Monday, October 21

Now that the tournament is over, all of the sightseeing begins!  Have you ever been to a tourist spot and seen a gajillion charter busses?  That’s us.  There are 10 busses, just to give you an idea.

I was without George today, though, because he went to the doctor.  Nothing is wrong; it’s something his family does whenever they come to Korea.  You know how in the US everyone’s all crazy over Obamacare, and everything costs so much and blah, blah, blah?  Well in Korea, you can get a whole slew of tests done at an affordable price.  So basically, whenever Koreans who have moved away come back to visit, they make sure to go to the hospital and get the Full Works Deluxe Check-Up.  That’s not what it’s called; I just capitalized for effect.  You name it, they check it out and send you the results in a week or so.  Eyes, ears, mouth, blood.  They put you under and stick a camera down your esophagus and check that out.  Chest x-ray, lungs, CAT scan.  Mammogram and a gyno exam for the ladies.  And all of this comes to a total of….$1,500.  I’d have to do some research and a little math, but I think a plane ticket to Korea + $1,500 is still less than how much all that stuff would cost in the US. 

So anyway.  George wasn’t with me today; he was getting poked and prodded.  Our first stop was a Buddhist temple.  Because we are travelling in such a large group, there wasn’t time to walk around on your own and, you know, get all Buddha-like.  But what I was able to take in was just so gorgeous.  When we got to the first temple where people were praying and monks were chanting, George’s mom asked me if I was wearing socks.  “Yes, ma’am,” I say.  “I need to borrow,” she said, “It’s tradition.  Respect.  I can’t go in there barefoot.”

Is it weird that I’m perfectly happy to give this woman my socks?  That I’m almost flattered that I’m the one she asked?  I was definitely grateful that I didn’t wear my Halloween socks.

After I got my socks back and my shoes re-tied, we were on to see the largest Buddha in the world.  It is literally breathtaking.  You are walking down a path and then you round a corner and there it is.  My pictures don’t do it justice.  

After that we went into another temple, and George’s mom borrowed my socks again.  I was a little embarrassed that she saw my feet without a pedicure, but I figured since I was loaning her my socks that I was in the clear.

After the temple we went to a market in Daegu.  So you know how there’s a lot of people in Asia?  I think they’re all at this market. 

The end of the market, close to the street

A main thoroughfare in the market

Throughout a main thoroughfare, people sit at tiny restaurants

Mmmmm....squid.

One of many tiny restaurants in what feels like a department store of restaurants.  

Those are George's aunties and Dad.

Again, these pictures aren’t showing just how expansive this place is.  There are multiple alleys lined with shops and doorways.  And when you go into any one of these many, many doorways, you’ll find yourself in a maze of about 200 shops.  The shops are separate rooms; it feels like one big store, but each section is a different shopkeeper.  It’s kind of like being in a Ross or a Michael’s but the aisles are smaller and it’s huge.  The one I was in was all textiles, so it was like walking through a giant maze of blankets.

For the trip’s video, George’s mom wanted footage of certain people trying on hanbok.  Hanbok is a traditional Korean dress.  Technically it’s a skirt that you tie around your chest and then there’s a little vest that goes on top.  The men where pants, also tied around the chest, and have a jacket on over it.  These dresses are so beautiful.  I’ve seen George’s sisters-in-law and mom and cousins where them on New Year’s Day, and his aunt wore one at her daughters wedding.  When they walk in them, they look like they’re floating across the floor.  So elegant. 

Korean hanbok

A woman from the trip tries on hanbok

Hanbok shopkeepers look on during the process

 Haggling is expected at the market, and that is what 

George's mom is doing here.  Very well, I might add.

After we got footage of girls from the trip, George’s mom said I needed to come with her.  I followed her out the maze of textiles and back out onto the street and through the crowd of people around to another maze of textiles where we met George’s cousins who had been trying on hanbok, too.  George’s mom spoke in Korean with a man holding a tape measure and told me to take off my shoes.  Then she spoke more with the man.  Was I going to try on a hanbok?  This often happens when I am with George’s mom.  I follow her around and follow her instructions and wonder what is happening and don’t usually figure it out until later when George explains it to me.  The man measured me, and I started to get excited about trying one on.  That didn’t happen though.  George’s mom told me to put my shoes back on and handed me a bunch of hanbok catalogues.  Luckily, George’s cousin translated for me that she wanted me to look through the hanbok and pick the ones I like.  I’m very honored that she wants to buy me a hanbok and excited to wear one.  But I have my doubts how this short-haired white girl is gonna look in one…

  

Yesterday ended with a formal dinner at the hotel.  And speaking of hanbok, George’s mom wore the most beautiful one I’ve seen. 

George's parents enter the party

Medals were given to all of the masters and a special award was given to the best judge from the tournament.  (The judges were these same masters getting medals.)  The award is meant to recognize the person for having a positive attitude throughout the competition, an ability to go with the flow of whatever arises, and the dedication to being fair.  The man who won talked about how Kuk Sool Won made him the person he is today.  He said he grew up very poor and that without having Kuk Sool in his life from the age of 8, he would have gone down a very different path. 

I'll end on a personal note.  I have always really liked George's family, and now I feel that I have fallen in love with them.  Being on this trip has been so great because I’m spending so much time with them.  Not only his parents, but his cousins and aunts and uncles, too.  Since George wasn’t with me today, I had the opportunity to talk a lot with his cousin Emerald.  She is like a little sister to George, and we get along really well.  By talking to her I was able to learn even more about George and his family.  I really want to master this Korean language thing.  I know it will take time, but I want to be able to know his parents and his brothers on a deeper level.  More than just the few phrases I can say in Korean and the sentences here and there in English.  Given the facts of Korean culture, I know that even if become fluent I may not have a close relationship with them.  But, I want to at least be able to learn the subtle parts of their personalities.  To know what they are saying to each other to make each other laugh.  I got to watch George with all 3 of his brothers and his parents the other day.  It was a joy to just watch them interact with each other.  It reminded me of being with my own family, when we’re all there together.  I just wished I could be in on it, too.