Mountains, Temples, and Beaches, oh my!

Greetings, everyone.  Just another jam-packed day in Seosan!  It's currently 5AM and I took over two hundred pictures yesterday.  They're keeping us moving and we're getting to see some amazing things!  Let's recap, shall we?

I woke up this morning and was treated to a wonderful breakfast by my "host mom".  We had rice (which tasted almost like grits) and beef in broth as well as a number of side dishes and some sweet bread from "Paris Baguette" a coffee shop here.  Rice and fruits and vegetables are served at every meal and apparently waking hours don't justify dousing things in syrup. ;)

I'm pleased to report that the host daughter, Jay, took to me a little better today.  She didn't cry and, while she's not ready to sit next to me, she did manage to look at me without flinching...so, progress. Fortunately, my pride was wounded years ago when Vivienne refused to look at ANY of us, so I think I'm taking this all in stride. Plus, she's just sodamncute.

Anyway, after breakfast, we took Jay to kindergarten. Ohmygod, all the kids were adorable and so polite and respectful.  They have matching backpacks with their names on them and they were just so well behaved.  I later learned that in Korea, you must pay to send your child to kindergarten.  My host family was shocked to learn that it was free in America.  The remainder of their school years are free, though until college.  Of course, taking private English lessons is also costly.

We met with the rest of our group to begin our day and we learned that we would be visiting two temples.  During the drive, we found out that the major religions in Korea are Buddhism, Christianity and Confuscianism.  Our first stop was Ganwolam Temple.  Any temple ending in -am means that it is small in size.  This temple was built on the sea and it was stunning. 

Before I show you pics of the temple, I'd like you to look at the two inclines we had to traverse to make it there.  In America, this steep cobbled path with no handrail would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.  In Korea, I passed by elderly people climbing up it like it won't no thang.  I convinced myself that it wasn't Tuesday and hoped I didn't bust my ass.

The journey was well worth it because you walk up the ramp to this:

The whole atmosphere was so peaceful and surrounded by water.  It reminded me of a beach on St. Maarten that mom and I went to.  And, as soon as I had that thought I contemplated how blessed I was to be have visited both and been able to compare the two.

We took some requisite shots

 and then headed off to Buseoska Temple.  Any temple ending in -sa means that it's a large temple.  Buseoska Temple is built in the mountains.  Driving up the hills reminded me of mountain adventures with friends.  This temple was STUNNING even upon entrance.

This is the part when Eboni remembers that her camera can do all kinds of artsy things.  So we walk up the path that is strewn with lanterns

And I'm overwhelmed by what I see before me:

 It doesn't end there, folks.  Wherever you turn is stunning beauty.

The attention to detail is astounding.  Let's take a closer look, shall we:

 And the requisite "pics or it didn't happen" photo of me at the temple

As we're making our way away from the temple a man comes out and starts speaking to us.  I assumed he was yelling at us for traipsing around.  Turns out that "man" was a monk and he was inviting us INTO the temple.  Surreal.  There was such an air of quiet reverance in the temple that I refrained from taking pictures until we were assured it was okay.

We learned the monks wake up at 4AM and kneel 108 times to begin the day.  We were given a demonstrations and some people volunteered to give it a try.  We were told to not use the monks pillows

The pieces of paper that were attached to some lanterns contain people's prayers.  I love the idea of that.

Following the temple we went to Chollipo Arboretum

And reminder of home continue because I saw this car that once belonged to my very own Ne-bone

We were then off to visit Taeanhaean.  Mind you, it's like 50 degrees here today but we soldiered on, nonetheless.

This beach has the "grandmother and grandfather" rock that you can read about here http://english.knps.or.kr/Knp/Taeanhaean/Intro/Legend.aspx?MenuNum=1&Submenu=Npp&Third=Intro&Fourth=Legend

They also had someone selling fresh seafood...as in it was just caught and then prepared (ie, killed) when you ordered it.  Some people decided this was the perfect opportunity for octopus.

Then, we headed off to a Rotarians house where we were offered "green tea", "herbal tea" or soju.  I had to laugh at the choice of healthy tea, healthy tea, liquor.  The soju had baby apples placed in it for flavor.  Which, just reminded me of moonshine...so of course I was game.  (This is the part where I remember that my parents and boss have access to this blog)

They also brought out more seafood purchased at the park:

We then were whisked off to dinner (which I'm surprised I don't have any pictures of).   They started out by pouring a shot of soju into a glass and then mixing it with beer...and encouraging us all to drink.  For the sake of propriety I will say:  Soju is strong, beer makes it stronger, I handled myself like a champ and, if you're under the age of 30, you'll hear the stories when I get home.

So FINALLY this day came to an end...officially.  My host family picked me up and the second part of my day began.  But I'll have to blog about that later because this stroll down memory lane has made it 6:30AM and I'm supposed to be up in an hour and a half.  Eep!

Catch y'all up soon!!!