Today I had a jam-packed, fun-filled afternoon and evening. After my Korean class ended at 3, I called my friend Cathy and we headed to the Keimyung hanhakchon (a traditional village compound replicated on campus, and a really beautiful place to hang out and study on warm fall days). An event was being held there where we could sample half a dozen different types of tea and sweets, served by members of some tea club wearing traditional clothing. You went around to different buildings and sat or knelt at low tables and were served tiny cups of tea and the most delicious and varied traditional sweets. Yum. Everyone was super dressed up, and at one point they did a demonstration of a traditional wedding ceremony. I won a prize in the raffle: a tea set worth over $100.00 that everyone was very envious of. All around an exciting time.
Directly after that, I went up to the ampitheater on campus to meet a traditional drum (buk) club. I had met them a couple days ago and asked if I could join in. The drums are medium sized, about 18 inches in diameter and a foot high. Y0u play them with big sticks, maybe just under an inch in diameter and a foot long. You really bang the hell out of those drums, too. I was sure I was going to break the skin, but the teacher kept telling me to hit it harder. Anyway, there were about 8 or 10 of us and it was super fun. I have all these new rhythms running through my head. I'm going to go back next week, every night that I don't have to teach. They practice every night (hard core!)
Okay, well the literary value of this blog has now been officially sacrificed to expedience, as I simply had stopped writing because it took up too much time. (Case in point: I used the word traditional six times in the first 2 paragraphs of the post. Ugh.) So prepare yourself for slightly more frequent but less well-written posts.
I wish you could all enjoy the incredible fall weather here these last weeks. The well-landscaped campus is resplendent in its many-colored coat of carefully chosen trees. The other day I took a hike and climbed a 30 foot rock wall all by myself. (Oops!) It was so much fun, and see, I didn't even die!
That's all for now, folks. Stay tuned for more fun. I am having a blast. I love this place more and more (yes, even the food!) And I love all of you.
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3 comments:
So good to see you having a blast there. I miss food and all the places that I can easily go by bus or taxi. Hope you continue your journey and enjoy as much as you can. It's been 10 years since I left and everything seems so blurry and foggy now to me. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!
Yes! Less well written, more frequent! That's what the fans want!
Oh, and like bakhazuka says, Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!
Hi, bakhazuka!
See! Time breeds familiarity which in turn breeds comfort! Yay!
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