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Published: February 22nd 2010
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Beautiful Buddhist Temple This is proving to be much more difficult that I initially thought. A weekly blog takes commitment, and without people actually inquiring about the happenings of my time here, I don't think I could keep them up. So continue to push me, because I know in the end it will definitaly be worth the time and effort.
It's been about three weeks since my last blog and there is much to write about! First off, I've received my first paycheque! Although its not a full pay, it's about 2/3rds at has at least given me a little padding in my account. I have made a trip to Seoul, I've scaled a large mountain, I've used outdoor batting cages, I've taken a ride on the high speed KTX train across Korea, and I've begun to really understand the illogic nature of this country...which always isn't necessarily a bad thing, just different
A couple weeks ago I made my first trip to Seoul; the home of the '88 summer Games. It started with a ninety nine minute train ride; a trip that would otherwise take 4 or 5 hours in a car. The train has a top speed of about 305 km/h.
The funny thing about this train is how quiet you have to be. It's literally like a library in there. The ride begins with a 5 minute video about how disrupting others through speech is disrespectful and unkind. You must sit there and be as quiet as possible, whispering to others as you fly through Korea's countryside. If you talk, you'll be sternly warned to keep quiet. Once we arrived in Seoul we checked out a market. Roots of all kind are so popular here. Ginseng, ginger, radish; it's all preserved and is sacred here. There are hundreds of shops selling this stuff. After everyone arrived in Seoul we checked out the National folk museum of Korea. With 2010 being the year of the Tiger they expectedly had a Tiger exhibit showing called, "Tiger, from myth to legend" The exhibit was honestly a little lame, small, and didn't have much information. The night however was a different story. We checked out Dongdaemun market which is incredible. I believe it's the largest market in Korea? I could be wrong, however it's regarded as a shoppers paradise and people pilgrammage from a far to this fashion mecca. There's literally thousands of shops
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Checking out the loud Bell and stores selling everything from super cheap yet impressive knock offs to extremely expensive designer wear. I picked up a knock off Diesel shirt for about 8 bucks Canadian. The haggling nature of these places is very different than North America. You name your price and just work it as low as you can; they are desperate and it's not uncommon to walk away with an item 70-80% off their asking price. The next day a couple of us went down to Itaewon which is the foreign capital of Korea. I'm telling you Koreans are the minority here. It's a little grungy and dirty but there are foreigners from all over the world here. This is where Rocky Mountain Tavern is located (a canadian inspired bar owned and operated by Canucks) along with numerous other restuarants and shops. We went for lunch at a place called the flying pan which was great. They offered amazing salads, gourmet sandwhiches with their own freshly baked bread. After that we borded the KTX and returned back to Daegu
A few days ago I had one of my best days in Korea yet. Thanks to our organizer Justin, we arranged a day trip
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Close up of the Bell out to a mountain about 50 minutes outside Daegu. We packed some water, kimbap (rice packed with seaweed), and set out for some hiking. I think, at least a few of us, were in for a surprise. We arrived at the base of the mountain and I was at least immediately shocked at the intense incline. I was wondering why Justin suggested we bring crampons and a hiking stick. Within a few minuets I became aware this wasn't hiking but mountaineering. We progressed from dry dirt and rock near the bottom to fairly heavy snow and ice near the top. The day itself was absolutely perfect. About 15C and not a cloud in the sky. The climb and subsequent descent took about 5 hours. The grade was very steep and at some points I was concerned I was gonna take a dive, especially on the way down. At some points I decided to just get down, slide, and hope for the best. Once we reached the summit it was about 800 meters high. We were met with just incredible views of Korea. There were beautiful Magpies soaring below us...it was serene. On the way up we stopped in at a
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This temple was only about 1/4 of the way up the mountain Buddhist temple where many monks were chanting and praying. The artwork on the temples are extremely impressive. They must take months or even years to paint. The atmosphere is so relaxing and peaceful. The entire day was a very rewarding experience.
So that has been my few weeks. Teaching is also going pretty well. All my classes have changed which I wasn't happy about, but I will just adapt and do my best. I'll try and keep up with these blogs a little more frequently so the entries aren't as long.
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Vanessa Lupton
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very exciting!
I was actually wondering the other day why I hadn't had an e-mail alert come through for your blog lately! Please keep blogging - I love reading about it while I'm stuck in boring Burlington. Sounds like you're having an amazing time. Very jealous haha.