Thankful.

It’s been a while since I last felt this, but today I feel that my heart is full: full of love, happiness and appreciation.

Had dinner with the girls today which perked me up quite a bit. We got to share about life in general, and caught up about whatever was going on with each other. Then, I found a pdf of a book I had been reading and let myself get caught up in the words and chapters during the train ride home. 

After, I managed to get on-board a shiny, empty, new double-decker 190 bus – the first time since my childhood ever since the bus service got taken over by SMRT. Clamoured to the upper deck and took a seat right in front. Though the glass surrounding me was all fogged up from condensation, I enjoyed the ride. After getting off, I mused about my lovely evening whilst the cool night air provided a serene backdrop to my thoughts. 

Upon reaching home, I stepped into my room to find it surprisingly spick and span. I’ve been lamenting to kings about how the room feels really disorganized and messy since he’s been around so often, and I haven’t had the time to clean up. 

Hanging on the doorknob was a handwritten note from him stating that the room had been cleaned, floor swept, and items packed up. And it also asked me to wash up early and have a good rest. On my bed were the toys arranged carefully with handwritten speech bubbles for them placed nearby. 

What more can one ask for, really? :’)

Weekend in Busan - 060614

Time truly has flown by and it's already my last week living in Seoul! Last weekend, we went on our first out-of-town trip together and next weekend, we'll be checking out of the livingtel and will have to live from our luggages! This following week will be rather hectic too- finals begin on Monday (I have 2 exams on Monday and a take home paper due Saturday), my clothing pieces have to be completed before school's out and I foresee lots of packing to be done!

Anyway, our first trip out together was to Busan. The weather was unexpectedly cooler than in Seoul so I wound up lugging my only long-sleeved top around everyday. It was also the first time (I would ever) I pass up a chance to eat bingsu because the weather was already cold and eating shaved ice would mean a frozen Bin.

On the other hand, food in Busan was delicious and we had enough hotteoks to last several years (Ryan ate 10 in 3 days, hardcore). I'm looking forward to having more Busan hotteok when I'm back again later this month! Actually, food in Korea has been really good so far. Of the entire time I've been here, I only had 1-2 meals/dishes that I didn't particularly enjoy and they were both mistakenly ordered noodles with spicy gojuchang sauce.

Here's some pictures from the trip. The rest are up on facebook :)

Our first meal! Came with lots of side dishes as per all korean meals.

At Gamchon Cultural Village which reminds me of Hyehwa Mural Village in Seoul

Onboard a ferry. I was eyeing the life jackets and was secretly happy when we returned to shore safely. 

(Remember the Sewol ferry incident in South Korea??)

The pebble beach at Taejongdae.

Posing with the lighthouse at Taejongdae. Selfie sticks are super useful for group shots!

Yummy grilled fish.

Whilst everyone was taking a selfie with the fireworks we bought.. :D

Magical night at Gwangalli beach because I loveeeee fireworks

Can I profess my love for this snack again?? ♡___♡

Grainy pic but this stall got an all-kill! Every one of us bought a hotteok from them.

At the temple on the cliffs by the sea

The most famous beach in Busan- Haeundae

Beautiful view from our apartment right before we left Busan

Halfway mark, checked

Just popping by to update with some extracts from slides I done up for my speech done today done for Korean speaking class! Had a busy weekend having just finished up a 8 page report on leadership, preliminary research and brainstorming for a group project and the korean speech. Nights like yesterday's I'll always remember, staying up till 4am sitting on my room floor tracing, trimming and cutting pattern paper as well as muslin for my clothing construction homework. Then pricking myself numerous times with the silk pins when pinning the pieces together -__- That feeling of accomplishment when you finally get your work done is really rewarding. But as an after-effect of it all, I'm exhausted right now and am all ready hop into bed at 8:50pm. 

Still left with too much more to complete by next Monday! After then, a week of break before the finals roll in~ I'll be home after exams and about 2 weeks of traveling. Time really does fly!!!

busy times

People might think that exchange students have it easy.... right??? What if I tell you that isn't true? Currently abit swamped with assignments, assignments and assignments. Since whatever grades we get here is only accounted for on a pass/fail basis at our home university, the amount of effort invested in work here is really our own initiative. We have all been trying nothing but our best though- and that is where I confuse myself a little. 

Why put in so much effort then? (1) KU is a prestigious university here and we wish to find out how we stand amongst the local students. Especially since Koreans are known to be extremely hard working. (2) Why do something half-heartedly when you are aware you can do much better? This constantly runs through my mind when doing 5% reading log assignments, 5% quizzes, as well as my weekly clothing construction homework. It's not about the grades here, it's what I want to learn, achieve and experience as a person staying and studying here in KU.

And as for the photo above, it's a reminder to myself that this upcoming week and a half is a challenge and I will get by it!! Once it's over and done with it will be like an exit from being totally brain fried, heh. Plus I miss the girls and the fun we had during #nigusweekendout. But for now,  onward with the assignments, gooooooooo~~

Petite France - 050514

A few Saturdays ago, a bunch of us headed out of Seoul on a trip to Gyeonggi-do. We visited Petite France! Petite France is a small village-museum inspired by France and its architecture, along with the book The Little Prince. They have small exhibits or photo spots with The Little Prince figurines and so on. The weather that day was was really good -- warm sun accompanied by cool breeze~

It was my first trip out of Seoul city and I really enjoyed the scenery en-route to Gapyeong train station. Since it was a weekend morning, the train was filled to the brim with elderly people going mountain hiking. After transferring to a shuttle bus (one-day ticket was ₩5,000 and it goes to over 10 attractions in the area) at Gapyeong station, and a few stops later... we arrived at Petite France! The entire journey from home took about 2 hours+ I think. 

View from atop some stairs. I love the white rounded walls (?) along the stairs.

Pretty poppies!

Free puppet shows for visitors

We bought a tonkatsu ricebox for lunch.

Itsy bitsy tiny bunny which was only the size of my fist

Another baby bunny nomming on some vegetables

Colourful illustrations on the walls inside a building

Plates adorning the walls

Gorgeous views of a river and surrounding mountains

The one who inspired the creation of this place, The Little Prince.

Entrance tickets to Petite France was ₩8,000 or SGD10. It was a nice place to spend some time outside of Seoul especially if you're a Little Prince fan, but I didn't read the book nor watched the Korean dramas and shows which filmed in this location so it wasn't a particularly exciting place to me. Decided to give Nami Island a miss and to check out Gangchon Rail Park after this but sadly all Rail Park tickets for the day were already sold out by the time we reached :/

Since we were already at Gimyujeong station then, Kingsly and I decided to have lunch in the vicinity. Strangely enough, all the restaurants only sold Dakgalbi or stir fried chicken which is the city's specialty. The pictures below are post-processed using iphone apps so their colours are very saturated.

Our Dakgalbi - came with sesame leaves, sweet potatoes, chicken, rice cakes, kimchi, cabbage, leeks

Unique train station! The toilets and gantry entry were in this little building and we walked through an underground passage to the station platform beside it.

We did eventually manage to book tickets online for Gangchon Rail Park with 2 days of work and 5 people involved with the process, and visited on 11 May 2014. Will probably post about it another time!

More adventures to come

Have been absent from this space for some time because.... Kings is here in Korea! It's his eleventh day here counting from the day the plane touched down but it sure doesn't feel as long. There's so much to see and do but not enough time to cover everythinggggg T______T We head out whenever there's pockets of free time before/after my classes and usually wind up being exhausted at the end of the day. Our laundry pile had been left aside to grow into a monstrous size. Tiredness and monster laundry pile aside, I can't be any happier. Was feeling quite down for a week or two prior to this so his arrival is a perfect timing. Time to head out for more adventures! Till next time~~

Twenty-three and counting

Last Monday, I celebrated my second consecutive birthday spent overseas. Last year, I was in UK heading towards the Lake District for a camp. It was truly a special adventure to be out there amongst numerous sheep where a lake, mountains and forested areas were. This was closely followed by a month-long backpacking trip around Europe before finally setting foot on Singapore ground again. It was easily the most memorable travel experience of my life. This year, the day was spent attending classes in a prestigious university in Korea, having Jajangmyeon (짜장면) for lunch and spending time with lovely friends. In Korea, 14th April is also Black Day or singles' day which explains my first bowl of jajangmyeon here. Kings and my family planned a little surprise for me through Skype as well, and it made me feel really happy and loved :')

I've always wanted to study overseas so these experiences are truly a dream come true. There are countless times where the realization of being overseas strikes and it feels rather surreal that I'm really here: living and creating new memories outside of sg. There's no greater feeling in me now other than thankfulness. Thankful to my family for the support, thankful for the opportunity to be out here, just so thankful for everything. And while there were important matters which made me seriously consider flying home for the weekend (but ultimately couldn't due to short notice), I'm glad that technology has allowed me to constantly stay updated and in touch with those back home. Let's stay strong ♥

Yeouido Cherry Blossoms Festival - 060414

On Sunday, we enjoyed spring (and the cherry blossoms it brings about) in all its gorgeous glory.

 Upon exiting the train station, we were greeting by a bunch of apartment buildings which strangely resembled those we have back home. I couldn't resist snapping a pic and sent it to my family, who thought this was in the outskirts of the city. On the contrary, we were right in the heart of it!

 Lots of people were out too, spending time with their family, friends and loved ones. And in this case, little furry one.

Selfies with the cherry blossom trees were a must! 

The wind was really strong since we're by the river and the sight of flower petals falling to the ground was really pretty.

Picked this up from the ground. We saw many locals plucking whole bunches of flowers off branches though. Not cool.

An example of what's referred to as "couple culture" here. Similar top, jacket, pants, shoes? Check.

Pretty pretty.

Helloooo little white flowers!

Lovely scenic Hangang River.

Rice cake in all kinds of flavours!

 Sun's starting to set in the distance and it starts to become crazy cold.

Met up with the rest and we spent some admiring Banpo Bridge's Rainbow Fountain. 

Said Rainbow Fountain. It was nice and calming just sitting there enjoying the lights and water.

cherry blossoms?

Mid-terms are fast approaching and we're starting to get a little busy with assignments and impending deadlines are starting to creep up. But since the cherry blossoms came slightly early this year, we made it a point to go enjoy them this weekend anyway! It all started on Friday at the War Memorial where we had a class excursion. Discovered several cherry blossom trees in full bloom in the area and we've not stopped the flower craze since :)

The weather's taken a slight turn these few days and I kinda miss the 20℃ afternoons. Was 8 degrees today but it felt much colder than that while strolling along the Hangang river. So many things to look forward to but so little time to just bask in the moment! 

A Day In My Life - 280314

Today's post is a little different from the norm! It's an "a day in my life" which documents my day from when I wake till I go to bed. Picture heavy!

Got woken by my alarm and finally got out of bed at 10:38am. 

My classes usually begin in the afternoon (with the exception of Mondays) so sleeping in isn't an issue.

Brusha brusha

Shower time!! My shower head's connected to the sink which is rather interesting.

 Got dressed and trudged up to the kitchen to find it empty. I'm staying at a place called Rachel Livingtel (also known as a goshiwon or privately-owned accommodation for students) which has 35 rooms and we share a single kitchen. 

Score!! It's Friday so we have free eggs. They're only available twice a week and disappear really quickly so I grabbed one and kept it in my room's fridge to be used later. I also made a sandwhich for breakfast.

The view of my street. Spring has arrived and the sakura trees along the road have started to blossom!

5 minutes later, I arrive at one of the side entrances of Korea University. 

Admired stone statues along the way~

I decide to pop by Hyundai Motor Hall along the way. It's one of the business buildings and also probably one of the newest in school. I lost my 45cm ruler (yes it's long, almost half a meter) for clothing construction module the day before and thought it might have dropped in one of the classrooms there.

The lecture theatre where I had class the day before was locked so I tried my luck at the information counter. 

But it seems like everyone's out for lunch so I gave up my search here.

Onward to College of Education Building 2!

Yu Jing and Joyce have already reached!
We usually spend a fair amount of time here between classes to work on weekly homework for our clothing construction module.

The missing ruler has been found!!! Turns out it was in my drawer the entire time -___- 

This week we're working on 2 types of skirts - a gored skirt and a flared skirt. We lost track of time and ended up leaving slightly late for our next class, which is at the other end of campus.

Walk walk walk.

Walked past a bunch of students picnicking. 

The weather's gotten slightly warmer recently so people have started hanging out here at the central plaza.

We reached Woodang Building in 10 minutes, which is a pretty good timing. 

It's usually a 15 minute walk or 9 minute brisk-walk to get here.

No pics of class but there was a group who gave a presentation on Silla's War of Unification (Korean history). One of the group members wore a modern male Hanbok which was pretty cute. So far, the professor's focused quite a lot on military history which is his specialty but it gets rather dry after some time.

Then... break time! It's about 3:00pm by then and I'm starving. 

Our friend helped us get rice burgers while on her way to school. Om nom.

Freedom came at 4:45pm! Done with classes for the week :)

 We passed the main building which is undergoing a facelift at the moment. The school very kindly put up a huge image of it on the facade so we'll be reminded of what the building look like once it's done.

Final stop in school: the international student's office.

Collected our student card which is also a ATM plus credit card. 

Explored a small wooded area beside the building~

Headed back home after that.

The fourth floor of the building onwards belongs to the livingtel. 

We have to remove our shoes here and put them in lockers at the entrance area.

We occupy the fourth to sixth levels of the building and there's about 10 rooms per floor. 

Each room is occupied by one (or two) person and is equipped with a bed, table and personal toilet. 

Ta-dahhhh. Back in my room! It's about 10.5 square meters; a very decent size. I had sourced for accommodation with larger floor area on purpose since goshiwons are known to be very small and cramped. Most places have rooms where a person can touch both ends of the walls with their arms stretched out. It's good for the short term perhaps, since rent is cheap, but it isn't comfortable for an entire semester's stay.

Not too long later, dinner plans are made!

I grabbed my bag and coat and head out.

View from the end of the corridor on my level.

2 train transfers and 25 minutes later, we've reached Dongdaemun! Now, to find out which exit to take...

They have various stalls inside the subway stations (within the gated areas) and this particular one sells food. 

We're out!

We meet Joyce and her friend outside the station and were greeted by this sight.

While walking to the restaurant, we spotted a truck which had a huge claw like those in arcade machines.

Friends: "must.take.photos!!"

We're here! It's a famous chicken soup restaurant. 

There was a large crowd of people waiting for seats outside.

We get ushered to the upper level where you have to sit on the floor.

Helloooo dinner. Whole chicken in soup, paired with potato slices, tteok (rice cake which we added later) and handmade noodles. The soup looks really clear but it's packed with flavour. Our group of 7 ordered two of this for sharing. So so yummy that we started craving for it again later at night and promised ourselves to visit this place every month.

Lower level seating area with regular tables and chairs.

Back at the junction again and we walked to Hyehwa area which is a subway station away

Decided to give soju a miss but this place had an interesting menu!

They have watermelon, apple, melon, orange, coconut, pineapple, and pumpkin soju.

Themed cafes are common in Seoul. This one has several branches.

We decided on a coffee house opposite the cafe above.

After cakes, warm drinks and chats we decide to call it a night.

Subway station~

Time check, 00:03am. Trains and restaurants operate till late here!

After exiting, we spotted a takoyaki truck across the road!

Needless to say, I was excited to find freshly prepared street food at 00:30am. #foreverhungry

4 pieces for ₩1,000 (SGD1.20). 

I normally don't favour takoyaki because they tend to be quite mushy but these were crisp on the outside! 

Back in my room, I washed up and watched several episodes of Two and A Half Men. 

Walden (Ashton Kutcher)'s looking good after a haircut!

Finally, bedtime at 1:57am.

Tailyer my tiny bed buddy bids you good night!