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!