Black Witch - Day 3,Placement Test

I was totally not prepared for the test today but nevertheless, is unavoidable. Woke up in the morning to our breakfast...



Head off to school.. was glad that we went yesterday to find out the place.. otherwise we will definitely not able to find our way..

Was place in a classroom for our written test follow by oral.... and i really hate to write composition... So i decided to leave it blank... OOps... I know i did not did well for the paper...

Followed by oral test by 1 of the teacher, although i was able to answer most of the question asked by her (because it was all the basic questions). "Where are you from", "What did you do before coming to Korea", "Why did you learn Korean" etc..

Then she told me that i'm being placed in Level 2... and i was like "HUH"???? Only level 2.. OMG.... i was expecting to be in at least Level 3...so disappointing...AND the worse part of being in Level 2, it is the afternoon class... GOSH.. Nooooo!!!!!

I try asking the teach if i could be placed in Level 3... She was telling me that i might have problem handling level 3 and blah blah blah... so i gave up and resign to the result...

Head home after the test and Kim Lian was not feeling too well.. Effect of her biopsy still affecting her badly.. So i went out to buy lunch... It was drizzling today and the weather is SUPER cold.... a 10min walk was enough to burn plenty of fats in my body..... I take it as a good exercise... kekeke


Omelettte Rice(오믈렛 라이스)(Top) and Cuttlefish Rice (오징어 덮밥)(Bottom) and also Seaweed Rice roll(김밥), something like Japanese Sushi but a much bigger version)


After lunch, i went to take a nap.. enjoying the cold weather..kekeke.. Feeling so blessed about the fact that i do not need any air-condition to feel cool..

When i woke up.. it was time for dinner... oops... i must have sleep for a long time... 이머(auntie) have prepared dinner.. simple meal with all the side dishes of home-made kim chi and some other preserved vegetables and also

Soya Soup(된장국)-- i hope i got the name correct..


After dinner, we sat in the living room watching some Korean drama.. i can't remember the name of the drama.. and then 이머 asked we wanted some Cuttlefish(오징어)... i have no idea what she was talking about, before me or KL could answer, she head off to the kitchen and so i tag along hoping to capture a photo or 2..

There she took out from the cupboard a piece of dried cuttlefish, she on the stove and was "cooking" or should i say "heating up" the Cuttlefish over the fire...





I'm surprised that the cuttlefish is so yummy... a bit hard to chew.. but i guess that it the whole point of eating it... chewing.. "Training" my teeth... Just when we start chewing our cuttlefish... 어머님 is back from meeting her friend and she bring back a pack of Traditional Korean Dessert with red bean filling (밤형과자)...



After the "feasting".. time to wash up... KL and i was discussing what will our itinerary for the next few days to come...

Black Witch - Day 2,Meeting Mr and Mrs Park

Woke up this morning and 이머(Kate's auntie) had breakfast prepared for us. I must say this is really a very healthy meal...




We went out after meal trying to figure our way to our school as we will be having our placement test tomorrow... we took a train to Cheongyangni station thinking that we could walk from the station to the school, asked around in our super broken Korean where is National University of Seoul but people told us that the school is quite a walking distance and suggest that we take a bus/taxi... we're not familiar with the bus system in Korean so we decided to take a taxi and the school was really a distance away.. if we were to walk.. probably take us like 30min or so.. I'm glad we took a cab..

After asking around the school and a few students, we manage to found our way to the Language Course's building. It is not exactly a building of its own, the language course only occupied the 2nd floor and the rest are for the engineering students of the University.I'm so glad that the staff working in the office speaks English.. we asked if we need to bring anything for the placement and asked about the time etc.. after getting the information we required.. we went for lunch.. Hungry.... and we each got a free mini bottle of "Yacult" ( It taste exactly like Yacult) from the nice restaurant owner.

김치 라면...Kim Chi Noodle




After lunch, we decided to go home and take a rest.. the weather is really cold... but I'm still enjoying it very much... :).. Before we know it.. it was late afternoon... Got to get ready to go out....

Mrs. Park have came all the way from Busan to meet us ( or rather to meet Kim Lian) for dinner. It takes about 3 hours to travel from Busan to Seoul via KTX train.And they came all the back just to have dinner with Kim Lian.. I'm really amazed by their friendship.

My 1st meeting with Mrs Park and her youngest sister, i'm really sorry that i can't remember what is her sister's name and i know is she is probably around my age and she just got married a few months ago.. Very friendly and sweet looking lady..

My impressed of Mrs.Park.... wow she is really a pretty mum... and to think that she have a 22 years old son .. she is in really good shape... ENVY!!!!

We meet them at Seoul Station where they took the KTX train here and went to an expensive looking Korean restaurant for dinner. ** Mr.Park foot the bill, I'm not sure how much was the dinner but i know it is not cheap...








Dinner end early... and Mr. & Mrs.Park and Sister's train ride back to Busan is still an hour away.. there is not much shopping at Seoul Station, so we decided to go to a cafe for some coffee and Mr.Park insisted on buying sliced cakes despite the fact that we are all stuffed from the delicious dinner.

Some photo we took in the cafe... (^_^)




I guess all good time passed fast and it is time to bid goodbye.. we promise to visit them in Busan when we have time...

Black Witch - The start of the journey

Had been talking about going to Seoul to study (even if it is for a short period) for sometimes already. But i don't have the courage to do so... Until good friends around me told me that "It is now or never"... "Just Do It".. sound like an advertisement for Nike... So plans was made, $$ paid and registration done.. The day finally arrived for me to set off towards this journey that i know i will never regret.. (^^)


Feeling way too excited when i board the plane to Seoul.. Kim Lian (my Korean Language course classmate) and i boarded -01 March 2010, SQ0602, 11.50pm.. the start of our 3 month life there... Had planned to sleep on board so that we would not feel too tired when we reached Seoul.. but i was just too excited to do so... it was 4am in the morning when breakfast is served.. after eating.. Worse.. i felt totally awake.. so i end up watching like 3 movie.. Kim Lian wake up and feel asleep many times..Did not sleep well either!! Then again... who can sleep well in a plane, right???



Finally after 6 hours of flight.. we arrived in Seoul ,02 March 2010,7.06am (Seoul time), Singapore time should be 6.06am.. (1 hour difference).. Totally in love with the COLD weather...



i REALLY tried hard not too bring too much .. but still 30kg.. :(.. the pink polka dot and red luggage is mine..



We collected our luggage and was sitting at the corner, somewhere in Incheon airport waiting for Mr.Park (Kim Lian's Korean friend from Busan who helped us a lot in arranging our trip).. Thankful.. this is my first meeting with him...

Mr.Park is coming all the way from Busan to Seoul to welcome us and to show us to the apartment which he had found for us and also at the same time attend to his work, apparently he work in the aviation field which required him to fly around Korean pretty often..

We took a bus from Incheon and stop somewhere around Cheongyangni station (청량리) and took a cab to where we are going to stay.. an apartment nearby Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (외대얖).. We arrived at the apartment and the owner came and greeted us.. a friendly and pretty looking Korean lady.. her name is Kate or 영경. We were introduced to her mum.. ** sorry but for Korean culture we do not asked for the name of a much older person so i only address her by 어머님 (a respective way of calling someone's mother).. Unlike us,Singaporean, who address everyone as Auntie... and also we meet Kate's auntie and i addressed her as 이머...

The apartment that we are going to stay...


After a short while Mr.Park have to leave for work. We too was hungry by then, so we went out to a nearby place to have our lunch.. Our very 1st meal in Seoul.. Yummy.. and i must say that the side dishes (반찬) served was really nice ..I only paid 4,000won (estimate SGD$5) for my Dumpling Soup (만두국)..




After the hearty lunch,we came home to "settled down",unpacked our stuff and to make our self feel home, we each got our own room.. How nice.. kekekeke i can't complained much about my room.. was small but cosy and best of all.. Totally Korean style.. we get to sleep in Ondol (온돌).. ***(Today’s Korean heating system, Ondol, uses a system of pipes that transport hot water underneath each room in a house. Most Korean families prefer this kind of heating system because the warmth generated upwards from below the floor not only heats every room during cold winters, but also symbolizes the coziness and camaraderie within the family. A Korean home lacking ondol means the warmth is missing in that family. .

Some picture of my room..





Living room..


Kitchen..


Before we know it.. it was time for dinner again.. But Kim Lian told me that Mr.Park is meeting us for supper, so we better not eat too much.. so we went out and had a simple dinner..

Korean Rice Cake(떡붂이) & Cuttlefish Rice(오징어 덮밥) & of course the side dishes




The supper is really nice but a sinful affair....BBQ meat (부추 삼겹살) & raspberry wine


After a hearty supper... time to head home for a nice shower... ZZZzzzz