Buddha's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Buddha!
So, yesterday was Buddha's birthday and what other way would be better than celebrating it at Bulguksa and Seokguram?
First, a few facts about Bulguksa (Temple of the Buddha Land).  Bulguksa is a beautiful temple in Gyeongju that was built in 751, but was burnt down during Japanese invasion in the 1590s and rebuilt after 1604. The complex includes the Hall of Great Enlightenment with a shrine to Shakyamuni Buddha, The Hall of No Words (a lecture hall, but named this because Buddha's teachings can't be taught only with words), the 관음전 which is a shrine to Avalokitesvara the Bodhisattva of Compassion, the Vairocana Buddha Hall, and the Hall of Supreme Bliss.

I met Harry at 11, grabbed some lunch and took bus number 11 out to the temple. We took some time walking around Bulguksa, taking some pictures, watching a small concert in front of the temple. After that we did the 1hr hike up to Seokguram. It took a bit longer due to being a bit hungover, but eventually I made it up. ASSA!! Once we got up there we got in line for the Grotto.

Seokguram Grotto was constructed by Gim Daeseong in the 8th century during the Silla Dynasty. A legend states that Gim was reincarnated. Bulguksa was dedicated to his parents in his present life while Seokguram was dedicated to his parents in his previous life. The artificial grotto has a granite Shakyamuni Buddha statue that is 3.5 meters tall. The circular room where Buddha sits also has reliefs of Shakyamuni's 10 disciples, Avalokitesvara and two other bodhisattvas, as well as Brahma and Indria (two Hindu gods).
Usually the Grotto is behind a glass enclosure so you can only observe from the outside, but in honor of Buddha's birthday we were able to go inside and walk around the Grotto. It was amazing! Being able to actually see all the reliefs in the statues that you can't see from outside the glass, to touch the stone, to be inside something so beautiful was a great experience.

Feeling much better after being able to see the Grotto, Harry and I got some ice cream and started the walk back down the mountain. It was much easier! haha. We sat in the park area outside Bulguksa for a while then decided to grab some dinner in the village. We decided to try a restaurant that I wasn't familiar with, but the 비빔밥 wasn't great. I had better at another restaurant in that village before, so next time I will just stick with the place I know has great 비빔밥. 비빔밥  is a bowl with a mixture of vegetables, chili pepper paste, and an egg on top mixed with rice. While it wasn't the best, the kimchi there was really good! After lunch, we walked around, found a few places to sit for a while until the lantern ceremony at 7:30. We went back up into Bulguksa and while waiting for it to start ended up getting handed some candles, I even had a korean family give me a lantern (which, I might add, I kept! ^_^)
The lantern parade started with 3 monks playing the big drum in the corner of the temple. After that the monks inside the Hall of Great Enlightenment started chanting and worshiping as all the spectators outside the hall did the same. Then, everyone started walking around the pagodas in circles, carrying their candles and lanterns, and chanting. It was a great site to see! Harry and I walked in the lantern parade for a bit, took some pictures, then called it a night. We caught the bus back into the city, debated meeting up with friends for drinks, but I got home and immediately crashed! haha, such a tiring, but amazing day!

What an amazing memory!

Another great weekend!

This weekend came to surpass my expectations in how much fun it would be!
Friday night I met up with Nina, Kayley, and Harry (who is Nina's replacement at her current job). We introduced Harry to dwegi galbi and soju! It was a great dinner. Then we moved on to Grazie, as per usual. There were a lot of people there, I got to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while, met some new friends, then went home at a decent hour.
Saturday I took Harry downtown, we walked around, went into a few shops, and I took him to 김밥천국 for lunch where we ate 참치김밥 (tuna kimbop)  and 라뽁이 (ramen and rice cake in a spicy sauce).  After that I spent the rest of the day preparing for a dinner party at my apartment. I made a Chicken Alfredo Casseroll, which was delicious if I do say so myself. hahah ^_^. We ate dinner, played a few drinking games, then moved the party onto London Hof. It is a really nice, typical Korean bar. We drank lots of beer and soju, played more drinking games, and even met some new Korean friends. We eventually decided to leave, to get food and move onto a 노래방 (singing room). It was so much fun, drinking and singing our hearts out. Eventually we ran out of time, but the night was not over yet. Most people split ways, but Kayley, Blake, Harry and I decided to go up to the roof of a 17-story apartment building. We sat on the roof, looked out over the beautiful city that we live in, and watched the sunrise. Nothing this weekend beat the feeling of sitting on the roof with three great friends, in the arms of a great guy, watching the sunrise over a mountain. I certainly hope to have many more moments like this throughout the summer before I leave. I can't believe I only have 3 more months here. Another great weekend, with wonderful friends, making amazing memories.

But I must say....I MISS YOU MESSICA AND BULLY!

^_^

So I haven't posted since Jessica and Rachel left, but not much has happened.
I'm feeling better these days. I'm less stressed out, really excited about what the future will hold, still lonely but I have great friends here who keep me busy and keep my mind off it.
I've registered to start an online course to get my TEFL certification. Hopefully, this will help me to get a job somewhere else in the world. Although, Korea pays the best. Since teaching isn't really what I want to do - it's more a way of making money, traveling, and having some adventure in my life - money is a big factor when choosing a job.
I want to go back to OSU next year, Winter quarter and maybe Spring, to finish up my Ancient History degree. After that I think I'd like to get another teaching gig somewhere. Maybe back here, maybe Taiwan or Japan. I'm not really sure.
I've also been reading a lot. This week I read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". The Five People You Meet in Heaven was really interesting. I don't really believe there is a god or that things happen for a reason, but I do know that all people's lives intersect in some way. You don't always realize how you affect other peoples lives, even with the smallest interactions or a decision you make that in turn affects other people. The Curious Incident... was really good as well. It is written from the perspective of an autistic boy. It's really neat to see how the world is seen from a different perspective, how the things we say everyday can be confusing or misunderstood by others. I find language to be a really interesting thing. Not only between people of different cultures and languages, but even how we say things to each other when speaking the same language. I'm always interested in how phrases like "the apple of my eye" and such come to mean what they mean. I'm not going to ramble too much about that, it's just something the book made me think about.
Next on my reading list: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, and I'm going to re-read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
I've also decided to start Kite Boarding. I'm really excited! I'm hoping to be able to start lessons next weekend!
Not too much else. Today I went downtown with Harry, who is a new foreign teacher in Gyeongju. I bought myself a pencil case. (the pencil cases here are really cool- I love korean stationary!)It's a small box and the lid closes over the side magnetically. It also says "feel affection for successfully become popular" and "Today, because of you what I learned from you every choice I made was different and my life has completely changed". I love the English sayings on things in Korea. Yesterday, one of my students gave me a Teacher's Day card, in which she wrote "선생님 사랑해요." I had to ruin it by reading the small print on the back of the card-which as printed by the card company read: "Loving you is more than just a dream come true. Making love with you is all I want to do." I've also bought a sweatshirt here that says "this is prolly my awesomes shirt". Yes, it is awesomes. hehe^_^
Anyway, enough rambling. Sorry for the messy, random post. Tonight I'm hosting a little dinner party and I need to get the apartment ready!