Just when I thought that my life was too routined, there's something coming up.
After church service yesterday, two of the church member came up to me and said that they would like to either learn Chinese or improve their English, and since I'm learning Korean, they can assist me in the field, why not do a language exchange?
Frankly it was a bit unexpected, both of them in their late 20s and early 30s......to learn a new language right now?
The idea of language exchange did appeal to me when I first came to Korea, but now I'm packed with piano class, swimming lesson and danso lesson that I'm not even putting much effort into my studies.....
What more is that our lecturers are good, meaning not extra classes won't be necessary for us...
But then I thought that it was a good chance to get to know people, and maybe practice my Korean conversation. What's more is that it'll give me a good reason to revise my Chinese...
And ya, they were saying either English, which is the international language or Chinese, which is becoming more important by the year, so I decided to teach them Chinese.
One of the reason is that I think it'll be easier to teach them something new rather than to change or improve something they already know.
Changes are difficult, that's what I believe....
So starting this week I'll be busy Tuesday night and Sunday after service....
Monday, April 11, 2005
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Arbor Day...bye bye
It's Arbor Day today here in Korea. Arbor Day started off as a public holiday after the Korean War, until this year. This is the final year Arbor Day will be celebrated as one of South Korea's public holidays....
It all started during the Korean war in 1950. The war between the communist North and the democratic South was so severe that forest and mountains were destroyed, along with the trees on them.
So, on the first spring after the end of the Korean war, the South Koreans had a country wide celebration of Arbor Day to begin the reforestation of the war ravaged country.
The Korean government designate April 5 as Arbor Day and made it a time for all the citizens to plant trees and other plants. Decades later, the forests have returned. Nowadays, citizens still plant trees and flowers and clean up the surrounding hilltops and mountain areas, and the day serves as a reminder to respect nature and the environment.
But from what my lecturer told us, the government decided to cancel this public holiday starting next year due to a few reason.
One is that since last year, most company and civil servants only work 5days a week, which causes slight drop in productivity.
The other reason is that now a day not many actually participate in tree planting on April 5, thus it's pointless to keep such a holiday.
Anyway, bye bye....my sweet public holiday
It all started during the Korean war in 1950. The war between the communist North and the democratic South was so severe that forest and mountains were destroyed, along with the trees on them.
So, on the first spring after the end of the Korean war, the South Koreans had a country wide celebration of Arbor Day to begin the reforestation of the war ravaged country.
The Korean government designate April 5 as Arbor Day and made it a time for all the citizens to plant trees and other plants. Decades later, the forests have returned. Nowadays, citizens still plant trees and flowers and clean up the surrounding hilltops and mountain areas, and the day serves as a reminder to respect nature and the environment.
But from what my lecturer told us, the government decided to cancel this public holiday starting next year due to a few reason.
One is that since last year, most company and civil servants only work 5days a week, which causes slight drop in productivity.
The other reason is that now a day not many actually participate in tree planting on April 5, thus it's pointless to keep such a holiday.
Anyway, bye bye....my sweet public holiday
Friday, April 01, 2005
JEJUDO(3/29-3/31) Day 3
The last day on the island.
Visited 2 places before we headed to the airport.
The first was Mysterious Road.
After driving up this road, turn off the engine, shift to neutral, and the car will appear to roll up hill. Amazing?
It's actually an optical illusion due to the the angle of the road and our sight lines^^
The last spot that we went to was Yongduam Rock, Dragon Head Rock.
As it's name suggests, it's a rock that looks similar to that of a dragon. And if you look closely, you can spot not only the head but the tail as well.
Well, that ends my Jejudo trip^^
Visited 2 places before we headed to the airport.
The first was Mysterious Road.
After driving up this road, turn off the engine, shift to neutral, and the car will appear to roll up hill. Amazing?
It's actually an optical illusion due to the the angle of the road and our sight lines^^
The last spot that we went to was Yongduam Rock, Dragon Head Rock.
As it's name suggests, it's a rock that looks similar to that of a dragon. And if you look closely, you can spot not only the head but the tail as well.
Well, that ends my Jejudo trip^^
JEJUDO(3/29-3/31) Day 2
The places covered on the second day include Udo, which literally means Cow Island. Located just off the northeast coast of Jejudo, it's a relaxing place despite its 1800 inhabitants.
The island is known for its beaches: one has white sand, one has black and another has coral.
We visited all the 8 Sceneries of Udo, which took about 2hours all in all.
After lunch we headed to Seongsan Ilchulbong,which is actually an extinct volcano.
Ilchulbong means the peak where the sunrises. Thouht we weren't in time to see the sun coming up, but it was still a splendid sight.
We also went to Seobjikhoji, the place where the Korean drama 올인(allin) was filmed.
Another of Jejudo's attraction that we visited was the Gimnyeong Maze.
It's something like the hedge maze that we see in European movies.
The maze's outline mirrors that of Jejudo Island, and it is said that when viewed from above one can see icons pertinent to local culture:horse, ship etc.....none of which I was able to spot though....
Like the previous night, we didn't do any sight seeing during the night.
Instead, we had a camp fire. We were quite worried whether we would be able to have to camp fire as the wind was very strong. But fortunately the wind was on our side. No BBQs though. Just some games round the fire and BBQed potatoes and sweet potatoes
The island is known for its beaches: one has white sand, one has black and another has coral.
We visited all the 8 Sceneries of Udo, which took about 2hours all in all.
After lunch we headed to Seongsan Ilchulbong,which is actually an extinct volcano.
Ilchulbong means the peak where the sunrises. Thouht we weren't in time to see the sun coming up, but it was still a splendid sight.
We also went to Seobjikhoji, the place where the Korean drama 올인(allin) was filmed.
Another of Jejudo's attraction that we visited was the Gimnyeong Maze.
It's something like the hedge maze that we see in European movies.
The maze's outline mirrors that of Jejudo Island, and it is said that when viewed from above one can see icons pertinent to local culture:horse, ship etc.....none of which I was able to spot though....
Like the previous night, we didn't do any sight seeing during the night.
Instead, we had a camp fire. We were quite worried whether we would be able to have to camp fire as the wind was very strong. But fortunately the wind was on our side. No BBQs though. Just some games round the fire and BBQed potatoes and sweet potatoes
JEJUDO(3/29-3/31) Day 1
We, (65students +5teachers) went to Jeju-do for a 3days 2nights trip. We are the first batch that went to Jeju-do with our teachers instead of going to Gyeongju, where our seniors told us that it was so boring and the only thing they looked forward to was the meal.
Paradise, Hawaii, Disneyland......Jeju-do has been compared to all three and all three comparisons have their place.
Jeju-do, the biggest island of Korea, a place where honeymooners flock to, was interesting. Though we didn't get the chance to climb Hallasan, the tallest mountain in S.Korea, we were able to visit quite a few places.
We departed from our house at 5.30am to catch the 7+ flight.
The first place that we went to was Hallim Park, which is famous for it's lava tube cave, botanical garden, and a mini folk village.
The cave was most interesting as it's one of the few lava tubes in the world with stalagmites and stalactites.
We also went to a Teddy Bear Museum, where the world's smallest teddy bear is located(if I'm not mistaken).
We were at a tangerine(mandarin orange) farm, just for the sake of taking photos. As the season for tangerines is in autumn, we were not allowed to pick any of the fruits because if we do so, the part won't be able to produce any more fruits.
The other places that we went to on the first day was Jusangjolli Rocks and Cheonjiyeonpokpo before heading to our chalets and prepare for the night activities.
Each class came up with a some performance(all dramas). My class got second, but the present was something I like.
And as I was the mc for the night, I was given vouchers worth 10000won^^
Paradise, Hawaii, Disneyland......Jeju-do has been compared to all three and all three comparisons have their place.
Jeju-do, the biggest island of Korea, a place where honeymooners flock to, was interesting. Though we didn't get the chance to climb Hallasan, the tallest mountain in S.Korea, we were able to visit quite a few places.
We departed from our house at 5.30am to catch the 7+ flight.
The first place that we went to was Hallim Park, which is famous for it's lava tube cave, botanical garden, and a mini folk village.
The cave was most interesting as it's one of the few lava tubes in the world with stalagmites and stalactites.
We also went to a Teddy Bear Museum, where the world's smallest teddy bear is located(if I'm not mistaken).
We were at a tangerine(mandarin orange) farm, just for the sake of taking photos. As the season for tangerines is in autumn, we were not allowed to pick any of the fruits because if we do so, the part won't be able to produce any more fruits.
The other places that we went to on the first day was Jusangjolli Rocks and Cheonjiyeonpokpo before heading to our chalets and prepare for the night activities.
Each class came up with a some performance(all dramas). My class got second, but the present was something I like.
And as I was the mc for the night, I was given vouchers worth 10000won^^
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Dawn Prayer Meeting
Well, as I mentioned when I was still in Intec, I finally joined the famous Korean Dawn Prayer Meeting.
Woke up at 5am just now and went to church. But frankly, the people who turned up are much lesser than what I expected, and not many youths were there.
Anyway, it was quite good. As this week is Holy Week, the passage today was about the death of Christ on the cross.
It did seem quite weird for me yesterday, going to school on Good Friday. I nearly forgot that it was Good Friday since there was no holiday.
Kind of unexpected from a country with 25% of its population being Christian.
And tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I'm still not sure whether to go to the stadium in Jamsil and see the combined Easter Celebration or go to church and see how the church celebrates.
The combined celebration is not something done often, so I want to go: but on the other hand this might be my only year attending Gocheok Church and I want to see how they celebrate......
Ah~~~
Woke up at 5am just now and went to church. But frankly, the people who turned up are much lesser than what I expected, and not many youths were there.
Anyway, it was quite good. As this week is Holy Week, the passage today was about the death of Christ on the cross.
It did seem quite weird for me yesterday, going to school on Good Friday. I nearly forgot that it was Good Friday since there was no holiday.
Kind of unexpected from a country with 25% of its population being Christian.
And tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I'm still not sure whether to go to the stadium in Jamsil and see the combined Easter Celebration or go to church and see how the church celebrates.
The combined celebration is not something done often, so I want to go: but on the other hand this might be my only year attending Gocheok Church and I want to see how they celebrate......
Ah~~~
Friday, March 25, 2005
Maths and Com Exams
Just sat for my Maths and Computer today.
I thought I did quite well for both this time, but my teacher told me that I made too many careless mistakes here and there, and most likely I'll be getting lower than 90% this time :(
Well, looking at the brighter side of things, my com was perfect this time. There were all in all 4 questions: the teacher shows us a Hangeul(Korean Word, something like Microsoft Word) document and what we have to do was create something like the teacher's within the given time.
The previous time I wasn't able to finish 2 questions, but this time I did it all =)
Well, will just wait till my results come out next week.
I thought I did quite well for both this time, but my teacher told me that I made too many careless mistakes here and there, and most likely I'll be getting lower than 90% this time :(
Well, looking at the brighter side of things, my com was perfect this time. There were all in all 4 questions: the teacher shows us a Hangeul(Korean Word, something like Microsoft Word) document and what we have to do was create something like the teacher's within the given time.
The previous time I wasn't able to finish 2 questions, but this time I did it all =)
Well, will just wait till my results come out next week.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Bamboo Flute
My friends and I are taking up a traditional music instrument course at the The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. The course is especially designed for foreigners to help them understand Korea's tradition and culture better.
So for the next 11Saturdays, I won't be able to sleep till 10,11am in the morning, geesh....
I'm taking up Bamboo Flute, an instrument created during the The 3 Kingdoms period. Well, actually I wanted to learn the 12-stringed music instrument, but I won't be able to keep it as a souvenir after I finish the course and buying one is out of the question( 1million won!!!)
Anyway, back to my Bamboo Flute, it's not as easy as we thought, even after the first 1and a half hour lesson , some of my friends still couldn't make any sound with it.
Hmm, let's see what we can accomplish after 11 more lesson......
Friday, March 18, 2005
97.3%
Got back my exam results today.
As it's clearly shown, I've got 97.3%......can't seem to run away from the number 97.
Praise and Glory be to God^^
Frankly most of us (the Chinese students, those who studies Chinese) thought that this time it was much easier and were expecting a much better result, but then, it turned out the other way round.
The oral was much easier but the listening and writing was much trickier.
But amazingly I've got a friend who got 99.9%!!
But she did put in a lot of effort (at least compared to the lazy me) and sure deserves it^^
As it's clearly shown, I've got 97.3%......can't seem to run away from the number 97.
Praise and Glory be to God^^
Frankly most of us (the Chinese students, those who studies Chinese) thought that this time it was much easier and were expecting a much better result, but then, it turned out the other way round.
The oral was much easier but the listening and writing was much trickier.
But amazingly I've got a friend who got 99.9%!!
But she did put in a lot of effort (at least compared to the lazy me) and sure deserves it^^
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Arghh....sick....again
That's right, sick again.
And this time it's not just sorethroat, I'm having flu and I think some fever as well.
What's more? I'm having my mid-term exams next two days!!
Yesterday was White Day.
Nothing special to me. Not that I have any special person to celebrate with........
I actually bought some candies to give to those who gave me chocolates the other day, but since I didn't meet them during piano lesson, guess I'll have to eat it myself^^
I'm waiting for Black Day which is more appropriate for me.
And this time it's not just sorethroat, I'm having flu and I think some fever as well.
What's more? I'm having my mid-term exams next two days!!
Yesterday was White Day.
Nothing special to me. Not that I have any special person to celebrate with........
I actually bought some candies to give to those who gave me chocolates the other day, but since I didn't meet them during piano lesson, guess I'll have to eat it myself^^
I'm waiting for Black Day which is more appropriate for me.
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