One Exciting Weekend - A Tale of Six Screwed-up Girls

We made a decision to travel south down to Jeollanam-do over the weekend. What. a. decision.


We arrived at Gwangju in the afternoon, made reservations at 3 motels, turned up at one, and got scolded by another (for not turning up)

our dodgy hotel. comes with a porn channel.


Then we went over to Jindo on Saturday morning. Arrived in the afternoon with no accomodation planned, and followed to Hong Kong-ers to some mountain-top art bank with all our luggages and still no accomodation.


So we started asking the staff at the art bank if they had any accomodations to recommend. We stood around for about half an hour while they helped us call motel after motel. In the end, we asked if there were any homestays around. The man who was helping us all along said "Yes. My house."

And off we went bundled into two vehicles to his house!




Namda art bank

Frontyard of our homestay. They own a kindergarten.

opera singer who later woke us up during the show cos the 6 of us fell asleep.




schoolbus for the kindergarten kids. and us.



Jindo.



Gumpo. Cross-dressing street act.

Jindo mysterious sea road. Surfaces only one week per year.










Grandmother Ppong and the tiger.





On the sea-road itself.

Our room in homestay. and 3 of the 6 screwed up girls.

playground in their backyard.

their house has a mini soccer field



AND a swimming pool!

Leaving Jindo.................


Exciting or not?

Midterms in Korea

Notices on midterm exams here are hm.. interesting.

"... Water or a soft drink is allowed in the exam, food is not allowed.

During the exam, please respect and be considerate to your fellow students – be as quiet as possible.

If you have any questions or problems during the examination, please raise your hand. If that does not get the instructor's attention, throw something at her/him. Whatever you do - please do it quietly.

And. Do it well!

***************************************************
GOOD LUCK!!!"

I wonder why those in NUS are always so stoic.


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Ok la. I thought that notice was (and still is) damn cool!!!

别这个样子

为什么你一定是对的呢？只有你的想法和一切才是对的吗？我做我自己是错的吗？

我珍惜我们的友情，却不知不觉的发现我越来越不喜欢和你有共同的空间。你总是让我觉得我做的事情是错的，别人的想法和做的事情也是做的。只有你才是对的。我好讨厌你这个样子，厌倦跟你说话。

就请你不要让我不开心了。

Snapshot from skiing trip

Somehow I just couldn't get this scene out of my head..

Ski instructor: chaemissosoyo? (was it fun?)

*silence from the rest of the van

Sheena: Neh! Chaemissosoyo! (Yes! It was fun!)

*three seconds of silence

Sheena: Was it fun?

Rest of the van: YES!!!

Comaradie is when you hear your native tongue, complete with accent, in a foreign land.

We were waiting for our food at a roadside stall when we heard a familiar accent asking what the store was selling. It was nice to answer in the accent, words and level of formality that was built in us, instead of always bowing and replying that we couldn't speak Korean. In Korean.

I'm not sick of Korea. Yet. It is just not so difficult to remember that this is not where I come from. The "Alien Registration" card snug in my wallet continues to be a reminder of my foreigness.

Imagine when the school holidays arrive and more Singaporean families come over for a holiday. Who knows. I might even earn a little from being their guide :)

Griping post

It's always an eye-opener to me how people know others are different but maintain the concept of "we" as a group of homogenous people. All communications with "us" must be acceptable according to "our" standards and all communications to "them" should follow "our" standards.

For claiming to be from a multi-racial and multi-religious country, Singaporeans are some of the most guilty people.

I find it such an oxymoron that our stress on maintaining inter-racial harmony should culimate into intercultural communication classes in university.

Some of us are so narrow-minded to accept that other people have their own norms and practices too. It's not that we have to be polycentric to live up to our name as a quiltwork country, it's not that we have to compromise our values. Why can't we just respect others for their own backgrounds they were brought up in, and acknowledge that others have different systems of getting stuff done?

I really wish that this other person reads my blog as well cos these words would fit exactly what I want to say to him.

You can throw it back at me that I'm too myopic to accept you have your own conformist styles, but maybe you shouldn't be talking so much when your worldview is the sky from the bottom of the well.

Lessons from Korea

1. The number of layers of clothes is not a choice

2. Gloves and beanie are basic necessities

3. When fingers are numb, a bump hurts more than a cut

4. Kids in winter clothes are freaking cute!

5. The (closed) windows brings cold air, aircon and fridge brings warmth

6. Provided meals are sooo wonderful

7. Delivery meals are damn cheap, and good

8. Never change before checking outside the window

9. Knowing the weather forecast is important

10. Make up feels damn good on the skin here

11. Face shop and skin food is everywhere, cheap and good. With freebies every single time you buy from them, no matter how little

12. Namdaemun sucks. Myong-dong is the best

13. "Yo"s are important here. "Ya"s are rude. And no one pays attention when you scream out hokkien vulgarities :)

14. Knowing how to speak Korean, or someone who knows how to, is sooo important.

15. I'm attending lessons with like the Korean GEP-ers

16. I'm going to miss kimbap when I get back

17. Sometimes, the sun is really good to have around

Skiing!

Breakfast in the subway! (You can eat in the trains and trains stations here)

First sighted flats in Yangji

My ski gloves!





Camwhoring after just alighting at Yangji

Me! We rented those equipment at half the price of the resort's from a ski shop outside of the resort. That ski shop was also where we met our instructor :D

That man is our suuuper nice ski instructor. He gave us free lessons, brought us out to dinner and helped us get our tickets back to Seoul!

Wee!! Haha those ugly bibs should be there to show we are first-timers, I think.

On the little ski "escalator" up the orange slope.

Huh?

Group photo!




Be-autiful sunset at Yangji.

32,000 won

32,000 won... bargain?

The science of taking the Korean subway

Korean has a very hierachical society. But they are very understanding as well, once they know you are not Korean.

But obviously, they wouldn't know it when they see two chinese Singaporeans fiddling with their phones. So when Shanming and I were at the subway, we really learnt how age earns you the right to almost everything.

Both of us just got our phones up and working, and were trying to figure out basically, how to use the phone. And we were sitting down in the train, as one of the buddies had very nicely literally put us into our seats when we said we were tired. Then one ajuma and ajushi couple walked in and just stared down straight at us.

Her stare was no menacing I immediately caught her meaning even though no words were exchanged, and I pulled Shanming away to stand in a corner. She was busy understanding her phone she didn't even notice the stare lar (!)

There was another time when a group of us were standing in the train, and one ajushi was just shoving his way through. Shanming eyes just grew wide with disbelief. Haha her exclamation was "He'll never get away with that in Singapore la!"

The Koreans really just let him have his way. There was a young girl of maybe 6? She was shoved aside as well, but her mum just pulled her out of the way instead of picking a bone with the man.

Senior citizens over the age of 65 can also ride for free on the trains!

They also have seats designated for senior citizens. The Koreans respect it so much that they would rather stand if all the other seats were taken. Comparing to Singapore..

Haha this might be one country where looking young may not be that advantageous..

Hello from Korea!

Have reached safely :) Weather's freaking cold but damn shiok! First time in my life I'm speaking with mists coming out of my mouth! Went shopping like mad these first two days. And here are some photos for all to enjoy :)

My funny roommate

Some huge expanse of land with patches of melted snow through the dirty bus window

My suitcase cracked!

Their subway stations always remind me of HDB flats..

Castle-like KU

Castle-like KUBS

I felt like I'm in Cambridge, my friends said they felt like they were in Hogwarts

Bits of unmelted snow!

Toilet in the middle of nowhere

Victory photo! After a really really really long trek

Our room!

Dinner on first night. There were three of us who were gobbling the ban chan up like cows la..

Man in orange selling stuff inside the train. Everyone else ignoring him.

Olympic village from Seoul Olympics 1988

DBSK portraits

Amazing people carrying bags on their heads. Balance isn't even their concern!

The more high-class Metro.

Very pretty cakes!

A rare chain of stops where it goes over land. And profile reflection is our shopping queen, Sheena!

Made a trip to COEX mall. BIG. And gross. There was one shop where they showed their fish tank of catfish and small fishes separated by a glass side by side. FUCKING GROSS! In the glass that separated both tanks were little holes choked with dead small fish. My goosebumps are all out just remembering it la. I swore immediately on seeing it lar. The fish were probably trying to swim through the holes, then they just got stuck halfway through AND DIED THERE!! DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT.

GOOSEBUMPS!!

It's coming...!

Just TWO MORE NIGHTS!! I am soooooooo excited.

Weather forecast said it'll snow today (Thursday). Dang. Missed it.

Had a reaaaally wonderful holiday with Jun Zhan and Chee Fung and Char and Jen (even though I only met up once with Char and Jen). Can't stop playing!

Too bad the knot between me and Tong Hai is still there. But oh well. You gain some, you lose some. And it's not that we're not trying.

Ohhhhhhhhh I can't wait can't wait can't wait.

Ohhhhhhhhh I need to start packing!

Dear Jess

Hello Jess! (haha ok now I know who J is in my chatterbox already)

Sorry. Didn't know you left a private comment. Didn't log into blogger, so I didn't see it. (I moderated my comments cos I didn't want to miss comments that could have been given to earlier posts.)

So here's a post specially for you! Er.. Don't feel disappointed, I am writing this as soon as I saw your comment.

Hm.. Same as you, I do not think that I deserve these riches, or that the promises of abundance is a given. I believe in God's grace more than anything. And it is undeserved, absolutely. That is why He is such a lovely God.

Possibly, you might not agree with me when I think that there is nothing wrong with wanting more. Just for the record, I am not a lover of money. I am very happy with all I've got. But if I should be blessed with more, I will definitely accept it with open arms.

I am a believer of prosperity. Perhaps, in clearer words, I am a believer of prosperity as a blessing from God. And it definitely will come, as we believe it to be. But I believe the faith in and love for God, above everything else, must be there. I do not mean that I love money when I say I believe in prosperity. I mean that I love God, and his blessings, including prosperity, will shower me.

I am not able to quote verses like you, I have only a blind faith in God's grace and His love for me. And please allow this girl, head over heels in love with Him, answer your comment from what I believe in.

2 Peters: I believe the sufferings all Christians will face by following Jesus refer to the persecutions by non-believers. Perhaps, it includes taking away our wealth. But it'll never be an act of God. There will definitely be tests to our faith. But I do not believe it'll be from God. To me, He is all about blessing us and loving us.

I think I answered your doubts about serving two masters already. Just to reiterate, like you, we serve God, and no one else.

I love your reference to Luke 12 and Matthew 19. Neither the rich men or the rich fool entered heaven. But neither of them loved God. They loved their money. Dear sister, do not mistake me as well to be a lover of money. My church, and I believe yours as well, has spoken against the love for money. It has taken me time, but I have learnt to open my hands and give to God. I have learnt, to love the Almighty.

Lastly, the Bible says consider the end of Job, not the beginning. I do not really know his story. But my beliefs are so: (Job spoke against God by claiming his righteousness over the Almighty. He sinned despite once being a man of integrity. He had let his conceit veiled his eyes from God. And God punished him by taking away his everything. Then Job repented and went back to God, and he was forgiven. And he was blessed. More than what he ever had.

That was before a time when the Son of Man walked the earth. Job was a non-believer when all of his possessions were taken away.) Note: This entire portion is erroneous.

But you and I have never stopped believing. And our sins have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We no longer live under law. We live under grace.

I might have come across as a lover of money in my previous post, and I do not deny I wanted to be seen like that. This is because I did not think anyone (meaning my friend) can make us feel wrong for our believes, whatever they were. I did agree with him that money is not everything. But I disagreed with his way of making me feel that I am a sinner if I should come to love money.

Our sins were all borne and forgiven at the cross. No human being should be able to dominate us and we have only one heavenly master. My friend did that and I felt angry and indignant at him for doing that.

Dear sister, I look to God to be as blessed as you one day to be able to know the Bible like the back of my hand. That post has long gone behind me, and I have prayed and forgiven him.

I thank you very much for your well wishes, and God bless you too :)

Chasing after money

A friend was very concerned that I place too much importance on money. And he always made me feel as though my entire life is wrong because he has reached "enlightment" and sees the transience of money. And he reads this blog.

I'm not afraid to admit, I once led a very miserable life determined by the number of coins in my pocket. I was so fixed on what I had in my wallet that I willingly gave up what I had with my friends. And I always wished I had more.

I believe in prosperity. I always did. I believe in being rich, having millions, living in a beautiful house, enjoying exclusive memberships and driving the latest luxury car in town.

The difference is now, I chase after God, and money chases me.

I still want more. I want everything I have to be in abundance. But I no longer have to worry whether or not it is coming in. It is. And it will. Without a single speck of doubt.

I do not believe in living a thrift and frugal life, as many Christians advocate. How can the perfect Lamb be sacrificed for us to live as poor people? No, the sacrifice was made so that we would live forgiven and in abundance. Thrift and frugality is not Christianity, it is Confucianism.

Neither am I for people who sell their soul to the devil for money, or harm others to add one more zero to their bank account. It is not the way to live, whether or not they have been saved. But I have nothing against those who, through sheer dilligence, build up their own empires. They may not be children of God, but I give them my deepest respect. At the very least, they have the fever and drive for achievement that few would ever have.

I am a daughter of Sarah, and a seed of Abraham. I believe in God's promise to Abraham of all the riches in the land, and I am his heir. I have no doubts I will be rich and living in abundance. My efforts will play a part, but the bulk of it will come from His supernatural favour.

My God is that good :)