I hate doing laundry. Colour ran from one of my tops - which until now I couldn't figure out which one - so my only few pieces of white tops are destroyed with grey spots all over.
Today is such a mess. First I didn't have enough sleep. Then I'm going to fail my Korean test. Plus the stupid laundry. And I realised how behind I am with all my classes. And I'm so hungry now but I can't eat cos I am so fat!
Argghh!!

I just LOVE Yuexin so much! Look what she has got for me?
Nutella and Skippy! Just give me these and I won't mind having bread for my every meal!
Pouches from Ms Ting's 2nd Honeymoon.
And My JJ!!
Thanks a milion, dear! I am so so so moved by your sweetest thoughts and gestures. I'm having a great time here that I don't feel like returning but how can I not when I have all of you back home!!


I feel so loved!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
There's a Open House going on in my dormitory yesterday and today, so I invited Jianxiong over to Inha. haha. The funny thing was he still wasn't allowed in. Anyway, that thoughtful boy got my roommates and I half a dozen of Krispy Kreme!!!

My Dormitory




Pictures of Inha. Only the places I frequent and know.












I particularly like these pics. Jianxiong said that my backview seems nicer. And I thought me in this shade looks better.

These's a protest going on in school yesterday due to the school fees hike! Their fees is even higher than SMU's la! They should just learn from us, locked in fees for current students.
It's quite amusing to see everyone dressed in black at the basket ball court. There was even a stage, chairs, balloons and boards. I wonder who provided the funds for this campaign.


The brilliance of a 15 megapixel camera. Can you see the sun and the 6 angles?

If not for Jianxiong, I won't have taken any photos in school for keepsake. He's my photographer as well now.


An open house souvenir from the Dorm - A personalised lamp. It has my Korean name on it!!


My desk. I've decided to beautify it a little so that I can set my mind in the right mood.

I'm gonna have a sumptuous Open House dinner later followed by, Clubbing in Gangnam tonight. It's Club day!!!Miss me!

22 Mar 2008, Saturday

Lunch with Jianxiong in Dongdaemun Stadium.

I wanted Ramen and the lady got us this "Everything Hotpot"! There maggi mee, glass noodles, rice cake, tofu and lots of hot dogs in it!

We spent the whole day SHOPPING so we hardly took pictures. Correction, it should be I spent the whole day shopping. Jianxiong was just accompanying. haha.


I bought this huge bag in Center, a men's boutique. I think ladies' bags here are too small for my liking.


And I talked Jianxiong into buying this SGD110+ bag in the same shop.:x




This mini pizza thingy is damn good! It has corn in it!


McDonald's dinner again! One of my favourite meals!


My stay in Yonsei!


Sue ann's dorm.

23 March 2008, Sunday


Lunch in Nolita!

25 March 2008


Every Tuesday after International Finance class, Hye Young will take me to nice places for lunch. It's good and really cheap!


My roommates decided to have a room party on Tuesday at 11pm but no one wanted to take any picture in their pyjamas.

Time really flies. Today marks my first month in Korea!
Sarah says it seems like I'm away for 2 or 3 months cos they miss me so muchh! And the house is so quiet without my presence.
Although it has been 4 weeks, I still face a tiny problem when comes to doing laundry. As I had a 2hr break this afternoon, I sent my clothes for washing which takes about half an hr and then decided to take a nap while I leave my clothes in the dryer. But 1 hour later when I went to collect them, they were still wet. I couldn't dry them again cos I had to rush for class so I quickly hung some of them in my room. Until now most of my clothes are still wet so I need to dry it again but ALL the dryers are in use. How unlucky!

I really hate doing laundry. Waiting for the wash to be done is such a chore. Transferring it over to the dryer is such a chore. Picking them back is such a chore. Folding the clothes is such a chore. And ironing is such a chore.
By the time my clothes are ready tonight, it would have been midnight already. hate it hate it hate it!!

Happy Easter!
I love this weekend cos I did alot of SHOPPING again!
Feels like I'm on a tour. I get fascinated whenever I see S A L E and I spend without pondering much. I hope money will drop or else I will have to survive on bread and water in the later months.

So I spent the whole of Saturday with Jian Xiong. Poor him, most of the clothes weren't suitable for him so I was the one doing most of the shopping and he had to carry my stuff! Seriously he's a good partner when comes to shopping cos he will recce the place beforehand, provide advice, bargain and carry my buys.
The best thing that day was dinner! We had McDonald's and milkshake again!! I am already quite sick of Korean food. I think the total amount of cabbage, bean sprout and tofu I've consumed this month is equivalent to the total amount I've eaten last year!
I spent the night in Sue Ann's dorm and met up with Joelle. That poor girl. haha. And we gossip till 2am.

We planned to visit a temple in Jongno on Sunday but it was raining so we stay in Edae, which means more shopping for me.

I absolutely love this weekend.

14 March 2008

Our White Day dinner at Pizza Hut

Our presents from JX!


World Cup Stadium




My White Day Presents

15 March 2008 Jac in Seoul! Sabu Sabu Lunch.

Nandaemun



The fish is GOOD but the shop stinks!

Itaewon

16 March 2008




My favourite Green Tea ice-cream!

Movie in World Cup Stadium

18 March 2008

So on Tuesday, Hye Young brought me to the Chinatown in Incheon. There are so many chinese restuarants there! It's quite a good place to go for a walk.

Back again! It was yet another great weekend with Jianxiong, Meiyan, Sue Ann and Jacinda!!
Friday: Meet Jianxiong, Meiyan and Sue Ann at the World Cup Stadium for some grocery shopping. Yup, Carrefour is gone!! Luckily Skippy is available in that Homever.
It was White day on 14 March so the tradition is for the guys to lavish their love and money on the girls! Our very sweet Jianxiong got all of us a rose, a rocher and the chocolate house we saw in Edae. And he bought us dinner in Pizza Hut! I reiterate my mother says JX is handsome!
It was such a lovable day! Meiyan, Sue Ann and Meiyan's roomate got me gifts as well!!

Saturday: Met up with my dearest dearest Jacinda in Myeong Dong. She helped me bring some important and necessary stuff over from Singapore. Thanks alot dear!! We had Sabu Sabu for lunch and did lots of cosmetic shopping! I think I should start compiling a book of "Buy what at where". Then we headed to Namdaemun. Good thing, I didnt spend any money there!!

Sunday: World Cup Stadium again for movie! We watched Step Up 2 The Streets. It is really a GOOD watch!!

I wanted to come back earlier to do laundry and study abit of Korean Language but all the washing machines were occupied and I'm not in the mood to study!
I am just looking forward to all the weekends-to-come cos Jianxiong has got our weekends itinerary done up! They are almost fully packed. Lots of sight seeing and exploration to do!!

It's FRIDAY again! Time flies, I haven't been studying much and updating myself with current news. Maybe some nice people can cut out newspaper clippings and sent it to me. I feel as if I'm living in exile. The only news JX told me was that the JI person who escaped wasn't caught until now and that oil price shot up to $110. I'm thinking of subscribing to the online Straits Times but I don't fancy reading from the computer screen.

I'll be meeting up with Meiyan and Jian Xiong later at the World Cup Stadium. I'm missing Skippy and Nutella so badly so they went to google for Carrefour but I found out that it was changed to Homever. Nevertheless, we'll still head over. I'm pinning high hopes!

Remember I mentioned about joining a CCA. I got the name of the club - AlphaChi (pronounced as "Alpha Kai"). Yes, it's the chi-sq's chi. It was formed 46 years ago. I guess someone probably in Econs or Stats christened the club then.
So there was an interview for the new members yesterday but I got a wavier. Then we went for dinner at some BBQ place. Although I can't remember more than half of their names, I'm glad they are really interested in finding out more about Singapore, about me, about English and are accepting me well. Like what one of the girls, Bo Sun said "Language is a form of communication but it shouldn't hinder friendship from developing."


I'm really having fun and I feel so at ease.


It was one of my roomates, Hyu Je's Birthday and I got her a small cake. What's a birthday without a cake??

Left to right: Hyu Je and Shi Ho(Japanese. Hyu Je and me.



Song Hee wasn't around when we took the pics.

Yup, so they are my roommates whom I will spend the next 3 months with!

Decided to blog cos I don't feel like doing anything else. It's the second week of school and third week since I came to Korea. I think I kinda adapted to being in a new environment. I'm fine with the idea of going for classes alone, sometimes having meals alone and staying in the dorm alone for the rest of the day. Sometimes I feel that my mind can block off things which I don't have the strength to think about. Maybe it's just me.

I joined the Conversation Club in Inha. I thought of participating in CCA since I haven't been able to do so in SMU but something just held me back until yesterday when Hye Young decided that I need to join some clubs so that I can make more friends. They are a sincere and cheerful bunch. And I fit in quite well, I love talking.

Here are the photos taken last weekend.

Friday

Dinner at Edae



Edae - Shopping haven


Saturday

Lunch at Gyeongbokgung


Gyeongbokgung Palace






I thought this sundial is some spitton.



The President Residence, 10 mins walk from the Palace



Camwhoring in the National Folk Museum



Saw JX's and my shadow?






One of my favourite-st meal in Seoul. Loving it!

Sunday

Bungeo Ppang. Because Jian Xiong was terribly late, I had this to temporarily curb my hunger.



Our lunch in Jongno(3).



Camwhoring again since I can't read the menu.

Insadong
Credits to Jian Xiong again for his professional photography skills.





















Emo shots






Meiyan pretending to laugh.


















some kind of stalking pic








Meiyan pretending to laugh again.

My Buys

I need another half an hour for my laundry to dry. Every week, it seems like I'm taking my entire wardrobe for wash. I can't believe I'm actually surviving with less than 20 pieces of clothes!
Every morning I gotta rack my head, thinking of what to wear cos the weather is so cold and my clothes are so limited. I need more shopping!!

Today I had Modern Economics class. The Prof is so jolly. He makes me wanna smile everytime I look at him. He taught us his right way of studying and making notes, just like finding topic sentences in English. The cute analogy he told us was that reading is like riding a bicycle. When the road is straight and paved, you speed up. When it's curved and unpaved, you slow down. When it's uphill, you slow down. Downhill, you speed up. Sounds right?

Then I had Basic Korean class and I learnt phonics and writing. Most of the vowels just sound the same to me. What's worse? I have a test next week!! How to enjoy in Seoul this weekend?!! I met a new friend in this class. Apparently we're in the same Financial Management Class! So now, I'll have another breakfast-mate cum class mate!

okays, time to collect my laundry. Such a chore!!

I'm back from Seoul again! Every day I'll just look forward to weekends when I can meet up with Meiyan and Jian Xiong for more Seoul exploration.
So last Friday, I met up with Meiyan in Myeong Dong for shopping! I see SALE almost everywhere!! I finally got myself boots. I bought a flat one, which is the exact one Meiyan has and a pair of black heels for presentation. I delibrately not bring any extra shoes cos the shoes here are just so pretty!
Then we headed down to Ewha to meet Jian Xiong for dinner! He brought us to the 'ladies street' and I saw more boots. I tried a brown one and after some bargaining, the guy agreed to sell it to me at 20000won, about $22. The annoying thing was that left side of the boots was on display but he couldn't find the right side. So much for trying and bargaining. I was so upset!
Then we went to APM. Shopping in that mall seemed like shopping in Hong Kong! The clothes were surprisingly cheaper and nicer! I got myself a coat. Jian Xiong bargained with the lady and I saved $15.
We adapted to the Korean style of having coffee every now and then. So we went to Angel-in-Us and this time, I had mint chocolate. Sarah will love it!!

On Saturday, Jian Xiong and I went sightseeing at the Gyeongbokgung Palace and National Folk Museum. I did learn something about Korean history during the 1 hr free guided tour in the Palace. boy, I think the education system should include bringing students to the various countries or areas so that we can understand better! We had Mcdonald's for dinner cos I wanted to!! I ate the scrimp burger and strawberry milk shake while Jian Xiong had Spicy Shanghai Chicken burger, the equivalent of Zinger burger. I had to pay an extra 300won for chilli sauce la! Then we meet up with Meiyan and her KU frens at some pub in Anam. Those guys just drink and drink. I had a few sips of yoghurt soju. It's quite nice but I don't really like it.

On Sunday, we went to Insadong. Sue ann brought us to this arty farty place and I spent more money. We took so many emo and funny photos which I will upload soon.

I love this weekend!! I got myself 2 pair of boots and a heel, some clothes and belt and lots of stationery.

It's almost 2 weeks since I've blogged. I'm in KOREA now!! I spent a week of travelling, shopping and lots of eating. And school has officially started for a week. End of my 3 months holiday! I haven't adjust myself back to the studying but who actually studies during an exchange?

Staying in the dormitory is a different experience for me altogether. It's about being independent, considerate and sociable. It isn't easy for me cos back in Singapore, my wonderful parent did everything for me. And I have a bunch of lovely girls who knows me as so well and who are always around when I needed anyone.

I'm staying with 2 other Koreans and a Japanese. A good thing they are very friendly people. Even though they hardly speak english and I know zero korean, they still tried make conversation with me every now and then. Hopefully, I'll pick up a little Korean soon then life would be much easier for all of us.

Living 15 mins away from school is quite fun. I'm in and out of the dorm serveral times a day. I get up at 7++ everyday for the free breakfast catered by the dormitory, shower and prepare myself for classes. I return to the dorm during breaks for food or naps, then when it's time for class again, I'll just grab my coat and bag and head to school. And sometimes in the evening when my neighbours go to the supermarket or to the shops behind school, they'll invite me along. I just keep going out everyday!
But then again, I have to clean up my own area, make my bed (which I decide to not do), buy groceries (I just stock up biscuits and cup noodles) and do my own laundry (using washing machines, of course). I seriously miss home whenever I perform the two latter chores. It really sucks when I have to leave my life of comfort where my mum and sister do the cleaning, cooking, laundry and running errands for me.

School is relatively easier compared to SMU but Korean language itself is enough to kill me. I scheduled a 4-days week, just like in SMU so I can have longer weekends. So I'll be bunking in with Sue Ann tonite.

I'll post again next week! Meanwhile, enjoy my time KOREA!


Day 0
Transiting in BKK. We got a 40+ mins flight delay.

Arrived in Seoul, 7.30am and met up with MingSing.

Day 1
Our first meal.

Seoul Guesthouse in Anguk where I spent my first 3 nights.

Meeting Meiyan in Dongdaemun.

Day 2
Korean porridge for breakfast.

We travelled 2hrs to Asan for the Hot Spring but because we woke up late, we reached there at 5.30pm only to find out that the last bus bus to Seoul is departing at 6.30pm so we spent a night there.

Day 3
We travelled another few hrs to Daejeon and visited the Daecheongho Lake.

We took a KTX back to Seoul cos it takes only 1 hr but it cost me a hole in my pocket. Met up with Meiyan and her friend, Sebastian.

From right to left: I like Hotteok, the flat circle thing. It is fried and has melted brown sugar in the middle. The rice cake is tasteless. Meiyan and friend brought us to this shop near her school which sold this sweet chicken.

Day 4
Check in my Dormitory and met up with my buddy, Liz. She brought me to this very nice resturant for lunch. Meiyan and Ms ting will surely like the stewed chicken.

My dormitory.

Then I met up with Inhee's friend, Liu Hang whom I have chatted with for the past few months. He bought me dinner at this BBQ resturant and taught me the way to start the food.

Day 5
I was supposed to meet Jian Xiong at 8.30am in Jamsil but because I couldn't find and contact him, I went up to Yong Pyong on my own. Luckily, he came up on his own too!

My first skiing experience. It was really thrilling but I dont think I'll ever ski again. I couldn't make the ski stop so I got a few bumps. Too much for my liking..


If you dont already know, Winter Sonata is filmed here.

It was snowing that evening. Thanks to Jian Xiong and his professional 8 mega pixel, we managed to capture those beautiful moments in YongPyong.

Day 6
Left YongPyong and went to Technomart to get our mobile done. Meiyan and I bought a table lamp for only 20000won. The man quoted us 35000won at first, thanks to Meiyan and her "kakachuseyo". Then we headed to Sinchon for a really cheap BBQ buffet dinner.

Clubbing in Hongdae, Noise Basement 2. This is the first time I perspired in Seoul!

Coffee after clubbing. The group of girls sitting next to us might be the next big thing! Their debut album is going to be released soon. Look out for Brownie Speaks, if I remember correctly.

Day 7
Lunch in Sinchon. Tofu seriously never tasted that good before!!

Look at the Antie-killer! My mother just likes him!



Our last photo with Ming Sing before he returns home!

Shopping in Myeong Dong. I bought Skin Food, it is much much cheaper here!

From week 1 on:
My buddy. I can't imagine my first week of school without her. She helped me apply for the Student ID, Alien card, ATM card and brought me to nice places for food. I think I've put on a lot of weight. Can somebody mail me a measuring tape??
It's White day or Valentine's day next Friday! Look at those chocolates!

My other new friend, Hye Young from International Finance class. I thought no one is ever going to speak to me but after the lesson, she approached me and asked me out for lunch. She told me that when she was in Japan last term, she felt really lonely so she figured I needed a friend. Such a sweet and thoughtful girl!






My Pre departure at The Ship, Paragon and home! Check out the rest in Ms Ting's blog!