Hangang Park 한강공원

Dangsan Station, Lines 2 

Accessible via many subway stops as well.


It all started  because i fell asleep on the subway  -  i exceeded my usual stop and ended up having to get off 2 stops from my supposed-stop.

When i woke up (finally) i was a little lost cause i dont remember seeing scenery outside the train window; I usually get off the train while i am still in the tunnel so i knew that i had exceeded my destination.

Funny thing is, the scenery outside the window was really nice! Then i realised it was a part of Hangang.

So, the adventurer in me appeared and i got off at the next stop - Dangsan, destination in mind - "Hangang"

Like i said before, how can things always just "happen" to be... somehow, I know God is watching me....

The moment i exit from the station, there was a bicycle rental kiosk, so i got a bike and went scooting around.

Stumbled into some martial art public display...

Amazing right? Looks like a nice venue to date!

The clouds where unbelievebly beautiful - just like cotton candies in the sky!

The more i explored on my own, the more i appreciate this time i have here... 

 It's hard to describe that sense of freedom....

Lo and behold - upon getting home, I even got to eat home-made Bibimbap prepared by my housemate. 

I feel blessed! Very blessed!

Museum of Literacy & Cheonggyecheon - Our first field trip as a class

1st Field Trip to Museum of Literacy? (cant recall the name)

So, we went for our first field trip to some Museum showcasing how hanguel came about.

To be frank, it was really boring! (to me)

Seems like we went thery only to fulfil out "field trip time"... cos all we did as a group was to take pictures!

It was like the objective of the field trip was to take pictures! Each time we went somewhere, the teacher would say "Ok, everyone please gather and take pictures..." then they'd leave you to do your own thing.
 

This is the evidence of our group photo - funny how the teachers tried squeezing everyone in but none of our faces can be seen in here!

The weather was so good, and going to the outdoors was so much better! 

Shot taken at the Gwaghwamun field. My second visit here.

There was a festival happening so the stream was filled with people working up the decorations. 

I must say that this stream is a super nice place to hangout for a walk.And the best part is that you can walk via this bridge to connect you from Dongdaemun, to Myeondong, to Gwanhwamun. 

Namsan Hanok Village

Chungmuro Station, Lines 3 & 4, Exit 3

Last Thursday, i headed for the Namsangol Hanok Village.

As i have found out from the kind-hearted people at M-Plaza, Chuseok is a big affair here, but that does not mean all attractions are closed for the PH. In fact, most palaces are opened and they even give you FREE admission into the palaces just because it is a special day.

This will never happen in Singapore, because  in Singapore, the opposite happens. When it's PH, everything will just get more expensive!

As per my earlier update, Changgyeonggung was one of them.

Namsangol Hanok Village not only has free admission, they also provide free food (traditional rice cakes) as well as free handicrafts.

I didn't expect a big crowd cause usually, in Singapore, people tend to like staying home to "jade-away".... but the situation is vastly different here.

Once i exit the train station - WHOA! PEOPLE and more people!

There was a PH atmosphere and even though i was there alone, the festive fever hit my head the moment i entered... There was dance and performance, people showcasing the folk-style lifestyle... where they used cane and straws to construct their everyday neccessities like clothes, shoes, bed, pots, bags etc etc

And there is more to it than those... 

The village is really like a little world of its own with its very own huge park and "spring"... they have so much open spaces that families just bring their mat along for a pinic! 

This is one of my favourite and self-proclaimed "best-shot"...

Luckily i did not intend to go there to do handicraft... They are meant for CHILDREN! DUH!

I have been asking random "kind-looking" people to help me take pictures of myself and one of them actually offered me a corn.

 Just as i thanked them and walked away, this little girl just came up to me and gave me this corn you see on the right-hand corner....So sweet right? So, i really believe angels are with me, everywhere i go....

This marks the end of the Chuseok Holidays for me.

Don't depend on others to be happy

Once upon a time, long time ago... i was in a situation where i get extremely happy when someone pays me a compliment and to that same degree, i get extremely sad when someone judges me and tells me something less postitive about myself.

This is called being insecure.

I was dependent on what others thought of me.

Because of that, i wanted the approval and recognition of others. I relied on what people say to give me "happiness" and in so doing i lived my life thinking how people will look at me, say about me etc...

I became really exhausted trying to live my life as though i had to please everyone.

That was not living at all, cause all i had in me is merely one goal - to please.

The light bulb came on for me one day 2,000 years agao, that i AM actually playing the lead characterof my OWN life.

So i should be LEADING my life, MY way.

Who cares what people say or think?

Are they that significant or important in your life?

Usually, people who only have bad things to say are somehow unimportant people who usually talk bad about everything under the sun and 2 days later, they would have forgotten all about you and moved on talking about someone else.

These are what you call worthless opinions.

You cannot control what someone says, but you can control how you think.

You do have a choice.

1. To choose to brood over it and be upset; OR
2. To choose ignore the negatives and to believe in yourself; OR
3. To choose to assess that opinion/action, take whatever valid in it and change for the better

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but the reality is, no one is subject to everyone's opinion.

Being hurt, upset, angry, disasppointed is all but a choice... Your emotions are not "enforced" on you. They are all part of you and can be managed and controlled by you.

Once upon a time, someone told me something so profound that i still remember it till today...

He said
"You sometimes react as if you have no control over your emotions and let what you can control, control you."

This really changed my mindset about my bad temper.

I hate it when i have no control over myself when i obviously knew i had.

Why did i have to let something control me when i have the power to control it in the first place?

So whenever you feel angry at someone for making you upset...

Think first.

Was it he/she who made you upset? Or is it just you choosing to get upset?

At the end of the day - you are uniquely you and nobody else can be EXACTLY like you.

You are the only barrier to being happy... because there is always a choice.

Whenever you are in a situation where "so-and-so did this/did not do this, so i am upset!" just remember that you have a choice. If so-and-so wants to and chooses to do what he/she does... let them be. You can choose not to be affected by them cause you are the lead performer on your own stage called "life".

Insecure women tend to fall prey to men who sweet-talk because they "feed" on those "sweet-talk" and like hearing them. Once they stop receiving those "sweet talk", they do all they can to "earn" it and usually, it has diastrous endings!

(Next time you hear someone "sweet-talking" you; Think. Did you take it seriously? Were you overjoyed with it? If you are, then could it be that you are tipping over soon?)

On the same note, "sweet-talkers" are you doing it to gain approval as well. Because one only starts "sweet-talking" when they want to please another... It displays nothing but insecurity and insincerity...

So, don't depend on others to be happy. Just be happy. Truly.

A random day in school

Today, I am just showcase a day in school. It's been a long time since i have been a student.

Being a student means you can eat cheap and good food. 

This is my favourite lunch - Omelette Rice.

 It also means you have time to engage in hobbies you enjoy.

This is the room where students involved Traditional Music hang out.

 

It also means you are able to make new friends all the time.

And you get to make stupide faces as a group.

 And being a student means you get to study, that's your only worry.

Also means you tend to be more clumsy.

I spilled coffee over my notes.

Last photo, my soon-to-be-cluttered room.

You are what you think you are

It has always been my interest to write about things i observe around me... and yet, beacuse all my thoughts are random yet organised; extreme yet connected... i can't decide how and where to pen these thoughts. Usually, ,they end up in my secret diary. But i will pen a bit of these private thoughts here. Just beacause.

First thing on my mind goes out to the women. Nope, i am not a feminist.

Why women?

Because i have met so many women out there who deserves more than their current situation. Problem is: They dont know.

I hope i would be able to help them in my own way - to help them stop "sabo-ing" themselves.

Women who think less about themselves don't even know they are doing that.

How do you tell? Simply look at your own life so far and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10.  I call this the happy index.

If you are truly happy at the score you have given your current life status, then you are fine. But if you are not, then there is something you need to change to increase your "happy index"....

WOMAN - be a woman, don't try to be a man.

If the guys wish to open the doors for you, let them.
If they wish to pay for dinner, let them.
If they wish to send you home, let them.
Even if you can do the above-mentioned on your own, just let them.

Of course, i am not suggesting you to take advantage of the men and "earn a free meal" all the time... no no no. But somehow, i believe these small gestures are their way to show that they value us women

By allowing them to do that, we actually "permit" them to feel like a man. Men sometimes need that ego boost. :)

In actual truth, women are created to support and be the help-meet to men and they in return are created to protect, care and cherish women...

On the other hand, if you are a money-grabbing, single-minded woman who is just out to get free meals and rides, you will ultimately find out that man are not stupid and can tell the difference.

When you have been "getting too much free meals" you will soon stop getting invited. You probably have either consciouly or sub-consciously been taking advantage of the situations and people have began to realise it.

Regardless of what/how you think about yourself, you ARE actually what you think you are.

The logic is simple.

When you think about yourself in a certain way, you expect to be treated in a certain way.
When you expect to be treated in a certain way, you start behaving just like the way you expect you will be treated even before you are being treated that way.
Simple?

So here is the story: 

An old man who sells hotdogs by the road has been faithfully doing his job for the past 20 years. 

He buys the same number of hotdogs and sells the same number day-in-day-out. 

One day, his son said to him that the nation is "expecting" a crisis and that he should start to expect less people buying hotdogs... 

He thought about it and believed that business will drop. 

So, he ordered less and naturally, he sold less... 

Think again...

Did he sell less hotdogs because of the circumstances? 

Or did he sell less hotdogs because he created circumstances? 

You are what you think you are.

If you think little of yourself, you will manifest to be "little"...

On the contrary, if you think much of yourself, you will manifest to be "much"...

What is Identity?

Previously, I read this boook called "The Unique Woman" by Edwin Louis Cole & Nancy Corbert Cole.

That was about 6-7 years back? At that point, i was swinging single and WAS a feminist!

I had just broken up with someone i thought was the love of my life and so, all i thought about was how to get over it and in order to do that, i needed to "prove" that i can live better without "men". To do that, i had to out-do them, which means - do a BETTER job than them in everything i can think of so that i would have no need for them - to get better results in school, to work towards being in a better position than them at work, to be self-efficient and sufficient and even to ride a bike (although i have always liked riding a bike, i haven't taken solid actions until then as i thought riding a bike was just not a girl's thing) ... perhaps i was nursing a grudge against that ex-boyfriend and was seeking a way to drop him out of my head altogether and so, sub-consciously, everything i did then, i did to "prove" a point - that i was better, stronger and i don't need anyone...

Then i found this book and thought it was interesting cos the title "The Unique Woman" was catchy... It sounded like a feminist book that i should read - and after reading it, my entire perspective of being a "feminist" changed. I remember how it elaborated that man and woman are made for different purposes and how a woman is strong when she is tender, nurturing and feminine... how she is unique BECAUSE she is a woman. The revelation came - that the term being "strong" for a woman is NOT equivalent to doing / out-doing the same things men can do... Instead, it means doing things that men cannot and are not made to do - like to be gentle and feminine without being pushed-over; to submit, love and be supportive without tolarating abuse - This was what changed my entire perspective and ultimately my life...

Because of the impact it has brought to my life, i am re-reading it over again now... and as i flip the pages... i start to think, a level deeper than i usually think...

Today, as i roam the streets of Seoul alone...i question what is my purpose in coming here? Of course, like everyone who knows me know - i am here because i want to experience going and living abroad on my own and since i have taken a special interest in Korean language, it's a perfect match to come here, study and experience at the same time (though the time span is short, it is all i can afford to do now - having commitments i cannot bear to put aside for too long)

This answer may satisfy many inquisitive ones, but it remains unsatisfactory to me because if i truly am satisfied with my own answer, i would not be asking the same question - "why am i here for?"

Repeatly.

And today, it dawned upon me that perhaps i have been too busy working, busy keeping the house tidy, being the wife i think i should be, the daughter i think i should be, the friend i think i should be, the ideal employee i think i should be... and of course busy worrying about what tomorrow would bring, instead of trusting Abba.

Somehow i have forgotten who i am, other than who i think i should be and the roles i am obliged to fulfil.

In doing them, i have forgotten my purpose. Forgotten why i live my life the way i do.

Sub-consciously, i realised i came here to re-discover and identify who i really am and moving forward from there, what do i really want to do with my life?

One can never quite figure out oneself when constantly in the company of loved ones and a routined lifestyle.

One is bound to be influenced and shaped to believe that they are that somebody they think they are because of the environment and the "noises" that encircles their lifes and influence their thoughts.

More often than not, it causes one to identify oneself in that a certain manner only because they are in that certain circumstance, without that circumstance, who are they?

(E.G. Oh, I am Melissa, the one who does teambuilding programs? I am Melissa, Chanpeng's wife... I am Melissa, Johnny's daughter... etc...)

Does your identity stem from the things you possess, how people see you?

OR do you possess things and the views of others because of your identity?

If your identity is based on the former, then how dependable is that?

Because the things you possess and the opinions of others are likely to be temporal, inconsistent and subject to changes. When they change, so does your identity.

On the flip side, based on the latter, no matter how things change, and what others think, your identity will never change.

How do i possess that identity? Only 1 answer satisfies me- that is to identify yourself in Abba. He will never change, so is his love for me.

Apart from my husband, my family, my work, my friends and all the related obligations; apart from the kindof clothes i wear, the make-up i put on everyday... who really am i?

I am first, His beloved. And now, i just want to bask in this love and all instored for me and be sensitive to Him alone...