More Temples in Seoul

Hey Folks,

We started our Chuseok vacation at Geumsunsa Temple for another temple stay in the mountains of Seoul. The location was beautiful and the air quality was markedly better than in Cheonan. We cleared our minds with fantastic instructions from our monk. Even meditated to the sound of a real brook. This temple also had one very unique meditation area .. in a cave!

The first day, they gave us a tour of the temple and all the buildings. We learned to prostrate again and how to meditate. This time, it was much better. They had us mediate for a reasonable amount of time and in an open temple where you could hear the sound of the stream right behind you. The point is to focus on your breathing so much that all other sounds disappear and you achieve a state of relaxation. This templestay also gave us some personal time, where we could explore the grounds and see all the paintings of Buddha's life, painted on the exterior of buildings. The second day, after the predawn ceremony, we performed a walking mediation until dawn. Later, we hiked the mountain on which the temple is situated and got a great view of Seoul and the surrounding area. Jennika would like to go back and hike the whole mountain one day.


Me looking a little dorky in front of the sign for the temple stay.



This is the first building you walk through. Feeling the ringing of the bell wash over you is such a great experience. 

Jennika showing the monks her bawler outfit.

Inside one of the Temples

Practicing our postrations!

Another beautiful scene.

View of Seoul from the temple

The temple stay group, after our hike up the mountain for one last meditation.

The two of us at the top of the mountain.

The Path leading up to the cave entrance.

Cheers, JM

Happy Chuseok

This weekend, we have our first Korean holiday. It is Chuseok, otherwise known as Korean Thanksgiving or the harvest holiday. Chuseok is actually only 3 days, but there is another national holiday on October 3rd, so our school gave us the bridge day off. Thus, 5 day weekend for us - score! We decided to go back to Seoul for some Korean cultural activities. On the itinerary: another templestay, visiting the National Folk Museum, Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Bukchon Hanok village. We are hoping to see traditional dancing, clothes, and housing and of course, eat traditional food.

We are now on our way, taking the subway to Seoul. At the Cheonan station, we finally saw the little walnut pastries that the city is famous for. We took a video of the treat being made (which you can see below). Because of the holiday, we hoped the subway would be empty. Not so. We did manage to get seats though.

You keep reading them,
we will keep writing them

team JMS.

Going out for Chicken

As a weekly tradition, a few members of my staff go out for supper on wednesday nights. So far we have mostly tried Korean bbq places, but this week we went out for fried chicken and beer. When we arrived there the place was packed mostly with tiny Korean 20 somethings. We ordered our food and waited. The plate of food we got was gi-normous. Picture this. The plate was about two feet in length and about four inches wide, with a layer of home made potato chips and then a layer of fried boneless chicken on top of that and garlic dipping sauce on the side. I ate so much food I can still feel the food baby in my tummy today five days later.

annyeonghi gaseyo, 
JM

A busy weekend in Seoul

Last weekend (Sept 14-16) was our first weekend out of Cheonan and exploring Seoul. We will give you a detailed account of our adventures below, but the take home is .. we had a great time! And we'll definitely be back. There is so much to do, and so many neighborhoods to visit, that we haven't even scratched the surface. 48 hours is never enough time, so we have planned a 5 day trip over Korean Thanksgiving (called Chuseok). This will happen in less than 2 weeks.

So we blogged before about there being 2 things on the itinerary for our first weekend away: dancing and meditation. The dancing didn't really happen, but the meditation did!

Friday
We got off work just after 4pm and came home to eat something light so that we could have dinner once we got to Itaewon. After posting our plans a week ago, we had received many recommendations to not stay in Itaewon, but to go to Hongdae or Gangnam. We had, however, already booked accommodations. So we promised not to judge Seoul from Itaewon, and ended up having a blast. Perhaps expecting the worst, we were pleasantly surprised.

Lacking to confidence to figure out the train system, we opted for the subway with which we had a little more experience. BUT it's a super long 2hr subway ride from Cheonan and we did not catch an express. We got into our hostel after 10pm. We stayed at the Doo Guesthouse, which is located off the beaten track and down a private alley. The guests and hosts were having a barbeque and drinks in the garden when we arrived. We quickly showered and put on our party clothes. We had seen a bar on the way to the hostel that we just had to try ... the Rocky Mountain Tavern!!! Yes, there was a Canadian bar that we found within minutes of exiting the subway. We headed there for some good ol' fashioned poutine, wings and beer. There were hockey jerseys everywhere, pictures of famous Canadian locations, and license plates from all the provinces and territories. It was so nice to be home for an evening.

Saturday
We had some peanut butter toast at the hostel before checking out. In the daylight, we could see that the hostel had a great view. It was a very cute property that we will definitely stay at again. Very reasonable price and the hosts were quite friendly.

Private garden at the hostel

The front gates of the hostel

Next, we walked the streets of Itaewon and I decided to get a phone since most shops in Itaewon offer service in English, something you cannot find in Cheonan. I am, however, not confident when it comes to shopping for phones and got really stressed out by the experience. It even resulted in tears. I did finally sign a contract (all in Korean, which I do not understand) for a phone and plan that I find overpriced (or at least, I would never pay this much in Canada because I'm a cheap-o). I chose to support local economy and got a Samsung Galaxy R, the newest style. For those of you into cell phone specs, you can find the info here.

After my mini breakdown over the phone, we ate lunch at La Bocca, an Italian restaurant in Itaewon apparently known for its sandwiches. We each got one and they were delicious! Super fresh ciabatta bread, Italian meats, fresh mozzarella cheese, and greens. It was a little taste of heaven. Jean-Marc ate all the kalamata olives that came with our meal (gross).

Then we headed off to Myogaksa Temple where we had registered for their overnight temple stay program. It was only 6 subway stops away from Itaewon and then a short walk up a steep street. We arrived at a beautiful ornate gate, with brightly coloured decor. We were taken to our rooms to change into our temple clothes, similar to hospital scrubs. We met a rest of the temple stay group, which included a few other foreigners and many Koreans. There were 23 of us in total.

Myogaksa's front entrance

Meeting Yeo Yeo

We were introduced to the Buddhist nun, Yeo Yeo, who was our bilingual guide to the temple. We learned why Buddhists prostrate and how to perform one. Then we completed 108 prostrations while making our own prayer beads. After, we went to the rooftop and participated in the evening bell striking. This giant bell resonated and you could feel the vibrations inside your body. It was very moving. Following this, we went to the evening Buddhist ceremony, where we participated in more prostrations and Buddhist chanting. JM especially liked the chanting; we would like to get a CD of this to listen to at home. It was so calming.

108 prostrations and prayer beads

Striking the bell

Next, we had dinner in the temple 'cafeteria', where you not only eat in complete silence, but you must eat everything on your plate. No waste allowed. Rounding off the night, we learned how to meditate and what the nuns do to stay awake and clear their minds. JM also learned what happens if you are caught sleeping. haha. Ok, he volunteered to pretend to sleep so we could all learn about the stick. Then it was off to bed and lights out at 10pm.

Vegetarian dinner

Shhhhh.

JM getting smacked with the wake up stick.

Sunday
We were woken up just before 5am for the predawn bell striking and Buddhist ceremony. The difference with this one? We were not allowed to speak. Buddhists wake up and meditate, usually with a vow of silence. So we did the same thing. We meditated for almost an hour which may seem easy, but it is not. Our legs were so asleep it was painful. Hopefully next time I'll be more prepared and will be able to clear my mind of thoughts of losing my legs. Next, we followed Yeo Yeo up the mountain for a walk in Naksan park. Surprisingly, the park was bustling at 6am on a Sunday morning, filled with joggers, badminton players, weight lifters (yes, there is public exercise equipment in Korean parks, very convenient) and more. We did a walking meditation in the park and stopped in a beautifully decorated gazebo. Then we walked on a foot 'massage' path .. which is really just a bunch of hard, painful, rocks you are supposed to walk on to massage your feet. The mountain also boasted a nice view of downtown Seoul.

Walking meditation in the park

Foot ... 

massage?

We returned to the temple for a traditional Korean breakfast of rice, kimchi, and other goodies. Again, we ate in silence. We finished off the morning by learning how to make tea in a traditional tea ceremony. JM and I both got the chance to be tea master and pour for our 'guests'.

Learning to make tea

All in all, we both enjoyed the experience and while we didn't feel completely enlightened by the end of it, we did feel calmer (except that JM wanted to poop his pants, which he did later that day). We are looking forward to the next temple stay program we booked at Chuseok.

Finally, we went back to Itaewon to get a haircut. While searching for a salon, we bumped into two expats who helped us tremendously. They took us to the American army base where we got our hair cut (for $26) and bought a few treats (like Tostitos!!). Then on the way home, we ate at McDonalds for the first time in Korea. It was kind of magical .. because the price was magical!!! Seriously, I don't understand why Koreans aren't fat. We ordered 2 meals for less than $8. Yup, that's right ... $4 each!! Fries and all. It was a glorious end to a great weekend.

Jennika (and JM)

I'm a MILLIONAIRE!

That's right. You all wish you had 1.2 million in the bank. Check it - I got paid!

Ok, so really 1.2 million won is only equal to $1,035.79. But it does look pretty sweet doesn't it? And this was just the money my school owed me for the flight that I paid for back in July, so technically I haven't actually made anything yet. I'm just happy to finally have a bank account set up because pay day is just around the corner.

Now, where to spend my millions ... ?

Jennika

Pound for Pound Challenge: Progress Week 1

Well folks, so far I'm winning. he he. After 1 week, I lost 1.7kg or 3.74 lbs (everything here is done in metric) and a couple centimeters, which totalled to 1.5% body fat reduction. My goal is to get into the Average/Healthy body fat range, so I have another 20 some odd pounds to go.

JM, on the other hand, hasn't even done his starting weigh in. As I'm typing this he got a little repudiative and suddenly picked up the skipping rope I bought earlier. haha! He can't stand that it's true. We did just take our measurements today though and will be tracking our physical progress.

We will also try and post more pictures of our dinners. Sadly, we are usually so hungry that by the time we remember, not much food is left on the plate (tee hee).

Cheers to you all back home,

Jennika

Photoshopped Portrait

Hello my North American friends. Let me tell you about a few things I've noticed here in Korea.

Before I started at Bugil Academy, I was warned that my students would sleep in class. The attitude toward sleep for Korean students is that it is wasted time. These students spend ridiculous amounts of time working and would rather finish the day gaming instead of sleeping. To curb this behaviour, our school has enforced a policy where our students hand over their laptops after 1am. This has been a bit of a struggle, but no message has gotten through to them about the importance of sleep. So when they rise out of bed at 6 am, eat at the cafeteria, and show up at my class drowsy, I try to wake them up but maybe we need a bit of exercise before the start of my early classes.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is the love of photoshop. You cannot get a picture here without alterations, whether it is wanted or not. A colleague of mine went to get passport photos taken, but they wouldn't give him the unaltered photos. So when I got my photo taken for our campus ID cards, I was surprised to see the results. No wrinkles on my forehead, crows feet, or blemishes, but they missed a spot or two.

They missed a spot. 

Miss all of you.
JMS

Out with the old .. in with the NEW!!!

ATTENTION! WE HAVE A VERY SERIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE:

We finally got a new bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The mattress that was provided in our lovely apartment was hardly up to par. There were so many springs poking us over the last month that we haven't been sleeping well. But tossing and turning every few minutes is no more. After inspecting our apartment (and the mattress), the absolutely wonderful KohKoh, who works in the HR office at JM's school, went to bat for us with the administrators and got them to agree to buy us a new mattress. I went shopping with her on Tuesday and we picked out an affordable upgrade to our 25 year old, sadistic, sad excuse for a mattress.

Check it out ...

Vintage Korean War torture device

GODSEND!

The old bed is now in our guest room (he he) but don't worry, we will buy some sort of memory foam topper before any of you come to visit. I would never subject anyone to that kind of torture. Now, if only we could find some appropriate, non-Hello Kitty bedding ...

Jennika

Planning our first weekend away

Since we arrived in Cheonan about a month ago, we haven't really left. On the weekends, JM and I are usually tired and like bumming around doing nothing other than laundry and maybe some groceries. But Cheonan isn't the most exciting, nor the most clean city and we have heard quite the opposite of the capital Seoul. So we started planning our first trip in Korea and we are headed to Seoul next weekend (Sept 14-16).

On the itinerary are 2 things: dancing and meditation.

Dancing:
We are planning to go up to Seoul after work on the Friday night and spend one night in a hotel in Itaewon. We've heard references to it being like 'Sin City' and a more foreigner oriented neighbourhood in Seoul. In Korea, a neighbourhood is called a 'dong' - so we have booked a private room in a hostel in Itaewon-dong, near the subway station and (hopefully) all the action. We haven't been dancing since my cousin Blake's wedding in July and we are itching to get our groove on.

Meditation:
On the Saturday, after checking out of the hotel and (perhaps) walking around Itaewon for a bit, we are heading up to Myogaksa Temple for their Temple Stay program. This is a traditional Buddhist temple in the heart of the city. It will give us time to relax, meditate, make prayer beads, have tea with the monks, and experience temple food. We are partaking in their 2 day, 1 night program. On Sunday, after the program, we'll probably head home. Cheonan is at least an hour (on the train, 2 hours by subway) south of Seoul and we'll most likely have lesson planning to do for that week.

There are many temples in Korea that offer a similar program. This particular sect of Buddhism, the Jogye Order, developed this opportunity for people to experience real Korean Buddhist culture, especially foreigners. Jean-Marc and I plan to visit a couple temples. For now, we are sticking with the ones in the city, but once we get more comfortable traveling around Korea, there are a few in the mountains that we would like to visit (and do some hiking while we are out there).

Here are a few pictures from someone else's stay at the temple, so you know what we get to look forward to!

Let's go pound for pound

Moving to Korea is a life change. New country, new jobs, new friends - new lifestyle! Coming here I had it in mind that the entire lifestyle change would include a fitness change.

When Jean-Marc and I met last summer, we were both in much different shape. I was training for my first 10km race, so I was running 2-3 times a week and playing ultimate frisbee 3 nights a week .. plus the occasional softball game. I was feeling fit. Jean-Marc had spent a good deal of time playing tennis that summer and was also fit. When winter hit, we weren't working out as much and, well, I wrote a thesis. That comes with a lot of stress, emotional eating, boredom eating, top that with heavy Christmas food, and voila!  A recipe for disaster. With JM's slim body type, he lost weight because he wasn't working out (frig) and I packed on the pounds.

So last week we decided to shake things up a bit. We made a bet: pound for pound, whoever loses/gains the most by Christmas Day 2012 wins, and the other person has to pay for their Christmas vacation.

This weekend I joined a fitness group to start winning this bet. Flipside Fitness is an all girls group run by a fabulous lady from Ontario (I know - what are the chances?!) who puts her heart and soul into getting us in shape. She runs boxercise classes (read: intense butt kicking workouts) on the weekend and organizes events centered around health and being active throughout the month. I've only been a member a few days and already I feel empowered to take control of my life. Amy posts motivational quotes and information about eating well, as well as weekly fitness challenges and even a newsletter. It is a very active Facebook group.

I went to my first boxercise class on Saturday and what an intense workout it was. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life. Combining boxing with circuit training (yes, I put on a pair of boxing gloves for the first time in my life!), and you get a full body workout. It felt so great to exercise again.

Watch out ... we are pretty tough!

So there you have it. The bet is officially posted online. We'll keep you updated as to who is winning and what we are up to to achieve our goals. For now I'm going to go back to researching 5-star resorts in Tahiti for Christmas vacation. he he.

Looks good right?