about coveting

More about my prayer for last night. The thing I covet, is the opportunity to study again.

I really like what I'm studying now. The question is, how far should I indulge myself?

I (and many, I would think) call it an indulgence because I don't need it. It does nothing for my future career. It may do some good to my teaching methodology, but seriously, do I need to spend thousands of dollars to improve the way I teach?

But ... studying Korean makes me so, so, so, so happy. Is my happiness worth this much?

And it's not even about money. It's also about my relationships with everyone back at home. To commit to this doesn't only involve thousands of dollars (and tens of thousands worth of lost income), it also means I put my relationships on the line. Church, family, friends.

I don't know ... seriously. The more I see how studying here is paying off in big ways, and how it makes me so incandescently happy, the more I don't want to leave. All I know for now is to enjoy the moment. In September I'll have to return to Singapore anyway, and I'll definitely miss the Fall term. If I decide to return (for about 2 years to finish the course), the earliest would be January 2014. I have some 4 months to consider carefully.

Please pray along with me.

some thoughts

If you've read the other page on why I've named this blog whyseoulserious, you'll know that one of my top priorities here is to study Korean. However, the main reason why I decided to leave Singapore for a while was really to take a break from a few things back at home, and work was one of them.

It is therefore a refreshing experience to be sitting at the other side of the classroom in a language class. There is still pressure, but the pressure is different. I am free to make mistakes. I'm not expected to know everything, and the best part is the attention is never only on me for extended periods of time. I guess that's part of the reason why I experienced burnout - the constant interaction with people day in and day out was just slowly wearing me out and denying me that chance to recharge my social battery.

Anyway, I daresay I can understand the struggles my teachers (I have 2) have. I used to teach students whose tongue I don't speak, and when they spoke conspiratorially in an unknown language to each other, it was ... disturbing. Yesterday, I experienced it myself, but as a student. Without going into detail, one of my classmates made a subtle jibe in English at a comment made by my teacher which she thought was myopic and narrow-minded, and some other classmates snickered along.

I'm sure my classmates weren't trying to be mean. But when I stole a glance at my teacher, her expression told me everything. It was so familiar, that helpless and forlorn expression. I'm positive she must have felt awkward and disturbed when her students suddenly broke out into English (a language she doesn't know well) and then started laughing, because her face went blank for a while and she abruptly changed the topic. I don't blame her. I would probably have done the same.

The thing is ... many students neglect the fact that teachers are also human. Teachers have feelings too, and teachers don't know everything. Having taught before, I think I know what they want, and I'm so not going to make my teachers' lives hell. I hope that by being a student here, I can 1) study something I enjoy and also to enjoy being a student, 2) learn more about being a language teacher and finally, 3) encourage my teachers.

:)

***

I've started joining the school's worship service which the teachers join too. Haha. It's entirely in Korean and I totally couldn't follow anything today. Should I join an international congregation? I'm rather half-hearted to do so since I'm in Seoul ... we'll see.

Prayer for today: godliness with contentment is great gain. God, please help me not to covet what others have, but to be truly thankful for the many blessings I already have from you.

settling in nicely

I'm now rather happily settled into living here. The bus system is no longer such a great mystery to me anymore and buying stuff has also become much simpler once I started to be more courageous in speaking Korean, even bad Korean. The people here (or those that I've met so far) are generally very nice and patient towards me when I fumble, so that really helps in settling in.

Today I left my home at 7.50 a.m. to catch the 7.58 a.m. bus but it came a few minutes earlier so I reached school at ... 8.30 a.m.! Granted, I alighted at the bus stop near the main gate, but that meant I had 30 minutes to enjoy a slow leisurely walk to my department. And enjoy I did. As I walked I ate my breakfast (a banana) and my favourite part of the school campus is this mini forest that I have to cut through to get to my destination. So I was a happy kid.

Class today was okay. After yesterday's intense homework assignments, my brain needed some time to get the engine revving and guess what? I was asked to recite the dialogue learnt from the day before. My mind just went COMPLETELY blank and the teacher made me put my arms above my head. Hahaha. I put them down the moment her head was turned. And since our topic for this week is about phone conversations, she actually made us call the information hotline for Seoul to ask for certain phone numbers, such as that of Lotte department store. Nerve-wrecking, I tell you.

No homework today, but we have to write a daily diary. I wish there were more homework ...

Anyway, after school I'd wanted to walk to Hyundai department store to get some moisturising cream but I was too lazy to lug my books and walk that 5 min. Haha. So I just caught a bus headed for home and I made a mental list of the stuff I had to get, such as:

1. salt
2. pepper
3. potatoes
4. enoki mushrooms
5. moisturiser
6. garlic

I thought I remembered an Aritaum store somewhere near my home, but I figured if I didn't see one I'd just get it another day. It might be the lower humidity that's causing my skin to get a bit too dry these days.

So I was merrily minding my own business on the bus when I saw a wet market and an Aritaum store some 5 bus stops away from my home! Quickly got down, and had probably one of the most enjoyable half hour of my time in Seoul so far. First, I got my moisturiser (yay) and in South Korea, you get heaps of samples when you buy cosmetics / skincare stuff. I didn't get heaps like I had the last time I shopped at Etude House, but the girl probably noticed my very dehydrated skin and she gave me some 6 packets of day moisturiser, taking pains to try to explain what it was used for (she didn't speak English). That's a nice gesture. :)

After that it was market day! I bought potatoes from a halmeoni (grandmother) and enoki mushrooms from an uncle whose assistant (also an uncle) shouted "I love you!" just when I was leaving. Hahaha. The enoki mushrooms were going for 6 at 1000 won, but I didn't want that much, so I asked in Korean,

"세 개 괜찮아요?"

세 is the Korean word for 3, and 개 is the counting unit for general items. I wasn't sure if I could apply the counting unit to food like this, but to my pleasant surprise it was used correctly (later I saw the same word written on the sign for the mushrooms). So I bought 3 packets for 500 won!

I must say it's such a great feeling to be able to communicate my intentions properly and to be able to understand the other party correctly. My time spent at the market was enjoyable because I could actually communicate with people, and in a tongue I've been trying to use well since last year. Am so encouraged by the grandmothers and grandfathers! I shall continue to go to this market for my groceries hahaha.

Caught the same bus back home and at the supermarket I got some salt, pepper and garlic. All set to go! Went home, tried to make the same enoki-egg pancake thing that Omma once taught me, didn't quite succeed but the result wasn't half bad. In fact, if I might say so myself, it was pretty palatable! Quite a sense of achievement, actually, and I can understand how some people can enjoy cooking so much (I personally prefer eating more).

But I still hate the washing up. D:

Had a serious case of food coma after lunch, so I napped and after I woke up I decided to make dinner for tomorrow since I would be coming home late after church service in school. I made mashed potatoes while watching the new season of Galileo hahaha. Maybe I can shape it into patties and fry them ...

In all, it was a good day. :) And now I have to translate all these into Korean for my diary.

my first Sunday and Monday

A few updates:

1. toilet paper and detergent bought (more about this later)
2. got my Korean phone number and a data plan too!

Ok let's talk about Sunday.

So I went to the morning worship service at Yonsei on Sunday. The campus was pretty deserted, so I took the opportunity to walk around a little since I had time (didn't get lost at all!). I didn't take many pictures in the end because I stayed at a single spot for way too long ... make a guess what kind of place that is.

Anyway, let's begin from my place. This is how the street just outside my apartment looks like:

This is to the left. And to the right, which is where I always walk to in order to get to my bus stop:

At night it can get a little scary so I make it a point to never go home after 8pm.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the main gate to one of the most prestigious universities in the whole of South Korea:

Unfortunately I can't claim that I was from "one of the most prestigious universities in the whole of South Korea" because I'm only doing a language course here. :X

But I digress. I walked in the same main gate and soon to my right something caught my eye:

A TRADITIONAL GATE????

AND WHAT'S THAT BEHIND?!

TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS! Ladies and gentlemen, this was where I tarried for a long, long, long, long time. Looks like a visit to my favourite place in Seoul (that's the Gyeongbok palace by the way) is much needed.

Random shot of pretty daisies.

The service itself was ok, very Presbyterian though I'm pretty sure the church's non-denominational. No one bothered me and I felt very comfortable there. Singing along to the songs were not a problem coz most of them were hymns and I already know the tunes and of course, reading in hangul. Scripture reading was fine too coz I could follow the verses by listening for key words, but when it came to praying the Lord's prayer in Korean I totally couldn't do it. Maybe I could memorise it ...

After the service, I went home, bought some food from the supermarket and had a quick lunch. Rested a while, and then I headed for my host family's home for dinner.

It was so good to see them again! I can't express how incredibly thankful and humbled I am, to have people who love and care for me like family. It's like this in Myanmar, it's like this in South Korea. Host dad held my hand tightly all the way from the station to the home, and host mum made my favourite Korean dish for me:

SAMGYETANG.

Very, very, very touched. I finished every morsel of it.

***

Today's Monday. Today's also the first day of school.

I won't go into much detail. Basically it was okay and to my relief, following the teacher (who spoke only in Korean) wasn't as difficult as I'd expected. It might have helped that whatever I learnt today I had already learnt in Singapore, so it was more like revision for me. I personally think that my writing and reading skills are much better than my speaking and listening skills, and today proved this very hypothesis. From now on I shall grab every opportunity to speak in Korean!!!! It would be a terrible waste if I did nothing to improve my skills while I'm here.

And oh, I'm the only Asian in my class. My classmates are all angmohs ... D:

Anyway, after class I had coffee with my Korean friend, and then I got a Korean phone number with a data plan. Yay to GPS and Google maps from now on! And uh, Facebook and Kakao and WeChat on the go!

On my way home, I decided to pick up some groceries. I was already carrying 2 bags, one of which was filled with my books, but I thought, heck it, I'm too lazy to come out again. So the Lotte MySuper ajumma and ajeossi looked at me trying valiantly to balance 2 bags, a HUGE bag of toilet rolls (there goes whatever Korean street cred I had) and my groceries. And when I say HUGE, I mean 30-rolls huge:

Looks like someone won't ever find herself in an emergency in the middle of the night.

Came back, unpacked, did some of my homework, made dinner (chicken porridge) and am now taking a break now. I should get back to work ... :D

every day I am lost

Except today. Because I didn't go out (had to tend to my laundry in case it rained and also coz I was a bit lazy).

But on the other days that I did go out ... man I got so lost it wasn't even funny!

So I had to head to Yonsei University on the 19th for my placement test at 9.30 a.m. I left my home at 7.30 a.m. and reached my school panting and perspiring at 9.30 a.m. (the journey is supposed to only take 30 min). How did this happen?

In a nutshell, I took the wrong bus in the wrong direction. Clearly, 2 wrongs don't make a right. Thankfully I realised my mistake in time and took a cab to school. =.=

 SO RELIEVED TO SEE THIS.

Going home wasn't any better; in fact I got super lost trying to find my bus stop. Using whatever limited Korean skills I could muster, I half-asked-half-read my way to the correct bus stop. Then I got down a stop earlier, got lost again, and finally found my way back home.

Total time taken to reach home from Yonsei: 3 hours. (It should only be 30min max!)

And on the 20th I was supposed to meet my Korean friend at Gangbyeon subway station at 3 p.m. because he wanted to take me shopping for all the tech stuff that I need to get connected to the internet. Again, to play safe I left my home at 1.30 p.m. I reached Gangbyeon subway station at 3.20 p.m.

HOW!?

Hehehe. The day before when I had been lost I had spotted Sinchon station and actually had gone in looking for a map. The place had been eerily deserted and completely uncharacteristic of the Korean subway stations that I know. Anyway, I went to this station, tapped in, went down the escalator and this was what greeted me:

O.O

How is this a subway station?! And why was I the only one?!

I sat there waiting for the train to come for about 20 min. In that 20 min I seriously considered the possibility that this wasn't the station I was looking for.

But ... this is obviously Sinchon station!

Finally, I left the place and went out to take a better look. Nearly strangled myself when I saw the words 신촌 기차역 - Sinchon station yes, but Sinchon RAILWAY station. Kill me just kill me.

By then it was 2.30 p.m., so I quickly ran into the nearest convenience store and asked "신촌 지하철역 어떻게 가야 돼요?" (How do I get to Sinchon subway station?) Got the directions, reached my station in one piece, and managed to reach Gangbyeon eventually.

Later I learnt that from this station one could reach North Korea in the past. LOL.

And on the 21st, again I had to go to school for orientation. By then my confidence was on a high, having already lost my way 2 days in a row and actually finding out various ways (and buses) to go home. But I thought I should play safe, and in the end I took the bus that my landlord had told me about: bus 7611. I still remember thinking very smugly to myself: "There's no way I'm going to lose my way today."

I WAS SO WRONG.

Instead of getting down at Sinchon subway station, I naively thought the bus would take me to Yonsei directly and happily sat on the bus till I reached Ahyeon station which is 2 stops away from Sinchon. By then I knew I had overshot and grumbling, I alighted, took the train from Ahyeon to Sinchon, and then RAN to school through the front gate of Yonsei.

Yonsei is a really pretty school but sorry, I was too busy running in the afternoon sun to stop and stare and actually take pictures. Next time ... I promise.

Going home was much better coz my sharp eyes caught the bus 7017 at the bus stop outside Ewha Womans University and I remembered that bus goes to my home, so I took that bus and voila! For the first time in 3 days I actually reached my destination as intended!

***

Tomorrow I'm going to attend a Korean/Engligh service in Yonsei, which is a mission school. Decided to go there because I figure the dual-language service could help me in my Korean listening skills, and at the same time I could still understand what's going on. Service's at 11 a.m., so guess what time I'll be leaving my place?

9.30 a.m. :)

Maybe I can also take pictures ... IF I don't lose my way again ...

My room

I stay in a studio apartment, which means theoretically I have practically everything I need to survive without having to leave my room.

That's in theory. In real life, I go downstairs to the water dispenser for water and to the roof to dry my laundry. Other than that, yeah, I pretty much can huddle in my room in comfort.

Let me show you how my room looks like!

First, when I open my door I'm greeted with this sight:

That's a really cool travel clothesline that I bought from Loft in Kyoto. I've always wanted a travel clothesline. :X Why is it cool? Please look carefully at the blue thing on the right - it's an INFLATABLE hanger!!! And this clothesline comes with cute pegs! Ok let's move on. That's my trash at the bottom right ... I'm not required to sort my trash (thought I would be) so everything goes in here. I empty my trash every 2 days or so, depending on the amount of food waste I generate.

The moment I step in, I take off my shoes and change into comfy bedroom slippers:

I got this pair from the hotel in Shin-Osaka. Hey, they explicitly said the slippers are for me to bring home (I have another pair in my luggage)!

Ok, and to my immediate left is the toilet & shower:

As you can see, I'm running out of toilet paper but I keep forgetting to get more. Those are my shower gel, shampoo and ... dishwashing liquid on the floor.

And next to the toilet is my favourite part of my room:

A WASHING MACHINE. Haha. And above it, my wardrobe which contains all my unmentionables. Next to it, a super-mini pantry. That's a hot plate and I believe you can also see the handle of a pot that I acquired from Daiso yesterday at 5000 won (SG$5.50). I figure a 5000 won-pot can last me 10 weeks here. Above the hot plate is where I store my food and tea, and below it, a fridge. Hiding in the gap between the washing machine and the fridge is the detergent provided by my landlord, but it's running out really soon so I'm gonna get some tomorrow ... if I remember.

TO GET:
1. toilet paper
2. detergent

Ok let's continue. Let me show you my bed ...

That's the window, and I took this picture at about 7.50 p.m. It's 8 p.m. now but there's still light - it kinda looks like our 6.30 p.m. in Singapore. I guess in summer the days are longer. When I look out of my window (which I do often), I see school kids on weekdays coz my home is next to a middle school, and right smack in between 2 universities. 

And oh, do you spot my handphone charger on my bed next to the window? That spot is what I call the "Wifi sweet spot" - for those of you who do not know, I don't have Wifi in my room, so in order to use the applications on my phone, I have to resort to stealing street Wifi which is weak and unstable. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, eh? This street Wifi saved my sanity when I first arrived and couldn't get any internet at all.

Now, for the study part of my room:

This is probably where I store most of my stuff. The 3 cabinets above me are full of stuff (mostly books and stationery) and below it is where I put my laptop and all the messy cables. Not sure if you can see it, but I have the origami Totoro and a nanoblock koala to the left of my laptop. I made the nanoblock koala on my 2nd day when I was super lonely. :( The table where you see my Nalgene (containing matcha) and my books is actually collapsible, but I only collapse it when I need to clean the room or when I jump rope (oh yes people, I actually exercise here). Can you see my polka dot luggage under the table? When I collapse the table it covers the space occupied by the luggage so ... I don't actually clean that area. :X

So that's it! My room is really small, comparable to my hostel in NUS, but I'm very comfortable here. Next time I shall post pictures of my neighbourhood and the roof where I sometimes try to catch the sunset while I hang my laundry.

FINALLY MY FRIENDS

The fact that you can read this means I am finally connected to the great WWW.

“Finally” seems a little … wrong in the most connected part of the world (that’s South Korea, by the way). Let me start, all the way from the beginning.

Part 1: The-great-travelling-adventure-that-wasn’t-to-be

I had been super stressed out and daunted by my journey to my apartment which isn’t any walking distance to any station. Also, I was going to lug around some 32kg of stuff (distributed over 3 bags) … wasn’t that confident I could do it. Anyway, I gritted my teeth and did exactly what I was told to: take the Airport Railway to Hongik University station (3950 won), and then a cab to my place (7700 won). It was a long cab journey only coz the GPS gave the driver a super long roundabout way – by the time he (and I too, for that matter) realised, we were too near our destination to make any drastic changes. To make a long story short, I arrived at my apartment in one piece, and it was so much easier than I had thought. -.-

Checked in (long complicated process that I’m too lazy to write about), and to my horror my landlord told me there was no … WIFI. No WIFI in Seoul?! He then handed me a LAN cable and asked me to use that instead, but I showed him my Ethernet-less ultrabook with a helpless expression. Darn. He had to leave, so I made the quick decision to quickly rush out and look for a computer accessories shop, get my Ethernet adapter, and live happily ever after.

Not … so … easy.

Firstly, it was raining. Secondly …

… THERE WAS NO COMPUTER ACCESSORIES SHOP. I walked into a few places and with my very limited Korean, some English and lotsa gestures, I tried to convey my intention but no one understood me. Finally, I decided to go home, a dejected and unconnected person.

I thought then that I could go look for one the next day after my placement test. Oh, that’s another story in itself …

thoughts before i leave ...

No, I'm not all packed yet. But I would say ... 90 - 95%? My only concern now is that I don't carry way more than what the airline allows.

The most common question/remark that I get these days is "Are you excited?/You must be really excited!" Well, I must say that at first when I started to put my crazy plan into action, I was really psyched. Then as the day approached, I realised how woefully weak my command of the Korean language was is. My first instinct was to start mugging, but as a language teacher I know how futile that is. So ...

please just don't let me be in the lowest level!

So now I'm more terrified than excited.

I doubt I'll have any real difficulty living in Seoul, having experienced a bit of it last year. I didn't do the usual touristy thing by staying in a hotel - I did a homestay and besides the palace and museum tours, all I did in Seoul was to follow my host mum to the supermarket, go for evening walks along the Han River, cook Korean food and eat it while watching Korean shows (of which at best I understood 1%). I find Seoul very livable and I LOVE being able to blend in and not stand out at all. Well, that's until I open my mouth to speak English or very hesitant and bad Korean. Seoul's also much easier to get around than Yangon SO! I'll be able to survive here pretty well, I think.

AND OH THE INTERNET HERE IS PHENOMENAL.

:)

I sound like I'm already in Seoul. Hehe.