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!!! ^____^

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! ~~

Seeing Seoul for the First Time

At the sound of the alarm, Cathianne wakes up but decides to extend another 10 minutes of sleep. By 5:45am, she finally opens her eyes and gets up. It's early bird mode today so she aught to get going because it's her first day of class in Anam Campus.

She braves the cold morning outside the dormitory. She sees the sun lazily rising and spreading hues of pink on the horizon and she greets it with her smartphone and uploads the photo with the caption "Good morning! 6:30". It is 6:30 in the morning. She walks down to the entrance of their building and MJ oppa calls to check on her. By 6:45, oppa arrives and they walk to the bus station just in front of the main gate of Sejong Campus. He teaches her to buy the bus tickets to Seoul Express Bus Terminal and buys some drinks for them both. The next bus leaves at 7:20am so they wait in the terminal while watching the news. She obviously can't understand a word so she just watches and asks her oppa about it --- News headlines still talk of North Korea...

By 7:25am, they board the bus and off they go to Seoul for an hour and a half ride. During the trip, they both try to get some sleep since the bus had comfortable and spacious seats.

8:45am on the dot, the bus arrives Express Bus Terminal Station in Seoul and they take off. It's Cathianne's first day in Seoul! She finally sees the BIG CITY. She follows her oppa as he teaches her the way to the subway. They take subway line 3 or the orange line in the subway map as shown in her smartphone. She pays 1,600 krw for the single journey ticket which has a 500 krw refund by the end of the trip. She carefully pictures out the landmarks of where she must go because on the coming Tuesday, she'll be traveling back to Seoul by herself alone. She takes note of the locations and numbers in her phone and her oppa teaches her where to go next. From line 3, they are going to transfer to the brown line or line 6 of the subway at Yaksu station. From Yaksu, there are 5 stations more before reaching Anam Station, their final stop.

Funny incident was that since both of them (especially oppa) were still sleepyheads, oppa almost mislead them to the other side of line 6 which was going to his hometown! Noting it, they are NOT to follow Seoul National University; they should follow the arrow going to Bonghwasan. =))

At around 9:40 am, they finally reach Anam station and Cathianne was awed by the complexity of the subway. She's almost confused but enjoys it along, she feels more adventures are coming her way! =))

She keeps taking notes in her smartphone and almost bumped in a lamp post! So oppa asks her to take a picture of the landmarks so it will be easier for her to remember when she takes the route on Tuesday alone. From exit 3, out they go and they turn right from the intersection to  Inchonro 24. From there, they walk to a small street and start walking uphill. In the middle of the road, they realize that their professor for that morning was just behind them so they greet him. Professor asks Cathianne how everything is doing. They all go to the Biotechnology building. At the second floor, Cathianne meets more people from their department - a lady int the lab, Ms. Chinnie, and TJ oppa, and two more men whom she didn't know were also going to be her classmates in the morning class.

By 10:00am, the class started. She's taking Reaction Engineering along with MJ oppa, KH oppa, Doochael oppa and several others. It was not a big class, probably 10 or 11 students only and she's the only lady in the class. The professor starts with an introduction of himself and is glad to inform them that he had a kind Filipino professor for an adviser when he was taking up his PhD in the States. Then they started with the ice breaker. KH oppa was asked to start introducing himself in English because Cathianne can't yet understand Hangeul. The next to speak is Cathianne and followed by the rest of the class. After several discussions on the introduction, the professor gave them a check-up quiz to see how he will teach the course based on their backgrounds since the class is a mixture of people from various fields. As the class ended, they go out to have lunch outside the campus. It is almost a 15-minute walk downhill to the restaurant. By the time they got there, it takes long for their orders to come. Cathianne learns of another korean food, a soup-filled bowl with rice in it and beef broiled with cow leg bones according to KH oppa. It is Selleongtang.

SELLEONG-TANG (Cow leg-bone soup)

************************************************************************************************************* Reposting from http://www.seoulfanclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=41

Seolleongtang
As it’s getting chilly these days, the weather makes you think of hot foods. Hot seolleongtang is an invigorating food that will give you strength.
Seolleongtang is made by boiling down a cow’s bones, feet, head and internal organs, beef brisket, and beef shank. Thus, it is rich in protein and calcium.
Seolleongtang is inexpensive, so it has long been very popular among ordinary people.
Seolleongtang originated from the farming season in spring, in which the king and his retainers held a ceremony of worship for the god of farming at Seonnongdan, outside of Dongdaemun in Seoul, and then had the soup made by boiling the cow used as a sacrificial offering for the ceremony. The word “seolleongtang” stemmed from Seonnongtang, which refers to the soup boiled at Seonnongdan. Later, the word seonnongtang changed to seolleongtang.

Because it takes a long time to boil seolleongtang, it has a thick taste. Compared to gomtang, seolleongtang has more bones in it. It is made by boiling bones and soaking a milky soup out of the bone marrow. You need to add salt or pepper powder when eating. Seolleongtang tastes more delicious with ripe kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi).
Hot seolleongtang with rice and kkakdugi is a great dish that will warm you up in the cold winter.

Ingredients & Amounts

- Four cow leg bones (1kg) 
- Cow knee bones (600g) 
- Cow’s tongue (700g), scalding water (5kg) 
- Water (7kg) 
- Green onions (30g), garlic (65g), ginger (20g), onions (50g) 
- Sauce: green onions (40g), salt (8g), pepper powder (0.3g) 
How to Prepare

1. Soak four cow leg bones, knee bones, and cow's tongue in water. Change water every hour and skim off blood three times. 
2. Remove blood from beef brisket and shank using cotton cloth. Then clean vegetables and make sauce. 
3. Put scalding water in pot and heat for 10 minutes over high heat. Once it boils, put in the four leg bones, kneebones, and cow’s tongue and boil for five minutes. Then put leg bones and kneebones in a pot and boil for one hour over high heat after adding water. After it boils, continue to boil for five hours over medium heat. 
4. Skim off floating froth and oil. Put in tongue, shank and brisket and boil for one hour. Add vegetables and boil for one hour. Then lower heat and continue boiling for 30 minutes over low heat. 
5. Once tongue and beef are cooked, take them out and cut them to pieces of 3cm (width) x 4cm (length) x 0.2cm (thickness). 
6. Pour soup in pot and boil for 10 minutes over high heat. After it boils, season with salt and pepper powder. 
7. Put sliced meat and soup in a bowl and serve with sauce.

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She pays 6,500 krw for her lunch and that so far was the most expensive she's ever tasted and plans not to eat dinner anymore for what she has spent and just have some crackers. But it was a good lunch anyway.

Only 10 minutes to go and their 1:00pm class with Prof. JY for Urban Hydrology will already start. So MJ opp and Cathianne hurry back to the building. They seat in the front row since they personally know their advisor and no body is sitting in front any way. The class started with the roll call of the names and the professor begins with the introduction and the lecture. Before the class ended, they were left with a reminder of having a quiz on the next meeting and a FORTRAN programming assignment. The quiz is not a problem, the assignment is. FORTRAN? When has she ever done that? Now this is bigtime and needs some expert's advice on this. She is hoping her oppas can help her with it as her advisor is encouraging her to really work on it.

After the class, MJ oppa accompanies her to the building where she must take her lecture during Tuesdays. After several minutes of walking and looking for it, since the Anam campus is a very BIG campus, they take the subway to the Express Bus Terminal. Since oppa still had to meet some people, she has to ride the bus to Jochiwon by herself.

In the bus, she is seated next to a lady who seemed to still be in school. She wants to talk to her but the lady seemed busy. An hour after during the trip, the lady asks if she can use her phone to send a text message since her phone's battery got empty. That's when Cathianne introduced herself and starts having conversations with a stranger-turned-new-found friend, Danbi. Danbi is studying Fashion Design in Seoul and is in her Sophomore year in college. They exchange contact infos and realized that both of them have something in common that Cathianne has been looking for since she arrived Korea, the passion for photography. They share the same passion and she invites Danbi to go on a photowalk with her sometime whenever she'll be in Jochiwon. They both get off at Korea University Station and bid farewell. =))