Gyeongju Staff Retreat

We spent this past weekend (August 25 - 27) in a city that was the capital of the ancient Silla dynasty in Korea. It's called Gyeongju and it's located about 3 hours south-east of Taejon. It was full of great things to see! We spent Saturday afternoon at one of the oldest Buddhist temple complexes in Korea and at a grotto temple that was up on a mountaintop. A large granite Buddha statue was in the grotto and the crystal in its forehead apparently catches the first morning light as the sun hits the peninsula. Both sites date back to the 600s and the views on the mountain were incredible.

On Sunday morning Brian actually hiked up the mountain with a group of crazy morning people. He also golfed on Saturday morning among the mountains and mist (his tee-off time was 4:58!). I opted to spend my morning hours relaxing at the traditional Korean sauna and public bath in the hotel (very therapeutic, also!).

There was lots of fellowship and worship throughout the weekend, and it was a great chance to hang out with people and socialize and relax. Ahhh...

Temple Details...

Here are some shots of details at the Songnisam temple complex!

Temples and mountains!

Yesterday we explored one of the biggest Buddhist temple complexes in Korea, at Songnisam National Park (about 1 1/2 hours west of Taejon). What a day it was!!

The scenery on the way to the park was spectacular - lush green hills and steeply-peaked small mountains, quaint villages, beautiful rows of onions, vegetables and rice fields. The ride, however, involved a lots of twisty turns, dips and ascents, so a few members of our family were quite green with motion sickness by the time we arrived!

The temple site was incredible. There was an extensive complex of buildings, from residences for Buddhist monks to prayer/altar side buildings, one main temple, and a stunning 5-story historic temple (the only one of its kind left in Korea, originally built in 553). The workmanship on these buildings was so intricate, with layers of carved wood painted in detailed patterns of bright colours. There was so much to observe in each structure!

Towering over everything was an enormous 33-metre gold statue of Buddha. It was enormous and, at one point, the sun came out and it was if the whole thing was illuminated from the inside. Quite incredible.

We hiked up the mountain to a hermitage, which was also focussed around one main temple, with several smaller out buildings. It was closer to the mountain peak and was very peaceful.

At the base of the mountain were many shops and restaurants, and we feasted on a traditional lunch where we sat on the floor at low tables and dined on numerous small dishes of various greens, vegetables, mushrooms and kim chi. We also enjoyed some substantial dishes based on rice, potatoes (pancakes - the kids loved these) and beef (for some people in our travelling group!). There were lots of street vendors along the street selling herbs and sweets, as well, and they kept giving samples to the girls (and to some boys belonging to another family) because they thought they were so cute. Older Koreans really adore young children and are very demonstrative with their attentions. One woman thought Cora was so beautiful that she gave her a whole package of sweets, hugged her and lifted her right off the ground, gushing the entire time about how beautiful she was. It was very sweet.

The day was wonderful, and it was fantastic to get out of the city for the day and hike and explore. Hope you enjoy the photos!!

Some of Brian's Students

It's been a busy week here at T.C.I.S., so photography hasn't been a top priority, but here is a shot of one of Brian's classes. They're really a neat mix of entertaining and hard working kids. More photos of students to come...

Grocery Shopping, Korean Style

In search of fresh fruit and veggies, the Lavenders attended one of the main produce markets in O-Jung Dong. What an experience! While the market was held in a large hangar-type building, people often have to jump aside to make way for guys delivering produce on noisy motor scooters. Since the language of the market is 100% Korean we were blessed to have a veteran TCIS teacher as our guide. Still yet, we managed many of the transactions on our own. Dinner is going to be great!

On the way to the market

Now that our school orientation has wrapped up, we're on our own when it comes to food. That means a trip to the market!

These photos reflect some of the diverse scenes of Korean life that can be viewed within a 5 minute radius of our home.

The market itself was a unique experience: women shelling black beans, men husking corn, vendors selling so many fried and fresh snacks including dok (pronounced something like "tduk"), all manner of fish, and some mysterious organ meats.

On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant called Matzang for an authentic dish called dosa bibimbap. It's rice served in a scalding hot iron bowl topped with a mixture of green vegetables, a spicy red sauce, seaweed, sprouts, and carrots topped with an egg (sunnyside up!). Delicious!

More soon!

Good Morning, South Korea

Each morning when we open our eyes we are reminded of the great changes that have occurred to us in the past week.

It hardly seems possible, but we are actually living in South Korea!

Each of us has been kept very, very busy learning about Korean culture and preparing for the coming school year. The sights and sounds bear some similarities to home, yet, they are distinctly Korean. The food is fantastic! The Korean people are truly gracious, for the most part.

We will certainly offer specific stories throughout the coming few days and weeks, but this short note will have to do since we have yet to obtain an internet connection at our home. (Our days have stretched into the evenings, so using the school connection has been difficult)

The following photos include images of us departing from Toronto, arriving at Inch'on Airport, and exploring just a few of the neighbourhoods in Tajeon.

...Only a Day Away!

The last-minute preparations are going well. LeeAnne (the List Queen) has superbly organized everyone's lives for the forseeable future and has crammed every possible item into the allowable 5 shipping containers. Oops! We have 6? Hmmmm. Better not mention the 12 pairs of shoes....

Rebecca is all packed up (left photo). Hannah is still packing (hence, no photo available!) Finally, Cora is seen in this photo (right) attempting to lift her suitcase. Apparently it weighs 15% more than her own body weight. No kidding. Hey, has anyone seen the cat?

Wednesday is just a few hours away...