Weekend in Donghae

I had my first hanji lesson last week.  I expected it to be like origami, but it's actually an elaborate method of paper layering.  Here's our first project, a pencil holder.  The paper is placed so the entire cardboard skeleton is covered, even on the bottom.

For a much-needed break from all the work we've been doing, we spent the weekend on the beach in Donghae.  We arrived at the hotel after a three hour bus ride to find a sign greeting us:

Where we enjoyed amazing food:

 As you can see from this picture, this is a specially dish prepared on the spot, in the grill on your table.  You receive thick slices of pork belly, which you grill along with onions, mushrooms, garlic, and any of the sides that you're brave enough to try (I especially liked the radish kimchi).  Then you dip the meat in sauce, wrap it in a lettuce leaf, and stuff the entire thing in your mouth at once.  Our Korean RA Lucy said it had to be eaten this way, and we didn't question her.  

This is a special stew, along with a few of the endless number of side dishes.  I couldn't get a picture to demonstrate the scope of the next day's buffet, but it was enough to feed a group three times our size.  And the breakfast buffet in the hotel was the most massive I've ever seen!

 On the first day we hiked up to a Buddhist temple nearby.

See the frog in the bottom right corner?

 The popular "warrior" pose

 The traditional bell and ringer

 A gong next to the temple

 Removing our shoes before entering

We spent all of the next day just relaxing, bodysurfing at the beach across the street from our hotel, and singing at the local norebang.  On our last day, we stopped at a museum, although the theme of said museum wasn't exactly clear.  There were fossils and pottery and lots of replicas of various jumbled historical objects. The property was quite pretty, though.

 And now I'm back in Goesan, busying myself with work.  I taught my first practice lesson yesterday about technological progress with some very advanced students, which went really well.  These kids are leagues ahead of me compared to my Korean ability, but I'm improving.  Here's a sample of my homework.  As you can see (if you read Korean), I've learned how to form simple sentences, such as: "Today I'm going to the cafe.  I'm meeting a friend.  I'm drinking coffee."  We're finally learning shopping vocabulary this week, so I should be able to count any day now!  Baby steps...