It's 4.25am Korean time and i am still awake-i really think my biology clock is pretty screwed! In the below entry, i will refer 22 Sep, as "today" cos i have yet to end my day... (perhaps in the habit of writing my blog?)
"Chuseok" (Thanksgiving day) is actually "Mid Autumn Festival". In Korea, this is a big event and there is 3 days of public holiday. Every Korean returns to their home town in this period.
And PH starts from 21 - 23 Sep.
I was pretty fearful that i will have nothing to do. And since nobody would be home, i just didn't want to stay at home alone.
Hence, i when about searching for Guesthouses in the Dongdaemun area (Hyehwa, to be exact) and toying with the idea to stay in a guesthouse over the PH. I had the impression it that it is more accessible to Palaces and Villages which would be holding some traditional activities and performances over Chuseok and on the side note, i hoped to be able to find company over Chuseok at the guesthouse... To be frank.. who wants to be alone on a PH, what more, a BIG family PH? (This was the mindset i had...)
But, after seeing the houses (and they were both kindof the top choice), i kinda felt relieved i am staying at where i am. When i was traveling home, i kinda had a lightbulb blink in my head...
"Who cares if you spend Chuseok alone?"
I then remembered the fact that it doesn't matter if i was alone physically, in my heart, my family is always there for me...
(1) If Chuseok was a sort of holiday in Singapore, i am sure i will be spending it with my family, this is my assurance.
(2) It is better to spend Chuseok with myself than with a bunch of people i don't know...So... heck, i will spend Chuseok touring the tradition places! Yes, on my own... i'd rather do that than be obligated to spend it with unfamiliar people...
I made my own plans but the weather was not on my side, really. It was raining cats and dogs yesterday, the first day of Chuseok. Heard that there was some flooding going on in Hongdae station. One day, the weather can be 33 degrees and the next it can be 18 degrees!
This is what you call crazy weather! So I had to cancel my plans to Namsan Hanok Village due to the bad weather.
Today's tour menu was to Cheonggyeonggung, 창경궁 (It is one of the many palaces)- there were some photo-taking with people dressed in Empress and Emperor's attire (or was it that WE get to dress up?) and we can enter for FREE since it is PH.
Description from tour book:
Changgyeonggung was built in 1418 for the living former queens and later extended to a regular palace as new buildings were constructed. Together with Changdeokgung, it was called East Palace. As other palaces in Joseon, it went through wars, upheavals, and conflagrations. In particular, it was turned into a zoo and botanical gerden by the Japanese. Since 1989, the place has been fully restored to its former glory.
Directions:
Hyehwa Subway Station, Line 4, Exit 4, 15 mins walk
Well - can tell i missed the entire photo-taking session today... Somehow, what my sister said was right - i take a darn long time to get ready before leaving the house... that only happens when i have luxury of time - envy me! hahaha
I eat, check my mails, update facebook, catch up on MSN... that's alot of things. And yes, making up can take me sometime IF i want to be fussy...well, heard of the term, "no ugly woman, only lazy woman"?
Somehow, i think i like to take it easy at home and then "rush around" outside... meaning, making sure i have JUST ENOUGH time to get from one place to the other - e.g. plan to get to palace by 4pm, leave at 5.15pm for church Chuseok celebration by 6pm etc... perhaps that BIT of pressure adds some adranaline in my body and gives me that satisfaction and also helps prevent me from roaming the streets excessively for that can result in excessive shopping (very detrimental!)...
I guess i have started to realise that all palaces look alike cos it is the truth... The only difference is the size and probably the type of gardens and ponds they have available in THAT palace... this one is like a miniature palace meant for ladies to stay in... the park behind is relatively small, but still, it was a nice walk!
After the palace trip, i headed for the church i had attended on Sunday, as planned... Name of church is "New Harvest Sarang Community Church"... When i first saw the name, first thing that came to my mind was - New Creation + City Harvest (2 of Singapore's Mega Churches combined!) I think i either like reading things "in between the lines" or i just know the art of "self-humour"... but whatever the case is, this church connects me... I really feel the flow and feel so at home here...
While i sat in the service, I have received a "revelation"... Previously, i have been asking God to send someone to "invite me" to their place for Chuseok so i won't be alone...on this national holiday whilst everyone else in my house goes back to their hometown...(anyway, that didn't happen).
So, today...as i headed to church, i didn't know what to expect because it is a lil strange to attend a "gathering" alone... Going places alone is fine for me as i enjoy sight-seeing and going trigger-happy... but attending a gathering alone is not cos there are no sights to see and at "gatherings" you are likely to see clusters of people and i didn't like feeling "left-out". Also, since i have not had such an experience for a long time, i contemplated whether to go, or not to go...but the Spirit led the way and i decided it was no harm going to "check it out"...
The impact only came when i arrived and saw everyone in their clusters... my heart was like - RIGHT... so what do i do now? Grab my food and just sit in a corner? (That was my plan. Afterall, i can just leave) Or should i be more thick-skinned and take the initiative to sit around with random groups of people?
I think God heard my thoughts and just within a few seconds, after that thought, a lady named Mary popped up from nowhere and started talking to me. Although she left shortly after, i had grabbed my food by then and it was even more awkward to leave; so plan 2 came into action, where i randomly found an empty space next to a caucasion lady and sat next to her... they were in a group, but they looked friendly.. and they were!
So we started talking and we managed to have a decent conversation... infact, i am really inspired by her purpose in staying in Korea...
The service started and ended quickly and time just flew by... And as i sat there, the light bulb came on for me - that in fact, God DID answer my prayer, about having someone invite me to their house.
I was so special to Him that He didn't want me to go to just anyone's house so randomly... He made me go to His house. I spent Chuseok in the house of the King. What more can i ask for? When that revelation came, I was so touched and happy. This is the proof that He hears me and that He is HERE with me...
Let he who have ears, hear...he who has eyes, see... Everyone has ears and eyes... but everyone sees things differently... only if your heart is sensitive to heed the little voice that sometimes speak ever so faintly will you hear and see wonders that can change your perspective all together....
And that is not the only take away - i found a new friend in church (the caucasion girl)...
Feeling warm all over... i just wanted to come home and pen these thoughts. And in fact God has more plans instored for me cos it turned out that everyone was home today (when i expected nobody to be home)...
Seonyu, Ryuho, TS, Yujin... now i became the missing link...So i bought a cake we we "celebrated" Chuseok in our own way...
Not only that, i am so blessed tat TS gave me free Korean tuition by sitting infront of me and being a talking human dictionary... So needless to say, i think my homework this time will come back with excellent scores!
As a reward for completing my homework (actually, i see it as MY reward - hahaha - but they had already planned to watch a movie "home theatre" style anyways!) We set up the "theatre" at home and started watching Evelyn Salt .. And for those who dont already know the ending... please dont watch it is you hate shows that have no conclusions....There was no lack of tidbits and fruits... we feasted all night!
I am soooooo blessed with these housemates of mine...
언니(big sister aka Seonyu), cooks good food and always asks me to eat...
Ryuho (boyfriend of 언니) can be pretty entertaining with this cold jokes and has alot of information about where to do sports, very spontaneous...
TS is so patient that i declare him a free tuition teacher...
And i live in the hot spot area... I choose to believe i am probably the "bless-i-est" student in class!
Ok - need to turn in now, it is dawn but my thoughts are overflowing...
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