Tea with a Monk

On Tuesday I said goodbye to my second host family and traveled north to my third family in Youngju. It was sad to leave friends again, but I was also eager to move to the cool mountain air. I have always loved the mountains and was excited for the mountains of Gyeongsanbuk-do province.

The village I am currently residing within is small and located on the side of a mountain, overlooking the river in the valley. Moon Wan Jin farm grows apples, which appears to be the common crop in this area, due to the uneven terrain. So far there has been a lot of walking opportunities here, which I have greatly enjoyed.

My host father works 2 jobs and I have not yet met his wife and children, as they are currently at their second house in the city. We will go to the second house next week after I have visited everything here in the country. I spend most of my time with my host grandmother, and despite the language barrier, we get along just fine. We take frequent walks together and enjoy the scenery and fresh air.

A few days ago Granny and I went on a walk down the road. I thought we were just meandering aimlessly, but Granny had a destination in mind. She lead me up the steep, narrow road to Seonghyeolsa Temple. I was enjoying the challenge of the hike, but Granny was getting tired fast. When a car passed us with its windows down, Granny stopped and hollered at the driver, who came to a swift stop. The driver gave us a ride the rest of the way up, and a good thing too, because the road just got steeper the further we went.

We wandered around the temple for awhile, enjoying the scenery and the temple. When we turned to leave, a Buddhist monk appeared and approached us. I guessed from his shaved head that he was monk, but otherwise he was not what I would have expected. He wore camo pants and electric blue sneakers, thoroughly squashing any preconceived stereotypes I had of normal attire for a monk. He appeared elderly and tired, but was dashing around the mountain temple like a goat (probably because of his electric blue sneakers).

He spoke with Granny and invited us to join him for tea. Obviously, we accepted, and we followed as he lead us around the temple grounds, to a single-room building that was mostly bare. There was a table at the head of the room, which held things, but they were covered in a large cloth. There was an item beside the table, also shrouded in a cloth.

The monk sat behind the table and motioned for us to sit on the other side. Once we were seated, the monk lifted the cloth on the table to reveal a beautiful traditional Korean teaset. He turned to the item shrouded beside the table and lifted the cloth to reveal…. a Keurig.

The monk began preparing the tea using a mixture of modern technology along with the traditional steps to preparing and serving tea. I have no idea what kind of tea it was, I was merely thankful to have something to do. As I sipped my tea the monk and Granny conversed. A few time the monk would speak with me, but since I speak very little Korean and they spoke little English, conversations died quickly.

After a while all conversation stopped and we sat in silence, which I could only presume to be deeply contemplative on their part. Silence can be very uncomfortable at times, but as neither of the other appeared anything other than at ease, I focused on my tea. Thankfully, a large wasp flew into the room buzzing loudly. The silence finally broke and we returned home (we walked the whole way this time).

I don’t always know what to expect here, but at least I can choose to learn from my experiences. The lesson I chose to learn this time: I need a pair of electric blue sneakers.