First day in Seoul...

Day 2 in Korea and i should better update otherwise, i m likely to forget! hahaha...

I am so touched by the "send-off" party at the airport the night before... You guys rock!


And of course, my beloved family! :)





The few days prior to departure was pretty "stressful" as my bags are too heavy and i was so uncertain about what to expect. I was finally seeing my plans come true! And it was almost unreal...i went packing/unpacking/packing/unpacking and ALAS, my luggage was down to 26 kg, but my carry on was like a whopping 14kg in total - almost about to BURST!

As i bid goodbye, my feelings were kinda mixed... although just a short 3 months, i felt like i missed my family even before parting... yet on the other hand, i am extremely nervous and excited about living in Korea...

First thing i did upon touch down was to get my rented mobile phone... Got Student Rate! hahaha 1/2 price!


My Korean friend, Yujin was here to receive me and we headed to the place i stay via the Airport Limousine....


The luggage was no joke man! Imagine 2 girls pushing over 40kg worth of bags across the roads, through the streets etc... I kinda regretted bringing so many things as i was about to find out they have a DAISO just next door! HAH!

This is one of the streets in the Hongdae area.




The first impression i had when i reached the house was - huh.... so "lok cok"... The entrance was a small one... it isn't significant and being a "pang ji ha" (which is a half-basement" house...)it seems to give the impression of a very damp, dark and smelly place... Lucky thing was i expected nothing, so there wasn't much disappointment...


Once in the house, i kinda felt better as the place was actually rather clean though the living roomas slightly messy. The toilet and the kitchen was EXCEPTIONALLY clean and and very well-mantained...(I would soon find out that the main tenant of this house, Seonyu is such a dilligent lady who cleans the place and tries to keep it as tidy as possible as the men (2 of them!) usually don't do it!)


My room is actually clean (except for that the windows looked slightly dirty!)... Small, but very cosy... So i started my own edition of Project Homeway! Though i slept very little on the flight here... I had to organise my room so somehow, there was the adrenaline!


I asked for the best few places to head to for purchase of such furniture and there you go! Daiso! Grand Mart! (both are walking distance from where i stay) and Homeplus! (which was a few subway rides away...the popular household brand, akin to our NTUC and Carrefour)...

In fact, i had no time to miss home... i dived straight into buying stuff, cleaning up the room and organising my stuff! By the end of the day... I was ready to call this my haven in Seoul...

I have so much to update, but right now, i just need to go sleep and wake up EARLY tmr for my placement test! Nights and i will log on soon!

Times & Chance happens to all man...

Enough is enough. I love my current job, but if I don't move on, i never will.

After some procastination, I have decided that I value the experience more than the money (quoted from my profound husband "money can be earned, time cannot- which costs more?) So I have decided that taking a sabbatical and doing a homestay will be the way to go.

Yes.

Suddenly.

Yes.

Random.

I have officially resigned from the job I love and truly enjoy... (after 3 years and 3 months) and now, I am making preparations for my trip to Korea to study the language. The course is 10 weeks long....it's not a long time, but it's also not really that short, is it?

There are ALWAYS issues "what about my husband? what about my job and my income? what about my plan to acheive this and that by when and when...?" The more one procastinates thinking about the "what abouts", the more their dreams/desires remain only as a dream. It ends there.

One of my all-time favourite quote -

"Sometimes, people would rather dream about their dreams without trying to realise it in fear of disappointment..."

No - I don't want to fall into that category...

The light bulb suddenly lit up.

Not everything can be measured with money... sometimes, opportunity costs is not about losing the opportunity to make that "bit" of money (ok - I have to admit, the pay is not just "a bit" to me) but if I compared it to the cost of losing that chance to experience living abroad on my own... I may look back in 10 years time and regret not going for the opportunity now...

I don't know what to expect, but I know:

"If I dont try, I will never know"

Checking out with this poem:

Seasons come, seasons go
There’s a time for each and every role;

A time to laugh, a time to cry,
Every time’s, a different tide;

Sorrows and joy, lasts but twilight,
Blink and there, it’s gone with the wind;

Paths may cross, and they may split,
Timing meetings are divine’s intervene;

A split second it could be,
Yet creating never-ceasing memories…


I will leave my last statement as some food-for-thought:

The race is not to the swift, nor battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to man of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all....

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Run

I want to run, Out of sight,
Yet here I stay, In your delight...

Runaway from you,
To somewhere you cannot see
Runaway from me,
No more hopes to keep...

RUN, RUN, RUN ... I RUN
Even if I trip and fall,
Run from dusk to dawn
Even if there's no more strength to carry on...

Run away from hopeless faith,
Run away from joyful pain.
Run away from self-less gains,
Run away, just run....

I want to run, Out of sight,
Gone from desires, gone from light...

You & Me

Only when I sleep, am I awake.
Only when I dream do I live
I think of you till the dawn breaks.
Even if you are not someone I need.

In my heart, I draw you near to me.
In my head, I push you away.
Late at night, I feel you close to me.
Yet I am like a thief by the day.

You are a reality, yet a dream
Existent in my world yet nowhere to be seen
A lover, yet betrayer,
Loyal, faith-breaker…

What you have, you have given away,
What is left would be mine to take
I cannot submit to this fate.
I cannot accept being second best.

My mind….
Slapped dead to emotional woes.
Would I be better off?
If I was on my own.

The possibilities, driven with impossibilities
The dreams mixed with realities,
What is seen and yet unseen
How long will it be before I break free?

Come to me,
Leave me…

Heaven's Light

In the light, you can see my smile...
In the night... I search for my ray of light...
Posted by Hello

One man's meat is another man's poison.
And sometimes, no matter how "attractive" and delicious-looking the meat is...
Men would only be interested in looking at it, admiring it...
They wouldn't think about eating it....
True?

Just like dreams...
Sometimes, people would rather dream about their dreams without trying to realise them in fear of disappointment.
And some want their dreams to become a reality.
Not everyone sees their dreams come true in the same way...
What about you?

The Cruelest Thing

Flashes in the sky...
Posted by Hello

Love…. I cannot describe the joy it brings to me…
Love…. I cannot understand the pain that comes along in it.
Where do they come from, when do they start?
Where do they go forth, when they can’t be stopped?

A feeling, where hope is received initially,
When faith comes without seeing…
A feeling, which holds the possibilities of being deceived ultimately,
And pain starts to devour me ever-hungrily.

He should never have said the words he said,
If they meant something at first,
But attained nothing in the end

He should never have acted as though he cared,
If he cannot be responsible for the actions he take.
Nor bear the consequence of what he gave.

She should never be taken in, when she already doesn’t have enough faith.
If she could live her life this way before he came,
She could do it again after he has left.

She should never trust in the word “feelings”,
Because when it strikes, one either jumps to life,
Or left, for dead

If feelings cannot be stopped,
Should you let it go on?
If love cannot be controlled,
Should you let it get out of hand?

Maybe I should stop holding on aimlessly,
Because your pursuit was never meant for me.
Maybe to let you go, will serve its purpose in me being freed.
Well, then it should be, that I kill the passion I have for you, in me…

Because the cruelest thing a man can do,
Is to cause a woman to fall in love,
And not be there to catch her when she falls…

Reflection

Double-Sided....
Posted by Hello

Sometimes, everyone seems to know themselves, but do they?
How often do we reflect and look at ourselves?

"When someone sees the same people everyday, they wind up becoming a part of that person's life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lifes, but none about his/ her own"

How true... Everyone has 2 sides... It's whether you see it, or you don't. Even in yourself...