Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

I got my shades today! MJ oppa got it from the main reception of our building. Blooper: My name was written on the address and they didn't know where to bring the package..Nyark...! LOL

The whole day I've been working on the Fortran code and finally had a meeting with my professor. Getting things done soon! After the meeting, as I got back to my seat in the lab, GJ oppa asked me if I wanna join the others watch Transformers 3. Oh heck yeah! I TDAP want to and I need a good movie break! That movie sure will tweak my wicked programming brain! LOL.


By 6:20pm, I rode a taxi with Jungeol, MJ and Hwanseok to Jochiwon downtown and we headed to CINUS. And whattabonus! It's Hwanseok oppa's treat! How cool is that?! :D


It was still early so we still had much time to have dinner. At the ground floor of the building, we ate at a Japanese restaurant that had this rotating conveyor on a long table where you can just get your choice of food placed on the belt. Pay for the price of the color of the plate of course. :D


I had 알밥 (Al Bab - fried rice with fish eggs) for dinner and it was good (KRW 5000)! After eating, we still had more than enough time so we played some arcade games. First game, Hwanseok asked me to join him. It was a funny game, like a race, where you had to be fast in pressing the huge buttons and the animations were also funny, like crying babies LOL. MJ and Jungeol played table hockey and other shooting games. By 7:15pm, the two bought some popcorns and HUGE DRINKS and we entered the movie. My coke was so large, I could barely drink a quarter of it!


AND TRANSFORMERS BEGAN!!! Wooooot! XD

Chased by Butterflies

11 June 2011
0504H
In the laboratory fixing my stuff after finally printing my final report. 


I haven't slept yet but I'm quite happy and excited and a bit nervous because in about 4 hours, my class in Anam will start and we will be doing our final presentation of our individual term project. I have been having a great deal of trouble with this one because for weeks I have been trying to figure out how to go about some second order partial differential equation that unfortunately, only a good computer code can efficiently solve based on the lits I've read and it will have to take me a much longer time to develop a code to get the results for comparison. But good enough, I talked things out with my professor yesterday and I was advised to make a comparative analysis instead since time is already against me. WHEW. 


Earlier, or rather, yesterday while having coffee break with Hyunjoo and Junsik oppa at CBTL, a white butterfly fluttered and seemed to be dancing in front of me for several seconds. It seemed to have effectively kept my calm. The rest of the day was spent doing my homework and finishing my final report. 


I had dinner with Hyunjoo, Gwang, Junsik, Daehoon and Daesok at the 5th floor where our food was delivered. I have tasted the mandu ramyeon a few nights ago but I think the restaurant that delivered our food last night has a better mandu ramyeon for the same price of 3,000 won, there was about a dozen mandu with the noodles! Not bad! And it was ma-ssi-seo-yo!^^ Anyway, the dinner ended up with me eating the last kimbap. LOL. 


I went back to the lab, finally got the answers to the homework and decided to take a shower in the dormitory. I came back in the lab at 11:00pm bringing my Urban Hydrology book with me (I'm supposed to study for the quiz but I barely have time anymore so I might as well study during lunchbreak with Minjae oppa -- cram again LOL), my camera and the charger. By the time I got to the lab, I realized that I forgot to bring the adaptor of the charger's plug! Deeeyyym. So I might as well just leave the slr? Since the battery has only 1 bar left? But I'm also thinking that there just might be a good view or food to shoot even for just a few shots! I might miss it! Hmmmm... 


Anyway, I'm keeping the good vibes because just a while ago in the hwa-jang-sil, a green little butterfly also came flying to me and as I subtly chased it back, it landed for a few seconds on my palm. It looked like a four-leaf clover, only that it was flying! ^___^


In a few minutes, I'm going to walk to the bus station for my 6:20am trip to Seoul. 
"FILIPOS teams break a leg for the amazing race!" -- Too bad I can't come to physically cheer and support you guys cos I have class! I even want to be part of the team but darn. I'm fully-booked in Anam. May this be a good day and may the good vibes keep coming!!! ^____^

Korea University Sejong Campus Open House Party

Korea University Sejong Campus is known as the "Best Boarding Campus". Indeed it is. The dormitories have great facilities and a home to a lot of students away from their hometowns. The open house party started last night and is celebrated annually for two consecutive nights with temporary hofs (tents were put up around the place for drinking) and a stage facing the Truth Building for the entertainment and all-night singing and dancing. Just tonight, before finally hitting my pillows, I decided to get my camera and take some photos of the people partying with the KU Cheerleaders on the stage dancing and singing. The funniest part was the red plastic bags that were inflated and used as props! I haven't seen any crowd gone crazy and raised up plastic bags whirled above their heads. Students were very energetic and I took the opportunity to capture the moment. *wink*

Just as I was about to head back to the dorm, a song to the tune of Canon in D (my favorite instrumental ever) was played! I couldn't resist and took a video of the happenings until the song ended. =)

Spiciest Dinner: OCTOPUS MUCH

02 May 2011


This is just a blog post of my dinner for tonight. It was an unusual dinner with the lab brothers cos we went out this time. Cindy and I rode in Jungeol oppa's car along with Kyeongjin oppa. We went to a restaurant that was somehow off the highway and was about 5-10 minutes away from school by car. Cindy told me that we'll be eating a very spicy dinner, a very spicy octopus that is. I guess it was just right that I didn't put on my sweater anymore!


There were 9 of us in the restaurant - Oppas - GJ, MJ, Jungeol, Kyeongjin, Changhong, Kwanhyeong, Wayne - plus Gwang, Cindy and I - the "kids", hahah!


When the dishes came, it was a mix of seafoods but with a huge octopus that the immonims had to cut first in front of us. It looked like a nice ritual. Unfortunately, I'm just to shy to take photos when I'm having dinner around a lot of oppas. It would have been a good photo op. Tsk tsk. There should be a next time - hopefully with Pinoy friends so that I won't feel restricted to take unlimited photos of the food. LOL.


A dish was shared by three persons so there were 3 of that octopus dish that was placed on our long table. After eating almost half of the dish, the immos came back to get them. Time for the "paella"! They get some of what's left on the pan and mix it with rice - which is called "bokkeumbap" 볶음밥. It's soooo delicious and still soo spicy! But while everyone else where wiping with tissues and sweating, I was still cool with just my t-shirt and kept digging in despite the hotness building up in my mouth! LOL. All I could say was: "HOT but NAMIIIIIIIIIT! Aaahhh!" *wink*

ID Key Card Trouble

I went to the lab early at quarter to 9 and tested my keycard ID. Sadly, I still can't use it! I went to the Department Secretary to have my ID checked. After making a call, we found out that I won't be able to use my ID as passport for a week because I have not attended the safety education! (WHUUWAAAT?!!) So just because I forgot about the seminar I'm being punished by disabling my access to the building and the lab?! T___T"


1100 h
I was still sleepy that morning and decided to take a 30-minute nap. But a few minutes later, the phone started ringing. Much later on, GJ oppa asked me to make a reservation. In short, I wasn't able to take my 30-minute power nap anymore. LOL.


1130h
I made some phone calls to a couple of hotels in LA to reserve rooms for my professor and oppa who are attending a conference sometime in May. As I finally reached the booking number, I was glad to hear a familiar accent. The way the call center agent spoke in English was comforting, not too fast and perfectly clear and understandable. I had a strong feeling she's a Filipina like me! But I was too shy to ask her. LOL.


1300h
For the first time, my 3 oppas - GJ, MJ, and Hwanseok - and I went with our professor for lunch. As we met outside the building. As we met our professor outside the building, nobody had an idea of where to eat yet. MJ oppa thought I didn't like spicy food because of yesterday's lunch (it was the tofu that stopped me from going for second round), so we went to a noodle store. Our professor became sort of an interpreter cos my oppas would talk in Korean. He teased them that they should talk with me more often to practice their English skills. LOL.


1450h
Since tomorrow is my midterms, I decided to go home early and take an early afternoon sleep. I woke up by 1730h and from then on, I didn't sleep anymore. ~ Tomorrow's an exciting sidetrip adventure with Tin!!! c",)

Nonsan City: Site Visit to Wetlands

28 April 2011


Wetland Site Visit Day!


1030h I left the campus with MJ oppa and traveled by car to Nonsan City to take a look at the wetland sites of of Kongju National University. It was both our first times to be at the site. It's my first time to see constructed wetlands as well. At the first wetland, pig waste is being treated. We also went up to the waste treatment facility --- and ooooohhhh! How nasty! The smell clung to our clothes and my hair!!! Eeek.!


We had lunch at a nearby restaurant with the students of KNU. Unfortunately, none of my Filipino schoolmates were there.


After lunch, we visited another wetland which looked a lot better than the first. I even saw a huge crane flying over but I didn't have my camera with me! <sob>


1530h We traveled back to Jochiwon. Along the road, oppa and I saw a reversely-driven truck! It's head was facing us! Only to find out it was being pulled by another truck behind when we overtook them. LOL. We almost thought of how crazy and excellent the driver would be had it been really driven reversely.


1830h The day wasn't over. Oppa and I had to proctor the midterm exams of our TA class. So we had to eat dinner early at the teachers' cafeteria. The exam was to start at 7:30pm and would end at 10:00 pm.


1920h We went to the English building and entered the hall where the exam was scheduled to be held at. Taking a look at the problems, they seem quite hard! And indeed, several students maximized the time and submitted their papers at exactly 10 o'clock in the evening!

My discoveries for today:
A car rental would cost around 70,000 won
Nonsan was an hour away from Jochiwon and there were several toll gates as well
Gasing up may be approximated to 10,000 won for that trip
20,000 won for all fees on the road might be more than enough


Rough estimate: A roadtrip to a 1-hour long drive to another destination might need 100,000 won. Would be good enough to share it with 5 people. *wink*

Water Symposium

Environmental Engineering - Water Symposium
Location: Incheon


I lacked sleep but I tried to wake up at the first sound of my alarm. But I snoozed back. Meeting time was set at 6:00am at the laboratory. When I woke up, it was already 6 o'clock! Oh no! They must have left for the symposium already...But no one has sent a message or called me up yet. So I took a quick bath and prepared myself to go to the lab. I remembered that the weather forecast stated that the day would be rainy, so I brought my umbrella with me.


As I stepped out of the dormitory, MJ oppa called and looked for me. Again, I made it to the building just in time cos oppa has also just arrived! ^^


0650 h
I left the campus with MJ oppa and Changhong oppa driving the car. Even if I was so sleepy, I was also excited cos I will meet Joan and Ate Marla! And they will be presenting at the symposium, somehow, I will be able to understand at least two presentations cos most presentations are in Korean according to my oppas. LOL.

0930 h
We arrived at the research institute and I met Joan and Ate Marla. It was like an alumni meeting as Ate Marla was being teased by her professor that we're having our mini-reunion of alumnis. LOL.


Since most of my oppas from were staff of the event, MJ oppa suggested that I go with the Kongju students, Joan and Marla. Also for me to enjoy, I'll spend most of my time with my fellow Thomasians! ^^


Today is Good Friday and we're supposed to abstain. But too bad, both Joan and I were really hungry as both of us haven't had anything for breakfast and both of us also lacked sleep! So we ate whatever was served at the cafeteria even if the only protein source was meat. Awww...

1700 h
I had to go back to Jochiwon already and join Changhong oppa and Junsik on the way back. I bid my friends farewell then.


In the car, I met Yeongchoon oppa, a former graduate student from our university. He was a bit surprised when he first heard a Korean word that came out of my mouth, "oppa". LOL,


Changhong oppa drives fast! So we reached Jochiwon at around 7:30 pm and all of us were starving! I planned on eating some plain kimbap to abstain but oppa invited me to have dinner with them. The menu? - Unlimited Beef! Uh oh! LOL.


2000 h
We rode Ohkyung oppas' suv to the downtown and dropped Junsik off at the train station cos he had to go back to his hometown as soon as possible. So there were only four of us who ate dinner at the restaurant serving what seemed like a "buffet" of beef plus a bit of Cass and soju to warm up our dinner. LOL.


I was super full! Obviously, even without rice, that much beef that kept coming until they've decided to stop will really fill me up to the throat! It was Changhong oppas treat that night and as we went out, Ohkyung exclaimed, "Forget the name of the restaurant." LOL. The beef was just ok, at least for me, since I can't compare yet what a premium grade beef of that kind tasted like. LOL. Then in the car, I asked them to rate the food with 10 being the best and 1 being the lowest, they gave 0.5 for the rating! LOL.


Though I enjoyed the food as it filled up my stomach really well, their comments made me quite more curious as to what a premium beef would taste like. LOL


Til my next post! c",)

Detoxicating Sidetrips to Myeongdong and Yeouido

19 April 2011


We were dismissed a bit earlier from class today! And I've set my afternoon to meet up with my "lost sister", Tin!!! We're going on a sidetrip! YeaaaaahhhH!


1300h
I met up with Tin at Myeongdong station. It took less than 30 minutes by subway to reach Myeongdong station from Anam. I was too excited that I didn't even feel hungry. I just had some crackers with me for a light snack. ^^


We took Exit 2 and reached the Myeongdong main street. I needed a smart casual / formal dress for the symposium I have to attend on Friday. And what a perfect place to shop indeed and a lot of stuff are sold at quite cheap prices! You just have to be really good in scouting for the good quality clothes! Dresses, blouses, tees for under 10,000 won! After going through several shops, I finally found two dresses that I couldn't decide which one to pick, so I bought both! ^^


Then we went around and about the alleys where there are lots of beauty stores. Salesladies were in costumes and greeted passersby happily and handed out free samples and requested people to go in even just for window shopping! Because of that, my jacket pocket immediately got filled up with the free samples as we passed by 4 to 5 different shops! ^^


In the middle of the streets, we'd often meet some mascots from the various stores and restaurants. We even saw Snoopy and the weird distorted-looking Garfield! Hahah! But the best one was the street artist. We were inside Faceshop when suddenly, as I looked out, I saw a very tall man walking and was in full "clown"-look and the long red trousers. Tin dropped what she was about to buy and decided to go out with me to run after the tall man to take photos! Oh yes, we were in the place to take photos primarily, canvassing and shopping only came second. LOL.


It was quite an interesting view of Myeondong having a street artist in the middle of the road showing off his balloon art skills and even made a lollipop-shaped balloon for a little girl who was all eyes on him as she waited for her balloon (like she was waiting forever in vain...LOL).


Before we headed to the subway, we passed by a stall and saw stockings being sold for 3 for 10,000 won (it sounded like 3 for P100 -- no.1 rule though, never convert currencies!).


1400h
We went back to the subway to go to Yeouido. After around 30 minutes, we were already in Yeouido. We took Exit 4 and walked straight to Yeouido Park hoping that the cherry blossoms, our main goal for the day's sidetrip, are still in full bloom. Just before we crossed the street, we passed by a cozy coffee booth that had a very warm and inviting ambiance.^^


The Cherry Blossom Festival at Yeouido ended last Sunday unfortunately. We were not able to see the festivities and the many people that filled the park. As we reached the par, we were a bit disappointed since there is not that much cherry blossoms anymore. As we stolled along, we took photos of the stikingly pink flowers that adorned the sides of the pathwalks. We walked on until we reached the center of the park where we saw two full blooming cherry blossoms! That's were we did our photoshoot! LOL.


While filling up our cameras with photos of people, passersby, flowers, the view and the cherry blossoms especially, we saw a Chinese-Korean family with a very cute bouncing baby girl who was lying with her belly flat on the ground as her dad was enjoying the moment and took photos of his daughter. I couldn't resist the baby so I asked permission from the family if I can take photos of the baby as well. And where the baby was sitting, it was such a perfect pose and the background were the cherry blossoms as well! ^^ The baby kept smiling and laughing as Tin and I playfully took photos of her! ^^


1600h
Time's up and I had to go back to Jochiwon already. Sidetrip is over and Tin and I had to part ways as we reached the Seoul station. As I reached the ticket office, I made it just in time to ride the train which was about to leave in a few minutes! LOL. The train departed at 1643h and I reached Jochiwon by 1812h. And to save time, I rode the free campus bus that passed by the train station at 1827h.


Tune in for my next sidetrip! c",)

Typical Seoul Saturday

My first period class is Reaction Engineering. This is the course that I need to do a lot of catching up cos I never had this subject in college. During the class, our professor discussed only a few topics for today's lecture since he was not feeling well and decided to ask us to present the progress of our term project! Oh snap! I didn't bring a hard copy of my report, I just emailed it to him but he at least have already read my email. Still, I'm not prepared to present and I was still uneasy with the topic I'm working on cos understanding the equations and all were already taking much of my time in preparing the report! T___T" MJ oppa presented first and he was followed by KH oppa. Next was me! Oh no! Before the presentation, I scribbled all that I could remember from what I've emailed and the papers I've read. When I stood in front of the class, our professor who was just seated at the teacher's table on the side transfered in one of the nearby seats in front and was smiling at me as I was about to start! T___T" It made my feet colder! It was supposed to be a warm day but - dang! I was chillin' literally! So I started presenting and babbled whatever came out of my mind. The professor was so kind enough to guide me with the topic and offered suggestions as to how I can approach the project better! Whew! BIG WHEW indeed! It was "good" and as I walked back to my seat, MJ oppa made a silent clapping action. I smiled back and told him I didn't come prepared at all! And so was he! LOL.


After the class, I had lunch with MJ oppa and Badboi at the cafeteria below the gym. I had bibimbap again! I'm starting to feel like it's becoming my comfort food here! LOL. At lunch, I asked Badboi what his report was all about cos at first he started presenting in English and eventually spoke in Korean in order to express better and all I could figure out was that he drew on the board a stick drawing of a man and something with four legs. It was about some medicine concentration and that's all I understood. Then they explained to me that it was about a lab rat experiment on the concentration of medicine and the class was laughing at the topic. I was guessing the whole time what they were laughing about and I wanted to laugh back then at the fact that I didn't understand what they were laughing at and the drawing on the board. LOL.


My afternoon class was postponed to 3:30 PM cos Prof.JY had an emergency. I wanted to go see the flower festival at Yeouido but it seemed that this won't be a good time cos my class will end late. T___T"


1840h: I was walking out of the Anam gate and got a call from my professor asking where I was. So I hurried to the subway and there we met to take the subway together. At the subway we also met Tekken oppa but he was headed to another destination. My professor and I went to the Seoul Station and bought our train tickets. So there, I bought my ticket to Jochiwon and professor was headed to his hometown. Dang...I can't see the flower festival anymore T___T"


1920h: The train left for Jochiwon and I stayed at the cafeteria car again cos the seats were all taken. I plugged my earphones to my ears, sat on the carpeted floor, leaned on the wall and slept in the trip. ~~


2058h: Now in Jochiwon station! I went to my favorite kimbap restaurant and ordered 치즈라면 (Cheese Ramyeon) for a change - hahah! And to satisfy my cravings for something sweet, I was thinking of oranges but when I got to Buy The Way, there was no orange and all I can find to suspend my cravings was the Hershey's Roasted Almond Veil ice cream bar! Even if it was cold, I had ice cream! LOL.

치즈라면: cheesy, milky, creamy, spicy - YUMMY! ^^

Satisfaction Accomplished! ~~

Rendezvous at CBTL

"My First CBTL Ice Blended!"


1200h


Only Sok oppa and I were the people in the lab. The rest of the guys were in Seoul having classes. So for lunch, oppa invited me to join him and I'm glad that he's also not a fan of the cafeteria for the professors! I like bibimbap so much and so we went to eat at the place where I had my first bibimbap. I learned that oppa was planning to proceed his post-graduate studies in the U.S. and heard from my professor that he's one of the brightest students even during his undergraduate years. Seems like it cos he was a double major degree holder (Environmental and Civil Engg) during his Bachelor's.^^


At the resturant, oppa ordered spicy ramyeon and bibimbap and I didn't know that it was a treat! Cool! ^^, I was supposed to have lunch with a couple of friends but they had classes still. Because of that, I got treated for lunch! ^^


1320h


I met up with BJ oppa and Keo, who had his head shaved just before we met (LOL), in front of CBTL. They're the new friends I met at the English Cafe. BJ oppa bought coffee for us and since it was a very nice warm day (22 degrees), I decided to have white chocolate dream latte ice blended - my first ever ice blended drink at Coffee Bean here! LOL. We sat outside at the porch area and I was already brave not to put on a jacket or sweater. The warm sun was really such a bliss to my skin! ^^, I loved it!


BJ oppa told us about his interview with Asiana Airlines yesterday and when I found out he applied for FA, I was so amazed and said that that's one of the jobs I'd fancy and I definitely don't see it as a job, it's more of fun than work because it's traveling!!!^^ But it's funny that he doesn't like flying! Both Keo and him have phobias in airplanes! LOL. And so he's expecting not to get accepted, the experience of the interview was enough for him. kkk...

BIBIMBAP PLACE (not exactly the name^^)

2000h


Alone in the lab! Sok oppa already went back to Seoul so I have the lab all to myself and I can sing all I want! LOL. Just kidding! (Half - hahaha!)


I thought I would be having only oranges for dinner. But John came and so I went to dinner with him, Cindy and another friend of Cindy who's living in an apartment just outside the campus grounds. We went to a restaurant that's just a few steps from the apartment and Cindy told me to try the 청둑장. At first I was hesitant cos it was neither beef nor chicken and I didn't want to have pork as much as possible. Then she said something about beans. "Oh, soy beans?!" And I was thinking of tofu already - I'm not such a big fan of tofu. I was hopeful that the way the tofu was being cooked was tasteful even spicy cos I rarely eat plain tofu! When the dish arrived, it was a red soup filled with tofu! @_@ hahah! I didn't know what to say really and so when she asked me how it tasted, I just said "Ok". LOL. It smelled not so good too as what she said. Good thing there were lots of side dishes / appetizers and the seaweed wrap which they call "KIM". I preferred the sidedishes more than the main course we ordered. LOL. It tasted just well and blended with the kim and other appetizers at least, it wasn't that bad and it was just OK. c",)

청둑장

청둑장 (Ch'ong Dook Jang)

English Cafe - Rendezvous Not

It was almost 2:00 PM and the people in the lab have not yet eaten lunch! I'm getting so hungry cos I haven't had any meal yet and everyone were just too "busy" to bother about their stomachs calling! T__T" My tummy was already grouching. I decided to pick my reading materials and go to the English Cafe at the building just to the right of our building.


I was looking forward to eating some real lunch - sandwich and some beverage - and I even thought about splurging on lunch for today. When I reached the cafe, I didn't know that everything was for free! Free indeed and there was no food menu to choose from cos whatever there is, that was it - coffee, tea, toasted bread. T___T" Oh  well, at least I saved for lunch and remembered that I still had some bread in my table and thought of eating it when I go back to the laboratory.

A few minutes when I found a place to sit, a couple of guys also sat beside my table. All people staying in the English Cafe really spoke in English. If they were Korean Nationals, some of them were there practicing their English skills through some foreign acquaintances or with their friends who are also knowledgeable in the foreign language. These two guys seemed to have been there for the first time as well. I was buried in my reading materials when suddenly, one of them said "hi" to me. I thought they were referring to someone else near me, but they were actually really saying "hi" to me. (My reaction looked stunned and awkwardly funny). Then that's when I met two new guy friends who are, this time, not from my department! Now I have friends from the Business Management Department and who are very eager to talk with me in English! =))


I guess it pays to be hungry sometime? Haha..Good thing I went to the English Cafe. I simply wanted a place to relax and have some food and I got two new friends to top it all. c",)




Back at the SciTech Building...
11:00 PM
I decided to go home early and bring my materials at home. Hyunjoo called me up and asked me to pass by the laboratory at the 2nd floor. Bean oppa was there with her drinking some Cass beer and just before I headed home, I also took a shot of Cass. kkk...Hyunjoo and I went home together to our dormitory ready to get some deep sleep. c",)

Just Scrambled Eggs

Oppas finally got tired of the cafeteria food today. For lunch, we went to a nearby restaurant outside the campus. Since I still cannot order food by myself, my friends would still suggest and describe the menu. Hyunjoo suggested that I either try the Pork Cutlet (동까스 "tong ka su") or the 오미라야스 (omi rice), kimchi fried rice covered with scrambled eggs on top (literally, it covered everything!). I decided to try the fried rice since the last time I ate there, I remembered ordering the port cutlet and only finishing half of it. When the dish arrived, I was like "Oh, breakfast - egg and rice in tomato ketchup for 4,000 won"...Hahaha!


This is how the 오미라야스 looked but with more egg on top!

Photo from: http://mybakingcottage.blogspot.com/2008/01/lunch-bento-tomato-fried-rice.html


This almost resembles the pork cutlet but the size of the pork they served at the restaurant was way bigger like 2 pieces of quarter pound pork! :))

Photo from: http://www.lastappetite.com/eating-japanese-food-like-a-complete-jackass/


For dinner, we ate at the professors' cafeteria. This time, I met another female grad student who is staying in Anam where she's doing her lab duties. She hardly spoke English but she is able to understand me anyway. We became friends from then on. ^^ After dinner, we went to Coffee Bean (I was about to go straight to the lab when an oppa told me to follow them at CBTL --- I don't want to buy an expensive coffee for now please T__T") and yey me! - It was Changhong oppa's treat for everyone! Cafe Mocha on the house! ^^,

I Shopped at Jochiwon Traditional Market

It's a Sunday! I feel so lazy and the weather seemed so cold! I got up and stayed longer in bed. LAZY DAY, magnetic bed, ZzZzZzZz...


I decided to get up and do some laundry.


I finished by 2:00pm and went to the downtown to attend the 3:00pm mass at the Jochiwon Catholic Church. By 4:00pm, the mass ended and I decided to go around and look for some stuff I might need to use in the dormitory. I went around the traditional market and looked at some shops that sold clothes and accessories. After several shops, I ended up in this one that I always found to have a lot of customers. So I got in. No wonder they always had a lot of people because the clothes were so affordable! And they are of good quality, mind you. Just be careful and choose wisely cos they also have really nice designs! Simple yet durable and posh! ^^, I ended up buying 2 thick jackets, a long hoodie, a "posh" sweater, and a couple more collared blouses that cost me 62,500 krw! LOL. And because I took long in the store, I even made friends with the lady assisting me and the older one. Both hardly spoke English and so we made use of sign languages. LOL. Jin Xiang Xian was from China and I remembered some Chinese I learned in highschool. So I asked her name and she was glad to know that I knew a bit of Mandarin. She only spoke Hangeul, Mandarin, and some Japanese but poorly in English. She was so eager to know me even if we hardly understood each other and we had fun trying to express each other's ideas. We even exchanged mobile numbers to keep in touch (I wonder though how we are going to text each other with that huge language barrier. LOL). She was so excited and we found out I'm a year older than her, so I called her "dong saeng" while she happily called me "unni". I got my stuff with a huge discounted price, by the way, cos the ladies were amused by me even if we didn't understand each other that much. I simply asked if there was a discount since I was buying a lot and the older lady (whom I started calling "unni" as well), even taught me to say "kack-a-ju-sae-yo" - which means, to lower the price please... ^^,

I went out carrying a huge plastic bag then. I went to Daiso to buy a broom and other stuff I needed at the dorm. Then another plastic bag came with me. I also needed an iron and a hair blower so I went back to the first store where I bought my stuff weeks ago. An old man was the one in charge this time. By the time I paid, he gave me a potpourri too! And a points card. Because of the points card, I now know the name of that store --- Living Mart Corporation (Li-bing-ma-keu). ^^,

Three bags with me and they're starting to get really heavy. If I walk to the campus, wow...That's a long walk! I remembered that the free campus bus would pick up near the train station starting 5:00pm. It was almost 6 already and so I decided to take the free bus ride. Before going up the overpass, I bought some oranges from an old lady who was offering me to buy. And again, I used "hankook mal jal mot heyo" to let her know I can't speak and just said "Ku-de hakseng" which meant that I'm a student at Korea University. kkk...^^

By the time I reached the campus, I decided to drop my stuff first at the dorm. Seeing the dust on the floor, I decided to sweep the room! I wonder when was the last time this was cleaned. @_@

1900h

I went to the lab and found out that MJ, John and Kiko were already having dinner. I gave them some orange and they invited me to join them for dinner. They were having budochige! One of my favorites! And they had an extra rice too! So my dinner for that night was free and "belly-fulfilling"!!! LOL.

Til my next blog! - Cathianne c",)

Black-billed Magpie

bluebirds_04, a photo by cathiannephotography on Flickr.

Finally! I caught these lovely blue birds with my lens! These photos were taken last on March 13th while I was walking on my way to my laboratory. It so happened that I also brought my camera with me. Perfect timing for a photoshoot with these lovely magpies!

CLICK HERE for more info on Black-billed Magpie

Hot Korean Soup Day

Cathianne's Journal:

Two Hot Free Meals for My Tuesday!

Korean Soups, Aja!

29 March 2011

Today's Menu:

Lunch: 설렁탕 (seol-leong-dang) - lunch treat from our professor's lab

Dinner: 갈비탕 (galbi-tang) - dinner treat from another phd student

After-dinner: CBTL Cafe Mocha from GJ oppa

0345h
I woke up really early to read the assigned pages for today's lecture.


0430h
I went to the lab so that I won't be tempted to go back to snoozing again and miss the bus! I won't be missing the bus anymore, not ever the sake of my all-nighters!


0600h
I walked to the bus station and bought my ticket.


0625h
On the bus now. Gone to Seoul - Gosuk Express Bus Terminal.


0845h
I was already in the building and the auditorium was still locked.


0900h
Class began. At least today's lecture were not so strange at all, a lot of the terms were familiar. ^^kk


1150h
We were dismissed early. My classmates invited me to join them for lunch. It was our professor's treat from their laboratory. 좋은!!! ^^


I met another oppa, Danny, who has already been to the Philippines!!! ^^ He's been to Baguio and Cebu two years ago for vacation. And he learned how to say "PARA". :))


1215h
With our professor and with the other graduate and PhD students from our professor's lab, we walked to a restaurant outside the campus. Another new place for me! I've never been to that part of Seoul before so that time, I was lost in directions. =)) So I just kept following them. We went in GOOD RESTAURANT, not sure but that was what was written, I'm not exactly sure if that's the name of the restaurant. Just like most traditional restaurants, shoes off! ^^,


Although I can already read somehow, still slow too, I still cannot understand most of the menu content so they just recommended the seolleongdang for me. When the food has been served, I was hesitant again cos the soup was still boiling! It was HOOOOOT! Haha! Although it's really 맛있 다, I had to eat slowly and blow the soup before sipping or else my tongue will get burned! T_____T" 
Anyhow, it was NAMIT, SARAP, DELICIOSO, délicieux, 맛있 다!!! ^^ 

SEOLLEONGDANG

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pabo76

After lunch, I visited Jongchun's lab at the Innovation Building and had a cup of tea. My bus would be leaving in two hours yet so I still had time for some chats with 남동생 ^^,


A funny incident happened just before we left the building. I was introduced to his adviser and all the while I thought I should just give my name while giving a hand shake. My name sounded like greeting HI to a friend and the professor was a bit shocked and I wondered  why he didn't answer back with his name as well. Then Jongchun explained that I was actually introducing my name. WATTANAME to begin with anyway... LOL.


1400h
I took my time through the subway station and relaxed. When I got off line 6 at Yaksu Station, I almost went through the exit! I was not myself again and lost in the sounds of my sister's shuffle! Hahah...I went back and looked for the transfer to line 3 where I need to go to make it on time to the bus station. So I had to walk a bit faster this time cos I just lost a few minutes dilly-dallying around the subway. LOL.


1440h
I finally exited line 3 Express Bus Terminal Station and started following the crowd again. Because of the crowd, I found a store that was on sale and selling cellphone gadgets and accessories for ladies! It was fun looking at the items only to realize that I was losing time again! Haha! So I hurried to look for the subway's exit. And ooops...I almost went out to the wrong exit again. I had to retrace my steps until I found the escalator where I should be going up! LOL.


1450h
After 10 minutes of almost being lost again, I stopped by a hat/cap vendor. I had spare time since the bus platform is already visible from where I was standing. So I took some time looking at the interesting caps and bonnets she's selling until I finally bought one! There were a lot of cute designs and the seller was also making me try all of them. LOL.


1505h
I hopped on the bus with my stuff, the shuffle in my ear and the new cap on my head! KKK!^^


1645h
I got off at Sejong Campus main gate. I remembered that the Department Secretary told me this morning that my ARC (Alien Registration Card) was already available for pick-up at the main administration building through the Academic Affairs Team. I have never been to that building yet but while I was walking (I was also planning to ask one of the oppas to help me with it but) I also saw the Administration Hall. "There's not much difference between 'hall' and 'building' I guess", I thought and so I went in. Just the right place and the right time, the Academic Affairs Team was just on the ground floor. From the entrance, one has to turn right and look for the door with the Academic Affairs Team sign on it. When I entered, I asked the lady on the first desk about where to get the ARC and the one beside her immediately answered that it's with her. Perfect!^^ The ARC she was holding was also mine (so I guess I was the only foreigner who had that process then? kkk...). For the mailing fee, I paid an additional 4,000krw also. Not bad, at least all I did was submit the requirements for the ARC to my school and they had everything processed. It about two and a half weeks (approx. 10 working days) for my ARC to arrive since I submitted the requirements.


1800h
Dinner time! All of us in the lab went out. I only had enough cash for a regular priced meal so I wasn't expecting anything beyond 6,000 krw that night. BUT, when we went out, we didn't go to the cafeteria. We didn't go out to the restaurants near the school either. For the first time, I hopped in GJ oppa's car with Hyunjoo and MJ oppa. (Dude, those were hot wheels! Two-door black sedan! Neat!^^). I loved the sounds as well, at least I could relate with those songs (Jason Mraz, Karina, Hoobastank...) LOL.


So happy that Hyunjoo was there, she ordered for me since I had no preference on the food anyway. Almost all of us had Galbi-tang. KH, Teuk, GJ, MJ, Gwang, Wayne, Jungeol, Changhong, Hyunjoo and I were already seated and waiting for the dishes. Another boiling hot soup! Just before the main dishes were served, the usual appetizers were set on the table. HUGE GREEN CHILIES are dipped in chili pastes and eaten raw! WHOOOOH! I didn't wanna try anymore since the guys seemed to like it a lot anyway. If it was wrapped in cheese sticks I would have eaten them! LOL.


And the orders arrived. One meal costs 7,000 krw and luckily, I had 6pcs of 1,000krw bills and some coins which I believed would make more than a thousand, so I'm ok at least. The soup was delicious as well, and oh so HOT! Almost burned my tongue again! Then I realized that the practice of eating it was really to mix the rice into the bowl of soup! At lunch, I remembered seeing Jongchun, who had the same order as mine, place all his rice into his seolleondang. I just ate the rice separately. Ahhh...Now I know. LOL. After I had half of my rice, I also mixed it with the galbi-tang and indeed, it made the soup cooler somehow that I was able to finish up the whole thing! (tumpak! haha!) And to our surprise, the other student paid for all our meal tonight. Honey and I both had the same reaction that the dinner was expensive, but since it was a treat, then all is good! LOL.


GALBI-TANG

Photo from: aprilantipodal.wordpress.com

Upon reaching the campus, I had a last song syndrome of Karina's "Slow Motion", the last song I heard in oppa's car when we got off. Then he was directing us to go to Coffee Bean. Oh no. I looked at Hyunjoo and both of us were like "another expense???" T___T" Since I still had some cash, I ordered cafe mocha hot since it was only for 4,500 krw for the regular one. MJ oppa was teasing Hyunjoo that she could not reach the floor with her toes if she sat on the high stool. And we played with some pump / air regulator for the burette (we didn't know what it was called) while waiting for our coffees. Then suddenly, GJ and the other oppas went out already after getting the orders. So it's free! It's been paid already! Another free CBTL tonight! Thanks to oppa (whoever among them paid for it), Hyunjoo and I didn't even know. ^^,

Girly Talk

30 March 2011

0030h

It was already past midnight when I went back to my dormitory at Justice Building. Then Hyunjoo messaged me to visit her room at the 3rd floor and she gave me an orange. It was my first time to actually go up the staircase and see the other floors. I stay at the ground floor and the rooms are for two people with a private shower per room. But in the upper floors, they had a common bathroom and study area and each room had four people. The room is spacious at least compared to my room and how the fixtures and furnitures were arranges were a lot better in spacing compared to my room. At least now I've seen most of the dormitory. Hyunjoo and I went out to the terrace for some talk and since she wanted to smoke. We also went in their room where I met her three roommates. One of them spoke English well. They were all nice and all seemed to be busy with their laptops either typing, doing homework, or playing some games. LOL.

0230h

I used the elevator for the first time and went back to my room to sleep. LOL.

c",)

Early Lab Rat Today

Cathianne's Journal:

Late to Bed, Early to Rise

25 March 2011

Menu of the Day:
Lunch @ Faculty Cafeteria: Bulkoki Steak w/ egg & rice + side dishes (kimchi, seaweeds, etc) and yu pu soup, 4500 krw
Dinner @ 둔가스: Cheesy pork cutlet, 9000 krw

Although I stayed up late finishing my Fortran program (and my all-nighter did pay off!^^) and went to bed at 3 in the morning, I was able to wake up early and for the first time, I made it to the lab by 9 o'clock! =))

I was the first person to get to the lab and opened it since I always have my keycard with me. Around 11 o'clock, the second person to get in the lab was GJ oppa and I got an apple juice from him that morning.

Somethin' to drink? A for Apple ;))
 

I was also excited to finally email my program to my professor. After two long weeks of agony in figuring out through trial and error algorithms, I was finally able to write and successfully run my program!!! WOOOOT!!! c",)

My breakfast/snack for the morning, the Binch choco biscuit from Hyunjoo =)


1230h
Went to have lunch with GJ, Doochael and Gwang at the Faculty Cafeteria where we had steak! It tasted good!!! =)) It was about a quarter pound beef steak with sunny side up and rice and the caf served some salads for the side dishes. For the first time, I had pickled garlic cloves. It tasted weird and just ok. kkk...


Photo from: detail.en.china.cn

1300h
Went out to walk for 15 minutes to burn down some calories. I was tooooo full!!!

1400h
Went back to my desk and started reading some assigned articles. I was feeling sleepy and probably, other than the fact that I can hardly understand the equations on the paper, I was also full from lunch. I couldn't resist but take a 30-minute power nap. So yeah, I dozed off....ZZzzzz

1830h
Gwang asked me to go have dinner with him, Hyunjoo and Jaemin. I thought we were just eating in the campus until we met at the library and hopped in the school bus to downtown! Luckily, I pulled some 15,000krw out of my wallet!

At the downtown, we went to the traditional market where they bought some things they needed. I didn't have any extra cash so I decided not to buy anything at all cos I was just out for dinner...=))

After going to the marketplace, we went to a restaurant, 둔가스. It was a nice, cozy restaurant that was perfect for families cos they had a play area for the kids. When we went in the place, there was a lot of children just roaming around and playing. It would have been a great scene to take some photos! =(( When will I ever have the perfect timing to take photos! T___T"

I was a bit surprised by the menu. Food prices started from 7,000 krw. It was fate that I brought more than my usual expense on food! Haha! But that dinner was exceptionally great and 맛있다!!!

The salad dressing was perfect, just the right mix, not too sour, not too sweet for the shredded cabbage! They had some soup that Honey put on some pepper. It tasted like mushroom soup and it was really yummy! The way the kimchi tasted was also exquisite and I liked how it slid down to my taste buds and even the yellow radish! And of course, the main, the pork cutlet with melted mozzarela cheese on top with some vegies in it, it was like a pork cordon bleu. I love it, I love the taste of it that I wanted to forget that I was eating pork, wishing it was chicken or fish, but the taste was ooooh soooo 맛있다!!! With the dark sauce that had wasabi! It had a kick and I liked it a looooot! Never mind the bill, it was so much worth it! Thanks to Hyunjoo, Jaemin and Gwang for bringing me there. I wanna go back there again and I gotta bring my cam with me next time! c",)

After dinner, Gwang treated us to coffee at the coffeeshop right outside the train station where I usually pass by. I got in there for the first time and I love the ambiance. I had Cafe Mocha again and it was a lovely cozy place for a local coffee shop. 잘 먹고 대 동생 !!! ^^ 

둔가스

cute pink glass

my dinner: cheesy pork cutlet

커피treat from Gwang ^^ (this cute couple, my coffee models kkk)