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Showing posts from 2010

The Excursion Itinerary-

Tokyo, Japan, 3 days Cambodia, 4 days Day 1: Siem Reap arrival (D) Our guide and coach will pick up at Siem Reap International, and then transfer to hotel for check in. Dinner at local restaurant with Apsaras show and overnight in Siem Reap. Day 2: Siem Reap - Angkor Thom - Angkor Wat (B/L) This morning you will visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom: Bayon, Baphoun, Terrace of Elephants, Terrace of Leper King and Phimean Akas temple. Lunch at local restaurant. The tour continue with the visit to the most famous temple of Cambodia: Angkor Wat, then take a romantic view sun set & Siem Reap city from the top of Bakheng Hill. Overnight in Siem Reap. Day 3: Siem Reap - Kbal Spean - Bantey Srei (B/L) Breakfast at the hotel, visit Kbal Spean, about 49km from Siem Reap Town and it is literally means "The head of the River.” It is one of the rivers in 1000 lingas that made up of unique lingas. Lingas stands into the riverbed of the Siem Reap River. It was believed that the...

Kate Teacher, I Just S*** my Pants!!

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So far my classes have been going well. I have really been connecting with my older kids. It's my kinders that still need some basic lessons. Usually if a kid asks to use the bathroom, I let them go. If they ask right after the whole class went on a bathroom break, or they have gone three times that day, I say no, because by then I know they are asking to go just so they can leave the room. One day, a boy in my kindergarten class named Dan asked to use the bathroom twice in one hour. When he asked me again, I said," no Dan, you have used it twice in one hour." Usually when I do let him go to the bathroom, he just wanders the hallways with no intention of using the bathroom. To prove a point I wasn’t going to let him do that anymore. Only, he had a more potent point to show me. When the class was getting ready to leave, putting on their outdoor shoes and packing their bags, Dan said in a rather quiet voice and holding on to his pants: “Kate Teacher, I went bathroom.” ...

Professional Baseball Korea Style

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Take me out to the Ball Game, Take me out the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and —dried squid? A Chicagoian abroad must experience a Korean baseball game. I had heard about the reputation of Korean baseball fans; energetic, loyal, and with cheering so organized and extensive, it would to make any cheerleader cry with pride. As a Chicago White Sox fan, much from the influence of my twin brother, I knew I would enjoy a game in Korea. I saw the LG Twins vs. the Hanwha Eagles, at Jamsil Stadium, right in the center of Seoul. I expected the ball park to be larger than the MLB Teams in America, but to my surprise it was smaller. The crowd looked a bit dressed up to me for going to a ball game. I am used the whole team-jersey-and-jeans look at American games. It was 8,000 Won for a seat on the upper deck between 3rd base and home plate, yes, that’s 6 dollars for a professional game of baseball. The food was just as cheap, with KCF and Burger King at every corner. Not a hot dog or polis...

Conclusion of the Temple Stay

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I am soon woken up with the ringing of a wooden Buddhist bell, rung by one of the monks as he walked the balcony waking us temple-stayers. We grumble out of bed and walk out in the cold outside. It was 4:00 am and still dark out. We walk up the hill on the trail that leads to where we eat our meals and past the monks quarters and up a steep hill. We soon arrive at a small temple, half dug out of the hill, but painted in brightly colored patterns with fuchsia lotus lanterns coving the entire ceiling. I could appreciate its beauty even in my sleep deprived state. We performed three bows on a mat and then sat crossed legged and heard a group of monks, and to my enjoyment, the 5 young monks, chant their Buddhist hymns. The chanting was powerful and calm at the sametime. I was almost lulled asleep by it. Every now and then we would stand up and perform more bows. After about an hour of chanting and bowing we meditated for half an hour. We were told to clear our mind and think of nothing...

Golgul Temple Stay- The Sunmudo Training

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SUNMUDO Martial Arts Training We arrived at the temple gate and drove through forest and hills and soon stopped at a large three story building which was more like an apartment building except it had similar features of a palace; tiered roof, bright colors, and Buddhist statues around the perimeter. This was where we were going to spend the night, so was took our stuff, or in my case, lack thereof, and chose a room to stay in. We were then directed to follow a trail up a hill and towards another temple-style building where we ate dinner. It was a meal of Buddhist food, no meat, lots of vegetables and rice, side dishes of bean sprouts, white and red kimche and bean sprout soup. For Buddhist temple food, which has a reputation of not being the best cuisine around, this was actually pretty tasty. It was at dinner when I saw a group of young monks that must have been about 12 years old. They all had shaved heads and red robes on, and they were serving the temple-stayers food and...

Golgul Temple Stay

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The Accidental Adventure Continues (To see part 1 of this story, scroll down) After lunch was walked to an outdoor museum that had these huge mounds about 5 stories high that were the burial mounds of Ancient Shilla Kings. We followed a trail that winded between a dozen of them. Then we came to an old brick structure built in the year 647 AD, which was an old astronomy tower used in the Shilla dynasty. We passed some more burial grounds and got back on the bus to drive to the first of many Buddhist temples. This first one was called Bulguksa, the Temple of the Land of Buddha, and is located mid-slope on Mt. Tohamsan. It had acres of brightly painted Buddhist structures, pagodas, and gardens. At the entrance of the temple grounds we had to walk through a covered entrance way that had four enormous painted wood statues of men holding dragons, weapons, and/or musical instruments with grins on their faces. They were the guardians of the temple grounds, also called the statues of the fo...

Buddhist Temple Stay- The Golgul Temple in Gyeongju, South Korea

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Golgul Temple, Head Center of SUNMUDO, Buddhist Martial Arts An Accidental Adventure It was a frigid December morning when I stumbled sleepily to the bus station to catch a bus for another Adventure Korea trip, the same company that I went to Ullengdo Island with. I was all ready for a hike up Mt. Daedusan in the Joellabuk provenice; a gondola on the way up, and a 4 hour hike on the way back. Not being one for carrying much of anything, I bundled up and stuffed my pockets with what I thought I would need, water, Kleenex, and wallet. I found the bus, it looked identical to the last one I was on for the Ullengdo trip; same upholstery pattern, same curtains, tassels and TV screen. I walked to very back of the bus so that I could catch up on some sleep. As I dozed off I wondered why the fellow hikers on the bus packed such big bags for a quick day trip as the bus left 20 minutes sooner than it should of. Two hours down the road we stopped at a rest stop and I chatted up with ...

The Near Beheading of Master Kim (and my blue belt board breaking)

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This is a video of the Wooden Board breaking for my Blue Belt Promotion test. I break 4 boards: First punch, then right roundhouse, then left roundhouse, and finish with a spin kick. On my spin kick, I hit the board so hard that the middle portion of the board went flying towards Master Kim's neck. Luckily Master Kim's mad reflexes saved him and he caught the piece in time and kept it for the rest of the class. The video doesnt show this part, but you can see the reaction of my fellow fighters watching. Here's one way to earn extra points in a Belt Test, try to take out the TKD Master judging you!

Ullengdo Island- Part 3

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The Last Day and the Departure- We woke at dawn to catch an early-morning gondola ride to a mountain peak overlooking the island’s south side. It was an up-hill hike just to get to the loading point, but we passed some neat looking shops full of wood carvings and Buddhist goods that I hoped would be open by the time we got back. The 20 minute gondola ride was worth the uphill trek, and we unloaded at a deck that gave a 365 degree view from the peak. It took me a while to take in all the views it had to offer. It was cool seeing the ocean from up above, it had a different shade of blue all over again. I also never realized how big the port town was until I saw it from above. Megan and I walked around the overlooks and balconies built into the peak and took a load of pictures. After the gondola ride, we visited another Buddhist temple that was stunning- brightly colored sashes and painted buildings that shone like jewels. There was a giant steel bell with a dragon on top of th...

Ullengdo Island Part 2

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The Mysterious Island Adventures Continue. . . Megan and I boarded a bus full of other tourists, most all of them foreign, college-grad, English teachers like myself. We took a tour around the island for 4 hours, stopping to see giant rock formations, Buddhist temples, scenic outlooks, and Ullengdo’s other small fish towns. Looking out at the coast line was best part of the tour, because the line between the water and sky was blurred; the misty air on this island gave the illusion of an ocean that reached to the sky, or a sky that spanned to the bottom of the earth, whichever way you looked at it. This is why the island is fondly called Mysterious Island Ullengdo. It’s more of an Island up in the clouds, far removed from the water. We stopped at a small town up in the mountains and tried some homemade rice wine. It was good if you like essence of dirty sock soaking in dish water and the color of grey fog. We came back to the hotel for a dinner of fried fish (naturally...