No Julia...but still a Child perhaps

With a few days left of the holiday, I enjoyed a nice run along the river this morning and this evening I sat down to watch Julia and Julie. It almost made me want to put on a pair of pearls and start cooking. The movie was great and afterwards, I performed my version of cooking which is steamed vegetable and pan fried chicken. It's healthy, easy and also one of the few things I can cook. I suppose one day I will have a family to cook for and I can indulge myself in the fine art, but as for now I stand in my tiny Korean kitchen wearing my underwear, bra, and slippers drinking green tea as I steam vegetables. I may not be Julia Child, but it will do for now. Bon Appetit.

Happy New Year... again

It's Chinese New Year, and its a big holiday here in Korea... We call it "Sol-Nal". January 1 may be when the calendar year changes but this is the true start of the New Year for many other countries.

It's my last holiday in Korea! 25 days left~ Spring will be here soon and I will be be starting a new beginning along with Mother Nature.

It is said that Spring is the time for enlightenment, and love. Spring is the one time of year where new beginnings are taking shape; trees and plants are blossoming and growing, new leaves can be spotted on the trees and everything is given a new lease of life for the new year ahead.

Last year around this time, I was teaching art.

These are a few of my photos from class.

Skis and Stones

7:00a.m. on the was to the ski resort.

Onto the slopes...

A stop at the Stone Garden...

Ms. Lindsey is tired.

A great winter day~

a picture is..... a 1,000 words

Christmas and New Years in the Philippines. Rather than filling this with words, pictures tell a much better story. From El Nido, to Puerta Princesa, to Boracay it was picturesque.

Dharma Thoughts and a Carmel Macchiato

I sit in a small quaint coffee shop near my home drinking one of the best carmel macchiato my mouth has ever met.

Last weekend, I took a trip down to a secluded temple called Mihwangsa. Its history goes back over 1,200 years ago. It's located at the very end of the peninsula, near a small town. It sits in the Dharma Mountains overlooking the sea. Some say these mountains hold very strong spiritual power. ~ Dharma refers to the Path of Awakening and teachings of Buddha which leads to enlightenment. ~ Arriving on Oct. 23, 2010, I was knowingly attending the temple at a time when a very valuable painting/banner is viewed. The painting is over 1,000 years old and is a national treasure. During this time of celebration it was said by a monk, that Buddha himself is amongst us.

That night the music played and we watched traditional dances and listened to people sing solos. We later pulled on a large rope (sort of like tug-a-war) hoping our wishes came true. Then we danced in a circle, hand and hand and I was in the moment. Buddha's teachings about living in the now have often been difficult for me to practice, but in the presence of such a charming night we all lived in that moment. I say "We" in reference to the community and visitors that were there that night. The Monks, the Haenam locals, the visitors from out of town and the sprits of the mountains.

I woke at 4am for bowing and chanting. Afterwards, I went to one of my favorite spots that I had found the day before and tired for the 2nd time to meditate and find my Zen. I sat posed and in silence trying to clear my head. The Monks morning chant played on repeat in my mind and I attempted to focus...or not focus. A man next to me, sat completely still and seemed so at peace, I was jealous. I was thinking about what we were going to eat for breakfast. I tried suffocating all the voices in my head for what seemed like hours but was merely 20 mins and just as I thought I had gone into a calm state of mind, my head jerked up..... My small moment of calmness was actually my body falling asleep.

At breakfast time, I sat alone and then was quickly accompanied by several people smiling and trying to speak with me and ask questions. Foreigners were quite rare and they were very interested in my reason for coming. One man turned out to be the one meditating next to me earlier that morning. He spoke no English but there was no need... He pointed to himself and emulated the mediation pose as he was in that morning, then pointed to me and shifted his body around in discomfort poking fun at my restless pose. Everyone laughed :)

I decaited more time that day to practice my mediation and although my experiences were similar to the past attempts, it is like anything in life.. we practice, and we keep trying.

I plan to revisit Mihwangsa when snow falls.

an art lesson

Today I taught my private students how to create a self portrait collage. It was cute at first, arranging the black clippings from the magazines as the hair, then the lips, skin,eyes, and nose... When it was finished it looked scary actually... Not pretty. Even so, I explained to them that art is what we make it. Art is what we find to be beautiful, interesting and meaningful to us. As we were critiquing these alien collages, I realized the words that were coming out came natural and were easy to roll off my tongue. Art is what I understand, it's what makes sense to me. A kid asked me last week a grammar question and I struggled to find a real answer for him. In English we have all these rules and exceptions to the rules and the answers still leave you wondering "Why?" Why is it like this? The answer is because someone made it like that and we have to accept it. Art is more natural more flexible, and easier understood for me. So as I was explaining to them that it's okay these pieces of art look a bit freaky, we put ourselves into this work and that alone is beautiful.

Here are the photos of Ashlyn's and Jimin's art work.

Breathing it in

"Teacher!! What you mean?"
"Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, help me"
"Teeeeeeeaaacher, he hit me"



In nearly 6 months from now "Ms. Lindsey" will be extinct from my ears. These days, the realization of leaving rushes over me. I feel ready now, I know that staying in Korea for the extended stay was a wise choice and I now can leave Asia and feel I conquered it well.

Yesterday on my drive to work I was stuck in traffic and I looked to my left and there it was- SEOUL. A collage of buildings, bridges, cars, and the Han River. My eyes have become blind and I find myself numb to the sights of Korea, but more and more I am starting to breath in Korea knowing my days are numbered.