Korea Update #5

Dear family,
 
Raining cats & dogs.  Skiing cancelled, will run race tomorrow, am.  We took a tour.  The first stop was a temple that was totally destroyed during Korean war except for the pagoda. The first archway is guarded by these very big and scary/so-ugly-they-are-cute statues on both sides.  The temple is a monastary and I watched the monks go get there dinner.  The main temple budda is gold and has a beautiful smile (no picture allowed).  One building only holds the temple bell & gongs and  the rooves are ornately carved.  Just a 1 hour to tour and guess who was last on the bus?

We went to the Traditional Korean Cuisene Institute.  It is a government incentive to preserve tradional cooking. Different colours represent the 4 directions.  The bibimbop, is a hoge-poge of all the colours mixed with rice. Aunty Carmen made me eat the dried fish, see before and after photo.  Cabbage and asian radish are the only vegtables grown in the winter.  At the resort we can buy apples, oranges & strawberries, but not alot of veggies, even in the restraunt.

Next we went to the Korean Thomas Edison musuem.  This rich man admired Edison's imagination and drive so much that he started collecting a vast range of Edisons inventions.  This place was packed to the roof.  There was a slot machine like a gun slinger, you pulled his gun arm, hope his gun wasn't loaded.  There was a jute box that played cylinder records, 1 of the last  2 surviving electric cars, and so on and so on.  Now off to the nobleman mansion.  I feel like the wicked witch of the west, melting from all the rain.

This tradirional mansion has a separate enterance for women.   Boys and girls are not together after 7 years of age.  Wives don't,t sleep with their husbands.  They live in a compound where the mother-in-law rules.  These houses have two kitchens, one used to cook winter and summer and one used only in winter to cook rice, heat water and to heat under the floor of the rooms beside them.  All heating is under the floor and the paper screens are made from wool so it keeps the heat in.  It does get cold in the mountains.
 
In the wood shop, the sheves were full of PENIS's, cracked ones, ones that looked like mushroom, and natural ones like how Dad's carrots used to grow. [??????]
 
This rich man loved the arts so he had many room to have poets, painters, writters on so forth come to visit.  Would love to visit in the spring time.  The lake is surround by cherry trees, which bloom red and pink.
 
Larry will be racing giant slolem tomorrow.  I will try to see if they will let him come with me to Skype, no connections at finish line. 

So far I have bumped my tablet and receive 3 total strangers stuff with no delete button. Tia Carmen is sad there are no naked men stuff, especailly bums

Terry Green
Go Team Canada Go!