Cherry Blossoms and Shufflin'

Geesh! I can't believe how fast this weekend has passed. Can I get my weekend back, please? This weekend was such an amazing weekend!! Yesterday, I went into Seoul with Jess and Lauren for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Before heading over to the festival, Lauren and I killed some time with some photo ops around Gwanghwamun.

With Haechi (Seoul's mascot)

hanging with an Australian penguin?

Afterwards, we made our way over to a park that sits right on the Han River. The Han River is a beautiful river that passes through Seoul and connects to the Yellow Sea. I cross this river every time I go into Seoul and it's breathtaking every time.

I made a bucket list of "must sees" in Korea and walking across one of the bridges that cross the Han River has been on my list. I was so soo excited to walk across and catch a much better view of Seoul.

little duck paddle boats you can rent

63 building (one of the tallest buildings in Seoul)

We then walked below the bridge and found another amazing view...

close-up of the tiles 

so amazing!

Later that evening, we traveled over to HaeBangChon (HBC) to try out Craftworks. I heard great reviews about this place and was so excited to try some local brews. 

Let me just move on over to updating you all about today. The BEST day everrr! I went into Hongdae today to check out a B-boy show that Nadine so graciously invited me to. B-Boying is a type of street dance that usually consists of music genres from house music to hip-hop. It was such an amazing show! And ladies...the men...mmmhmm ;) 

the girls <3

During the show the dancers had invited a few people up the stage for small skits. At the end of the show the dancers started free-styling to "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. I hear this song literally everywhere I go in Korea. It's like Korea's second Anthem. Well to my surprise, I was suddenly pulled onto stage to shuffle with the dancers. Seriously, BEST MOMENT EVERRR!

Ahh so so much fun! I'm still all giddy inside over what just happened. Thanks again Nadine Teacha!! This next week I will be spending my time preparing for Tania and Lauren's visit. I can't wait!! Next weekend I'll be visiting the DMZ and even be in part of North Korea. I'll be sure to tell you all about it!


Miss you all so freakin' much! <3


-Jenn
xoxo

Easter Visits Korea!

Another holiday has passed in good ol' Korea and I'm here to tell you all about it. The weather has finally broke 50 degrees and I think I'm finally ready to retire my winter jacket. Thank goodness!!

This past Saturday evening, Lauren invited me to her church in Seoul for Easter Vigil. I was really interested in going to see the cultural differences in worship. Of course, the service we attended was in Korean so I had NO idea what was going on. It was still a great experience! One difference I noticed was that there was a lot of bowing...go figure!

Lauren's church

Foreigners with the Bishop

For Easter Sunday, I had brunch with two lovely ladies. Right outside of the restaurant were the biggest dogs I have ever seen. Literally! I'm still trying to figure out where they could possibly live, because the size of the apartments here are not enormous.

On Tuesday, we had an Easter celebration at school. I think it's so nice that our school tries to incorporate the American traditions into every holiday celebration. We had a jam packed day full of learning the story of Jesus and the Easter Bunny, making deviled eggs (so sooo good and MY idea!), and an Easter egg hunt.

little Isaac all in a mess

Matthew <3

Joshua's pig face

Today was Election Day in Korea and I was lucky enough to get the day off. I ventured into Seoul for some much needed retail therapy and literally shopped till I dropped. I'm really looking forward to the coming weeks. Just to name a few happenings... the Cherry Blossom Festival, B-Boy dance show, DMZ tour, and Tania and Lauren visit. Ahhh just so sooo excited!!


Miss you!
-Jenn
xoxo

Field Trips and Tea Houses

I've been horribly slacking on my updates throughout the last few weeks. Sorry about that! You can blame that on Bronchitis. Thanks to being around runny nosed kids and the changing weather, I caught Bronchitis. Needless to say I've been miserable for the last week. Luckily medical care in Korea is so amazingly cheap, that I was able to go to the doctor twice and get medicine all for under $50. Oh, and that's WITHOUT insurance. Go Korea!! 

no idea what type of medicine I'm taking,
but that's ok!

A little over a week ago we went on a field trip to the local children's science museum. I remember I loved going to Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh growing up and playing with all the science exhibits. So, I was so excited to take them here! 

watching TV on the ceiling

Most popular exhibit...throwing balls up a nose

a mouth full of children

This weekend I wanted to get out of the house for a few hours, so I met Lauren Teacha out in Seoul for lunch and to wonder the streets of Insadong. Lauren introduced me to the sweetest and most amazing street food in Korea. Haddeok is the name. I've passed vendors selling these several times while in Seoul and never stopped to try them. Basically it's fried dough with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. So so good!

haddeoks

While in Insadong, we decided to stop in a Korean tea house to warm up and try some tea. We went to an amazing little tea house that had nothing but fresh flowers EVERYWHERE, along with calming music and big ol' comfy couches. I tried the ginger tea. Yum!

The weather has finally started to slightly warm up. I'm still finding myself wearing my winter coat on a few days, but here's hoping to warmer weather in April. April is going to be such an exciting month. I have trips planned every weekend. I can't wait! I still miss and think of you all everyday. 

xoxo

-Jenn

Lovin' Me the Red, White and Blue!

I'm not usually a public opinionator, but I have had something on my mind for the last several months that I just need to get out.  With that said, here it is...

Since coming to Korea I have never heard or seen so much animosity against Americans. Almost every time I go to a bar, I'm asked the typical question, "Where are you from?" On more occasions than I would like, I have felt judged for saying I'm from America. 

Everyone feels they are from the BEST country in the world and that their country is better than yours. Yes, I will admit there are some things that I feel America could do better or that I don't agree with but that's my home. I love my country! I never thought I would come to Korea and gain so much patriotism towards America than I have in last 8 months.

I don't go around asking where you are from and then immediately start cracking jokes or say, "Ahhh I see." Really how rude can you be? This is one thing that has been on my mind the last several months and I know that I am definitely not the only American in Korea that feels this way.

I'm not going to use this post as a way of saying that I think Amercia is better, because I'm not saying that. I'm simply saying that I didn't come here for people to make me feel bad about where I from. I'm proud of my country, just like you are.

With that said...

God Bless America! 

I sure do miss you!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

One week from today will mark my 8th month anniversary of being in Korea. The time just seems to slip past me weekly. As Monday approaches, I blink and it's Friday. I feel blessed everyday to have been given this opportunity to live a year in such a beautiful country.

Before coming to Korea I had no goals, ideas, or plans as to what I wanted to do after. I had just planned to pack up my bags, move here, and start a new chapter in my life while leaving all the negative things behind. Well now it's time I begin to make some plans and decisions on my future. I've decided that I want to get back into doing what I love, event planning. Not only have I made this decision, but I'm also planning on FINALLY making that move to New York City. It's been long overdue! 

NYC <3

As most of you know, I came here on a year contract. I arrived July 31, 2011 and was expected to leave in August 2012. On Thursday, my director asked if I could extend longer and stay until March 2013. That's another year from now!!! I've been weighing the pros and cons all weekend and I'm not 100% sure that this would be the best for myself and career. I miss my family, friends, and the simple things about America that it would be hard to stay away another year.

sibling love <3

Mom and Pops 

It's definitely nice knowing how much I am valued in a workplace and that I am doing a great job. My director has been nothing but a great, fair, and honest person to work for. Some of my past work places have failed to acknowledge their hardworking employees.


SO after much consideration, I have offered to extend my contract until October and make the move to New York City around March. This pushes my return date back 3ish months. No Biggie! I feel this would be a good opportunity to save a little extra money and allow me to do more traveling. With the extremely cheap airfare around Asia, I'm hoping to make stops in Bali, Malaysia, and Hong Kong before returning home. 

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

On another note, in one month I'll be reunited with two lovely ladies from home. I can't even begin to tell you just how excited I am to see Lauren and Tania and share my experiences of SoKo first hand with them. Ahhh watch out Korea!!! :)

I think of you all daily and miss you all so much!!! See you in October! :)


~Jenn xoxo

Geumsansa Buddhist Temple Stay

I left early Saturday morning and joined two lovely ladies, along with 20 some others, for a temple stay at the Geumsansa Buddhist Temple about 3 hours South in Jeollabuk-do. The object of a temple stay is to live and learn the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. I went with little understanding of the Buddhist religion and lots of questions. We arrived at the temple around 2pm and were given an hour to roam the grounds before we began our adventure.

The temple was beautiful! I've seen Korean palaces and temples before so I knew what to expect, but this one was so peaceful. It was so refreshing being in the mountains, away from all the city noise, and actually being able to hear the birds chirp. Not to mention that this was the first night in Korea that I was able to see all the stars in the sky. Ahh just so amazing!

Here is where Buddha's relics are held

After walking around and taking in my view for the next 24 hours, it was time to meet up with the group to get our room assignments and monastic wear. My friends and I were lucky enough to score our own private room/bathroom for our stay. It was so nice!

rockin' the monastic wear

the door to our rooms

the rooms

our private room

 

We then met up with the rest of the group and met our monk. I call him our monk because he was our guide for the weekend. He first taught us how to bow. It was so interesting to learn the different ways to bow. He also taught us that when you put your hands together, like you're praying, your right hand is you and your left hand is the everything else in the world. When you bring them together you are connecting yourself with the rest of the world. So cool!

Next, we had craft time and got to make lotus lanterns. I was so excited to make these! The lotus flower represents new beginnings. It rises from muddy beginnings into something beautiful and celebrated. A very good friend of mine gave me a lotus necklace before coming to Korea that I wear everyday. Thanks again Melanie!!

Following dinner, we had a Buddhist Ceremonial Service. We walked over to a huge bell and drum to find two monks awaiting our arrival. Each of us got the opportunity to ring the bell. One of the monks watched as the sun set, because the bell is to not be rung after sunset.

That night, we lit our lanterns and paraded around the temple as our monk chanted.

Soon after, it was time for tea time with our monk. I learned that he was 31 years old and was basically forced into being a monk by his family who were devout Buddhists. He said his favorite thing about being a monk is being able to share stories with people, like us, but his least favorite was studying. Go figure he would say that...I mean I AM in Korea after all.

Then, it was lights out at 9pm for me. It was optional, but I woke up at 3am for another prayer service, called Yebul. I made my way over to the main temple and paid my respects to the Buddha.

this was the temple in which
we had our morning service

After a little nappage, it was time for our morning meditation. I was hoping to have a little more meditation practice during my visit, but it was very interesting. I found it a little hard to focus with being one with the universe, but I think it was because I was too tired to concentrate.


Following our meditation, we had a monastic breakfast. This included sitting Indian style on the floor while eating and not talking. In Buddhism it's proper to not speak during meals and to not waste food. My friends so kindly volunteered to serve us. We had bibimbap, which was the same food that we had for dinner and lunch. 

Next, we traveled over to the other side of the temple for some community service, or Ulyeok. The men had to chop wood, while the ladies had to sweep. The meaning behind the sweeping was to sweep your worries away with the wind. 

After sweeping away my worries, it was time for our walking meditation in the forest. We didn't go far only because it was FREEZING and it started to snow, but our monk took us to the love tree. It's basically two trees connected in the middle. There we "meditated" for about a minute.

green tea leaves

the love tree

Next, it was time to make Buddhist beads. The making of a set of Buddist beads involves 108 beads and bows, with each representing a prayer/wish. Our monk told us we had the option to not bow 108 times, but then he reminded us "No Pain, No Gain." I picked the temple that houses the Buddha and statues of the 500 thieves. (great story if you get a chance to read about it) It was awe inspiring and I felt every single bow. My legs still hurt today! I will never forget the 108 sufferings that helped to cleanse my soul. Such a fulfilling experience! :)

Finally, it was time to pack our bags and head back to reality. I wish I would have been able to experience more meditation while there, but I'm so so sooo happy with the outcome of the trip. It was such an amazing experience to learn about such a fascinating religion. I was reminded constantly on the trip that for a healthy body, one must have a healthy mind. I feel that this gets lost in translation a lot. This trip has made me more interested in learning about Buddhism and the importance of taking care of ones self. 

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”