Bad News and Christmas

December 5th
Being from Florida the only snow I have ever seen was the one trip I took to Canada to go skiing and the small little flurries in Florida that melt before the hit the ground. Today was the first snow I have seen here and I will come to love it. Although I never did get to make a snowman. Tried...but the snow was too dry and it turned into a snowball fight. That was an extreme snowball fight and was quite fun.

December 12th
I received a text message from my dad today. It was in reference to an injury to Blondie. I did not want to know the extent of it so I didn't answer right away. The next text said it was very important and that he needed to speak with me as soon as possible. I had a bad feeling and would rather have hidden from it. Thankfully Megan was available that morning for me to go Skype in her apartment. I did not want to be in a coffee shop when I got the news. Although I had a bad feeling I was hoping that I was over reacting. That was not the case. Megan had to see me at my worst when I got the news that the injury to her knee could not be fixed. She would never be able to be ridden again, could not have babies, and would be in constant pain. I had to put her down.

"Blondie I am so sorry that I was not there to take care of you like I should have been and that I was not there to say goodbye. You will always be in my heart and I love you!"

December 20th
Today was a great day! We had a work lunch to start with. It was a potluck and there was so much food. It was delicious!! We also had a secret Santa with the whole staff. Matt was my secret santa and he got me a warm hat. As I had been looking for one that actually fit my head, this was perfect.

I also received a package from home. I waited until I got back into my apartment till I opened the box. I took out all of the wrapped packages and put them under the tree I cut out of felt. I waited until Christmas to open them.

December 22
Today was the 4th Annual 12 Bars of Daejeon. This was the tentative schedule they had planned:
Here is the schedule, which is subject to change.
1. 1 Glass of wine with dinner at All That BBQ
2. 2 Jager bombs at Lucky Strike
3. 3 choice whiskeys at Jinny's
4. 4 Foreign Beers at WoW Bar
5. 5 Long Islands at Sponge
6. 6 Cups of eggnog
7. 7 Bittersweets at Garten Bier
8. 8 Fancy Cocktails at Cantina
9. 9 rounds of Flip/Tippy Cup at Club GS
10. 10 Flavored sojus at Crazy Soju
11. 11 Jello Shots (outside)
12. 12 Egg McMuffins at McDonalds
All of these things was not just for one person. We met up with them when at number 6. It was homemade eggnog and it was quite tasty. Then we had to sing the song. However, I left them at number 8. It was an interesting idea however.

December 25th
Today was a Tuesday and we did not have school. We had drawn secret Santa names a couple of weeks previously and had planned on trading that day. However, Megan decided to host a dinner at her place. You should know by now that we never say no to Megan's cooking. The next day we shared our gifts and had a great time. 

 

Temple Stay

December 1st
I have heard a lot about Temple Stays and that it was one of the things to do while in Korea. Lin found one located on Ganghwa Island called the Jeondeungsa Temple. Supposedly it is the oldest temple in this historical region and is completely encircled by the Samnang Fortress. It was designed to help protect the land from foreign invaders.  Jeondeungsa currently has a Daeoongbojeon (Main Buddha Hall), Yaksajeon (Medicine Buddha Hall), and giant temple bell, among other cultural treasures. "One interesting story is that on one of the eaves of the Main Buddha Hall there is the figure of a naked woman, presumably carved by the broken-hearted carpenter whom she had scorned."

The first part of the temple stay was getting there. When they say its on an island, they don't mention how far out this temple happens to be. It took 2 trains, 2 buses, a taxi and 6.5 hours to arrive.

Regular Temple Stay Schedule

First day
13:00 Registration & room allocation
          (The room was just large enough for two floor mats and our things)

14:00 Orientation - Familiarization with basic temple rules & practices
         (You need to walk quietly with your hands folded in front of you and bow to any passing monks)

15:00 Temple tour
        (We were shown the many building mentioned above)
17:00 Temple dinner
        (Do not put more on your plate than you will eat. You can go back for seconds, but there is no wasting food)
18:00 Buddhist Ceremonial Service (To experience striking a bell)
         (We partnered up and each got to strike the bell)
18:30 Healing Yoga or seon meditation
         (I didn't quit master the art of meditation. Instead I kept falling asleep)

 21:00 Sleep
          (Early bedtime! But we did it)


 Second day
04:00 Wake up
       (I usually see this time going to bed...not waking up)
04:30 Buddhist Ceremonial Service (Ye-bool)
       (We met in the hall for some more chanting and bowing)

05:00 108 Prostrations & Seon Meditation
       (These are 108 bows or prostrations (which are like promises) I was sore for the next couple of days. lol)
06:00 Balwoo Gongyang (Formal monastic meal)
       (We got to eat breakfast with the monks. This is a silent meal. Everybody sits on the floor and the bowls get passed around while you get what you want to eat)
07:30 Community works
       (These consisted of cleaning up the grounds. Which didn't take long as the grounds are well taken care of.)

 08:00 Walking Mediation (Jeongjok Mt.)
       (This really wasn't much of a walk. It was more of a hike. The very beginning was straight up and at one point we went down into a valley and back up. A rope was need to help maintain our balance as it was steep and there was snow on the ground)

 09:00 Rest
      (During the morning Lin and I met someone from Germany (Kurt) and two Korean's (Pilwon and Siwan) that have lived in Canada since they were 14. We used this time to hang out with them.)
09:30 Tea time with a monk (tea ceremony)
      (This was a formal tea ceremony were we sat around in a circle drinking tea and eating a small snack. Pilwon ans Siwan were our translators)
11:00 Room Cleaning
      (That took a long time lol)
11:30 Temple Lunch
      (Much like dinner the night before where we chose what we ate. It was bibimpap)
12:00 Check out
      (After check out Lin, Pilwon, Siwan, Kurt and I ended up in a private tea time with a monk. That was nice)

Oh yea! One last look at our super cool outfits!!