It’s Game On for Day One!!!
It’s the first day of Spring Semester and the campus is starting to be filled up with more students. As Cathianne walked out of the dormitory, she swipes her key card but the automatic gate wouldn’t let her through. She had to try another and was able to get through it on her third swipe. Embarrassed she was but the guard was kind enough to understand. “Nangangain na naman ng tanga”, she laughs at the thought of herself.
As she went in the laboratory, she eagerly tried registering for her own portal ID (KUPID). She immediately got herself her own KUPID and was glad to finally be able to use the wifi with it. She had to follow up her course registration and finalize everything for the Academic Affairs requirements for the freshmen. As soon as she’s confirmed all the courses she registered, she went up to the office of her advisor professor, Prof. JY, and to the department head’s office to ask for their signatures. As she got in the office, Uijeon oppa was also there for the signatures as he is about to register as a post-graduate student freshman. It was almost lunch time and both of them just got the needed signatures before the professors went out for lunch!
When she went back to the laboratory, MJ oppa asked her to come with them for lunch. It was just the right invite she’s been waiting for coz she’s been feeling hungry since she got to the lab since she hasn’t eaten breakfast yet. It seems people in the lab are not used to eating breakfast. Haha!
In the cafeteria, they ate in a different section; another new discovery for our adventurer. Also, along the way to the cafeteria, Cathianne made a new friend with Junsik. He’s also a new student who is working as a research assistant in the lab. Currently, he is not enrolled to any courses as he is tasked to focus on the laboratory works. Gwang has also been more comfortable in conversing with her in English. At the caf, they got their trays, spoons and chopsticks and in that certain area, they simply had to choose whatever dish they wanted to eat and each dish has a price. So Cathianne just got what looked like spaghetti, another dish that seemed delicious and looked like some dumplings with probably green vegetables in it, and rice. Just that and MJ oppa was surprised to see her eat that little. She simply wanted to get what she can finish and not spend too much too. =))
It was already 12:40 when they finished lunch and Cathianne and MJ oppa had to be at the Fluid Mechanics class in 10 minutes. MJ is the teaching assistant to Prof. JY who is the teacher of the course while Cathianne will be MJ’s co-TA. Together with them, there’s another young boy named Michael who will be the class’s tutor. He was one of the students of Prof. JY during the last semester in Fluid Mechanics and he was hired to be a tutor because he did very well in the said subject. He’s said to be the best of Prof. JY’s class.
Oppa went ahead to prepare the classroom and Cathianne followed after several minutes. As she entered, she was introduced as the co-TA by oppa and met Michael as well. They took the front row seats as Prof. JY entered to greet the class. The class seems passive as Prof. JY even had to ask them to answer back the English greeting. Cathianne observed the whole class as the professor began his introduction. The three of them who will be assisting the professor were again introduced and were asked to give a small speech to be recognized. Knowing her ownself, she never liked giving speeches but heck yeah, she just spoke a few words in English and that’s it. =))
Cathianne observed the class and seems to compare the students to behave similar to most Filipino students. The kind of students she’s grown up with at least. They’re passive. They seem so quiet and will just mumble out words for the professor to lip read. She’s becoming fond of the class as she kept observing them. By the end of the class, she went out of the room with oppa as Michael was left to fix his office hours or tutor time with the class. The students greeted her as she went out and she simply responded with a smiling bow. =))
After several hours of checking all her requirements, she decided to check the Academic Affairs Office by herself. Remembering the other science building that her oppa taught her, she decided to go there, the one across the road that had the library on the other side. As she went in, she had to wait for several minutes as the team inside didn’t speak English much either. After which, she was given another paper to have the signatures again of her advisor and department head. So back she goes to their building for the signatures. Unfortunately, the department head must have already left. So she’ll have to wait for the next day and is hoping to get his signature by morning.
When she got back to the lab, MJ oppa told her that her student card is now ready for pick up at One-Stop in the library. Since he was too busy doing his thesis, he couldn’t accompany her. She was glad on the other hand to go by herself coz she’s been living with another motto since she started roaming around the town by herself: Getting lost is a fun experience without a map and just the instinct. =))
Now off she went to the library and followed her instincts once more. Just as she got to the One-Stop, the lady recognized her and gave her the student card! Now she’s an official student of Korea University! =)
The cold wind kept blowing so hard that day, Cathianne wished for a thicker coat! She dragged herself back to the laboratory to keep warm and check the next to-do-things in the list. The alien card is the next stop and also the Certificate of Enrolment. She has to go to Seoul as soon as possible. She had to get first the copy of her Certificate of Enrolment in order to proceed with the processing of the Alien Registration Card.
Requirements for Alien Registration Card for Foreign Students (D-2 Visa):
1. Passport
2. Application Form available at the immigration office in Seoul or downloadable via immigration website
3. Processing fee of KRW 10,000 for Government stamp
4. Certificate of Studentship or Certificate of Enrolment
Website for Korean Immigration: http://immigration.go.kr
She was getting worried in completing the requirements as March 11 has been as the deadline for her Alien Registration Card copy to be submitted to the Academic Affairs Office as well. But it seems that she’s not going to Seoul Campus this week with her oppa since he said that the coming Saturday is again a holiday. How the heck is she supposed to know her building and room especially for her Tuesday class where she’ll be travelling alone?! Uh oh..! Some things have to be learned the harder way indeed and in the most inconvenient way alone! T__T”
It was half past six and the guys were already feeling hungry. She too was feeling hungry so she went with them to the higher ground cafeteria where the standard meal price was KRW 4,500 that always had a big bowl of soup. Just as she was about to eat, MJ oppa warned her that the soup had oysters and she might want to slow down and be careful by not eating it in order to avoid stomach complications. Haha..! It was also during that dinner that she found out that one can go back for another round if wanted. Kiko oppa went back for another round. Funny though, he didn’t even finish half of the second round he made. It has become Cathianne’s observation that her oppas don’t mind not finishing up every food they buy.
After dinner, she warmed up with a couple of cups of warm water before leaving the cafeteria. Back at the lab, she tried playing with her android and downloaded some apps. She became fond of it and decided to forget about the immigration processes for the mean time. She went out to the lobby to walk around to hasten digestion since she felt so full and cannot sit down well with all the food in her tummy. After about 15 minutes, she went back into the lab and decided to fix her things so she can go home early. Just as she was doing so, MJ oppa told her that the guys are going out to play soccer in the field. She wanted to see them play and so he invited her to see the game. She went back to the dorm and left her bag in exchange of her d90. She remembers her new friend, Junsik, and decides to invite him along as well. So they both went to the field under the freezing breezy weather that night to see the guys play. It’s game on for the first day of Spring Semester. It was the Environmental Engineering team’s soccer practice game and some 20 Freshmen and Sophomores also went to support the team. It was a great sight to see and a nice new setting to practice for with her d90. Although her hands were freezing, she decides to continue taking shots. Junsik was also a nice person to tag along as he was also trying his best to converse with her. He seems to easily understand and pick up with her accent. Cathianne didn’t bother to sit anymore and just took more pictures of the game. Her first soccer practice game watch under a very cold night! She couldn’t imagine just how the players can run and stand under such circumstance as some of them just wore shorts!
By the end of the game, she and Junsik went to approach the others to bid them goodbye as they wanted to go ahead. Junsik had to finish some experiments and Cathianne wanted to get warm in her dormitory. When Kiko oppa saw her camera, he was surprised because he has the same one! So this is a good thing because Cathianne now has another camera-buddy to get more photography tips. Cool!
As Cathianne entered the dormitory, she finally made it to the entrance with just one swipe! Haha! The guard has become familiar of her because she was having a hard time getting in and out the other day and this morning. He couldn’t speak English but asked where she came from. She then tried to ask where the laundry was with the use of her phone’s dictionary but he still couldn’t understand. Luckily, 2 girls came up from the ground floor, university students. Cathianne bravely asked and the one with the short hair responded. It seems like the other girl also could not understand English. This time, Cathianne became friends with the short haired girl, whose name is Honey. She’s also studying Environmental Engineering and is a couple of years older than Cathianne. She’s in her senior year (4th year) in the undergraduate course and both of them are already getting along. They exchanged contact numbers and Cathianne hopes to get help from her. They went down to the laundry area and Cathianne was shocked to see every instruction written in Hangeul! Now, she really needed a buddy in doing her first laundry at least! She’s so glad to have met Honey, at least she now has a new friend in the same major and in the same dormitory. =)
More friends to meet and more adventures to seek... c”,)
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