Un-lazy Sunday

Formed by volcanic activity, Jeju Island is a gem of the Pacific.  Populated with a mere 500,000 inhabitants, she boasts gorgeous beaches (each being unique from the next), rare, geometrically wonderful basalt rock formations, and hills in every direction. From almost anywhere on the island, including the roof of my living quarters, the 1950 meter high Halla Mountain can be seen.

 

Shortly after my arrival, I recall a conversation with a man named Moon. A group of us were enjoying a warm evening up on the roof. He informed us that, surrounding the centrally located Halla-san, there are precisely 368 hills.  Looking out towards Halla, there’s one hill that always catches my eye.  Her name isn’t important. I just appreciate her form. Locally, my favorite mini-mountain is Sara-bong.  A twelve-minute walk from my abode, she’s a pleasure to traverse.  And so I do, multiple times each week. 

When I have at least an hour, I walk Sara-bong and ‘her sister’, the hill beside her.  On any given day, there are always a few dozen people enjoying the climb to and view from her peak. Today being a mild Sunday, there were scores of walkers out. I enjoyed the company of my friend, Jen.  When I go it alone, it’s usually with the added benefits of sweaty, faster movements. Today’s benefits were different.  Walking more slowly, without music, my senses were fully tuned-in to the smells, colors, and sounds of everything:  feet on the walkway, birds, blossoming plants, and the noises of other people. They're alive! 

At the base of Sara-bong, after descending the far side, we took a break.  For a cool, delicious drink, there is a stone fountain-type trough with multiple faucets and metal drinking tins, surrounded by stone sitting area. There’s a lovely pebble foot-massage path that I enjoy.  As my bare feet slowly walked from one end to the other, I could hear the rhythmic chanting of monks from the temple around the bend.  Continuing on, I escorted Jen around to the ‘sister hill’.  (I have a thing for sisters, and “Sara” is a girls’ name).  A treat for Jen, she’d never walked this path, from which the sea is always visible.  Winding around and down, we come to a clearing that houses exercise machines and rounded wooden bench-planks for stretching… or lying and gazing up at the sky, as I’m wont to do. Rather than turn around, we take it forward to the road, making the walk a loop.  This allows us to pass over a riverbed, walk through a small neighborhood, and ease our way back home via the sidewalk of a main thoroughfare. Oh, and I also had the chance to introduce Jen to my Greek (or is he Roman?) boyfriend.

on the rocks

“I have a thing for rocks and stones, I really appreciate them”.

“You’re in the right place”.

The people in my life are like rocks. Some of them are dumb. Some serve for stability, some are rolling stones. I could stack them in piles according to rules of agreement. Some of them, I’d like to lick or throw in the water, others I’d like to carry in my pocket. Some rocks look good, and some keep things back, down, or up. There is a rock in my bathroom that serves as a holder for a bar of Dial soap. That’s not necessarily one I’d like to lick. Some are fun to play with.


Yesterday, I walked a pleasant afternoon with a sweet friend. All over the neighborhood, I was barefoot. Crossing busy streets, getting dirty feet. Most sidewalks around here have built-in bike paths that are rubbery & soft.

Grounded, connected, natural, and free. At a park we delighted in the foot-massaging path, consisting of rocks of various colors that gradually decrease or increase in size, depending on which way you’re walking.

Diagrams posted near the path show how different areas of the feet are supposedly connected and affected by various areas of the body. Brilliant.

Today, while riding the bus, I noticed large rocks beyond the sidewalk. Among the rocks, green plants grow. They’re succulent-like. I love seeing plants growing near rocks. These, in particular, reminded me of Monterey. Later this day, I walked through the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with that same sweet friend, a lovely being that I’m grateful to be acquainting myself with. While walking, I noticed several rocks, way beyond the sidewalk, up a hill. They were arranged upright, upon long ends, in what appeared to be a garden. The garden was divided by stonewalls and contained more rocks, stacked into beautiful piles. I’m sure there’s a name for those piles, but to me a pile of stones is just something that someone focused on for a while. This photo is not of a pile of rocks from the garden, but it’s a close representation:  [in yet another moment of 'cleaning things out' i removed several photos from my flick'r site... being mindless of the fact that the images would, then, also be removed from this blog... oops]...

Breathing the mixture of air today was a fresh, renewing experience. Something about it kept my awareness in the moments as they occurred. The breezes were delightful. It’s been yet another fine day of perfect life. More than three weeks will pass before I begin this job. I have been getting paid for a month now; it’s been the best accidental paid vacation ever.