Return to civilization

All the missing out on sleep caught up with me. We were supposed to wake up at 5:30 AM for a ceremonial breakfast and meditation session, but Viktor, Casey, and I didn’t wake up until the others returned at 7:10 AM. Oops. I really wanted to check it out, but from the sound of things I didn’t miss much. We did make it to the tea ceremony where a monk answered questions with Joe Kim translating for us. Next was the 108 bows. It took about 40 minutes, and we did full bows, standing with your hands together at chest level, going down to your elbows and knees, touching your head to the floor, raising your palms up, then reversing the steps to stand up. I had a sheet in front of me with translations for what each of the bows represented and despite how sweaty I got, it was actually a very good experience. Buddhist meditation is to reflect on oneself. I couldn’t help but think about Michael and how he must have seen something like this during his trip to Korea to spark his interest in Buddhism. If I had to choose a religion, it would be this one. But not as a monk. I can’t go that long without meat.

Your building is missing a pagoda.

We returned to Seoul in time for dinner. A rest stop had Hobbaek, those fried dough patties filled with brown sugar. I bought some and let people try, and pretty soon another half dozen people ordered them. I’m glad I had some prior knowledge of tasty Korean foods!

Yum! Just like mom makes.

Our last meal together was at TGI Friday’s. A mundane choice, but a welcome one from the 24 hour vegetarian stint. Not that the monk meals were bad, I just got hungry in two hours instead of my usual four.

Even though Korea and America were knocked out of the World Cup, England and Germany were playing at 11 PM. I went to do some shopping after dinner then went to a pub to watch the game. We met a Korean there who spoke more German than English, and he talked with Casey in a near perfect German accent. That was weird. I spent most of the final evening of orientation on the roof of the Artnoveau City hotel. So, yet again, I forsake sleep for straight chillin’.