Awake.

So here I am up at 2am, with a huge backload of work to clear and a wandering mind. More specifically a mind that wanders only to Korea. It is alarming how real the memories feel when I let them. I close my eyes and I can picture myself making the same hike up the hill and across the square to get to class, taking M5107 to Seoul for a weekend out, sitting by the Han river, just the two of us, talking even as it gets cold. All the time remembering that I am in my dorm in Beijing with my butt firmly planted on the bed and having to play tennis tomorrow in the smog that is back now that APEC is over. I miss Korea so much it is like a phantom limb- I am clearly not there but sometimes in the briefest of a moment, I let myself believe. Being back there last week made me realized how attached I was to the country, so much so that clearing the customs felt like going home. Of course it could be in large part because of the people there, people I miss. It is the kind of missing that when you try to lock it up and compartmentalize it, it invades your thoughts at moments when you are the most focused and basically is the narrative playing in your brain when you aren't. It sucks knowing that places and people are only a plane ride away yet you can't simply hop on a plane and go. Sometimes the memories are so vivid I feel like if I look up he'll be sitting across me as we wait for our 짜장면 to arrive. But though we all have the luxury to remember, we don't all have the luxury to relive a moment. 

Last thoughts: so my roommate always asks why I love hugging. I think I might just have it figured out. I love it because it means the end of missing someone and signifies the bringing together of people. 我是幸福的，正因为有了等待才会有那聚首的幸福。等待是悠久而漫长的，而聚首只有那样碰撞的一瞬间，但那一瞬间是那样的美妙。也因此我会永远固执地盼望着聚首。of course you can settle for less, but why on earth would you do that? 两个人相遇未必相识，相识未必相爱，相爱未必留住，留住未必忍受，忍受未必白头偕老。So the odds are against us, but I'll take my chances.

Desiderata

One of my favourite poems that I haven't read in awhile. Life has this way of surprising you and 2014 has been one of the best years yet. Alas time is like charm. You never have as much as you think. So take life by both hands, grab it, shake it and believe in every second of it.

Desiderata

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy :)

But on mornings where I wake up with a smile, this conversation plays in my head like a broken record until I can shut it down.  

"I am so afraid."

"Why?"

"Because I am so profoundly happy. Happiness like this is frightening."

"Why?"

"They only let you be this happy if they are preparing to take something from you."

All I do now is so that when time comes when my life flashes before my eyes, it will be worth watching. Some people say maybe it isn't about the happy ending. Maybe it is about the story. But I will try hard as hell for both. 

Things I love about being away from home.

Having just completed an assignment about comparing the works of two female Japanese authors, Sei Shonagon' s The Pillow Book and Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, I am still choke full of stuff that I want to say about their works. How I felt while reading The Pillow Book and then learning about the era (Heian Japan, around 1000 AD) which the author lived in was simply: *speechless* 

Her wittiness came across clearly even after the translation from Classical Japanese, and I found it somewhat hard to believe that the lady who wrote this lived a millennium ago. A THOUSAND YEARS. It spoke so loud and clearly to me, and the picture she painted of the royal court seemed so vivid, like I have just finished watching an episode of a historical drama. I never thought it possible that I would so thoroughly enjoy reading classic literature of any kind. But I did. I will never again restrict myself to reading only modern, non-horror, preferably with an ounce of romance novels. 

Part of what I really liked about The Pillow Book was how lists accounted for a huge chunk of it. I found the lists, which may seem mundane to many, perhaps even out of place, beautiful. Sei Shonagon writes with delightful frankness and rancor which one does not expect of a lady living in a society where women were expected to be neither seen nor heard. Examples of her lists:

Things That Cannot Be Compared 

Summer and winter. Night and day. Rain and sunshine. Youth and age. A person’s laughter and his anger. Black and white. Love and hatred. The little indigo plant and the great philodendron. Rain and mist.

When one has stopped loving somebody, one feels that he has become someone else, even though he is still the same person.

In a garden full of evergreens the crows are all asleep. Then, towards the middle of the night, the crows in one of the trees suddenly wake up in a great flurry and start flapping about. Their unrest spreads to the other trees, and soon all the birds have been startled from their sleep and are cawing in alarm. How different from the same crows in daytime!

Rare Things

A son-in-law who is praised by his adoptive father; a young bride who is loved by her mother-in-law. A silver tweezer that is good at plucking out the hair.A servant who does not speak badly about his master. A person who is in no way eccentric or imperfect, who is superior in both mind and body, and who remains flawless all his life.People who live together and still manage to behave with reserve towards each other. However much these people may try to hide their weaknesses, they usually fail. To avoid getting ink stains on the notebook into which one is copying stories, poems, or the like. If it is a very fine notebook, one takes the greatest care not to make a blot; yet somehow one never,  seems to succeed.When people, whether they be men or women or priests, have promised each other eternal friendship, itis rare for them to stay on good terms until the end.A servant who is pleasant to his master.One has give some silk to the fuller and, when he sends it back, it is so beautiful that one cries out in admiration.

You should definitely check out her work if you enjoyed the above, like I did. Isn't it also amazing how a thousand years later, much of what were on her lists are still relevant? 

So onward to what I want to write about: being away from home and loving it. I always find it hard to explain how it is not true to people who ask me how long I have been away from home. They almost always go on to assume that it must be really difficult to far from home and family, and that being away takes a huge emotional toll on me. It may be the case for some, but it is not the case for me. I am not some robot who cannot feel emotions, nor am I someone who does not miss my family. Most days I think about them for a moment or two- my parents, siblings, grandparents and more. People who are the main reason why I call Singapore home.

Yet at the same time, I enjoy being independent and living by myself abroad. 

Things I Love about being away from Home 

Absorbing the culture of a new place like how a dry sponge absorbs water. Meeting new people. Exploring the nooks and crannies of a neighbourhood. Learning the local slang. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone (such as having to eat alone) and discovering bits and pieces of me I never knew I had. Missing home. 

I don't see why this has to be in conflict with missing home. This is how I feel:

Jeju-do, May 2014, Seopijikoji.

It basically translates to 'There are no faraway places under the sky; home can be anywhere on earth.' English does a poor job of  capturing the magical essence of the sentence. Or perhaps it's just my lousy translation. The point I want to make is: I feel home no matter where I am once I am given some time (2 weeks or so) to settle into a routine. This has been the case in all of the places I've lived in (I define it as in a same place for more than 1.5 months, not for the sake of travelling).

I am very thankful and also relishing it while it lasts because there is never a better time than now to be away from home:

• I have no commitments other than to myself (no job, boyfriend/husband, children).
• My parents are healthy to be living without me by their sides.
• My grandparents are all thankfully, still healthy and living with other members of the family.
• Technology keeps me connected- home is never more than a Facetime session or a Whatsapp message away.

I wake up counting my blessings everyday, because I believe happiness does not come from having the best things. It comes from making the best of things. 

Now I can finally rest after writing all these random thoughts down. Goodnight. 

Flying in Korea: Day 1 in Danyang

I organized a paragliding trip to Danyang (단양), a county located in South Korea's only landlocked province-North Chungcheong Province (충청북도)- last weekend. Most of it stemmed from me wanting to cross something off my Korea bucket list before the semester ends and a small part of it was to satisfy the adrenaline junkie in me. Planning  paragliding trip was tough because it required alot of sifting through Korean sites that barely had any English, and those which did had the barest minimal (ie. nothing which could satisfactorily answer my questions about safety, locations etc.). So... I decided to write a blog post to share it with you all who want to do the same in Korea but have no idea where to begin. 

To get a sense of where Danyang is...

This is the paragliding company which we used:  단양두산레저파크 and you can visit its website here (www.dspark.kr). The only drawback is that it only has information in Korean, although you could send an email to kimjaeeun5014@daum.net and get a brief response in English. 

They are extremely friendly and helpful, providing me with information about how to get to Danyang from Seoul, where we could stay, as well as where else in Danyang we could visit after paragliding. The service was simply impeccable! There are two types of paragliding, one being tandem and the other being solo. The former means that there is an instructor who will do it with you, and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the view, while waving to the go-pro camera which will record the entire journey. The latter can only be one after you have done a course on HOW TO PARAGLIDE, and this course typically lasts a day. DSPark does not offer the course because of the lack of popularity (most people are just seeking a hassle free and safe one time experience!) and how time consuming it is. Of course with foreigners, there is the extra language barrier (neither the learner nor the instructor will feel safe if they cannot communicate properly...). 

So the ten of us, as shown below, all did tandem paragliding for 100,000 KRW (about 98 USD /122SGD) per person. 

The price included:

Pick-up and drop off at Danyang bus terminal/train station

Paragliding equipments + outerwear

*Ramen post-paragliding*- extension of their hospitality :)

Full video recording of your paragliding experience

This is very reasonable considering the three other places I called up charged between 90,000 - 120,000 KRW for paragliding alone and an extra 30,000 KRW for the video. DSPark offered us a further 10% discount for paragliding since there were 10 of us and we managed to go on a Friday (their non peak day). Now give me a reason NOT to go...

A very excited me all strapped up and ready to go! Instructions were simple: look at a red house in the valley below,  break out into a semi-run/speed walk, then lift your legs once you don't feel the ground under you. 

All the paragliding gear.  You will wear the haversack and it serves as a 'seat' for you during the flight. 

"I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky." 

With Jaeeun, my tandem instructor. He has SEVENTEEN YEARS of paragliding experience but still finds it exhilarating each time he does it. How nice it must be to do what you love, and love what you do. 

While waiting for the rest to come back from the valley where they landed, we decided to challenge our physical limits atop the mountain.  Human pyramid!

A video of me hopelessly running towards the red house in the valley as instructed:

Now the largest problem I had with planning this trip was transport to and fro Danyang- it isn't exactly a super popular tourist area. Since the bunch of us who went are all studying at Kyunghee University's Global Campus in Suwon (an hour away from Seoul by bus), our options were more limited. I wanted a hassle free way of getting there and back (ie. no transferring buses in some remote place), so I researched the option of travelling there by train. 

From Cheongnyangni (청량리) station in Seoul, the journey would take around TWO HOURS, and below is the time table of all the trains from Cheongnyangni to Danyang daily. Tickets cost between 10,000 to 16,000 KRW one way depending which train you plan to take.

From Suwon station, which is much closer to our campus, there is only ONE train to Danyang. It would take TWO HOURS THIRTY MINUTES and cost us 25,400 KRW each. Yet after factoring in the time it would take for us to get to Cheongnyangni and the cost of getting there, we opted for the train from Suwon. 

Nevertheless despite it being nearer, we were still in a rush and caught the train with only seconds to spare. I guess on hindsight, we should never underestimate the power of morning traffic. Though the driving prowess of the taxi drivers is also something to be applauded. Our cab driver even tried to convince me to hire the cab to Danyang directly, saying that it would only take us an hour and a half and cost us 150,000 KRW (I rejected the proposition by saying that it is a group of us who are going and we are all in different cabs + I cannot contact them by phone since they all don't have a Korean number + we are poor students). Had to add the last part because scarily/coincidentally he drove up to the two other cabs which the rest were in (!!). 

I also discovered that there was a group discount available (a nice surprise) if you buy 10 tickets at once , so we paid only 22,300 KRW each for our ticket to Danyang. 

Below are the trains available from Danyang back to Cheongnyangni and Suwon respectively, at the same prices. Half of the group returned to Seoul after paragliding because they had a pool party to attend, and the other half of us stayed on for a night. 

Post paragliding, we headed to the Gosu cave (고수동굴). DSPark very kindly drove us there and even procured us a map of Danyang so we could plan where to go. Jaeeun even helped me call up the water rafting place in Yongchun to make a booking for the following day. So thankful that I picked what must be the best paragliding company in Danyang ^.^ 

The interior of the caves provided us with a cool respite from the early summer heat. It was a very comfortable 15 degrees Celsius inside, and we spent a good part of an hour exploring the cave. Wikipedia was not wrong to call it an "underground palace" of limestone formations. It is hard to believe that structures from some 450 million years ago remain so well preserved. I am also still in awe of how the Koreans installed staircases inside the cave to take visitors into every nook and cranny. 

Entrance and exit of the Gosu cave. 고수동굴입구

The staircases inside take you to various corners of the caves. At some point, I don't know how, we were about 4-5 floors up and had to climb down a seemingly never ending spiral staircase. 

The guys trying to imitate a pose I was in seconds earlier. Don't they look happy?

After putting half of us into a taxi bounded for Danyang station, the other half of us headed for a late lunch/early dinner. We decided on having some home cooked Korean food, and got a really good deal: 8,000 KRW per person.

From left to right, as I remembered it: Soybean paste soup, cucumber kimchi, beansprout kimchi, toufu, wild veg kimchi, fish cake [Row 1] and Fried fish, cabbage kimchi, another type of kimchi, braised quail eggs and garlic sprout kimchi [Row 2]

Before food.

After food. The boys were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the very comfortable wood flooring of the restaurant. 

We slept overnight in a jimjilbang (찜질방) for 9,000 KRW per person, which was way cheaper than any guesthouses available. It was all very comfortable (unless you are not the floor sleeping type, and even then I would urge you to try it out. It's all part of experiencing a foreign culture.) except for the fact that people snore. And being the light sleeper that I am, I did not get very much sleep. The guys slept like dead logs though. Then again, they can sleep anywhere, anytime so they aren't the best gauge to use. 

Before bed: us playing German bridge very seriously in our jjimjilbang wear.

To be continued.

Turning 22 with a Korean style 생일주 (birthday drink)

Been wanting to blog ever since the mid terms which started two weeks ago and which ended last week. Have still been procrastinating, but I shall quickly blog about my birthday three days ago, which I spent in Korea. It was also during this birthday that I experienced what Koreans call the "BIRTHDAY DRINK (생일주 seng-il chu)".

I have heard of it since I started school in Beijing, but have never been on the receiving end of it. The closest I have come to it was when we were dining at the restaurant near PKU, and there was a bunch of Korean guys celebrating someone's birthday in the other room. The poor birthday boy came knocking on our door and asked if any of us girls would be willing to help him with his birthday drink while his friends were shaking their heads at us and laughing. To cut a long story short, we did not so he returned to his room with the giant soup bowl containing his birthday drink. I swear I spied a cigarette butt floating in that murky liquid when I quickly glanced into the bowl during the fleeting moment when he was at our door.

And I digress. Presenting....my 생일주

Sugar, spice and everything nice. Yeah, right. 

As you can see, it 1) is murky 2) has unidentified objects floating in it and 3) is way bigger than one shot. The below is a list of what went into it, as far as I can remember:

Beer (맥주)

Soju (소주)

Maehwasu (매화수) 

Spicy chicken sauce (간장)

Dipping salt- for fried chicken

Mustard

A lot of spring onion (파)

Radish (무)

Fried chicken

How it worked was that the jug was passed around and everyone seated at the table would add one item into the jug. The last person would swirl it together nicely before handing it back to me...To give you an idea of how huge the jug was:

Can hold 3000cc when filled to the brim. I'm guessing my birthday drink was about 800cc?

Less ingredients went into the jug than there were number of people at my birthday dinner. Most of the girls decided to spare me, so they just looked disgusted and somewhat amused as the guys passed the jug around with glee. Lucky me, no one was intoxicated enough to try dipping a sock into it, or even throw a used napkin in (yes, those have happened to some others whom I know!). Still, this didn't mean that the drink was easy to down. 

First mug: It smelled faintly of fried chicken as I held it close to my face. Not sure if it was the shop (since we were at a fried chicken place) or the chicken floating in the mug. I looked at my friends sitting opposite me instead of into the mug as I put the edge to my lips and that made it better. My first thought after the first mouthful was that it was better than I had imagined it to be. The chicken sauce helped made the drink somewhat sweet tasting, and the fizziness from the beer helped immensely. I finished one third of the mug in a gulp.

First verdict: Drinkable. Pleasantly surprised that no gag reflex kicked in. 

And then there was more toasting and everyone wanted a drink with me. Which meant that I had to look for a black knight (흑기사 hut ki-sa) to take the fall for me. He polished off the remaining two thirds as a birthday gift me to me. He even ate the spring onion(!!). 탱규 오빠^.^ 

But then my black knight left dinner early and there was more of the birthday drink in the jug. Oh the terror of the birthday drink with the radish bobbing up and down on the surface. I don't even like radish to begin with. It is possibly my least favourite Korean side dish. 

Second mug: Tasted stronger than I remembered it to be. This time, it had dregs from the bottom of the jug that was poured into it, so it tasted less alcohol-y and more yucky. The worst mouthful was when someone went on to add some liquid from the radish side dish into the drink and it was like I was drinking radish water plus everything GROSS. 

Final verdict: Not something I would want to drink again. The taste of radish is just...@.@ 

To the people with whom I shared my first birthday drink with:)

The calm before the storm: while waiting for my other bunch of friends:)

By this time me and my black knight have downed the first mug.

We were all laughing so hard because the owner was so kind when we asked him to help us with photos. Too kind. He must have taken like 20 shots of us from all angles possible.

After the drinks, it was cake cutting smearing time. Here's one shot of the cake before we put it on each other's faces...Or rather before everyone tried to put it onto MY face.

The stunned me when I got the first smear right after I cut the cake. No more pictures after because they were busy avoiding my tit-for-tat smear muahahaha. 

Post dinner was some good old BOWLING and then more drinks and some very crazy drinking games until 6am. Kind of wished I took more photos, but since I wanted more to relish the moments in their entirety than be busy snapping away and experience my life happening through the lens of a camera, something had to give. 

At the bowling place after I won both rounds.It's my birthday afterall:)

Sitting outside the convenience store (편의점) with our drinks and snacks. Extra star for Korean convenience store because it really is the epitome of convenience. Tables and chairs which customers can just set up and use!

It was a good start to turning 22, and another memorable chapter in my exchange semester in Korea! I started my birthday on a fabulous note last weekend with a gift to self- BUNGEE JUMPING at Nami island, which I shall blog about soon. 

Of 벚꽃 (cherry blossoms) and 치맥 (chimek)

One of the definite pluses about being in Korea for the spring semester is the fact that cherry blossoms are blooming left right center! It is hard to be in a lousy mood for long when you are greeted by such pretty sights everywhere you go. This is definitely a welcomed change from Beijing where spring (春天) is a short lived season of allergies as the catkins (fondly known as 柳絮) from the willow trees are everywhere. I have a Thai friend who has such severe allergic reactions to the catkins that spring is often a week long stay at home and visits to the hospital... And also from Singapore, where it is summer all year round (though this year there has been a massive blooming after a bout of dry spell- somewhat stimulation of spring).

Here in Korea, in place of catkins floating in the air however, are cherry blossom petals. When the wind is slightly stronger than a breeze but not strong enough to send stuff flying into your eyes, the petals tango beautifully in the air with the wind before settling on the ground.

Outside Kyunghee's Second Dormitory- white specks are all cherry blossom petals!

Here at Kyunghee, the cherry blossom trees line the outside of the dormitories and grow in one full circle around the running track. Despite having woken up to it every morning for the past ten days or so, the sight never fails to take my breath away when I step out of the dorm each morning. Spring is so alive, in your face.

Evidence as shown below, photographed along the route that I take to get to class:

Growing on the slopes next to the running track.

Plenty of cherry blossom trees dotting the little hill which I climb every day to get to class. 

The road lined with cheery blossom trees that leads to my faculty.

It got pretty warm last week, with the temperatures at noon reaching a high of 22 degrees Celsius, and the night at a comfortable 13-16 degrees. Then starting last weekend, the temperatures plunged and day time temperatures barely made it above 12 degrees. Korea had to do that just when I dug out my summer wear and was all ready to put my sweaters away for the next 6 months... Why?

In Chinese, there is a phrase to describe this plunge in the temperatures- 乍暖还寒 (zhà nuǎn huán hán). It is usually used when winter and spring seem to be coexisting, and the weather is erratic. However, I have since learnt a new phrase in Korean which I think better describes this phenomenon: 꽃샘추위. 

To break it down...

꽃= flowers

샘= jealousy

추위 = cold

Winter is dying and is jealous of the flowers which blooms in Spring, hence holds out for as long as she can in a spat of dying vengeance. This reminds me of the Cinderella story, with Winter being the jealous stepsisters and Spring being poor Cinderella who is not allowed out. Still, we all know that Cinderella finds her Prince, and Spring will eventually get its time in the sun. Only drawback to this battle of the seasons is that it is making it impossible for me to dress without first checking the weather app. 

Now, more photos to make Winter jealous:)

Street lamp with cheery blossom trees in the background.

Close-up. 

Daddy came to visit <3

Also, what good is spring if all you do it stay indoors? The flowers are practically screaming for you to pay them some attention before they disappear for another year, and the weather is warm enough to say goodbye to the down jackets yet cool enough to wear stylish coats. Naturally I took advantage of that by going on a picnic by the Han River (한강) on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 

We headed to Yeouido Hangang Park (여의도 한강공원), sat down on a nice patch of grass and ordered chimek (치맥), which is essentially a condensed way of saying flavoured fried chicken (치킨 chi-kin) and beer (맥주 mek-ju). 

See all the people behind us? Everyone's out enjoying spring while it lasts.

Us while waiting for the delivery.

Selca!

没有人永远年轻，但永远有人年轻。那一年，我们曾年轻。

I highly highly highly encourage you to take half a day to enjoy sitting by the Han River and with some food, alcohol and good company. Going on holiday should not mean having to cramp all the touristy places into a week, but also about letting yourself take a break. I can't think of a better way to take one than this:) Just like my dad would always say when my mum complains about not having enough time to take in all the sights:

留点遗憾，下次再来

(Leave some regrets and return another time.)   

Directions to the Yeouido Hangang Park (여의도 한강공원) : 

Take subway line 5 to Yeouinaru (여의나루) station. Come out of exit 2. 

***If you would like to rent a bicycle and go cycling, walk straight from exit 2 for about 5 minutes and you will see the bicycle rental counter. It costs 4000 won an hour, and you will need to give them an ID (passport/alien registration card/driving license). They have both tandem bicycles and normal bicycles.***

Exchange is not a bed of roses.

The first reaction I get from my friends back home when I break the news of me going on exchange is "Wow, you are going on exchange! Korea? You are going to have so much fun!" The second reaction was mostly "But you are already studying overseas in Beijing what. Still go exchange for what?". 

I applied for exchange mainly because studying abroad has taught me more than a few intangible things and challenged in more ways than I thought possible. After 2 years in Beijing, I have adapted to the life there and have gotten so comfortable that the itch to venture out of my comfort zone returned, big time. Life in Beijing has had its ups and downs, but the ups outnumber the downs (eg. the once-a-year-food-poisoning-hospital-visit) Returning home to Singapore was like taking a break from my life in Beijing. Imagine the clock time keeping clock used in a Scrabble competition, one clock ticks and the other stops, and this repeats itself. In many ways, going home to Singapore was like putting my Beijing life on pause for a few weeks, then letting it tick again. It was time to stop playing pause and play. How many other opportunities will I have in the rest of my life where I can live for months in a foreign country (excluding work)? Probably none. 

The rational self me decided to pursue my logical, dominant strategy of GOING ON EXCHANGE (YAY!) before any other actor comes into play and turns this into a prisoners' dilemma. I had a semester to ready myself for the reality of uprooting and moving to a country whose language I cannot fluently speak/understand, BY MYSELF. Yet arriving in Korea after the rowdy and heartwarming sendoff from my friends the night before in Beijing, I realised that I had not fully prepared myself to deal with the loneliness that struck the moment my plane landed at Incheon International Airport. And it struck hard. 

Four weeks on, the loneliness has slowly ebbed away, only appearing abruptly in moments when I feel helpless or tired. The first week of school was when loneliness was on its prowl, and a fresh wave of tears would make its way to my eyes when I thought I spotted a familiar face but realise in a split second that it was not possible for that friend was back in Beijing. Sometimes I feel like if I turn back, I can see a friend zipping down the road in her little pink scooter and asking me if I would like a lift to wherever I am going. One of the first thoughts when I make a new discovery was wishing that my friends were here to share that moment. 

Don't get me wrong: I have made more than a few friends here, and they have been nothing short of AWESOME, but this saying totally describes how I feel- new friends are silver and old friends are gold. All precious, but incomparable. 

So all those moments you see on Instagram/Facebook/Wechat? They are but fleeting moments, and I shared them because I wanted to be able to look back and know that there were good times. Don't know if it is just me, but I recall the moments of anxiety, worry and stress way more easily than I do the happy ones, so those moments are mainly for my references when I talk a walk down memory's lane.

I have been here almost four weeks, and already I feel like I am a slightly different person than when I left Beijing a month ago, and most definitely more grown up than the me who had just completed high school and who naively thought university would be way better than high school (right now I would rank them equally).

Would I have had chosen another path had I been able to turn the clock back to 2011? I can tell you in a heartbeat that I would not. As Frost aptly wrote:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Excited about the MT tomorrow~ Goodnight:)

Korea the Land of Waffles.

I am currently on a semester exchange to Kyunghee University (경희 대학교 국제 캠퍼스) in Korea. A much welcomed break from the smog that is constantly plaguing Beijing and putting a dampener to all outdoor activities I would like to do in spring. Making the choice to go on exchange was not easy, primarily because I am worried that I would not have cleared enough credits to graduate by July 2015. The convoluted administrative system sent me running around 5 offices (back and forth between them no less) to get stamps so that I can put in my application to put my studies at Peking University on hold for a semester. What I cannot understand is why this cannot all be done online (since I did have to start out by filling in an online application, get it approved by office one, then embark on the torturous stamp collecting process>.<). But enough brooding over what is already in the past, and onward to my KOREA ADVENTURE!:)

I will cover the highs and lows of being in a foreign land and having to start making friends all over again in another post. Today's is dedicated to one of my many discoveries in my three weeks here- 

WAFFLES ^.^

Not just any waffles, but one with crispy, caramelised edges and a fragrance which compels you to have one despite the knowledge that you just had dinner,or that you are going to have dinner in 30 minutes. In my universe, I would be able to capture the fresh waffle smell on my iPhone and put a link of it here on this post so you guys can smell it too...but sadly since we are living in the Real World, pictures shall have to do. 

Waffle Bant original waffle- 1500 원

Cream Cheese waffle- 2700 원

The waffles are from a Korean waffle chain store called WAFFLE BANT (와플 반트), which sells Belgium style waffles. Though it has been three years since I had waffles in Belgium (ie. I can't remember the taste actually), this is the first time in a long while that I had a waffle that ticked most boxes off the my mental waffle checklist.

It was a tiny store tucked away in an unassuming location, and looks pretty normal on the outside. But if you push the door open, you will walk into a brick wall which smells like waffle heaven. Definitely worth a try if you are coming to Korea and would like something resembling afternoon tea (a concept that is not as popular here as it is in Singapore). 

The interior walls.

Point card- you get one chop for every waffle you buy, and with ten you get to redeem one! Quite an easy target to achieve even if you are just in Korea for a holiday, especially if you are travelling in a group.

Waffle Bant offers waffle-drink sets as well (different flavours of waffles + different types of drink) for a range of prices, and my personal favourite is the Original flavour plus Affogato set (5000원), as seen below:

Affogato: One shot of expresso poured over a serving of vanilla ice cream.

Other waffle flavours which my friends and I have tried (3 times in the past two weeks since I discovered it!) include sweet potato (고구마), walnut (월너트), blueberry (블루베리), white chocolate (화이트 초콜릿), dark chocolate (블랙 초콜릿) and cream cheese (크림 치즈). If you were wondering, yes we tried everything on the list:) An achievement!

In case you were wondering, the pink drink is actually a strawberry milkshake (of sorts). 

In my three times there, I noticed quite a few parents who bring their young children (probably between 5-8 years old) and the staff always asked if they would like for the waffle to be cut up and served on a plate, with forks and all, for the kids. So if you are touring and have kids, this is a good place to go! As with most Korean eating places, drinking water is self serve and always available:)

For more details you could check out their website: http://www.wafflebant.com/main_kr.php (ENGLISH IS AVAILABLE:))

Now that I am done with this post, I have half a mind to go there tomorrow after class. Be still, my fluttering heart.