They took us to do more meditation and participate in the chanting. We didn't actually say the chants because none of us knew them and usually only one or a couple monks will say the chants. But we did lots of bowing. Maybe you're thinking, why are you bowing to a graven image? Some of us at first were thinking, "Can we do this?" We talked to the monk and Dr. Peterson have done many temple stays before. They told us that you're not really worshipping the image or Buddha but it's your heart and where you put your intentions that matters.
After, we watched the sunrise. It was so beautiful! On the mountains it gave off a beautiful color. It made the whole area shine. I really can't describe it properly. We had breakfast. The same not appetizing food we had for dinner. Having the same food as last night is fine if it's ok. All of us grabbed even smaller portions of food this time.
After breakfast, we left to go to 울산 Ulsan because one of the members in the branch works at a shipyard. South Korea is number one in shipbuilding. The steel industry is really thriving here. I was so excited. I've never been to a shipyard before. For those of you who know 갈윤호 Yoon Ho, this is his hometown! We didn't really go to the city part of it.
The shipyard we went to was 성동 Sungdong. The shipyard was HUGE! It had like 20 Titanic ships in it!! I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the shipyard because they had a photographer who was snapping away with their camera and said they would email the pictures to us. So I'm waiting on them. The member who works at the shipyard invited us to have lunch at his work. We were treated like kings at the dinner. We had lunch in a nice conference room with some of his associates. The food was delicious. We laughed to ourselves because it was only a few hours ago that we were eating 김치 kimchi and now we're eating lunch in a nice conference room. It was one of those nice rooms and food where you feel the room is more sophisticated than you. Even the waiters looked sharp. They fed us chicken and egg soup, sweet and spicy chicken, 불고기 bulgogi (Korean meat), and tiramisu.
Today we got to experience a really humble life and then go straight to living luxury all in the same day. We couldn't help but laugh to ourselves. The next place we went to was the city 진주 Jinju which is gorgeous too. The first thing we saw was a statue of 이순신 Yi Sun Sin (ee-soon-sheen). He was a naval commander that defeated the Japanese during the Japanese invasion in the 1500s. He's a big deal in Korea. One of the battles he fought was here in 진주 Jinju. There was a map of how the ships were coordinated on the waters right where we were. We were at the spot where a battle was! I loved looking out from here. It had an incredible view and you couldn't help but gawk in its beauty.
Dr. Peterson then took us to 진주성 Jinju castle/Jinjuseong fortress. The castle was frequently destroyed by the Japanese during the invasion. It was later used as a fortress as a safeguard to block the Japanese's attacks. Near the fortress is 의암사적비 Uiamsa shrine also called 논개 Nongae. This shrine honors a 기생 gisaeng/Korean version of a geisha named 주논개 Ju Non Gae who is considered an example of patriotism. During the invasion, she lured away a Japanese general while he was drunk. She said let's go see the moon/play hookey. As they were staring at the moon, she embraced him and she along with him plunged into the water and died. They look at it as an insult to the Japanese that even a lowly Korean can bring down the mightiest Japanese. She's the only real Korean women to receive a shrine. There's another one but she's from a folk tale. We went to the cliff where she and the general plunged into the water.
Today we went from a humble life to a luxurious life to back to normal study abroad life. I definitely saw some of the most beautiful things in my opinion in the south. 범어사 Beomeosa was beautiful because it had this calming peace in the outdoors. 진주 Jinju was landscaped very nice. I can't believe the study abroad is winding down in a little while and that our time in Korea is coming to a close. We've become so comfortable here. Did we really have a life back in America?
