Temple stay and other waygook updates: March 22 - April 1

It has officially been 7 months in Korea! I know I have mentioned this before, but time really is flying by. It is already Easter weekend, and although in Korea we don't get a long weekend, we still had a great weekend with friends. Before I delve into this story, I just wanted to give a few other updates from the previous weekend.

Starting with Friday March 22nd, we went out for dinner as a big group to celebrate our friend Natasha's birthday. We heard about a great Indian restaurant right in Bupyeong, and so we thought we would give it a try, and I am happy we stumbled upon it because it was amazing! Ian was particularly excited, as Indian food is his favourite. When we left the restaurant we both were chatting about how we would definitely be coming back, and yesterday we did for dinner! On Saturday March 23rd, Ian went paintballing with a group of friends at a site a little north of Seoul. Ian said there was little concern over safety but they all had a good time, and luckily no one was injured. While Ian was paintballing, I met up with Emily and Isabelle for a planning meeting over coffee. I think this comes as no surprise, I like to plan out trips and luckily these girls do too. So we made a rough plan for the next 5 months in Korea and chose dates for our big trip to Vietnam. Ian and I could not be more excited for this trip in August! That night we went out in Seoul to celebrate Natasha's birthday, our friend Ryan's acceptance to his master's program, and....to celebrate Ian's MPS ACCEPTANCE LETTER FOR WATERLOO! Ian found out that weekend and was very happy and relieved. It was a great night out in Hongdae with lots to celebrate.

This past week, I had a staff dinner on Tuesday, and I made a delicious dinner with a few girlfriends on Thursday. Friday March 29th, Ian went to a staff dinner where the menu consisted of sliced raw fish. The dinner was to welcome to the new vice principal at his school. Ian says the vice was quite the party animal on Friday. After dinner, the staff went out to a noraebong (karaoke room) and then went out to a chicken and beer place. I am not sure why, but there are a lot of chicken and beer restaurants in Korea. While Ian was out with his co-workers, I went to a late yoga class called Addidas with Isabelle. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a class with this title. In the end it was a class with lots of squats and other exercises that worked the legs. It is interesting how in Korean yoga classes, the teacher always wants everyone to be able to reach the same position. I think this goes with the "group mentality" of the culture. Friday was also a big day for me because I got an acceptance letter to the MPH program at McGill!!! I was a great feeling to wake up and read this email. 

On Saturday March 30th, we went on a temple stay with Natasha, Emily, Isabelle, Ryan and Adam. We decided on going to Jeondeungsa Temple on Ganghwa Island (an island part of Incheon), built in 381 C.E. It is the oldest temple in Korea, although no one can tell for certain. It took us around 2 hours to get there by bus from our place. It was great to get out of the city and explore another part of Korea. We didn't have a chance to see where Ian's sister, Eryn and brother-in-law, Andrew lived when they were in Korea, so we will definitely be making at least another trip to the island. The Jeondeungsa Temple is situated on a mountain and is encircled by a protective wall called the Samnang Fortress. Once we got to the temple, we were assigned our rooms, changed into our uniforms (gigantic Aladin-like pants matched with a pink vest) and were given a brief presentation on temple etiquette. The main rules were to minimize talking, not to drink any alcohol, not to eat meat, not to show any public displays of affection, and to respect the temple life. We met the monk that would be with us for our stay, and we reviewed the bows and procedure for the monastic meal we were going to have the following morning. This meal is special as it is a silent meal and there are specific steps we needed to take. After this review, we went for dinner, which was more relaxed as it was cafeteria style. After dinner we got to experience striking of the bell. The monks beat the drums and strike the bell 33 times at night and in the morning to awaken the animal spirits. It is done 33 times, one for each heaven in Buddhism. We each took a turn striking the bell. The last activity of the night was to do some healing yoga, also called Seon mediation. The temple had just renovated one hall so the room was very modern compared to the rest of the temple. It was about 8:30pm once we were finished and that meant it was bedtime.

We were woken at 4am to the sounds of monks beating the drums, and also by our four Korean roommates that switched the light on without giving us any warning. It was still pitch black outside, and it felt odd to start our day so early. We started with Yebool, a Buddhist ceremonial service where we bowed a lot in front of a giant Buddha. We were just following our monk's lead the whole time. He spoke a fair amount of English, but it was good we also had a temple host that translated for us. After the ceremony, we followed the monk to a different room to do the 108 prostrations and Seon meditation. The prostrations require you to stand and kneel down repeatedly and after a little while it felt more like a work out. All of our legs were sore today, and it is incredible to think that monks do this everyday. After the prostrations and meditation, we had our formal monastic silent meal called Balwoo Gongyang. During the meal, the monk has asked Ian to be in charge of serving rice to everyone. In addition to the meal being silent, it was also special as monks do not waste any food. So whatever food we took into our bowls, we had to finish. The monk also told us we had to put and save at least one piece of kimchi or yellow pickle in our bowls. Ian and I chose the pickle. After we were done eating, Adam went around with hot water and using the pickle we had to clean our bowls, and..... we had to drink that water after! Monks really don't waste anything. After the meal, it was time to do some communal work. The boys swept rocks and the girls had to clear some rocks from an area (we didn't really understand our task). The group of us also had to chop some wood. I am proud to say I was the only girl that was able to chop a mini log in half. I also need to mention that there was a TV show filming us when we were at the temple. At first we didn't mind being filmed but after a while it became too much. During our hike with the monk to the peak, our group just became fed up with the TV hosts filming and asking us questions, that we told them off. The last activity of the day was called tea time where we could ask the monk any question we wanted. Overall, this was a very interesting cultural experience. Ian and I enjoyed following and learning more about the daily routine of a Buddhist monk. After that we headed back to Incheon cause we were exhausted.

Here are some pictures from the temple stay!

After getting off the bus, we were able to find the temple by following this monk.  

The boys helping out with laundry duty.

Gate to the girl's room.

The group of us with our outfits holding out hands in hapyeong position. (Ian, Emily, Isabelle, Adam, Nadia, Natasha, Ryan)

The boys holding their hands in chasu position. This is how we were suppose to walk around the grounds of the temple.

The monks beating the drums at night.

                                               Striking the bell at night.

The newly renovated hall. 

Monastic meal on Sunday morning. Ian was in charge of serving rice.

Dishes for the monastic meal.

We had rice, soup, and these sides.

This was our monk this weekend. He looked so wise and traditional, it was funny noticing the Rolex looking watch he had on his wrist.

Temple around 6:30am

It was odd being up so early, but it was beautiful walking around the temple at this hour because there were no tourists.

Drinking the spring water from the mountain.

View from the girl's room.

Communal work - the boys had to sweep.

                                   Communal work - chopping wood

The monk telling me what to do.

Success! I was the only girl that chopped a mini log in half.

Chatting with the monk on our hike.

View of the temple from the top of the mountain.

The group of us with our monk.

Before we left, we took a group shot with Sasha, our host, the monk and our gifts.