Two weeks.

My Korean cold remedy.

I have to be honest, this has been a challenging post to write. I have been in Korea for a little over two weeks now, and for most of those two weeks I have been sick. This will be the second time I have been sick in almost three years. Not a bad run, but whatever Korean germs are lurking here are having their way with me. Here are some random photos from my first two weeks. I am sure more themes will develop later when I am less heavily medicated. And yes, this lung/sinus assault is typical to the new teachers in my school.

Went out with some friends of mine (they have been in Seoul for almost 4 years now) to an 'Octopus Restaurant'. The main course is.... octopus! Its served in a soupy broth or in a spicy sauce. We were pretty excited until they brought the live octopus to our table,put the glass top on the pot and let us watch it slowly stop squirming. We were silent a few minutes and then we ate. Thanks octopus.


This same weekend I also made the mini version of a Korean paper lantern at the Buddhist temple... taking advantage of free decorating possibilities.


Dr. Fish.... not licensed in any way is still worth the $2. Here my friends are soaking there feet in some small tanks containing dozens of small fish who eat the dead skin off your feet. Its actually kind of nice, although I am not sure how effective it is.

There is a really lovely canal and park just two blocks behind my apartment. Koreans seem to really enjoy and make the most of their parks. Its were a lot of people go to walk and decompress in this society, aside from the Hof (beer) bars... they might be tied with the park in popularity, but they don't have cute ducks.

Enjoying a company meal with some new coworkers. Every time new employees arrive it also means someone else is leaving. At my school the director takes us all out for dinner and drinks at a Korean barbeque. I had the eel. There are still many Korean restaurants in which you sit on the
floor and eat at a low cooking table. You can see the pork and eel cooking in the middle of our table and as always an huge variety of side dishes.


Its the Nori Bong. No, not the bong you are thinking of, just the Korean name for Karaoke. The main difference from American Karaoke is that you rent private rooms by the hour for you and your friends to sing your hearts out. An average room comes with a couple mic's, a flat screen and some tambourines. I have already been to two since I arrived and I am sure there will be many more in my future.

Okay, so I realize that you may be thinking "Jessica sure did a lot in two weeks for being sick," and you're right, I did. Perhaps that is why I am still sick, but some opportunities I just couldn't say no to.

Gate of Truth

Today millions of Korean's (and a few non- Korean's) celebrate Buddha's birth. I am happily situated just a 10 minute bus ride from Bongeunsa, a Buddhist temple that has carved out a spot amidst the many glass tower buildings around Gangnam. The temple site was founded in AD 794 and although the temples have been rebuilt many times, the feeling of peacefulness here is perpetual.

Tonight this temple glows with thousands of lanterns in honor of the Buddha, and people from all around Seoul have come to be a part of the
celebration.

There are several temples and shrines at Bongeunsa, each with a specific color theme. The approach to the main temple was warmly lit with red lanterns.




Each of the lanterns has been purchased by a person or family whose dedication is written on a tag attached to the lantern and hung around the temple grounds. Incense, candles and rice were also available to purchase and then donate to the temple. Some strong similarities to the rituals in India but with such a different feeling. I guess the difference between the singleness of Buddhism and the multitudes of Hinduism. Well, thats simplifying of course.



The center of the temple grounds is marked by this statue of the Buddha. Many gathered to light candles near the base of the statue or offer their reverence in many bows to the ground.















There was a long line of people wrapping around the main temple waiting to go inside and pray. Above the temple a half moon shows itself. Unlike many holidays in America, it is the sun and the moon, not the numerical date that determines the sacredness of the day, as it has for hundreds of years.

Lights for the Buddha

Every year on the full moon in May, Koreans celebrate the Buddha's birthday. The Sunday before his birthday Koreans make lanterns, say prayers and have a huge night parade with some of the largest and most detailed lanterns in the world. My second day in Seoul was this day.




Many different groups of people participate in the parade. Groups consist of old women, bhuddhist monks, Sri lankin's, children, teens, toddlers, drummers and many more. Most groups wore traditional Korean dress and all had their own type of lantern. However the most impressive lanterns were up to 30 feet long and 15 feet high. All were hand painted and made of paper.




The parade lasted for a little over two hours. One of the most impressive parts of the parade were its participants, many of which were senior ladies with lots of gusto and grace!




As in many Asian cultures, being a part of a group and working as a group for the greater whole is an integral part of life.
I would really like to meet the artists who paint these massive lanterns, and who knows maybe next year I can have one of my own.



FOO DOG! For good luck.





This dragon also breathed fire.



And of course many depictions of the Buddha....













This parade felt like just what I needed to welcome myself to Korea. Next weekend the celebrations continue at the Buddhist temples throughout the city. I am planning to participate as much as possible. Aside from a few places in America, I have never had so much time to explore a place. ...364 more days to go!

She'll be coming round the mountain...

.... on her bike... or rental bike that is. I spent my last day in Tiruvanamalai biking around Mt. Arunachala. My original plan when coming here was to walk around it, but ha ha ha, that was not going to happen, not in this weather anyways. But I am almost too happy that I decided to rent the bike and pedal around... it was the perfect way to go. Its roughly 14km around the mountain and taking a leisurely stroll and making a few stops took me just over 2 hours.

Since the journey around this mountain is representative of a journey around the world, it is dotted with smaller temples on the circumference and one huge temple at the finish, giving many reason for pause on the journey (just like you would if you were going around the world I suppose). I stopped to take a photo of these giant feet and was lead into a tiny temple where I was shown photos and offered a blessing by the sadhu here.

I started biking a little before 4pm and was pretty parched about an hour into it. For 10 rupees you can get a coconut freshly machete cut with a straw and.... viola! no more thirst. FYI, most Indian men in the south, especially if they're not "I.T." guys wear lungi's (like a sarong) in their home and often for work.

Rounding my way through the last part of the circle as the sun was setting behind the mountain.

This is when my leisurely path became full-on Indian street traffic. I competed for one and half lanes of street space with buses, cars, scooters, other bikes, freight trucks and pedestrains. Lets just say I did a victory lap on my little street when I made it out unscathed.

A group of women working to build a house, one brick at a time. When I was in Chennai I saw a women carrying/balancing about 16 of these bricks on her head for another building job. Hard work in bright sarees on a hot summer day.

Another journey to India completed. As always this place asks nothing from me, but to live.


"You are an organic dream, constantly evolving"- from a hotel sign in Varkala Beach, India.

HOT- on the rocks.

The nice part about India is that any expectations you have will most undoubtably be shattered. You are constantly rearranging your footing to catch up with the new perspective, and sometimes your pleasantly suprised and other times you just have no choice but to surrender, melt, scream, cry, sit, laugh or mumble to yourself. These are of course the best times... especially for my expectation heavy American brain.




Here I am loaded up and ready to take a train to from coconut-filled Kerela to Tiruvanamalai on the opposite coast.



Off in the distance you can see the reason for my latest destination... Mt. Arunachala... also the symbolic "Shiva fire lingam." And after my four hour bus ride in the 105 degree weather, I have deduced that this mountain could spontaneously burst into flames and I would not be suprised. FYI... the four hour bus ride... covered 95km... thats over flat land and equals roughly 60 miles. Hmmm.

So I climed 3/4 of the way to the top of Mt. Arunachala today and momentarily posed on the rock beyond which you can see a expansive temple below. This town is also famous for the Sri Ramana Maharshi's ashram. This yogi/swami meditation in a few caves on in this moutain for a total of more than 40 years. He has followers from all over the world, and I luckily arrived on the 60th anniversary of his ardhana (death) and have a night of beautiful carnatic devotional music ahead of me. But did I mention its really hot.

"Thali!" One of my faorite South Indian words, because it means all you can eat lunch for less than a dollar. This lunch cost me about $.60 and was unlimited amounts of rice and three types of curry. My favorite part is that its served on a banana leaf, which means no trash and a sanitary "plate". See you tomorrow thali.








In lieu of no t.v., no job, long train rides, and hot afternoons spent under the fan, I have read four lovely books while in India. Two of which are about life in India. I bought these books in India, and I am not sure what there availability is in the U.S., but I would highly recommend "White Tiger"... a fictional tale of the not so fictional life of lower caste Indian trying to work his way up; and "Nine Lives; Looking for the sacred in modern India". Both of these books opened my eyes to more of India than I have ever known, and have given me more inspiration to come back for more. Never simple, always layered and totally undescribable in words, these authors did a great job capturing India.

Just Relax....

Good morning Varkala.... I've settled down for a few days in the semi-touristy, small, cliff-side beach town of Varkala, in the southern part of Kerela. I am spending $7.50 a night for my room that has a little balcony from which you can see endless ocean.

If you walk about 15 minutes north of the last cliff-side hotel in Varkala, you come across a cove used by a handful of fishermen to dock their boats and rest their heads. It was about 5:30pm when I decided to go for a walk through this tiny village. By this time most of the fshermen were drinking and playing cards.

Found a little spot to myself for a good half an hour (actually not the simplest feat anywhere in India... more people than America and about 1/3 the space! ) and even had a rock to sit on. I can't help but wish some of my friends and family were here with me.

I'm not the only one enjoying some solitude by the sea. I tend to fall into bed... totally spent from, well, just being in India, around 10pm. This gives my the added advantage of early rising. My favorite time of day in India is sunrise.

Sunset.