So i've decided..

So.... As you know, i've been back from Korea for almost 2 months already and of course, Korea is like some kindnof magnet that kept attracting me to go back there. I discussed with my mother and finally, we concluded that we'll be going to Korea next year summer! I won't be following the home stay program though it's really fun. :/ My mother would rather want me to take her around since I told her so much about my trip there and honestly, my mother is a K-pop fan like me and we're in the same fandom. Yes, we are VIP! Our trip there next year will consist of staying in Seoul and flying over to Jeju Island. Seoul is more like the excitement, shopping and food for us while Jeju Island is more for relaxing and simply just enjoying the view. Totally love the beaches and sceneries in Jeju Island. It's a must go! I guess there isn't much now but... I will update soon. There's a class trip coming up next month tho. Peace

Holidays

Sup people? My holidays are coming next Monday and i'll be having lots of free time while "studying" for my upcoming test. So.. I've been thinking about what to put up and maybe.... I might talk about my concert experience. Which concert? GDRAGON and BIGBANG's concert. It's still under consideration though. Couldn't wait for my class trip next month to the theater of performing arts. You prolly wouldn't have guessed but.. Heck, we're going to watch Romeo & Juliet. So cliche. Typical love story. I'm not really a fan of those cheesy, romantic love stories especially Twilight. A vampire that shines under the sun sounds absurd to me already. What more of those long winded story lines? #nohate #justsaying But yeah, I currently have 24 more novels to read sure as hell it's going to take a long time. My home stay report will be in my school magazine next year and though i'm kind of proud, it feels weird. Whatever. Till next time. Peace

KOREA

It's actually my birthday today so i'm being extra nice (LOL JK). Ok! I stayed with my foster family for 3 days and a half and in those few days, i've enjoyed Daegu to my fullest. Due to the delayed flight, all of us actually wasted one day with our foster families. Nonetheless, my foster family brought me to a lot of places in Daegu. I got along with my foster sisters just fine and maybe it's because our age gap isn't that great. MinJi, the oldest daughter, 15 years old, is my host. She brought me to her school and all her friends were really excited to meet me. Importantly, her WHOLE SCHOOL knows that i'll be there. It's kind of creepy in some way but I feel grateful. I spent crazy time with her classmates and even though their English is not very good, they tried to speak to me in English. The teacher's are totally cool because they can wear any sort of clothing to school but a little formal. Like in my place, all the female teacher's are not allowed to wear work pants or any too trendy clothings (except extra school day on weekends) but in their school, all the teacher's were practically like so fabulous! I envy them a lot because they can bring handphones to school and just any other electronics actually. They even have 10 minutes of rest time/interval after every class. For my school, there's no such things as "rest time" for us. The other difference is that their school have to English teacher. One native and the other British. Which practically mean, they have 2 English teacher and 2 different English class. The British teacher, Miss Martha, she have stayed in Daegu for 2-3 years and she found the same thing i've found in Korea which are the people, the colour, the fun, the music. School hours ended at 6.10p.m and most of them still have extra classes in school to tuition at their "academy". I seriously salute them for being able to return home at 11p.m, finish their homework until 2-3a.m and go to school the next morning. I would've complained every single day if I were them. My last 2 days in Korea was spent in Seoul. Finally, the heart and soul of South Korea. We didn't have a chance to be there because we stayed in Incheon the first night in Korea so being in Seoul made us excited again. Of course, Seoul is different and everybody knows that their favourite idol/groups/actor/actress/entertainment company is there. I rejoined my other batch mates at Seoul Stars Hotel, Gangnam-gu and from there, we were toured around by a tour guide named Cindy. She brought us to Myeongdong. One of the largest shopping district and well, he have a blast shopping there. All the shops seemed endless there and every single thing seemed so attractive. After shopping at Myeongdong, we were transported to Dongdaemun Market, a 5 storey tall shopping complex. Needless to say, we grabbed a lot of cosmetics and shopped for clothes. Korea is truly a shopping heaven. Finally, we had dinner at Itaewon and returned to the hotel to rest. The next and final day for our trip, we went to Kimchi making class and the theme park! We spent 5 hours at theme park and all the rides were so cool! Even though the line was a little long, it was worth the wait. Everland was huge and we took up a lot of time to walk around to locate the rides. But it was just pure FUN. By nightfall, we Had lunch at a nearby restaurant and showered then started packing for the flight home. During my whole stay in Korea, it opened my eyes in a lot of aspects and Korea is really not like what i've expected. Everything is just way more than i've expected. The food is simply AMAZING. The people were friendly, kind and helpful but of course some still give you stares and remember, NEVER be loud on a train or bus or everyone will give you the eye. A duly remarkable trip I would say and I will not hesitate to go back. Maybe next year, i'll go back with my mum and this time, i'm embarking on an adventure in Seoul and Jeju Island. Peace out. :)

What's up?!

So... I've actually gotten lazy to write. I've been busy with school all day and at night i'm too tired to do anything. Anyway, i'll be seriously posting up the remaining stuffs about my Korea stay. I know it's been lagging for so long. Sorry "== stay tuned.

Apologies ^^

I know I was supposed to finish off my adventure in Korea but i've been busy and all of a sudden there's this Maths and History test next Saturday. Ughhh So hopefully i'll be able to finish it off tomorrow or maybe after the test. On the other side, i've been pissed at my school since forever. Ok, I AM always pissed at my school but never like this year. This year to me is complete bullshit. The previous years were still fine and tolerable but the new headmistress this year made me so damn pissed and I felt like changing school. Why? First off, she's a stalker. Secondly, she's very biased. Thirdly, she makes up stupid rules and make us look like prisoners. Fourth, she thinks the reason for being absent from school does not include vehicle problems, parents went overseas, no transport and fever or headache. Fifth, she installed too many CCTVs in school and that amount is not allowed and it could be reported as invading someone's privacy. Lastly, she stalks everyone on Facebook. One single word about her or the school, everyone gets the "punishment". So sick of her shit. I'm so done.

So sorry for the previous post that doesn't have any spaces between each point. I'm typing this on my iPad so I guess it's the wording problems. Oh yeah! The typos I made... Ain't even gonna correct them. LOL Anyway, i'll be posting more about my adventures in Korea. Stay tuned. :)

Excitement

I should start blogging about December 2012. The month I successfully convinced my mother to let me apply for an 8 days home stay program to South Korea. I have waited for that day for about 2 years? In January 2013, I started filling up my application form. Since the program runs on first come first serve basis, I felt the need to send in my application form earlier. I applied with my classmate and both of us are avid fans of K-Pop. My main or shouldni say, ONLY favorite group is BIGBANG. Maybe you've heard of BIGBANG because just last year they ran an world tour from all over Asia to the United States and Europe. Okay... Back to my story, the not-fangirl world of mine. As I was saying, my friend and I applied for the program to South Korea. We had choices between Australia, Japan, Korea and London but we of course immediately chosed Korea because of... Well.. BUT besides just being avid fans of K-Pop, I fell in love with Korea's culture and the vibrant cities in Korea especially Seoul. What would be your first impression when you think of Korea? (no Gangnam Style please) (p.s I fell in love with BIGBANG and Korea way back in 2008/2009)Technology perhaps? Koreans that look the same everywhere? You'll be surprised with what you'll be able to see and experience there. I learnt Korean during Nov/Dec 2012. It was a crash course that lasted for a month and a half and luckily, I already know how to read Hangul(Korean characters) before the classes. When I started going all fangirl mode over BIGBANG, I started learning Korean on my own so... With a little effort, I managed to know how to read Korean and i'm slowly improving my understanding while watching Korean series/drama/variety shows. I find learning Korean quite easy as many words have the same pronunciation and meaning in Chinese (p.s i'm Chinese). For example, 태양 or Taeyang which means sun and in Chinese, it is pronounced as Taiyang and both share the same meaning. After learning more about Korean language, I started going into their culture. Their colorful and delicious food, crazy nightlife, beautiful country, the difference in ethic, customs and beliefs. What I LOVE the most in Korea have got to be the FOOD. Traditional or not, they still taste amazing. I tried Ddeobokki, Kimbap,Korean fried chicken, Kimchi, Ramyeon, Octopus, Beef stew, Patbingsoo and the list goes on and on.... Not forgetting the drinks, Korea's coffee really tastes great! Despite having franchise of Starbucks, The Coffe Bean, Paris Baguette and many more all over Korea, I tried some of their local cafes. One thing that differs Korea and my country is that they open up cafes that have the similar concept as Starbucks or Coffee Bean instead of opening up some cheap, non air-conditioned cafe. Most local cafes in Korea are famous in their own country and they have high standards. Pushing all of that aside, here are some crazy facts that i've seen/learnt in Korea: ~ Korean drives are crazy hardcore race car drivers ~ Bus drivers don't care if you're seated or not. They'll drive off once he saw everyone's on the bus ~ They support Samsung or LG overly much. Mostly Samsung ~ Some snacks are produced by Lotte and Lotte runs a mall, a theme park, build condos/apartments and etc ~ Some Koreans don't really like Japanese or Japan, Chinese from China or Taiwan ~ Their school hours are REALLY LONG. High schools study from 8a.m to 6.10p.m ~ Most students reach home around 11p.m after attending their academies a.k.a tuition center ~ Students are closer to their friends than their parents because they barely meet them 2-3 hours a day ~ Korea starts to get busy only at nightfall ~ Everyone is extremely friendly and warm ( I LOVE THEM ALL) ~ You can greet almost everyone, anywhere without getting weird stares ~ Be quiet when you're in a train or bus if not they'll think you're rude and give you "the eye" ~ EVERYONE uses their phones ANYWHERE they go. Even when they're crossing the road, riding a bus, riding a train or even just plainly walking around! THEY CANNOT PART WITH THEIR PHONES. I MEAN LIKE LITERALLY CANNOT. ~ Kimchi is like the appetizer dish at any meal of the day. Even if you're having Western, Italian or etc you'll still have a dish of Kimchi or Radish ~ English is an compulsory subject in all schools and they have two classes. One taught by Korean teacher and a another by a British or American teacher ~ English activity books written by Koreans have mistakes and the Korean teacher DOESN'T REALIZE IT AT ALL so the students just go with the flow (omg) ~ Academics in Korea is totally like some HUGE IMPROTANT thing. All students have to study very hard to get to college/ universities ~ Bowing is important especially when you're netting with someone older than you/ teachers ~ In Seoul, most of the Koreans can tell if you're a foreigner or not especially those who are Chinese and look like Koreans but in other cities, they usually think you're a Korean (those who are not American/European/Indian/Malay etc) ~ Because of business and sales reason, almost all salesgirl/guy in Seoul knows how to speak fluent Chinese and a little English ~ You'll get lots of free stuff because you're a foreigner ~ There are taxis for foreigners only which meant the driver knows English ~ Once you speak English, they'll think you're American/British and when you speak Chinese, they'll think you're from China ( ALL THE ABOVE ARE BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE) To Be Continued....