Back in the USA

Today marks 1-week since we stepped back on US soil. After spending 5 days of vacation on Jeju Island, we flew back to Gimhae, then flew to Tokyo, then to Chicago, then to Milwaukee... four flights back to back. It was the most extensive travelling I've ever undertaken, so it felt great to to be done with it once we touched down.

I still have mixed feelings about being home, now. It has certainly been really nice to see my family and Amanda's family as well. It's good to be back in my house where things are bit more comfortable. However, even though an entire year passed in which Amanda and I lived together in Korea, experiencing countless adventure together and with our friends, teaching English and building our school to what it is now, it almost feels like it never happened. It's a really difficult feeling to cope with because I feel a great sense of loss with the past year of my life, and knowing that our time in Korea is over. The only thing that has been of comfort has been to keep up communication with Kang and Iris back in Korea via the "Kakao Talk" app on our phones. Being able to talk with them reminds me that our time in Korea really happened and that it wasn't just some distant memory.

Saying goodbye to our friends in Korea was extremely difficult. We had spent so much time together, and even though we couldn't communicate naturally or fluently, we had built a deep understanding and respect for each other, and a lasting friendship at that. I am very thankful that we were blessed with having such good friends in Korea, because it made our time there forever memorable.

During our vacation on Jeju Island at the end of our contract, I think I must have taken nearly 500 or 600 photos, if not more. I will spend some time editing them and add a final blog post once I'm completed with the edits.

81,258 / Tripitaka Koreana / Haeinsa Temple

Last Sunday, Amanda and I visited Haeinsa Temple, one of three very famous and renowned temples in Korea, because it’s very old, and also because it houses 81,258 wood planks that were hand-carved with the teachings of Buddhism in the year 1,011. If you have a keen eye, you’ll notice that that’s exactly 1,000 years ago. This year marks the millennial anniversary of the making of the wood planks that were used to print the Buddhist writings. All 81,258 planks have been kept in this temple for the past millennium, and is only open to the public for just a few more weeks. These original wood pieces won’t be open to the public for another 100 years. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to photograph anywhere near the two buildings that house the wood planks, so I’ve included some photos I found on the internet that show what we were able to look in on. You can view all the photos I took from around the temple here. We were able to purchase a print that was made from one of the original wood planks. We learned about the process that was involved in making these planks, called “Tripitaka Koreana” that began with cutting down the trees for the wood, drying the wood for 2 years, cutting and carving them into planks, making paper, monks writing the “master” scripts, transcribing each script onto a single plank, carving each character into the wood, treating the wood for preservation, and finally making a print from it and then checking it against the master script. It took 16 years and countless men to make all of these, in total 1.3 million man hours, they said, and not a single mistake has been found.

Read more about Haeinsa Temple and the Tripitaka Koreana here.

This was an incredible thing to witness and another trip we have been very fortunate to share with our friend Kang and his family. Sadly, it may be the last we will take with them as we will be leaving Korea in less than two weeks now.

Next Friday, October 28 will be our last day teaching. On Sunday, October 30 Amanda and I leave for a vacation on Jeju Island where we’ll stay for 5 days / 4 nights, returning on Thursday, November 3. Just after returning to the airport from Jeju, we’ll turn around and depart again 4 hours later to begin our journey back home. From the international airport in Gimahe, we’ll fly to Tokyo, then Chicago, and finally Milwaukee where Amanda’s parents will be picking us up from the airport.

See full photo album here. 

(photo from internet) A view of the Tripitaka Koreana. What's seen in this photo only represents about 1/8 the total number of wood planks.

(photo from Internet) A monk holding one of the 1,000-year old wood planks.

A picnic in Korea's countryside

Today we had an opportunity of have a picnic with our coworker Iris and her family. Her parents have a small piece of land between Jinyeong and Gimhae (where they live) that they use as a vegetable patch. There, Iris' mother and father grow a number of vegetables including sweet potatoes, different types of cabbage and lettuce-like plants, green onions and more. We enjoyed a delicious meal called Samgyupsal, which is grilled pork with a variety of vegetables, followed by a homemade soup, coffee and fresh grapes. It was gorgeous afternoon and a great deal of fun to spend time with Iris' family.

See full photo album here.

Jinju lantern festival

The lantern festival in Jinju, South Korea was something Amanda and I had discovered on the internet prior to arriving here. Now, 11 months after we came to Korea we were able to see the spectacular festival. I'm not sure what the exact cause for the festival is, but our friend Kang told me that many years ago Korean soldiers would send hand-crafted lanterns up into the night sky during war to signal to their loved ones miles away they were still alive. I believe that celebrating those years of Korea's history is in part the cause for such a magnificent festival.

See full photo album here.

Hadong flower festival

Hadong, South Korea is a small town in the middle-south area of Korea. There you can find an abundance of the "Cosmos" flower, also known as the "Mexican Aster." Amanda and I had the opportunity to see the festival and walk among the countless flowers. It was a beautiful afternoon with perfect weather.

See full photo album here.

Tongyeong / Somaemuldo / Deungdaeseom

Amanda and I spent the day island hopping with Kang and his family as well as his wife Choi's parents. We first drove to the town Tongyeong which is on the south coast. There we hopped aboard a "Turtle Boat"- a replication of Korea's famous battle ship from the 15th century. Then, we hopped aboard a real boat, or rather just a ferry and chugged along for about an hour and 20 minutes to a small island called Somaemuldo. As soon as we got off the ferry it was a very steep uphill climb. We crossed the island, catching spectacular glimpses of the sea here and there, then emerged on the backside with a full view of the sea before us. From there we descended back down the island to the shore where a rock-bridge awaited us. Only for a handful of hours during the day, when the tide is low, a rock path is exposed that can be crossed to another even smaller island called Deungdaeseom. One must not linger to long, though, and miss their opportunity to cross the path back to the original island before the tide rises again.

See full photo album here.