Friday

Friday:

I got up at 530before everyone. Because gumdo and meditation should begin my dad, I did gumdo and meditation alone. It felt good be up early

We ate breakfast quickly.  I chopped cabbage, cucumber, peppers, and zucchini into strips. I put out pickled onion, and cucumber in sliced in a hydrating gochu sauce, both as banchan. I fried three sunny side up eggs. I made bimbimpap sauce. I put out the eggs and the three us, JH, the Malays Wwoofer and I ate. Heejern came later. I mentioned how my sauce need more garlic. Heejern said, “Yes it is crucial.”

The Malaysian Wwoofer had came to farm pretty unhappy to find out we only ate local foods. Now after she used an extra day off to go to some beaches she was really happy. She made some friends. I realized how positive the energy has been in this place.

Heejern said, “Today there is a television crew coming to us at 9:30 to take pictures and interview us.”

JH, “Wow.”

“How do you feel about this?”

“I feel good, but a little concerned that we didn’t have enough time to prepare and….”

“And there aren’t many plants.”

I could have enthusiastically, “Well we’ll get prepared,” but I didn’t. I didn’t know exactly what more to prepare.

“They have come two times before and they were a little disappointed, because there wasn’t many plants.”

We cleaned the apartment. Every cleaned something. Malaysia Wwoofer, whose Christian name is Joyce,cleaned windows. Ju Hee cleaned the table. The living room is the Wwoofer’s bedroom so we moved our stuff into Ju Hee;s bedroom. Projects and odds and ends were organized. Heejern had me move a huge pot with him and place it on stone or logs to hold it up to put a fire beneath it.

Whenever, Heejern called, me, “Greg, help me.”

He put Soibogi into a pot and starting turning it around.

“We are preparing to dry tea in the traditional manner.”

“This is interesting because I know about sun drying and house drying, but this is the first time I’ve since this for tea.”

“Sun drying takes 1 week. At the time fermentation has begun. The traditional people did this to to keep the materials…”

“Intaked.”

“Yes.”

"We can make very little.”

“Do you want to try.’

‘Okay.”

I stirred and then he took over.

He took over at some point.


"Are all traditional tea's made this way."

“Commercial facilities using a lot of ovens and energy and people who make tea say that the material is lost."

He stopped.

"This is good."

He put the leaves and stems in a strainer to hold them.

"Now you said 8 times.:

He smiled.

"This is good for drinking. Not selling."

“It’s important to try- not burn. That’s good.”

“Smell it.”

I smelled it.

“It smells great." 


"Smells like tea. 

He then brought it inside and then he came out

I had my future in mind.

“I was thinking before I came here that my eel very stabile here and in the city. I don’t feel stabile.

He offered  advice: "Just continue with your meditating and your teaching and live a good life for your family."

"But even my wife has decided that she wants a more peaceful life and we are talking about living in the countryside."

"How old are you?"

"I am 27."

"That is young for a farmer."

"I'm sure that you figure out where to buy land and learn what you need to do. And when you buy land you can find the positive place to do it."

I started telling the story about the first owner of Polyface farm. How he took dead land and revitalized it? I was just getting to the point when we were interupted by Yang's ringing phone.

The phone call finished and Yang went inside and brought out tea.

“This tea has many tastes. What do you think?”


I first looked at the tea. It was bluish. Very interesting stuff.

It tasted bitter, sweet, sour, and fatty.”

It’s called o-heng-cha. It means five elements. The flower is yellow, the leaves are green, the stems are red, the seed is black and the root is white.”

The camera crew came half an hour later. They went around and took pictures. They interviewed us. I might be on tv. It could be 10 seconds or 2 minutes long segment.

Some time later they left.

During lunch, I asked him what their reaction was during lunch.

We were sitting outside. The lunch was made by a friend of Heejern. It was a cold cucumber soup with dwenjang, tofu in a marinade which was very good, side dishes and rice.

“The man told me that he wants to make some documentary.”

We continued eating. A few minutes later I asked,” We it be about you.”

He nodded.

“Very good. You are famous.”

“Not yet.”

During lunch some older couple came over and he consulted them. I asked about them.

We were now sitting on the floor in the living room of Mulme Healing House drinking tea.

“The husband wants to retire and live the good life. More and more people want to do this. It’s a good thing people are coming here.”

“Yes, and next year things will get better.”

JH told us to quickly get ready and we were go visit someone’s farm.

I took my and then she told me we were just visiting the corn fields.

We got there. We found tomatoes, and chamche, watermelons, and hobak, and gamja hoba which we took back.

We went back to the farm.

“Greg can you drive.”

“Yes if we trade my drivers license for a Korean driver’s license.”

“But this is the country. Just drive slowly because I want to ride my horse.”

So we followed him. It was tricky to drive a stick but after some stalls I got used to it.

The horse was very tired and struggled because it was tired so Heejern had to fight with the horse to get him to move.

Later we stopped. He got off the horse.

“Greg come here.”

I followed him to the back of the truck.

“Do you want to ride.”

I started to untie the horse form the truck.

“No just get on and I’ll drive.”

So he drove the horse and pushed it. Near the house we were going to the horse broke the chain.

Y got out.

“Naughty boy,” he said as he smiled.

We arrived at a house after passing expensive house after expensive house.

Landscaped a yard today of friends of the farm.

We weeded. I was given the job of weeding along the side of the property which had a very short drop off. The slippery rocks gave way and I fell really funny. But seriously, I wondered in the second between falling and the grabbing the brush behind me whether or not I'd fall the 16 foot drop to the road below. It hurt me, by I was grateful to be able to grab something before I fell over.

Yet in weeding and gardening and physical labour, I was sooo happy and in the moment I felt that I found a way to live my life that I could do.


I finished weeding and came out of the area. 


Heejern saw me: 


"Is your mind clear?" 


I nodded, and then said, "Yes." 


The people cleawere very generous to feed us dinner. They gave us a lot of pork. A lot. I wasn’t really comfortable with this. For my karma I don't want to waste. But later on in the night I felt sick.


Heejern said while the food was cooking. "Let's eat this animal with positive feelings and understand it's situation so it doesn't try to revenge itself on us." He then laughed. 


Heejern told me that the owner was a gumdo master before. While eating.  I asked if I could buy a sword from him through Heejern.”

More Korean speaking. Heejern said, “ Show him.”

The older man gave me a lesson. IN gumdo drills, one drill involves lifting and lower the sword over your requiring a posture that is at first painful and your arms hurt. My posture had improved since starting. The man made me do hundred and then he came back and corrected my posture. He showed me different drills and did a sword demonstration. He said all this in Korean, but somehow I made sense of what he was saying.

Afterwards he gave me wooden sword and said, “Gift.” I felt soo grateful. I thanked him for his generosity. JH told me the Korean word for “nice” so I could tell him.

We went back. The Malaysian Wwoofer drove the truck. Heejern road in the truck. The horse was calmer it road better. I tried to run along the way. Heejern looked soo happy I was glad for him.