Shorts and Sandals Make Their Apearance

Tuesday, April the 20th - the sky is a light blue - cherry blossoms flutter through the air - bees are buzzing - bushes and trees are sporting a green fuzz - pink, red, purple and white azaleas are everywhere,  and it is finally too warm for jeans and a sweater! Shorts and sandals have popped up all over campus.

Petals on the walkways. Workers daily sweep petals off campus streets and sidewalks.

Apple tree

Pink magnolia

Back in the ag lunchroom, our cooks are aiming to please. They have their work cut out for them. Monday our main tray held the following: Left side - chopped squid. Middle - a fish. Right side - anchovies with hot green peppers and red pepper paste. Tuesday, we had something we hadn't been served before and inquired of one of Doug's co-workers what we had eaten at lunch that day. Wednesday, the entire menu for the week appeared IN ENGLISH on the lunch room bulletin board! Friday, the cooks made sure we had extra portions of everything on our shared tray! Example - our "spring soup" bowl held more than two QUARTS! Then, for the first time, one of the cooks came out of the kitchen to see if we needed anything else. We are so thrilled...

Menu printed in Korean and English (for us).

Doug finished and submitted the paper he'll be presenting in May, so hopefully his schedule will ease up a littlle. Monday afternoon, we headed out of Daejeon to Gyeryongsan National Park, up the mountain to hike and visit one of several Buddhist temples there.

Entrance doors at Donghaksa temple

Donghaksa temple

Ancient Buddhist symbol

Steps to temple

Budda alters

Elaborate building painting

Monks harvesting greens for meal

 Sunday, we hopped on bus 108 and headed in yet another direction to Sikjangsan Mt.,another park to visit yet another temple  - one that was originally built in 846 AD.
Not many visitors to contend with here - we suspect the grade of the road leading up to the temples, a probable deterrent - consequently, lovely and peaceful.

Budda lanterns line the way to Buddhist temples. This walk for 800 meter was at a 45 degree incline. Mary is wondering if I am getting older.

Valley view from temple

Gosansa temple

There are 4 key sound objects at each temple - an iron sound board (unpan or gong) used to call/awaken creatures of the air (people in heaven or air to worship), the Buddhist bell (beomjong) to call/awaken creatures in the earth to worship, the beopgo (big drum) calls/awaken the creatures (people) of the temporal world to worship, and the mogeo (wooden fish) used to call/awaken creatures in the water (people in the sea) to worship. 

Iron cloud-shaped metal gong (unpan) used to call creatures/people of air or heaven to worship.

Fish (mogeo) used to call creatures/people in the sea.

Buddhist bell (beomjong) to call people/creatures in earth and drum (beopgo) used to call temporal creatures/people on Earth to worship.

Slippers left outside temple when monks enter to worship.

Detailed painting inside as well as outside of temples.

Do you see the nest in the roof parts?

Lotus lanterns in temple ceilings.

Temple roof lines.