Donghwasa Temple

I love living in a big city. I love how I can catch a cab or bus within a block or so of my apartment and be anywhere in the city in a matter of minutes. It is a nice change from having to get in my car and drive to get anywhere back home. It does have its downsides though, mainly exhaust. The air here isn't exactly the cleanest so me and a few co-workers decided to get out of the city on Saturday for some clean crisp fresh mountain air.


Within a short distance (45+ mins by bus) is Mt. Palgongsan Natural Park. It's a nice big area with several tourists sites. The section we chose had both a very old temple and a cable car going up the mountain with great views. We started with the cable car, and it did not disappoint. The cable car took us about 900m above sea level and gave us a great view of the surrounding area. The weather was perfect too. It was just chilly enough to actually be enjoyable plus the sun was out. We took in the views of the surrounding town and hills and simply enjoyed breathing in some fresh mountain air. I do miss the mountains. I think I was spoiled the few years I spent in Denver. There is just nothing like breathing in cool mountain air. It refreshes the soul.


So after the cable car ride, we headed off to find Donghwasa Temple. The temple was built in 493 AD, and it was truely an amazing site to see. It is more than just one large temple where they worship, but more of a series of buildings. It was very peaceful there. Built back in the hills among the woods, the scenery was beautiful and peaceful. The architecture and colors used were simply amazing. Between the incense burning, to seeing people praying to Buddha, to watching a monk meditate I don't think I have ever been anywhere where I felt so at peace and enjoyed the quiet.


The temple was not the only attraction there however. Just a short walk away was teh Tongil-daebul Buddha Statue, which at 33m high and 16.5 m round is the largest in the world (according to our brochure). In the body of the statue are 2 pieces of Buddha's bones presented by the Myanmar government. It was completed in 1992 and was really a site to see. Surrounding the Buddha statue were various carvings, statues and pagodas.


It really opened my eyes to another culture, and I am very glad to have been there. It has also increased my desire to learn more about the Korean history and culture. I find it fascinating to see how others live, think, and pray. After the busy holiday season, a few of us from school might venture out for a temple stay. It sounds like a very interesting way to learn more about the Buddhist culture. You spend the night in a temple and have the chance to learn from them first hand about their religion, meditation, and other aspects of their culture.


Getting out of the city was a nice way to recharge with some fresh mountain air and learn a little something along the way. I can only hope to have more weekends like this in the future. Enjoy some of the photos below. There are many more on my flickr page.


The big Buddha statue

Longhorn Buddha?

There is a monk meditating in there. There were lots of people praying and meditating but I did not feel it was appropriate to capture that up close on film.

The communal drinking fountain.

What fun! A safety theme park.

View from up on top of the mountain.

Me up at the top of the mountain.

Seomun Market

Last Sunday I ventured down to Seomun Market here in Daegu. Seomun has over 4,000 shops and is the largest Korean market in Daegu and one of the 3 largest in Korea. The market has items ranging from traditional clothing, to shoes, socks, and newer clothes, to various types of vegetables and meats, to live and dead animals such as chickens and rabbits. It reminded me of the First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX, except it had a lot more crap. Most, if not all, of what is there is useless crap, although I am betting some of the food there is fantastic. I walked around for a few hours on the cold Sunday morning. The market is both indoor and out, and is just a huge maze of shops.

I have to say I was a little disappointed in that I didn't find much to purchase, but I was not disappointed in what I got to see. You don't see a cage of live chickens with dead chickens on top ot it often back home. I was curious how receptive they would be to taking pictures, so I quickly and slyly took a few of some interesting things (see below). I am glad I got to experience the market, but I am not sure I have a good reason to go back unless for some reason I need a live or dead rabbit in the future.

A Korean Wedding

So last night I had the opportunity to attend a Korean wedding. After talking to someone from work about what Korean weddings were like, I was very excited to be going. I mean what are the chances I have the chance to attend a Korean wedding again? So yesterday morning I set out downtown to do a little tie shopping. I don't know if I left my ties on accident or if they mysteriously disappeared during a bag inspection on my trip out here. I had gone to the department store nearest my apartment on Friday only to find the ties there ran around $80 US. I wasn't about to fork out that much money for a tie, so I headed downtown to search. I quickly found one to my liking for just a bit over $30 US, which was much easier to swallow. Now with tie in hand I was ready to go.

Now before I tell you about the wedding I attended, let me explain why I was so excited to be going. First of all, its a Korean wedding. Need I say more? Yes, okay I will. Earlier this week I was speaking to 2 of my co-workers who attended a wedding last year and to my surprise it sounded like a lot of fun. First of all, it sounded like a very nice ceremony. The bride and groom entered walking on an elevated walkway made of glass with flowers underneath. Now that sounds like an entrance! But what really caught my attention was what they said next. As the groom walked down the isle the theme from Star Wars played. Yes, you read that right, Star Wars. You know the greatest movie ever made, at least to my generation. I was so surprised I almost did not hear them talking about the strobe lights, smoke machines, and bubble machines that were also present. Now if that doesn't sound like a shindig worth attending, I don't know what does.

Okay so back to the wedding I went to. The reason I was invited, and I say "invited" loosely, was the bride was not only one of the school owner's daughters, but she worked in the middle school department of our branch previously and knew some of the teachers. In the end it was more of a requirement to go than an invitation. It started out as an invitation that myself and a few others jumped at. Then by about 10 to 10pm on Friday night (we get off at 10), it had gone from a its not required but we would like you to go, to a you must go scenario. I didn't mind as I was already planning on going.

So Saturday night we all met at work to take a taxi down to the Hotel Inter-Burgo, which is the only 5 Star hotel in Daegu. We arrived a little late and the ceremony was already going, which seemed to be okay. It was held in a large room in the hotel. I am guessing there were about 50-75 tables, maybe more, spread out in the large room filled with people. It was the largest wedding I had been to. Outside were even more people milling around during the ceremony, which seems to be normal here. We watched from the doorway and couldn't see much of the stage it was on, but never fear there were 4 large screens (see pic below) showing the proceedings on stage around the room.

It was a very elegant ceremony, but I am not sure if it was religious or not. The bride wore a Western style wedding dress, and the groom a tux. They were on an elevated stage that had a long isle running up to it lined with nice flower arrangements. It truly was a beautiful ceremony, even if I didn't understand a word they said. There was no Star Wars theme or anything like it. This wedding was a showcase, and they wanted everything to be top of the line which it was. Toward the end of the ceremony they did have smoke machines that started on stage and was actually quite nice. Then as the happy couple was walking down the isle as husband and wife, the bubble machines started in the ceiling.

There area lot of differences from what we are used to back home. There was no party afterwards. Everyone went to eat at the hotel buffet, which was amazing, but they also paid for it. Traditionally the guest pays for his/her own meal. They had tables set up where they collected money and gave the guest a meal voucher as they paid. The school paid for our meal, but I was told it is typically about 30,000 won or just under $30. Some other differences were that the bride and groom had already taken pictures together. Apparently long before the ceremony they go off somewhere and take their wedding photos, so there was a nice large portrait of the bride and groom as you entered the room. This means unlike back home the groom sees the bride in her dress before the ceremony. I think that almost robs the groom. That moment of seeing your future wife for the first time in her wedding dress as she is walking toward you might have been the best moment for me in my wedding. Again there was no reception afterwards. Everyone just ate and left, but all in all it was a very nice experience.

The buffet was amazing. They had everything there. It had sushi, sushi rolls, mandu (dumplings), salmon, crab legs, oysters, eel, octopus, all sorts of Korean and Chinese dishes, and so much more. It was an amazing spread. I filled up on all sorts of goodies and tried eel for the first time. They had snail as well but they must have run out before I could try it because when we went back looking for it, it was gone.

So all in all it was a great night. A very nice ceremony followed by good food and good company. You can't ask for much more.

A blurry pic of the walkway lined with flowers and candles.

The chandelier in the hotel.

The hotel Christmas tree.

An ice sculpture for the wedding.

You can see the bubbles coming down here.

More bubbles.

Interesting Question Posed

So I had an interesting questioned posed to me on a forum I visit. I was asked how do I enjoy living in such a different culture? To me that was part of the draw of coming here to South Korea. There was more than 1 reason why I came, and you hear different ones from others when you first arrive. That seems to be one of the initial questions when you arrive. They range from couldn't find a job, to wanted to travel, to wanted to save money, to wanted to experience a different culture, and I think most people here are here because a combination of those reasons including me.

So let me get back to the initial question of how do I enjoy living in such a different culture? It's actually quite simple. If you are one who is afraid of change or scared of new ideas, don't come. I think I used to be this way when I was younger. Now I am very much open to new ways of thought. I find it very interesting how Koreans live their lives and go about their business. It's the little things that I find most fascinating. Take for example, last week I decided to grow a goatee. I do this from time to time back home mostly out of boredom. I was aware that most Korean men do not grow hair like they can back home, but I was unaware that growing facial hair here was seen as an insult to the Korean men. I was politely asked to shave by my head teacher, which I did. Had I known this I would have shaved to begin with. It's these little things that just fascinate me. This is just one example of many I have seen or heard about here. Learning these little details is part of the draw to being here. You learn some of the little things along the way which makes each day more interesting.

So yesterday was payday, and last night when I went to the ATM I found it interesting to find I had over 1 million in my account. Sure it is not American dollars but its still over a million in cash in my account. It is the little things like that that just make me smile and laugh a little.

That is all for now. I am working on a few things for some new posts that hopefully I'll have soon.

E

Korean Christmas Decorations at Local Department Store

Not much happened today (Sunday) since it is raining out. I have basically spent the day at either KFC or Starbucks hijacking a better internet signal. Right now I am at Lotteria (like a McDonalds) sitting eating some spicy chicken strips and surfing the web. I took a tour of Dong-A, the big department store by my apartment, to look at the new Christmas decorations that have gone up. They are very different than anything you see back home. No reindeer or santas around in Dong-A (although you can see them around town in some places), but instead they have weird sheep and monkey looking little characters. Of course the coup de grace is the large Unicorn. I posted a few pictures below. All the pictures I took are on flickr.

Korean Christmas Decorastions. A sheep and what I think is a monkey.

The Christmas Unicorn.

Hopefully this week I will get over this head cold I have had. Monday is payday (wahooo) and I am going to join the gym this week. I met a few guys here that play baseball, and I would really like to get back into shape so I could go out and toss the ball around a bit when it warms up. Other than that I really need to find a few things to fill my days here. Any suggestions?

Have a great week.
E

I loved this sign in the food section of Dong-A. "Fish & Shellfishe" - It does smell a little "fishe" in there.

A Good Weekend

This was a good weekend but it sure went by quickly. Friday night a few of the guys from work went out for barbeque, which is just fantastic here. Saturday was a busy day. Another one of the teachers and I went downtown to wonder around and do some shopping. We hopped on the bus and took off. The bus to downtown is pretty cheap (1500 won I think it was one way) but it took us a good 20-25 mins to get there. It's worth it though in the beginning. It allows me to get to see some of the city as we head downtown. Once we got downtown we started wondering around. There are a lot of shops and its seems we walked by them all. We checked out a huge department store downtown and wound up finding a really nice little coffee shop on the top floor. We stopped for a drink before heading out to do some more shopping. We found a bookstore with a few shelves of books in English and both picked one up. I got 1984 by George Orwell, and cant' wait to start it right after I finish the one I am reading now, The Street Lawyer by John Grisham. We walked all over downtown, and at one point got off the beaten path so to speak. We found a few side streets where the "locals" would shop which turned out to be quite interesting. They had everything from Army surplus stores to electronics and little cafes. I was on the look out for funny signs, well funny to me anyway. Some of the store names are very basic and are humorous to the English speakers. Check out my flickr page for the group titled Downtown Daegu for the pics of the signs I saw. We both wound up picking up a few gifts to send home and called it a day after about 5 hours downtown.

I don't know the going rate, but smiles are on sale!

After a long day of walking and shopping, I came back home, grabbed a little gin mandu, and rested for an hour or so before heading out again. Rich, one of the other teachers on my floor was having a poker night at his place. So I headed over there to meet up with a bunch of the Foreign teachers. I met several teachers from the other Avalon branch who were from Scotland and Canada. Several of the guys played a game of poker while me and some other broke out the Scrabble. This has to be my worst board game of all time, and of course I would wind up last in both games. Neither game was much of a contest as the resident Scrabble pro from California Erika wiped the floor with us. It was a lot of fun though as we hung out and chatted into the early morning hours. It was a long day but a good one so I headed home to crash.

Sunday has been a little more laid back. I went downtown to Gorilla Burger for lunch after hearing how good it was. It was good for Korean beef but did not compare to what I was used to at home.

After heading back home from downtown, I decided to head up to the 15th floor of my building to take some photos of the neighborhood. I got some good ones too. I tried getting up on the roof so I could get the whole area and the sunset, but all the doors leading up there were locked, so I was relegated to taking photos from the 15th floor.

All in all it was a good weekend. I want to go hiking next weekend as I think the weather is going to warm up a bit. I also start teaching this week, so that should be fun. I know I'll have to fumble through my first few days but I am looking forward to it. Anyway that is all for now.

'Till next time,
E

Officially an Alien Now

I have been here for just over 2 weeks now. I am starting to adjust to things, and so far I am really enjoying it here. Next week I start to teach classes, and I am excited about that. I am still observing at work for the next two days, but I did have the chance to do a demo on Weds night. The demo didn't go as good as I had hoped, but I was rather nervous and I rushed things. I am very confident that I can do it, and that I will enjoy it. I got a lot of good feedback from the other teachers who I did the demo for which was good. I don't get nervous in front of the kids but I was in front of the other teachers. I was so nervous I even forgot Phil's name when I went to call on him in the demo. I have some good people helping and teaching me how things work, so I am confident I will get substantially better quickly.

In other news, I am officially an alien now. I got my Alien Registration Card yesterday. Now I can work on getting things set up like a bank account, cell phone, and internet in my apartment. It's just one more step of getting settled here.

The weather has been very cold of late. The daytime highs range from around 40 to the high 40's. This weekend should be nice with a high close to 50. Leaving work at 10pm it's very cold out. I am enjoying though. I miss having seasons and I like the cold as long as its dry. When it is cold and wet it gets miserable. Hopefully it will nice a sunny this weekend. I think it will be a nice time for a hike somewhere. Daegu seems to be a good place for hiking with the hills around.

I am still getting the chance to eat some really good food. The other day we went for lunch at a place that just opened up. I had a seafood stirfry and it was great. The only thing about it was the random baby octopus in it along with the assorted octopus tentacle. I did not try the baby octopus, although I plan to try it one day. I started with the tentacles and found it was similar to a chewy shrimp. Perhaps next time I'll take the plunge and try the baby octopus.

That's all for now. I am going to try and take a hike this weekend, and perhaps make a trip downtown. I'll be sure to take my camera along and show off my new home for the next year.

Till then,
E

New Photos of Neighborhood

I am still pretty tired from the previous 2 days, so this will be short and sweet today. Really all I have to update anyone on are some pics from my neighborhood. Check out the link to Flickr to the right of this post and see more of where I live. Oh and I did have some Korean BBQ last night. It was basically chicken (you order a whole or half chicken) that was breaded, fried, and covered in a sauce. I got the spicey and it was good, but I found it a little difficult to eat a chicken leg with chopsticks.

That's all for now. Not sure what I'll do today (it's only noon). I'll leave you with another one of my favorites.

...and now Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to DisneyLand, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "DisneyLand burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real DisneyLand, but it was getting pretty late.

Another Day - Another Adventure

I am still trying to get my sleep schedule where it needs to be. This jet lag is still kicking my butt. I decided early this morning, and when I say early I mean 4am-ish, that I would try and venture down to the Emart in town. This is like a Walmart. I need things like an iron, hangers, etc...
Let the adventure begin....
I took a long look at the bus/subway system and figured out how to get there since it is a long way from where I am. The subway itself is about 3.5km away (that is 2.17479917 miles for all of you non kilometer knowing Americans - yes I had no idea either and figure only 2 people who read this will). So I set out on a really nice day to walk to the subway. It was a great day for a walk (60 degrees, sunny, light breeze). Little did I realize how hilly this city is. That 2+ miles was looooong. I stopped a way into the walk at a Crazy for Burger to get some lunch. Let me just say two things about Crazy for Burger. First, I am not crazy for their burgers. Second, I am not sure it was even real beef I was eating. On a side note, the french fries I have had here are really good. They are thin (like string fries) and not greasy at all. This brings me to side note numero dos (I figure if I can't speak Korean yet I can add in a little Spanish to make me feel somewhat bilingual). I am using the American Express slogan for Pepto Bismol now, never leave home without it.

And now back to the story....

It was a long walk but I have said I want to get out more, see the city, and losing a few pounds in the process would be nice. Along my walk I passed a Burger King and Popeyes Chicken. They are both on the bus route that runs by my apartment so if I need a taste of home I know where to go. So I made it to the subway station by following a bus route that I knew went there. Next time I'll just take the bus. Anyway, the subway was very nice. It is not very expansive but on the two lines it runs, its has plenty of stops. The cost was nice too. It only cost 1100 won one-way (or about .94c American or .9977 CAD for my lone Canadian reader - I hope I did that right) Anywho, it is a nice subway system they have and cheap for a one-way fare. After transfering and riding one of the lines almost to the very end, I reached Emart.

Emart is very similar to Walmart. They seem to have everything there. I was mainly in search of an iron, so I can look presentable next week when I start work. By the time I reached Emart, I was very tired so I didn't do as much shopping as I would have liked. I only picked up a cheap iron (and by cheap I mean about $15US or $16CAD). I hope it lasts me a year. I also picked up a little TV tray type table. The wooden type where the legs fold in. I have used them in the past before back home and they are very versitile. I wanted to pick up a few more things but was too tired to keep shopping. I did notice they have just about anything I would need. Fruit was very expensive. Bananas were about 4800 won for a batch of say 4-6. That is really high when back home they are what $1/lb? Anyway, I will be returning at some point so it is nice to know where it is.

The interesting part was the ride home. I waited for a cab (I was too tired to walk back to the subway carrying my newly aquired goods) and did not have to wait long to get one. Prior to leaving I had checked out Galbijim.com which has a lot of good info on SK (it has a really good wiki on Daegu here if you are interested in learning more about where I am) to get my barings and figure out what to tell the cab driver. Well the phrase I had written down did me little good. I was trying to tell him to take me to a large department store called Dong-A, which is right across the street from my apartment. Apparently they do things more by landmarks than by streets. The problem with this was there is more than one Dong-A. He had a cell phone and immediately called an interpretor to find out where to go. After a short while he calls again after realizing there is more than one Dong-A. The interpretor and I try and figure out which one I am going to and we are off again. I am getting to see a lot of the city which is nice but I have no idea where I am. A few minutes later, he calls again. He is still confused on where to take me and after a 3rd converstation with the interpretor we think we have it. He pulls a scary u-turn (it is common here for them to u-turn in the middle of the street at a red light). They are pretty crazy drivers here but not as bad as other places I think. A lot of honking goes on but not the lay on the horn honk that I would do back home when someone cuts me off. It is more of a short beep to let the other guy know you are either there or coming through. They are constantly changing lanes and driving in two and whatnot but not too hairy. So after a long round-about ride home, I finally make it and I am 17,000 won lighter (probably a 5-8k cost if he knows where I am going in the first place I am betting). It was another experience to say the least. I just knew I was going to get dropped off in some out of the way place nowhere near where I needed to be, but I got home safely.

So now it is about 4pm here as I sit in a huge room full of young Korean men playing computer games (they are REALLY into that sort of thing here). I have decided a few things today. First, no more KFC. I ate it again last night because I was too chicken to go try something new. It is intimidating ordering when you don't speak the language. If there is nothing to point to, it can be impossible I think. Secondly, no more Coca-Cola. I am making a commitment to eat better and try to lose weight, plus I need to experience new things. I used to be a stuck-in-the-mud never try anything new guy (some may think I still am) but I am learning. It seems after the divorce I have found myself open to new things. I mean who thought I would be in SK? So I have a place picked out I want to try. It seems it is some sort of Korean chicken place (the pics look like Chinese food type chicken dishes). I just hope it is open by the time I leave here. It was closed on my over as some of the local places only open late, but stay open very late. There is also a Korean BBQ place down the street I want to try. I hear the BBQ here is good (of course it will not be as good as say Whits or Clems or the greatness that is the Salt Lick) but I am excited to try it out.

I think tomorrow will be a slower day. My feet and legs hurt from all the walking, so I am going to take it easy I think. Do some laundry, iron maybe, and watch a movie. Just relax and try to get on a better sleep schedule. Hopefully I'll get out with my camera as well so I can show everyone my neighborhood and just how different it is than back home.

That's all for now. I will leave you with one of my favorite bits from SNL.

.....and now Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting themdown? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

First day in SK

My gansta roll of won. It felt nice walking around with 350,000+ in cash.


Well I am here. I am in my apartment (pics to come) and trying to settle in. I didn't get to see much yesterday. I got to Daegu about 11am and after being dropped off at my apartment, I went for a walk. I got some lunch at KFC (yeah I know stepping out on a limb there for my first mean in SK right?). It was surprisingly similar to the KFC in the US. Not sure why I was expecting something different. The one different thing was when I ordered it to go (and 1 of the 2 ladies working spoke a little English) they packed my small drink in a bag. Other than that it was just as good as back home. After that I took a shower and laid down. That shower felt so good since it had been a long time since my previous one, and all that travel time really didn't make me feel great. I intended to only take a hour or two nap and went to sleep around 3pm. I didn't awake till 3am. Oh how I needed that sleep. I didn't not sleep well on the plane at all and was exhausted by the time I got to Daegu.

So after a good nights sleep, I finally rolled out of bed around 4am to go grab a small bite to eat. Nearby there are a few 24 hour places (like a 7-11 which they do have here but I have not seen one nearby). I grabed a coke (still a little scared to try something new) and some sort of chocolate pastry which was very good. I sat around watching some English programing on the TV along with the replays of the Korean Baseball Championship which I believe just ended recently. I took another nap figureing I need to stay up much later tonight to get on a better schedule. I got up again around 8am and headed out for a walk around my neighborhood. This is where things got interesting.

I started out just walking down the main drag near me and before long I was lost. I knew the bus line that ran on the main street near me so I started looking for it. I walked for over an hour (felt I was lost for maybe 30+ mins) until I finally found that bus line again. I followed it down and found home again. Somewhere along the way I must have crossed it not knowing where I was. Most of the housing buildings look the same, except for the numbers (for instance I live in 301). It was a good walk though. I walked for over an hour and saw some interesting things. Next time I will have my camera with me. After I found my way back, I had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and then came to the internet cafe again to upload pics, check email, and post.

Till next time,
E

I uploaded all my pics so far onto flickr, so check it out if you like. I have included a few below as well.

My kitchen.

A random city in SK. This is what a lot of the housing looks like, including mine.

A Stranger in a Strange Land

I made it after over 30 hours of travel time (15 of that in the air). I am very tired but could not nap until I saw my surroundings and its exciting. Within a few blocks is not only where I'll be working but hundreds of different businesses including a KFC, Duncan Donuts, and a Starbucks. I will update more later tonight or early tomorrow after taking a long nap. I have not slept much of late and need a few hours of good sleep. Pics are forthcoming as well.

Till then,
E