Sudeoksa and Apple Orchard

Today, I went on a fieldtrip with the entire Chinese program (when I say Chinese program, I mean the more intensive Korean language program. The majority of my classmates are Chinese, so this is what the program is usually referred as). The Korean teachers decided we needed to get out of our classrooms and go see some local sites. I was very happy to have a day off classes and spend the day outside with my class, especially since we had some freak warm weather, highs in the lower 70's! Very strange for November, but I'll take it.

We first went to Sudeoksa, which is one of the larger temples in the area. I had not been to Sudeoksa, so I was very excited to visit a new temple and find the unique nature of this specific temple. When we arrived, I was overwhelmed by the utter beauty of the season. The leaves were a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, and yellows. Walking up to this temple with the typical bright greens and blues among these warm colors on the trees was very contrasting yet had a sense of harmony.

The temple is quite active, in that there were several services going on in the main chamber as well as the shrines located around the complex. There were about ten monks making their way around the temple as well. The temple was located on top of a hill overlooking the colorful trees below. Hearing the chanting and seeing the seasonal grandeur was a real highlight.

After we left the temple, we made our way to an apple orchard. We first made our way inside the main building to bake a pie. I was beyond excited about this! I had been craving apple pie for a week and now we were going to make one with fresh apples from the farm. It was my Chinese classmates first time to bake their own apple pie, so it was fun to see the joy and curiosity on their faces as they rolled the dough and put their pie together.

While our pies baked, we visited the cellar of the farm which housed several barrels of apple wine that the farm makes as well. It was another deja vu moment for me of home. Hearing the farmer talking about fermenting the apples reminded me of the wine tours in central Missouri.

After this tour, we ate lunch before getting ready to pick apples. We had a nice Korean lunch of Japchae, pork, and homemade Kimchi. It was then time to begin the apple harvesting. We were allowed to pick 5 apples to take home. I was determined to find the most beautiful apples in the orchard. After a very thorough search, I selected my fruit to take home.

Tomorrow is the GV Halloween Party, I will discuss more about the party as well as all the preparations that have been going on later...