last post in the land of the morning calm

Three years ago Rebecca and I were anxiously waiting to start our new lives in S. Korea. Now,  we anxiously wait to head back home and embark on a new life in California. So, as this past week passes by and we get ready for a new life in America. I reflect about my life in S. Korea. A life I never could have fathomed in the past living. There is no doubt that our decisions to move to S. Korea was a good one. There is so much that I experienced, but I will share three major highlights about my time in S. Korea.

First, my experiecne with Buddhism was very minimal before I lived in S. Korea. The only knowledge I had about Buddhism was what I learned at the Univeristy in my world religions class, and that was very minimal. Living in S. Korea I came in contact with Buddhism at a personal level. I encounter various monks who were kind to Rebecca and I. Also, I got the chance to spend a good amount of time inside Buddhist temples where it was always peaceful. The times I spend inside the temples with ten feet golden Buddhas will always be a major highlight for me in S. Korea. Mostly because it reinforced my idea of being comfortable with the unknown. As a Christian in the past I always felt the need to have answers to everything, but a few years ago, while I was still a Univesity student, I realized that it is ok to be a Christian and not have all the answers. That realization brought peace to my life, and that was reinforced more inside Buddhist temples. Mainly because Buddhism is such a mysterious religion and being able to spend inside the temples and appreciating my surroundings without knowing or judging the religion was calming to my spirit. To be able to just respect and appreciate how the monks and Buddhist showed their respect and dedication to Buddha was always inpisring and emotional. Their dedication and commitment to spiritual growth was always moving, and encouraged me to learn more about spiritual practices in my own faith.

Second, Korean food is delicious. There is so much variety in the food here, that I don’t have the time now to share what they are. Because I am so familliar with Korean food and have eaten the food the past three years everyday. I feel that it has become like Mexican food. Since I grew up with Mexican food, I will always say Mexican food is the best and will always mention how delicious Mexican food is. In that same sense Korean food has become like Mexican food, now Mexican food is still the best, its just now I have another food that I am familliar with and that will always bring me back to my time in S. Korea which was my home for three years. I will miss Korean food a lot.

Finally,  the third major highlight of S. Korea is my love for tea. I never cared for tea or knew anything about it, but now that is all I want to drink. Especially green tea. What is interesting is that S. Korea is not really known for their tea, and there are not that many tea houses. Actually coffee is what people love here. I was surprised how many coffee shops there are here, but they are everywhere. If you want coffee, just walk around for about a minute and you will come across one, or three of them right next to each other.

Now, the things I regret during my stay in S. Korea. I regret not learning the language, not climbing the mounatins that surrounds all of Korea, and not doing a temple stay

S. Korea land of the morning calm, you will be missed.

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