostel, we headed to the park to hike. The first hike was to a series of waterfalls. John took some great pictures.  Then we took the wimpy way to the top of one of the mountains--a cable car. We could see all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I'm not a good enough writer to describe it but the photos will give you some idea. I can't believe I never made it here when I lived in Korea.

The only down side to the day was the humidity. I didn't know it was possible to sweat like this. At the end of the hike I looked like I had been swimming. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more comfortable for hiking.

Lotte World

We ate our first Korean breakfast.John was a bit surprised to have soup and rice for breakfast, but at least the kimchi was optional.

I felt a little guilty taking John to Lotte World. It didn't seem right to go to an amusement park, but it turned out to give good insight into Korea life. There were teenagers everywhere you looked. Apparently Lotte World is the place to hang out. It is a very youth oriented place. As a matter of fact, one ride had a sign that suggested that it would be dangerous for "seniors over the age of 55" to ride the ride. I just made the cutoff! If you hate Disney, you would really hate this place. This is Disney on overdrive. All the employees constantly wave at patrons with a bizarre two-handed wave. Marching bands pop up all over the place. They usually have a dance routine worked into the music.

Connected to the park is a Korean folk museum which had many hands-on exhibits. It's a nice break from the chaos of the park, and we actually learned something about Korean history.

I had my first Korean beer at dinner. Makju (beer) was one of  the few Korean words I remembered. It was an OB and it tasted just like I remembered--a watered down Budweiser. Tomorrow we leave for our hiking trip at Soraksan National Park.

John Goes to Lotte World

For our first full day in Korea we decided to visit Lotte World.  Lotty, just your friendly small fuzzy ambigous  mammal, was the mascot for the park.  The centerpiece of the park was a large blue and white castle.  Starting to sound familiar?  Anyway other than the many similarities Lotte World  had to a certain amusement park in the U.S., we were constantly reminded of the differences between our two cultures.  Most of the rides, for example, brazenly forbade drunken guests.  The Korean people also seem to be absolutely fascinated with marching bands, and not the high school kind. Rows of women in outfits that looked precisely like cheerleader uniforms marched out into the crowd right before opening, and began to play and swing their instruments back and forth violently.  The crowd went berserk.  After going inside we decided to ride Atlantic Adventure, one of their best rides.  We climbed into the car and lowered the safety bar.  We sat there anticipating the slow, suspensful movement towards the edge of the drop.  We were both quite surprised when the car immediately shot out  and sent us plunging over the edge.  Another challenge to our expectations was the male reactions to the ride.  They weren't afraid to wail at high pitch tones right along with their female counterparts.  After our Atlantic Adventure we decided to visit the Haunted House, and yet again have our preconceived ideas challenged.  At the entrance of the Haunted House a women was handing out 3-D glasses.  Mom and I assumed that there would be tvs on the wall where things could jump out at us.  We must have looked pretty foolish to the other people in our group as we stumbled over ourselves in a dark made even worse by those shaded glasses. Finally we arrived at the 3-D movie theater. The movie was absolutely bizarre.  It followed a normal looking cat pursuing a mouse through a haunted house.  In a final twist we discover that the cat is actually a ghost.  Sounds familiar cough Sixth Sense cough cough.  We enjoyed various other rides and the folk museum at the park.  Overall it was a really fun, interesting day.  I hope you enjoyed this enormous paragraph.

John