Gyeong ju
Yesterday, Charlie, Giwon (my grad student), Giwon's girlfriend, Hee-Sung (Charlie's grad student), and I took a bus to Gyeong ju, one of the most historical cities in Korea. Once in Gyeong ju, we boarded a tourist bu
s which would take us to five temples/tombs around the area that are of historical significance to Koreans.It was a great day but the fact that our tour guide spoke only in Korean left me staring into space and wandering around a bit during her long informational talks. Luckily, Giwon and Hee-sung translated the important parts for us so at least we had a little bit of an idea of what was going on.
My personal favorite part of the day was lunch (shocker). We ate at this very traditional sea side restaurant where they served sushi (without the rolls or rice), mussels, snails, soup, fish, vegetables, rice, etc. We all sat on the floor and in Korean style, everything was shared and of course only chopsticks were used. In Australia I had become a huge fan of sushi, so the raw fish was right up my ally. We did have to watch out for small bones though. Giwon was sitting across from me and was politely guiding
my way through the meal, explaining what various unidentifiable foods were and how to eat them properly. After lunch we wandered outside onto the beach where it appeared that somewhat of a celebration was going on. There were various families sitting on the beach enjoying their meals and candles were lit up and stuck in the sand. I found out that the body of water I was looking at was the East Sea of the Atlantic ocean. Just off the coast there was a land mass which appeared to be made of mostly rock. Apparently this was another tomb to an ancient king.After lunch, we had two more stops (check out facebook for more pictures of the tour). The second of which was a temple which was situated at the top of a mountain/hill (not sure which). Luckily, our bus could drive most of the way up, but the last little bit was ours to cli
mb. It wasn't so bad until we reached the rocky, rope lined pathway that apparently they did not do a whole lot of work on to make it easily accessible by tourists. This probably had something to do with the fact that it was a highly religious area. On our assent, it started to rain a little, and me being the brilliant person I am, decided to wear flip-flips. I held on for dear life but successfully made it up and back down without any accidents. At the top, there was a small temple in which a monk was actively praying. Upon our return to the bottom, we ran into a rather old, but very cute dog. Giwon informed me that he was a monk dog. If your thinking, what is a monk dog, don't' worry because I thought the same thing. Giwon explained that he has been trained to climb up to the temple every morning to pray, and then come back down again. I had two problems with this. The first was...if I had trouble getting up there without falling off, how does a dog do it without injury? The second....I didn't know dogs could pray. Learn a new thing every day I guess.After the final temple, the bus headed back towards Gyeong ju where we boarded yet another bus to return to Pohang. Once back at POSTECH I settled in with my Polymer chem notes for the night. Joy.
Korean Men
After spending an entire day with Giwon and his girlfriend I decided that I needed to write a little blurb in here about Korean men. Over the course of the day, I witnessed Giwon, holding an umbrella over her wit
h his other arm around her just to be sure she isn't getting wet. I saw him hold her bag on numerous occasions, let her sleep on his shoulder on the bus, open every door they walked through for her, and constantly hold her hand, among numerous other things. On the bus ride back to Pohang, I asked him if he is just especially polite and considerate or if all Korean men treat their significant others in that way. He responded by telling me that it was all Korean men. Okay, no offence to American guys, but I don't think I've ever had a guy treat me in that way. Not saying that I would want my boyfriend to hold my umbrella for me, but still. There is clearly a respect for women in this country that does not exist in the United States. Chivalry has long gone in the states, but not so in this country. So all men who are reading this, next time your girlfriend walks through a door, open it for her, or if she asks you to hold her bag for a minute, just do it, without the 'aw come on' look.Korean Barbecue
Tonight, in honor of Dr. Ryu's departure from Korea tomorrow, Charlie, Dr. Ryu, Dr. Jung, and I went out for Korean Barbecue. This is a style of Korean cuisine where they essentially put a barbecue in the middle of your table and you cook your own sliced beef. Along with the meat, they give you dipping sauces, soup, shredded onions (I think), mushrooms, garlic, sliced octopus (so yummy), and salad. I am probably missing a few things, but you
get the picture. The beef was some of the best meat I have ever tasted. Apparently it is from the ribs of a Korean cow which is rare so you have to preorder it so that they have enough when you arrive.In traditional Korean restaurants, you sit on the floor. Not on a nice pillow that makes your butt comfortable, but on a very thin straw mat. I have come to learn that Koreans are much more flexible then I am. Every day, while walking to lab, I pass these Korean women who are pulling weeds in such uncomfortab
le looking positions, that I know I couldn't hold for longer then three minutes. They are like that all day and it doesn't seem to phase them. Well, it seems as though this flexibility is necessary at the dinner table as well. While I was changing my position to Indian style, to legs bent to one side, then to the other side, then back to Indian style the entire meal, our Korean professors seemed perfectly comfortable the entire time! I also always wondered how all Korean people could be so thin. I have a new theory after dinner tonight. Because your body is contorted in such ways in order to sit comfortably at dinner, your body can't digest as quickly. Your stomach and intestines must be all jumbled up inside as opposed to how they are when you are sitting in a chair. Due to this jumbling, you can't eat as much, thus you are thinner. Maybe I'll have to start eating all my meals on the ground...That is all for now! Everyone see Harry Potter this week...I know I am!
Oh, and requests for the clam bake...blueberry pie. I got a really odd craving for it today!
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