Super duper junior!

As usual, I woke up at noon. Tara was already out by then, even though I didn't know where she was going. I eventually found out (after she returned) that she went to the Seoul Immigrations Office.

I opened my last small carton of milk in the fridge and started drinking while I surfed the net.

Today, I decided to open up the Suju album I bought awhile ago. Checked the photocard, and I got Ryeowook's ^_^

Well, I'm not a crazy fan of Suju's, but you can't deny that they have produced really nice and catchy music. Not to mention catchy dance moves! So even though I don't know most of the members' names, I really appreciate the music they sing!

Also, they've been together as a group for pretty long. I still remember the first time I heard of Super Junior was when I was in Secondary 3, when I was 15! It's been like 6 years...And now you know my age, haha!

I really like their SPY song! It's too cute and too cool at the same time...

So I just put their CD into the computer and let it play.

I also went down for lunch today and got myself spaghetti.

In the middle of the day I decided to write letters. Somehow the feel of holding a pen is very comforting! Ever since blogging on a daily basis, I haven't handwritten in my diary, so it remains blank. So I wrote a couple of letters to people.

Now I gotta wait till Monday for posting.

Don't be disappointed if you don't get a letter. I only write to very very very specific people.

I went to shower after Tara returned from her adventures to the immigration office. Apparently she waited very long! -patpat-

Then, I went down for dinner at the dosirak shop, this time they had seats! So I sat there having my meal in the really cute place ^.^

Donkatsu dosirak!
Everytime I have donkatsu it reminds me of Seungik oppa, coz that was what we had for lunch together the first time.

Haihz.

Well anyways, it was really delicious! Cooked to the right crisp. Yums!

Shopped at the GS25, and then went back up to my room, and came back to do this blogpost ^^

Still love my readers so much! You all are why I keep writing, as much as possible, on a daily basis!
Here's a smile for you!

Have a enjoyable day and stay happy! (:

Rainy!

I woke Tara up at 8.30am today as she had to go for her city tour. I didn't sign up, thank goodness. The weather was rainy the whole day! I slept in very comfortably to the sound of raindrops and of the nice darkened room. (: So satisfied.

Though, I still woke up around noon and started my day activities.

Which included doing some reading. I need to get very used to Korean! Because my essay writing is really terrible... ):

Oh yea, anyway, while buying stationery yesterday, I could only find foolscap pads with three holes in them, very unlike the two-holed ones we have back in Singapore. Upon asking Tara, she also mentioned that foolscap pads in US are also three-holed!
Really interesting... Since we always had those bendy metal things that keep these loose sheets together...? I wonder how they do it with three holes?!

Back to topic... Yeah, it rained the entire day and I found myself feeling sad for Tara...

And the weather remained a very sleepy weather, so I did something I don't do very often... I napped!
It was SO comfortable. Felt like a baby. Now I wonder how I'm going to get myself sleepy enough for my actual bedtime.

So I woke up and wanted to go to shower, and Tara came back at that moment (:
So I went and had a good shower! Just that the stall I usually choose to shower in was occupied so I was in a new stall today.

After which I went down to find dinner. I actually wanted to have a dosirak meal at the shop itself, but the seats were all occupied so I ordered a Hamburg Mayo bowl and brought it back up to the room to eat!

It was pretty yummy. I skyped Mum after eating and had a good chat with her... And seeing my dog (oh so cute!).. Yeah, was pretty satisfied!

And then I went back to slacking, and then typing this post. School is starting next week!
But a smile for you~

Have a great day ahead!
Thanks for reading!

I will appreciate the rest next time...

The weather cleared up today so it was pretty nice. Tara and I woke up at about noon because we had the shades down and the room looked really dark. There is no schedule for today though.

We had a simple breakfast in our rooms. I had milk and a cereal bar, really healthy, right?
I kind of miss those days where I had my meals prepared. Even though sometimes they weren't delicious, but the convenience is still something I crave. There is no meal plan system here so we have to go find our own food all the time! ):

I then spent the rest of the afternoon looking at webpages, and I even did the listening part for the next practice paper for TOPIK. My listening was alright, I guess. But I was distracted along the way so nearing the end I was just like, ah, crapizoids.

Anyway, till now I still have no idea whether Seungik has left the country already or not.
=/ In any case still hopes he's fine.

I also rewatched one episode of Bones to relieve my boredom. I kinda wished the season break would be over so I can have new episodes of my favourite dramas to watch.

In the evening when Tara and I got hungry, we walked out to Sinchon to eat, and decided to have some Korean food at a Korean restaurant. I ordered a Seollongtang, and Tara had naengmyeon.

I still prefer the seollongtang back at the shop near the place I stayed last time... This one tasted a little different. There were more beef slices in it, I think. The kimchi was pretty delicious though!

We walked around after our dinner, to the stationery shop. I bought myself a foolscap pad, a new pen, pencil lead, and a set of Shavet pens (for polaroids).
We also dropped by a spectacles shop to get myself an AO Sept. It was expensive! But due to its rarity, I got it just in case... Since I don't foresee myself visiting Hongdae anytime soon.

On our way back, we both got ourselves some ice cream from Baskin Robbins! Tara was super happy about that :D

Somehow, the money in my wallet was all gone ): Oh wells. I paid for Tara's dinner too because she ran out of cash... But seriously?! Argh, my expenditure...

Walked back slowly to I-House after that...

And showered, and rested. And typed this blog. Simple, simple day huh? ^^
A smile for you!

Taken in a hurry but it'll do. Colourful enough, yea? The interior of I-House is super colourful. When I stepped in it actually felt like a kindergarten. =p

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

Typhoon Bolaven - You bad little thing!

Most days I stay in for my own reasons. Mostly because it saves money, and I get to do all the reading and stuff that I never had time to handle. Especially now, staying in a more-or-less permanent place, I get to finally sit down with all my stuff displayed, and take my time to give them their well-deserved attention.

But today, we all had to stay in because we HAVE to. Because of this thing called: TYPHOON.
Typhoon Bolaven to be honest.

Seungik 오빠 was supposed to fly off today, and he is actually still here now, because his flight is at night. He was so worried last night when he heard about the typhoon. Although I very much want him to stay in Korea, he still has to go explore the world... So I pray that he manages to get on his flight on time and reach Sweden on time.

Have a good flight, take care of yourself, and don't forget about me!

Woke up really early this morning, and found the wifi a really irritating thing.

Then slept back again and a while later we could hear the winds howling outside. Though, it wasn't anything huge, just some really strong winds. Fortunately.

The skies didn't look too scary. Just typical storm feel.

We ate noodles for breakfast. Cheese bokki. Tara was hungry and I felt bad for her, so I gave her my other cheese bokki. And we ate happily.

I started doing and reading Korean after the simple meal and basically focused on that the entire day. I realize I'm really bad at the section where we have to identify the wrong sentence among 4 sentences. Thankfully there are only two questions like that in the paper, and I usually get one right while the other is wrong. And oftentimes I have to consult 오빠 because I just don't seem to see why one is wrong!

But overall, self-marking... Things seem to be well. So I don't think I have to worry about failing. I just have to worry about maintaining the standard so I can make it for TOPIK Basic 2!
Good luck to me! >.<

Tara took a nap, which was a wise choice actually, looking at the weather.

It was evening soon and we got a little hungry so we went down to Global Plaza to see what we could get. But we realized that the main cafeteria was closed, so we decided to grab a burger at Burger and Shake for dinner.

Just a simple shrimp burger and some fries with a drink. The shrimp burger was really delicious though.Yum yum.

So that was basically how I whiled my typhoon day away. Tomorrow should be a better day, but I seriously don't foresee myself going out. It's kind of hard to want to go out so often when you've been here for 2 months.

I will probably go out shopping when the weather starts turning cold and I find myself in need of some long sleeved outfits for fall or winter.

(:

Despite my very boring day, I shall end it with a smile.

Yeah, look at that, my stayhome face. Some joys in life come from things that don't have to be specifically mentioned, felt with the heart is all it takes! (:

When you have a bad day, just smile! (Not like I had a bad day.)
But for readers out there, if you have a dream to fulfill, go for it!

Thank you for reading!

Chilsung Cider?

Monday, 27 Aug 2012

I woke up at about 12, similarly for Tara. We were both hungry. I had initially wanted to have some cheese bokki, but Tara said that we should go out for brunch, so I just went with her.

We ended up getting sandwiches at Sand Presso.

Tara had a tuna sandwich, while I had a crab mix with salad sandwich. It came in a set, so we both had Cafe Latte. Pretty unusual for me as I don't usually drink coffee much. 

The coffee wasn't sweet, so we had to add sugar in it. Especially since I am not a seasoned coffee drinker... 

The portion for the sandwiches is really huge! I can't even finish the sandwich and left like a small chunk. Then drank the coffee and we're done. 

Tara wanted to go for the orientation talks, unlike me. And besides, I was wearing the KU shirt! One does not wear the KU shirt and goes for Yonsei orientation, that's just courting death. So after walking her to the auditorium thing, I walked back to I-House and spent my entire day reading and writing Korean.

I also listened to music and revisited the other songs in my iTunes playlist. For a long time, I've been listening to more kpop than anything, and haven't really touched the other songs in my library. But I come to realize my favourite artistes again, from YouTube - David Choi, DaveDays... Wow.

Inspirational.

When evening came, I walked down to Global Plaza as there were shops there! I bought myself a lunchbox for dinner. (Oh, the irony)

It looked really simple but it was so filling! I couldn't finish the rice. The kimchi looks funny too so I didn't try any of it. I bought a drink as well..

Oh yeah, Chilsung Cider.

I still remember the first time I was in Korea I was wondering what on earth Chilsung Cider is. I didn't even know what cider meant, but definitely not something I've ever tried... Or something that most people would like since I've never heard the word 'cider' in Singapore.

And I only tried it on this third time to Korea, and just because Shireen bought one and let me try.

It tasted exactly like Sprite/7-UP. But something about it makes it nicer... Hmm.

In any case, after the first time I tried it, it was something I'd buy when I'm thirsty, haha! The design on the can is pretty cute too.. Has a star on it, which definitely attracts me =P

The night went past pretty fast. 

We were informed the past few days that a typhoon is hitting Seoul on Tuesday (which is today as I'm typing this.). Though to be honest, there were rains and howling winds but other than that it was no big deal. Probably because Seoul is not a coastal city and is very sheltered from such things.

Those at the coast definitely would not have it good though. I hope they're doing fine.

I shall end off today's post for yesterday here then~ Really short, I know..

Small guilty smile for you too! ^^

Thanks for reading! And all your patience in waiting for this post =p

<3

How to waste a perfectly good day!

Sunday, the best day for rest!

Despite sleeping late last night, I couldn't sleep as long as I wanted to because my body didn't let me.. So woke up slightly before 12. Washed up, but felt hungry... So I decided to try the food in the cafeteria downstairs at I-House, and Tara went down for lunch with me.

They mostly sell some simple beverages, and a limited menu of food. I had a curry rice with Ice Peach Tea, while Tara had the tomato spaghetti. The curry rice was really spicy and had green peas in it! But they had plenty of mushrooms in it, so I enjoyed it too!

It was SO filling. Went back up and slacked the entire day. Listened to good music on my iTunes.

So I just basically chilled until it was time for me to meet Alvin (from my Mentors Club Cell group), and we went to church together at Sogang University. I'm glad that I got to help someone else find a church without going through the trouble that I had!

Then we bought kimbap at Tomato Kimbap for dinner. Alvin was pretty undecided if he should get one, but got tempted by my cheese hotdog kimbap, haha!
And he followed me to Grand Mart to buy groceries, and then we stopped by Baskin Robbins, so I got myself a Double Junior - Vanilla Sky (Which is like ice cream soda flavour), and an awesome berry flavoured one (that tasted like wine).

It melted so fast! On the way back it melted, but fortunately I finished it quickly... I'm looking forward to having ice cream in the winter so it wouldn't melt! :P

And thus ended my day (:

Anyway after my shower, I bravely donned the KU T-shirt. Most people didn't notice. Even Tara! She only noticed it in the morning today and she went, 'Why are you wearing a Korea University T-shirt?'
And I giggled =p

But I slept really well last night, perhaps thanks to the magic of the shirt? Hehehe~

Alright, before I go, a smile for you!

Still finding it difficult to change my school alignment! Argh!

Rockin' on!

I couldn't sleep very well last night. Don't know why, but I finally slept decently when the sun rose and I only really woke up at 11am. For breakfast, I had some Pomegranate tea, as well as the Ddeok from yessterday's event. It wasn't very delicious as I soon realized that there were green peas in it!

I spent my afternoon chatting, and had a fun time too.

Tara went out really early as she had to go to Incheon Airport to meet her friends. So I had the room to myself to chat freely. (:

I left a little late though. Was supposed to leave slightly before 3.30pm, but I left AT 3.30pm. The distance I had to walk from here to the subway took quite awhile although I walked as quickly as I could.

I reached Anam station at about 4.45pm to meet João. Was really excited about it because we became friends through this blog and it's the first time I'm going to meet him! When I stepped out, I recognized him right away (:

And we headed to the streets of Anam (ah, sweet memories) as we looked for a place to eat. We finally decided to have dinner at Mr. Pizza. We had a New York Special Pizza, and as usual, it did not fail to disappoint. I was really really glad that João enjoyed it, even though it isn't a type of Korean food >< We finished a regular pizza well~

João offered to pay for the pizza, even though I wanted to split it... So, thank you for the meal, João! ^^

We then made our way to Seongsu Station to.... later you'll know, haha. Anyway the place we went to was really close to the station and a really awesome map was given to me, so we found the place really quick.

Club CJHR! But no, trust me, it isn't a club like those Zouk or Butter Factory in Singapore that we have. It was just a room, with a stage and awesome audio equipment, and people go there to play music. It doesn't sell drinks. So before you think me a clubber, think again~

Anyway, we went to Club CJHR for a grand purpose...

승익 오빠 was going to perform with his band! And we went to show our support to the awesomest buddy ever~ ^^

There were three bands that performed today, and Seungik's band was the last one to perform. So when we entered, a band was already playing. The music tonight, all of them, was nothing short of fantastic!

João enjoyed it too, I think! He was rocking it out the whole night, and because of him and Seungik beside me, I also got into the groove of the music. Actually everybody there was all really enjoying the LOUD music, haha! But João is really wow, he knew the songs well! I didn't, sadly, but thought they were nice (:

First band was João's favourite. The girl sang pretty well and the band played well ^_^ He went and took many pictures of them. And the rapping guy was pretty good too~

Second band was from a Women's University, and they played metal.

It was really cute coz the girl on the right of the picture made the low raspy sounds, and she did it really well. So many of the people (I assume are her friends) imitated her, and she rolled her eyes. But still, damn awesome!

Last but not least, third band was the one Seungik's in! João and I moved closer to the front to see better. They played metal too, and we also really enjoyed it. We took the most pictures for this because it was Seungik! And even João went to the front just to take continuous pictures of Seungik XD He is such a hilarious guy =p

The singer and the lead guitarist...

Seungik (with his Fender Jazz Bass - have to mention this because on FB, whenever his guitar appears on his photos, it's always tagged.) doing accompaniment in the singing while rocking his bass.
Bass players are so under-appreciated, seriously... ):

It ended really well and we had some time to chat with him after that.

Actually I still feel awkward being labelled as 'Yonsei student'. Haha... Especially in front of two KU students... ): But I have to get used to it eventually, whether I like it or not. And no matter what, I guess I'll just do my best and be my best..

But oh wells, overall had a fun evening today!
Thanks João for being a great friend, getting me pizza, enjoying the concert, and for being a true reader of this blog!

Thanks Seungik for being an awesome buddy and friend, for practicing hard for tonight's performance~ You did well and keep rockin'!

And before I end off today's post...A smile for you! And today's smile is brought to you by: Cassie and João!

Cheers!

How I became a Yonsei Student...

Today was orientation day for Yonsei exchange.
It was basically talk after talk after talk, after talk. We wondered when it'll all end, and everybody was either restless in their seat, or dozing off.

Walking to school was really a huge pain every single time.

We made it in time, and saw a lot of people at the centennial hall... And there were queues all around. So people were either queueing up to sign up for day trips (City tour or Gyeongbuk Palace) or to get their student cards.
Most people were queueing for their cards, and the queue was way too long. I suspect there to be some sort of administrative malfunction...?
Well anyway, the day trips cost money to go. Since I've been to Gyeongbuk Palace twice, I definitely did not sign up for that one (5,000 won!). And after taking a look at the City Tour, which brings us to a few attractions and some shopping areas, I decided against it as well since it costs like 30,000 won!

To be frank, I'd much rather just go visit those places at my own time. But it's just that not going for those trips might make me lose out on interaction with people around me, but that's okay. I'm pretty with hanging out with my mentor cell group (which I will talk about soon enough.).

Well, anyway there were too many people queueing for their student cards. Time was really running out as they were going to start their orientation talks. So they just gave everyone else an orientation packet first and ushered us into the hall, telling us we could collect our cards after the talks.

They had a lot of talks and videos, and to be honest, the speakers like to repeat stuff. They kept repeating briefs and summaries of Yonsei's history, and after some time, most of us were thinking 'get to the main point already!'
There were three sections to the talks the entire day.

First was the pure administrative talks including like visa matters, so that was pretty informative, not counting the repetitive information about Yonsei.
Then we had a break for lunch, which I met Rekha and Alithea and spent some time at Sinchon. We had lunch at my recommended place Tomato Kimbap! Glad that they like the food there, especially the quail eggs for the side dish!

We walked back for the second portion, which included a talk from a current exchange student, a medical/health talk, and a Seoul Global Center talk, and student life talks, and... you get the idea. I spent most of the time chatting and catching up with Rekha. ^_^ Occasionally we'd look up to get the main points of the talk.

They also had a Kpop dance performance, which Rekha gave hilarious commentaries to.

And after that we had the campus tour.
Campus tour... this reminds me of the day I first met Seungik. Really such a coincidence! And the campus tour he gave was really good too, like I could make out a mental map of routes around school and all (even though he didn't really talk to the rest of the group...)

And from prior experience, groups were either split by number or alphabet. So we all had different alphabets on our orientation packs right? I assumed they were for the campus tour group since they had spent much effort labeling their packs. But no! The campus tour groups were split by the area which we were seated at during the talks! -_-

And the campus tour was not really comprehensive this time because Yonsei was too big and too hilly, and their buildings were all scattered. So we were only brought around the front of the school, and to a few places. Pretty awkward, in my opinion?

First stop, Theology building! We were introduced to the facilities inside, and from there our tour guide just pointed around and told us the names of buildings that were visible from that spot.

We then moved on to look at Underwood's statue. This place is right smack in the middle of the forked roads from the main gate. And we all stood to take a picture and all. Rekha and I took one~

And ta-dah! Our tour ended just like that, and everyone walked back to SK Global House. At least on the way back I found a shortcut and all. Went back to rest before the Mentors Club programme later in the evening.

Mentors Club programme was better, I guess. It was run by students so there weren't that much talking. When I entered the building for the event, the first person I saw was obviously my mentor-buddy Joon Young (or he calls himself Francis.).. It was so obvious that even Rekha who only say his facebook profile picture recognized him. But he didn't recognize me anyway. -_-

So we went in and we were given a bottle of water and a rice cake for snack. Sat at the place for Cell 11. Alone! So awkward!
After some briefings, the cell leader Joayeon brought us all out to Sinchon area to have dinner together. We ate at 하늘본닭. Which was almost the same as Yoogane. I sat at the table with Amber, Alvin, and Fay. We were all from different countries! Amber from the States, Alvin from Philippines, and Fay from England! We had quite a fun time talking and sharing.

We first had a chicken set that the mentors ordered for us, but Fay doesn't eat meat so she sat there looking at us eat ): Eventually she ordered a bowl of rice and ate it slowly. Then two pepsis came along, and there was even a bottle of soju.

They were all good drinkers so... we poured everybody a shot. (First round)

My second time trying soju, but the first time was when my Mum was around and I didn't even finish the entire shot. But this time, I did.
I actually quite like the taste of soju. But I am not good at all with alcohol so it isn't something I'd want to drink. Though social situations like these lets me have a taste.

I was doubtful about finishing the shot, but everyone just drank! So I drank it too. My largest mouth of alcohol, ever.

One shot later and I can feel my cheeks and ears start to turn red. It didn't even take long. O_O
So I got a little worried.

And then they poured another shot afterwards, and oh my... I could feel it getting to my brain. Terrible terrible feeling. So I just drank lots of water afterwards.

Just then, a plate of rice came to be added to the pan. We all stared at it like 'oh no... no way!'

We couldn't even finish it! We ate a few bites and couldn't take it anymore. We didn't even order it.
And at the end of it, we had to pay for it too. -_- Seriously, we could do without the fried rice!

It started drizzling after we left the restaurant for BarFly, where the partyparty was to be held. It was compulsary for us to get ourselves a drink, though entrance is free. I couldn't take anymore alcohol so I headed back first.

It was a tough walk back. Walked super fast because I was alone and when I'm alone I walk damn fast. Haha!

Came back to I-House to rest before showering and whatnot...

Internet at Yonsei is really terrible! Yesterday the wifi was totally non-functional. Couldn't even enter my id and password. It was obviously the correct combination but it says it's wrong!

And to make things worse, I was oovoo-ing and suddenly the internet just shut. Pages couldn't load even though it says connected to internet. Lies!

So I reluctantly called it a night and went to sleep.

Before I end off this post, a smile for you!

Thanks for reading! I will try to bring you another post today, alright? I try! If not stay tuned because even if I don't blog for a day, I do double posts the next day!

Love you all my readers! <3

Moving on to Yonsei..

So today I woke up early, packed my stuff, and bade a fond farewell to Alpha Guesthouse. I shall miss the cleaning auntie who cleans the place ever so spick and span everyday... And the 아저씨 who let me stay in the big room even after my parents left...

And so today I went out to flag a cab again, and met an old uncle - again, but this time not so old. In my sweetest voice I went '안녕하세요~(annyeonghaseyo!)' and he chuckled before I sat down. I told him to turn into Baekbom-ro where my bags have been left and his face changed immediately. In whatever Korean sentences I have, I told him a few things.

That my Korean is not good.
That I have a lot of bags.
That I will be going to Yonsei University.

And he was a little bit sad but he helped me a lot anyway. And I wrote down the address and all on paper so looking for the place wasn't that difficult. He drove me to International House and to be honest we both just stopped there not knowing that International House was just beside where he stopped. Eventually I just gave him a lot of extra money and he was happy, with a big smile on his face. And he helped me with some of my luggages.

Shifting all of them into International House is another big issue since the entrance was a distance away from the road. So I left my plastic box of clothes as well as my big bag of everything else along the road while I rolled my luggage into I-House first.

What followed was a really comical scene involving me shifting both the box and the bag at the same time, by using small checkpoints. I shifted my box to some corner then went back to carry my bag and shifted it to the next checkpoint, before going back to my box, and shifting it to another checkpoint after the bag. This continued until both my stuff were inside I-House. And I was tired. Really, really tired.

Check-in was pretty quick since I prepared all the documents they asked for.
I was assigned my room, and made my way up, first with my luggage and my box, then one more trip again for my bag.
On the way back up with my bag, a girl helped me with the doors and coincidentally we stopped at the same 5th level... And when I shifted my things we realized we were roomies! :D

So that was how I met Tara ^^
She's a really cute and bubbly girl from the States and we had several interesting incidences so far...

We unpacked our stuff, and once we were done, proceeded to fix up our internet on our laptops.
It's really silly because we do not have our wifi id and password, so basically the only internet we have is the LAN. And usually, hostel rooms do not get wifi.
But since we are staying in the room nearest to the lounge, we can still tap on that wifi. And through some magic powers (I won't say), I managed to get my phone connected to wifi. You know who you are (who helped me with this piece of magic), and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Anyways, Tara had some problems with the internet on her computer. So she asked to use my computer while I helped her fix her internet. Thankfully, I managed to solve the issues and got her internet working. She was so happy that she gave me a hug (:

This is my side of the room. The room is really tiny! Compared to Frontier House back where I came from... There is no bathroom inside the room so everything has to be done outside... But there were a lot of storage spaces. As usual, Stitch and my bolster are in their respective positions. Everything else is tucked in properly. in their cubicles and hmm, I have utilized every cubicle, but they are not filled to the max so pretty scattered.

This is how the room looks like, and no, it looks like the size of Frontier, but it isn't. It's a very scaled down version. And if you realized, we also have our private refrigerator which we haven't used yet. Or we might not even use, depending...

And oh yes, my room assignments always put me in rooms that face inwards, into other people's rooms in the next building -_- I don't know why it's always like that...

So after I settled some issues, I proceeded to head out to Sinchon.
I had to walk super far from I-House to Sinchon! T_T I really miss the convenience of Frontier and Anam..
It's hard to find food around here!

Well, I headed down to Daiso, and bought a few necessities. Like a basket for the shower, some tissues, and a pair of scissors, and a mirror for the table... I then stopped by Burger King for dinner. Ate really quick coz it was a really lonely meal.

I came back and rested while studying Korean. Went through my mistakes in TOPIK practice. And I realized that there are only 4 practices in the book. oh my... needs to ration.

Well so anyway, that kinda ended my day.. I just went on doing my regular chores..

But before I go, a smile for you~

Well, I hope that even though I'm not in KU anymore... Well, I'm not going to be a different person essentially, so do stay tuned alright? The fun is in being a student in Korea, although there may be school rivalry but, just stay positive, and make more friends! ^_^

Thank you for reading! <3

Last days of slack...

Tomorrow will mark the day I move into a new place and begin my new life with a different student identity. Much as I hate to change my student status, I have to >.< From tomorrow onwards, I can't say that I'm a KU student anymore... But try me, I'm still going to wear my KU shirts in my new hostel and sleep in them!

Packing has been going on fine, and these few days of break have been good. Very, very restful. I love the queen-sized bed I've been sleeping on ever since my parents returned to Singapore. It felt so good to stretch and all and wake up feeling like a princess!

So yesterday, I went to collect my TB test results and it was fine (duh!). The thing is, no payment was asked of me! I am now really scared of going back there in case they scold me for not paying, but seriously, nothing about payment was mentioned! >_<

And since there was nothing to do the entire day, I took the day to explore as far as I can, which ended up to my decision to visit COEX Mall at Samsung Station.
(Sorry I didn't take photos because there were too many people and it would be really awkward for me alone to stop and take a picture.)

It was a pretty interesting place, because it's like a megamall! So I mostly did window shopping, except for when I saw the Everysing shop! I took the opportunity to see if I could get the album I had wanted to, and to my pleasure, they had the album there! So I bought one for myself as Mum's present to me (: I also got a free poster along with it, nicely rolled up. I haven't opened it yet in consideration of my moving to a new hostel.

I also got the two Taemin photos for my dearest 여동생s back in Singapore...

I also bought myself a Topik practice book because I just can't stand using the computer for such practices! Was considering buying the TOPIK Master book, but it costs 27,000 won! So I settled for a cheaper one (which has no answer explanation like the Master has), costing only 10,000 won.

And on the very same day, Deborah whatsapp-ed me to say that 선생님 has made them buy two new books, one of them being TOPIK master... O_O Owhmigawd. WHY!!! But I shall have faith in myself and trust that my practice will work as well.

So I walked around a little bit more and wanted to catch a movie (yes, alone...) at MegaBox, but they didn't have the Expendables like XingCai recommended, so I gave up that idea. I walked all the way to the COEX Aquarium and was very, very tempted to enter! But due to the price (17,500 won) and the time (it was already 5+pm), I decided against it.
Maybe I would come back again one day to take a look.

And there was nothing left so I decided to make my way home... But on the subway, I checked my messages and realized that Seungik left me a reply saying he's at Gangnam. And at that exact moment, the subway announced, '다음 역이 강남역...' Basically announcing that the next station is Gangnam. So omg, I just alighted since I haven't been to Gangnam and it's super super far from Sinchon!

I got lost when I left the station because I didn't know which exit to go to. I had to go up and down several times before I found the crowded area where everybody is... And guess what? Gangnam actually resembles Orchard Road!

Ok really, random photo but I just stood and one side and snapped this using my iPhone. A very small portion of Gangnam. Well, it was all shops that were big and I didn't really have enough space to buy anything until I shifted somewhere permanent, so... it was mostly window shopping and having dinner. Went to to dinner street and went for CoCoIchibana (코코이찌방야) for some curry rice.

Super delicious dinner! Though eating alone in Korea has got to be the most awkward thing ever. >_<
Especially when everyone around you either has a group of friends or another meal buddy. Eating alone is like, urmm.... Well yea, they didn't notice me much and I had to ask them to pass me a menu even after they've seated me. I went home after having dinner coz I didn't have anything else to buy.
And the subway was REALLY crowded.

Anyway I made it home just fine and just slacked after that...

And woke up today like a princess again. The Japanese family left, and I didn't even hear them at all. I must have slept really soundly.
I had cheese bokki for breakfast again today while watching Running Man, carrying on where I had left off last time.

Really yummy, seriously. Good cheese flavour... And I finished off my carton of milk today too~

After finishing up the episode of running man, I went back to my room and started on my Korean studying. Finished up the Ewha textbook today! And started doing the first test paper on the TOPIK practice I bought. It wasn't too bad. I got a few mistakes, but I haven't gone through them yet as I wanted to finish up the paper first and calculate everything. And now I have packed them at the bottom of my plastic box. -_-

I haven't even done the listening portion yet because I have no scissors to open the CD slot and retrieve it. That will have to wait until I shift to somewhere more permanent.

Halfway through, I got really hungry so I made a trip out to get myself a lunchbox from the nearby 한솥 shop, and had chicken lunchbox again.

And a pepsi to accompany, but I took the whole day just to finish that bottle! Oh ya, on the way out I managed to go do my photocopy paperwork for check-in tomorrow (:

I then spent the entire afternoon packing whatever I could into my luggage. Took a shower and then packed again, and after that, I went out for some shopping. Bought myself supper as well as tomorrow's breakfast. And then got dinner got myself... at 한솥 again.

Kimchi fried rice! There were peas in the rice so I was like, shuddering everytime I bit into one. But it was alright, thankfully not very spicy!

Which led me to now...

Well anyway, it frustrates me to the max when I can't do my laundry in the rain! And thus, I have resorted to handwashing my undergarments, but I'm not going to use my body soap, so I have found the solution to this: LAUNDRY BAR SOAPS.

Great for handwashing, seriously. And super compact to carry around, unlike packets of detergent. You don't even have to worry about spills with the bar soaps!

My laundry lifesaver! Seriously man, when you're all alone and aren't in the comfort of your house, laundry suddenly becomes the center of your life. Like, you'll worry about having clean clothes... Well this will all be resolved if there was a dryer. But using shared laundry is a risk too. You risk losing your clothes, which I had back in my home school's hostel. ):

And also, since it's my last day at Alpha Guesthouse... A photo of the place I've been staying at for so long...

The common area is really cute. But the bad thing about here is that, there is no water dispenser, the bathroom is shared, and although they said they had TV, it's only in the officehouse that has it. So I haven't managed to watch TV at all during my time here ): The heater doesn't work well either... And the water has a plastic taste to it, not sure if it's chlorine but it's disgusting.

A part of me still prefers HEY Backpackers, even though it was really scary the first time I stepped in. And HEY Backpackers had no air-conditioning, especially during the heatwave... But the shared bathroom at HEY was much cleaner, the heater works very well, they had TV in the living room, and internet was much better than Alpha's. On top of that, the people who stayed with me were really friendly (although most were guys and it got kinda scary looking at the gender ratio). And oh yes, they have a water dispenser.

But there was very little privacy at HEY, and space was very scarce. Everybody's big luggages had to be left outside in the common area.

But it was an interesting experience having to live in such conditions. This is when all my school camp trainings come to good use! =p Adaptable like nobody's business now.

So well, this concludes my lengthy post, and as usual, a smile for you!

Featuring Stitch! Have a great day ahead~ ^^
Thanks for reading!

TB Test?

I had initially planned to wake up at 8.30am today so that I can go to the Public Health Center early. However, the rain made such a soothing sound and the bed was so comfortable that I woke up late - at 10.30am.

The two girls in the other room moved out today, so for most of the day I had the entire room to myself! But I had to go to the health center anyway so I just washed up, changed, and left.

I decided to go to the Seodaemun-Gu Public Health Center because it seemed nearer and the website had clearer instructions than the one for Mapo-Gu.

But I walked out to Sinchon station and was totally lost too. Although the buses stated were clear, I didn't know exactly where to stop, or where to take the bus! Eventually I saw the Seodaemun03 bus driving past and saw where people boarded the other seodaemun(#) shuttle buses and just waited there.

So I took the Seodaemun03 shuttle bus, which is like a feeder service because they charge 750won instead of the usual fare of 1,050won. But then, I didn't know where to stop and the bus seemed to go really far so I stopped randomly and checked the map, and then realized I haven't gone far enough yet. Yeah yeah, wasted money on 3G searching for maps.

And I had to board another Seodaemun03 bus because it started raining and I didn't want to walk in the rain. At last, I saw the Health Center, which was just really near the busstop. And at the Health Center, everything is in Korean. @_@ So I had to slowly read, and after some asking, realized that the TB management center was on the 2nd floor so I went up.

It was already past 11am, and they will close for lunch at 12pm!

But anyways, I rushed and made it on time, and they registered me without a problem. I was initially worried because in Singapore, if you wanted to get an X-ray for such issues, you need a 'prescription' from the doctor before the polyclinic does it for you. But here, it's like, register, and tell them it's for school and they just get your passport/ID, and contact number, and good to go!

I had to go up one more floor for the X-ray. And the weirdest thing is that they didn't collect any money from me? It's either I did something wrong, or that is really the way... In any case, I can go back tomorrow to collect the report and everything would be done. Cool.
And I shall remember to ask about payment. It's just really weird that they didn't collect payment from me.
And guess what, everything was accomplished before 12pm.
Awesome much?!
In Singapore, polyclinics are never this quick. Trust me.

So I just grabbed some lunch and went back to the guesthouse. And I wanted to do laundry but Mr. Manager says no, because the sky is overcast. At this rate I'm never gonna get my laundry done... So I just did some 'light laundry' which can be hung around in my room.

And there was still so much time, I managed to navigate myself from here to my future hostel using Naver Maps! Yea, like I totally can instruct the cab driver how to get there now -_-
I even drew a rough map for reference!

I waited till evening and then I showered and went out to have dinner at the usual shop near Chocolate.
When I entered, the people there were all so welcoming, and this ahjumma she asked if I needed three seats, and I was like... '혼자...' (which means alone..) and she was all motherly and told me to sit down and got me a menu...

She then pointed to the opposite seats to mine and said, '암마, 아빠..' and I laughed and nodded my head... O_O

SHE REMEMBERS THAT MY FAMILY USED TO EAT THERE A LOT!!!

;_; So touched... So touched...

Well, I ordered a Seollongtang and ate very happily.

Then a took a stroll around Sinchon, and today I went to Daiso to buy a few things.
I went out almost without my umbrella today coz I left it out to dry and the other family that moved in today conveniently brought it out with them and I had no umbrella left ):

And it started drizzling heavily so I hurriedly ran home... In the rain! >.<

And when I reached back, I couldn't find the key to the main door! I checked under the pot, and inside the pot.. but the key was nowhere to be seen! But I just pulled the door, and it opened to find the entire new family who just moved in today...

Fortunately, my little pink umbrella is back in the umbrella stand! Phew.

So I just went into my room, until I heard a knock on my door.. When I opened, these three girls were standing there, holding an ice cream for me!!!
But they just stood there and didn't say anything and I wasn't sure if I should accept it or what... But I did, anyway, and said thank you politely while making small talk with them in Korean.
Apparently they were Japanese-Korean bilingual! Coz I heard them conversing in both languages. The kids prefer Japanese so I assume they are from Japan~

Yep, and that concludes my day~ ^^

Before I go, a smile for you!

Korea University! Rawks! <3

A day of rest

Today I woke up to the huge noise the Russian residents were making in the morning. I had no desire to step out of my room, with a bedhead, to wash up, so I continue to sleep in until there was silence outside.

When I gingerly opened my door to peep outside, I realize that the entire common area was a mess. Half-drunk bottles of water were scattered around, the chairs were all over the place, and there were patches of water on the floor. Sigh.
I just went to brush my teeth and washed my face. And then remembered my milk. Thank goodness my milk was still intact! So i poured myself a nice cup of 서울우유 (Seoul Milk) for breakfast.

Today I managed to catch up with one episode of Running Man.
I also tried installing MapleStory on my Mac through Parallels, but NO, it wouldn't work because I'm using a virtual machine! -_-
I tried installing it on the common computer, and it still didn't work because it couldn't connect to the server. SIGH.

Give up.

When it was lunch, I went out to get myself a kimbap from the 토마토 김밥 shop. They sold a variety of food in there too, but I picked Cheese Hotdog Kimbap.
And it was... delicious, really delicious.

CHOMP! They even had tomato sauce inside the kimbap, with veggies and the sort! I like this one better than the kimbap I bought yesterday!
To be honest, after lunch I didn't really know what else to do, so I just sat in front of the computer and watched Running Man.

After which I decided to go take a shower. And did some laundry. And then...

It's time to go to church! I actually found a really nearby church, about a 8 minute walk with my normal walking speed...

It's the St Ignatius Chapel inside Sogang University!
And I enjoyed the mass there (: Songs were interesting, though the people there were really quiet and didn't sing the songs much.

I grabbed dinner after that at some shop I can't remember the name of.

But this is called 치킨도시락! After dinner I went to walk around the streets of Sinchon (darn it, I almost typed Anam. I really miss Anam!!! T_T). And I bought some food from Paris Baguette ^_^
After which I slowly walked back, and it was drizzling a little...

So I find myself back at Alpha now, typing this blogpost ^_^
Oh yea, and yesterday was my dog Ricky's 9th birthday! Happy Birthday old baby Ricky~!! Sorry I can't be there to give you all the hugs and the scratches I always gave you...

And that's him napping in his playpen on a lazy Sunday... Mum sent this to me. And he's getting fatter, he should exercise more because fat old dogs are not healthy fit dogs! I LOVE YOU RICKY!!!!

Before I end off today's post, a smile for you!

Peace out! And have a great day ahead! Love you all readers!

Simple two days~

My parents are on their way to Incheon International Airport now... so I'm left all alone here in the guesthouse. Yep. Kinda weird feeling because this room used to be noisy with the three of us in here...
And ok honestly, I still think my parents would be more comfortable at home because I don't think Seoul living suits them much.

Especially my dad, who has his schedules and stuff that he can never put down.

So yea. May they have a comfortable flight home. And sorry I haven't been a good tour guide because, well, because I'm not a tour guide. I'm still a 'tourist'.

So yesterday we went out pretty late too, and I had Angela's recommended ramyeon-spaghetti...

We went to Myeongdong! I don't know how many times exactly I've been there... Not that I love the place, but I just happen to bring people there.. Though, it's an alright place to be. A tad inconvenient to get to, but it's alright!

Basically we were just there to shop because of the awesome SPAO and all the beauty shops around. Myeongdong has a pretty good shopping atmosphere too, lots of tourists! Though Mum and I didn't really get anything much, more of just taking a look in the beauty shops. We also managed to get her a bag that she likes!

She enjoyed SPAO because the clothes were nice and the prices were reasonable. She bought me a shirt too ^_^ And bought herself one.

She also wanted to buy me an album from the everysing store, but they've ran out of the album that I wanted so we couldn't get any ): Sobs.

We then got ourselves the huge ice cream, and Dad and I got the Strawberry Yogurt flavour, and Mum got the blueberry vanilla one. It was really good in the hot weather! :D
And after a little bit of walking around, we went into Macs to grab a quick bite...
When suddenly! People started whipping out their phones and cameras! Know why...?

It's a celebrity! 장동건! Also known as Jang Dong Gun...
I'm not a great fan, but I know that he has many many many appearances before, so yeah.
I got sandwiched in the crowd, but thank goodness it was a pretty manageable crowd so it wasn't that bad. I just stood in the middle and watched till it was over, which was a short time only.

Everyone went back to their normal business after the commotion, haha. He was just there to do a CF, I believe? The cafe is newly opened~

Anyways, I recommended the FaceShop Sweety Mint Foot and Heel cream to my Mum because I used it and it was really good. Hope it helps for her cracked heels too ^_^ And for those of you who want a solution to cracked/dry heels, feel free to try it!
She also bought me an Aloe Vera bodywash from Nature Republic (that shop that gave out free shower poufs!) and also got a sleeping pack for her friend.

There wasn't much else left to walk after some time, so we headed back to Ewha, where there was Hana mart - it sells the Korean foodstuff and whatnot. We spent some time there deciding which stuffs to buy. While Mum and Dad were picking out the snacks, I picked a Cheese Bokki for myself. Hehe...
(which I had for today's breakfast...)

After that we went back and had our dinner. We all had bibimbap at our usual shop, simple meal! But last dinner in Seoul! >.<

Mixed the bibimbap into a tasty mixture... =p

Anyway Mum and I spent the night packing all the stuff into two luggages. Dad just went to sleep -_-
We managed to squeeze a lot of clothes into one luggage then had a small luggage filled with snacks. The 30 pack of Ramyeon was meant to be hand-carried!

We woke up this morning and continued packing again... Mum and Dad had to go to the airport in the afternoon... So we just finished up with the packing and got ready to go off.

Going to the airport from Seoul is really easy! How I wished Singapore had a such a system. There are so many buses bringing people to various places! And even from Sinchon, they just had to wait for a bus at the busstop, and then just board it, and it will bring them to the airport straight! Nice!

After that, I bought myself a kimbap before heading back.
The really nice manager guy told me that I could stay in the same room and didn't need to shift rooms! Thank you thank you thank you!

And awhile later, a few people started storming into the house and I was like, the office is in the next building pl0x.
Turns out eventually they were going to stay in the same house as me. And seriously, suddenly one of them barges in without even knocking! So pissed... But I found out they're from Russia, and like they came in a group of 10 people. Oh my. There goes the cleanliness of the toilet!

But they will only be staying for a night, so let's just live with it for a night >.<
And they did all sorts of funny stuff. Like the key to the front door was placed under a pot of fake flowers.... I couldn't find the key while going out to get dinner, and then realized they just threw it into the pot instead of putting it beneath the pot -_-

I better go label the milk I just bought. Later they drink my milk!!!

Well, in anyway! My chin is healing up well ^^ So I can post a proper photo~
Before I end off, a smile for you!

Actually, you can't see it right! That's really fortunate actually!

Mummy and I~ <3 Missing you already!