Buddha's birthday is a national holiday in South Korea. The day varies because it is chosen with the Lunar Calendar, so this year it was May 6th. It just so happens that May 5th is another national holiday, Children's Day, and with May 1st being celebrated here as a labor holiday, the first week of May saw many Koreans traveling and visiting family. Bill and I chose to just stay home, not that he had any time off. The Army suggested US citizens stay off the roads 1May to 6May. The USO tour group we like to travel with also canceled all its trips for May because the country is observing this month in mourning for the victims of the ferry accident.
There are two Buddhist temples in our town. One is small and more central, the other is large and on the outskirts of town.
This is the entrance of the smaller temple. It is behind some shops, sort of off an alley road. The pink sign says Buddha Welcome Day meaning 'we welcome Buddha Day' or Buddha's birthday. This is my translation, no one else's, so if your Korean is better than mine, cut me some slack.
There are two Buddha statues at the top of the stairs leading into the temple. I had the dogs with me, so I was not about to go up the stairs. Same with the big temple, I won't go through the gate with the dogs.
This is the larger temple on the outskirts. The day I took these pictures, I heard a monk chanting and using the percussion bowl you frequently see them playing. It was quite pretty.
I had Marie and Tweek with me, so we stood just outside the gate and listened. Not long after, a young fellow comes out the gate, waving at me. He stopped, looked down at the dogs and grinned such a big grin. That was all Tweek needed, and her tail wagged and she pulled to get to him, but I know just because many Koreans like to see the dogs, they don't like to touch or be touched by them.
This fellow did not fall into that category. He squatted down and held his hands out, so I let the leashes loosen, and Marie and Tweek proceeded to wag and sniff and be petted for several minutes. He pointed and said, 'Girls?' and I said, 'Nae' (yes). He stood up and said, 'Wait' and left. He came right back with a bottle of orange juice and a can of coffee (very common and very yummy if you have seen but never tried) and held them out to me. I had no money to offer him, but like a good guest I took them and said, 'Gam saham nee da' (thank you). He pet the girls some more, stood up and waved, said, 'Bye'. I said, 'Annyonghi kaysay yoh' (stay in peace) and bowed just a little since he was much younger than me. He bowed more deeply since I am his elder, and replied, 'Annyonghi kahsay yoh' (go in peace). We left, and since I was thirsty, I opened the oj and drank it quickly. We got to the soccer field where there is a small park, and I stopped to sit and enjoy the can of coffee. I let the girls off leash since it is a confined area, and Marie proceeded to take advantage of the sunny day and warm grass.
Makes me think of Snoopy on the Peanuts cartoons.
Marie is everybody's favorite, but don't let the sweet demeanor and super cuteness fool you. She is a dog bully, and pesters Pepsi nonstop. She will pester dogs she doesn't know, too, until they fuss at her, then she cries like she has been mortally wounded.
She is cute, though, and super sweet to people and kids. She loves kids, whines and wags and pulls to see them which we can rarely do on the street since most Korean mothers would rather their children not be licked by whippets.
She does enjoy getting treats from
the gas station attendants we see often.
I should learn to glean such joy from simple things.
I told her she had no shame, at which time she looked up at me as if to say, 'You're just jealous.'
Tweek not so patiently waited while I drank my coffee and Marie continued her rolling. Naturally the border collie wanted to keep going so she could continue to urinate on the entire city. She marks worse than any male dog I have ever owned, even raising her rear so she can get the urine vertical.
We have also seen many flowering trees I cannot identify, not that I am much of a botanist.
The pictures don't do them justice. The flowers are trumpet shaped, lavendar, in heavy clusters.
These flowers were easier to get to, so I could get a close up. They are very, very sweet smelling, too.
I found some gardenias in pots at the commissary on Yongsan, the army base in Seoul, so I bought them and planted them in my front yard. Yes, I rent, but I don't care. I will enjoy them for the next two years, and my landlord can dig them up if she wants.
The farmers are planting their rice now. It has rained a few days in the past two weeks, and they have opened the dams to run water into the fields.
They plant the little rice seedlings by hand. It is impressive to watch. They are very fast.
What is the above flower? It seems I should know, but I can't come up with it. Below is a yellow azalea, something I don't see often at home or here.
Is this plant below strawberry? I keep seeing it and wanted to call it blackberry, but I don't think they have those here, and the flowers are yellow instead of white. I should get a plant ID book or look it up online.
This is the river where we walk sometimes. We have to drive to get there, so I don't go every day, but it is a nice place to walk. I should be able to take the dogs off leash here, but they find too much trash to eat. The fishermen tend to dump their biodegradables in the weeds. It is still pretty and peaceful.
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