Saturday morning

Good morning. Still a bit groggy from yesterday, having trouble figuring out how to post some photos. This site is easy but I've done something with the photo program trying to save using the school camera...obviously.

Anyway, yesterday started very early as there is a dawn prayer ceremony at the Buddhist temple and one of the presenters offered to take us and give us pointers on how to behave. Quite a few people got up and went. It was a 3:30 departure, so that indicated a game group. This seminar is loaded with travel, geography and culture junkies. Me included. So we pile into 4 cabs, the cabbie running red lights practically all the way- not a lot of traffic at 3:30... Temple and service were interesting. I have been to numerous Buddhst temples but never to your every day service. Lots of chanting and bowing. The goal is to get in108 bows, head touching the floor, during the service. So there are pillows and cushions and people scatter themselves around he temple and the priest leads the chanting and the motions. There was one section where the chanting was repetitive enough and the bowing was free for all unstructured and I got into it. An older lady rearranged my cushions for me and it helped. I was trying to touch my forhead to the floor Islam style and if you arange your cushions carefully you can make it lots easier and more comfortable, and touching the cushion counts!

The remainder of the day was a blur. Breakfast followed by a subway and explore excursion. just went a few stops and walked around to sample the subway system and try out a new nrighborhood. This one was decidedly more middle class, a lot of sheetrock, windows and building materials being sold. Then two lectures at Yonsei University, the second of which was a struggle for me to stay awake. It was a good lecture but I was fatigued. Lunch was in there at a Thai/Korean place.

Then we bussed over to a complex that was a museum and performing arts center for taditional Korean culture. We saw a performance of hat dances and acrobatics, pretty cool, followed by a concert by singers, traditional instruments and orchestra. Unfortunately, I slept through nearly all of it, which I had anticipated. Staying awake in a dark hall at any time is difficult for me, no chance this time. I caught the beginning and end of each artist. Too bad.

Next we had the night to ourselves. We (Brad, Eric, Rob and I) decided to take a subway to an open air market and shop and have dinner. We lost Eric at one point, never found him either, but he is a savvy traveller who has spent a lot of time in Shanghai. He brings a compass with him on the subway so he can tell where he is when he emerges above ground! Brilliant! He probably lost us on purpose... Dinner was great, we watched as eel, pigeon, octopus, mussels and other stuff was deep fried, then we dug in. Good comraderie and talk. Took three transfers to get back to the hotel, however.

Fun fact- they are way into ranking people out here Confucian style, so older, more educated, married, salary all matter in how you behave towards one another. I was offered a seat on the subway by a gentleman who though I looked like a professor. I actually thiink he was older than me, but he insisted I sit, and he spoke some English so we talked. Then an interpretor who happened to be close by chimed in and we made lots of jokes about ranking each other, It was fun, but did emphasize how the system works.