Hi all, guest blogging today is the older brother, Ian!
It's been a while since you heard from Tyler but I assure you his adventures have not ceased, and for the last week, and several more to come I'll be by his side through the next chapters. As such, and at the suggestion of Mom and Pop, we felt a cameo was necessary. Here we go...
My first steps on the ground in Asia came on Monday at the Incheon airport outside of Seoul. Due to a ski-mishap and subsequent 'medical leave' from work Tyler was able to greet me, his fo-hawk and all. Don't worry about him, he's in fine form and just as gung-ho as ever, and not hindered by brain damage (Mom, I've been making him take it easy, really). He guided my green self through the steps to my first high speed rail taking us over four hundred miles to his home town of the last few years, Daegu. This only took a few hours; why oh why won't the US catch up? Luckily lacking jet-lag but tired from 15+ hours of travel none-the-less, I took in little this first night, but I assure you it was an exciting experience to get to Tyler and Jaclyn's apartment after passing through streets the likes of which I've only seen in Chinatown, SF. But this is not Chinatown, I assure you. More on that later... Moments after my arrival I met Ty and Jaclyn's other housemate, Goa, of whom I am sure you have read. She is as adorable as described, but very wary of me. This would change slightly over the course of the week but I feel bad for being a terror in her home. She'll get over it and we'll be friends soon enough. Dinner that night found us in a local 'fast-food' place, or as Tyler and Jaclyn called it, an "orange room" as the color motif makes obvious. Proceeding to order some of their favorites (gunmandu, kimchijjigae, a spicy pork dish i can't recall the name of) I got treated to deliciously authentic flavors and left full, tired and ready for a good night's rest. Tomorrow, we see the town.
Rested and ready for a full day Tyler show's me his haunts. His school and class room are first on the list, as well as a local park from which he has called me back in the states many a time. It's a pleasure to put visuals to the verbal descriptions that up until now were all I had to go on. Mom, I've got some great shots of Ty in his teaching space; very ineresting (pun intended, you'll see). But really a beautiful, large well lit space that rivals anything I've seen in the US as far as elementary classrooms, let alone foreign language ones. A quick trip to Ty's favorite store (see early blog posts) Costco for some industrial sized coffee grounds and then off to a late lunch and wander. I've discovered my new favorite Korean dish, andong-jjimdak; a spicy chicken and glass noodle dish that blew me away. So good. After a trip in to Kyung-Pook University's tallest building to get a panoramic view of South Korea's third largest city. Jaclyn joined us after work and I was treated to yet more incredible food, this time in the form of a real BBQ dinner. Interactive and incredible. No hyperbole there at all. Ended the evening with fireworks; I love fireworks...
Early to bed early to rise, heading to Gyeongju, the ancient capital city of the Shilla dynasty which unified the Korean peninsula for the first time, a long, long time ago. There is more to this day than I can write here but suffice it to say that this is not to be missed and the feeling of walking among and along places and thoroughfares that people have tread and revered for longer than anything I have ever witnessed is not to be understated. There are really too many highlights to portray here. You may have to see my photos on the facebook thing I've begun using again. A truly awesome moment came as we were leaving and stopped into a ceramic shop. With out divulging details we were treated to an amazing moeuk-lyeon koht tea by the shop's proprietress, language barrier aside. After returning to Daegu yet another sating meal of dak-galbi, and again early to bed early to rise.
Haien-sa: where the wooden blocks comprising the Tripitaka Koreana are kept. We rushed up a snow-lined and ice-covered path to catch the mid-morning prayers of the monks. Timing things in a way that only could be described as fortunate, we experienced the grounds almost alone save the ever-louder sounds of worship that drifted from behind the closed doors of the halls of worship comprising the temple grounds. Most spectacularly the hour of prayer ended with the ceremonial drum playing for the beings of the earth, the huge brass bell for the beings of the underworld and leaving us both with an awe that can't be described unless you've experienced it. Again, to much to relay here. Returning to Daegu and ending the evening meeting Tyler's friend Halyley, who he used to co-teach with, we filled the day yet again with wonderful things. Though I'm surely leaving much out, I will do my best to fill in the gaps when able.
As of this moment we are off to Seoul. There after the DMZ and yes, we will be seeing the DPRK (North Korea). Certainly these days will fly by and I could not be more blessed to be spending them with my brother. We both look forward to the coming weeks where Dad joins us for Cambodia and Vietnam. With that I sign off. As they say here "anyong haseyo".
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