I finally made it. ….aaaah yes, the image of what i imagined a Buddhist Temple Stay would be like, but don’t be fooled, it was OOOOOooooh so much more! This post is a long one… feel free to skip right to the pictures, but i guess a lot of the first half is me processing my “journey” and thinking aloud.
Im going to be leaving Seoul and venturing outward starting tomorrow (my friday, your thursday). I haven’t quite figured out if i am going to be traveling via Submarine or Hoverboat yet, but im sure there will be plenty of photos to come!
I am going to be visiting a buddhist temple for the weekend, and then traveling to Busan to hang out for the week, check out some beaches, do some couch surfing maybe meet some new people and enjoy the Chuseok holiday.
After that ill be heading even deeper South to Jeju-do to explore the volcanic remains and work on Mulme Organic Farm to help with with the tangerines!!!
Im not sure what internet connections will be like in any of these locations so you may not be hearing from me in awhile. Ill be working out my phalanges and journaling the oldschool way though.
Until then…
Today (Wednesday 9/23, Korea time) i visited the Demilitirized Zone between North and South Korea and i finally made it to the War Memorial of Korea… met some new people, ate more spicy foods, and sidenote: converse are not great sight seeing shoes. Duh right? 
All right, so the day started out at 5:30am and i got ready for my first “organized” tour group trip, opposed to my spontaneous, self guided (with some help from a few people) adventures. I dressed according to the required dress code specified by the US Military and wore my closed toe shoes, long pants and covered my tattoos with long sleeves, CHECK! Even recently, jeans weren’t allowed, being perceived by the North as linked to American decadence. Anyhow, the bus was to leave promptly at 730am from down the street at the USO and i had to be there no later than 700am, or 07oo hrs to keep with the military protocol.
Today I visited Holt Adoption Agency’s “Post Adoption Services” office with the hopes of exposing some more detail about my birth mom. I was really excited to finally meet Ms. Kyunghee “Toni” Ma whom ive been emailing back and for since last September. She has been such a blessing and so patient with me and i looked forward to thanking her in person and maybe getting a few more answers!
Hey, what did you do today Molly? Oh you know, i tried to go to the Korean War Memorial for the 3rd attempt…FAIL! This time i actually managed to step foot on the grounds, but apparently its closed on Mondays. Oops, minor detail! So instead of immediately heading it out, we took a few moments to wander the grounds…. not sure how much you know about the Forgotten War but its really interesting. It never technically ended, but rather “halted” due to a stalemate. (Image above: I stood amongst the fallen ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers)
“Oh what a tangled web we weave!”… my mom used to always say that, or at least some variation. I never knew what it meant till i saw this cluster outside the location where my birth mom would be living….
Wow, can’t believe im almost a week into the trip! Again this morning i rise promptly @ 6a with the rising sun, the sweet serenade of the passing trains and the morning commute probably no more than 200 yards out my window… aaaaaah, breath it in, i couldn’t be more spry or happy to wake in Korea! The routine seems to be waking around 6a, then dozing in and out of a lucid state for another hour or so. Its nice to not have to wake to an alarm, nor do i feel any pressure or stress due to the world beckoning with its deadlines, the burning sensation for a morning yog (aka jog) or looming due dates….man i hope the rest of my trip goes a little more slowly!!!
