26 August 2012
Went for a walk outside this morning before breakfast. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL here! So lush and green – everything looks like a
golf course putting green. We went off
the beaten path a bit and found a green house, several gardens, and even a
chicken coop with a few roosters hanging out with their fat and happy
hens. Why they have roosters at an
educational leadership facility in the mountains I don’t know, but let’s just
say it made me think twice about the chicken I was served at dinner. I take comfort in the fact that they looked
healthy and joyful when I saw them earlier today.
Went to more seminars today.
And then some more seminars. And then some more seminars. And then some more…. Well, you get the
picture. For the most part the lectures are
helpful, at least for those of us just starting here. Some teachers, however, have already been
here for months or even years and already know everything we are learning
now. Glad I am having orientation first,
though, so at least I can be somewhat prepared for what I am getting myself
into.
Lunch – It seems strange to say it, and I never thought it
would happen, but the sight of the forks they provided at lunch today may or
may not have brought a tear to my eye.
We eat every meal with metal chopsticks and a spoon, so the thought of
being able to actually get my food to my mouth without losing 80% of it on the
way there was so moving I had to take a moment to compose myself. Ok. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but
hyperbole is useful in making a point, right?
One Korean man who is part of another group attending a retreat here as
well was moved also, but not in the same way. He picked up a fork, grimaced, and resignedly
placed the unwanted utensil on his tray.
What can I say? Another man’s
trash is my beautiful, western, I’m-not-going-to-drop-food-all-over-myself
treasure.
After our seminars today, we “participated” in a traditional
Korean tea ceremony, meaning we dressed up in the costumes and quite possibly
butchered the ceremony in our attempt to recreate it. It was a lot of fun, though. A man and woman sit across from each other in
their elegant garb, and the woman pours tea in a special way. There is a lot of moving your hands and arms
in a circular motion in one direction to pick up the pot or pour it, and then
moving them back again. I think more of
the tea ended up on the placemat than actually in the cups. This probably had to do with the fact that my
partner and I were laughing so hard under our breath at ourselves and how bad I
was at this that my hands were shaking, which only made it worse. I’m just hoping that I am not now, due to
some old custom, married to my tea ceremony partner.
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| Looks like he's up to something, doesn't it? |
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