Lycha Blog

3 months in Korea…

almost 4 months here…

I’ve learned so much things…

I’ve learned how to adapt with new environment,

even if it wasn’t easy…

I’ve learned how to be strong,

even if i was weak without my family and friends beside me…

I’ve learned how to be brave,

even if there were too much fear in my heart…

I’ve learned how to solve every problem by myself,

even if sometime i want to run from this situation…

I’ve learned not to cry when i was sad,

even if it made me sadder…

I know that everything that has been happened to me is a story,

and i’ve learned so much from it…

Today i walked throughout the street that i usually pass

Those street has been so familiar for me

Walking between the trees

Enjoying the beautiful maples ablaze in red fell down over me

The sun shone so brightly not like the couple frozen weeks passed

Feeling the weather warmed my soul

Looking back 3 amazing months of my journey started at those street

Every footprint left 1 memory

and there were so much memories…

Today is Thao’s birthday, she invited me to celebrate her birthday in An Yang with Me, Huong, Yuri Oni, and Hae Yong. We departed from dormitory at 2.30 am. We took picture through the campus because we didn’t want to loose the beautiful view, especially autumn! It’s autumn now, and we became so excited because we haven’t experienced this season in Indonesia and Vietnam. The weather is getting cold everyday, today it’s cooler than the previous day, approximately 4 celcius! The trees have changed it’s colour rapidly and it looks so beautiful. That’s why we took so many pictures although we couldn’t stand with the weather actually=p

We arrived at An Yang at 4.30. Hae Yong and Yuri Oni has waited us in the subway station. The 1’st thing we did was finding a restaurant for getting our dinner because we was hungry. Yuri Oni choosed the place for use because she knows An Yang well (she lives in An Yang). Yuri Oni gave gifts for us as birthday presents, although it was earlier for me and Huong to recieve the presents because my birthday will be in next 3 days, whereas Huong’s birthday is still next year at 22′nd of May. We was given the same presents, a beatiful scraft. Hae Yong gave presents to Me and Thao too. Yuri Oni and Hae Yong bought birthday cake to Thao and we ate it together.

Yuri Oni carried her friend, and she introduces her to us. Her name is Hee Yu. Fortunately, she can speak English so I could speak to her. We storied about our country and a lot of things, we laughed together when we shared a shame things that we’ve experienced. She’s so friendly, so it wasn’t difficult to me and Hae Yong to speak with her, although it was the 1’st time we met her. After finishing our dinner, we went to cafe to drink ice cream. We didn’t realize that it has been 11.30 pm, when we realized it, we were so shock because we had to come back to the dormitory before 12pm because it would be closed after 12pm. God blessed us, so we came back there on time at 12pm!

Thanks God for today……..=p

29′th September 2008

Chung Ang University (CAU) celebrated its 90′th anniversary at 29′th September 2008. I don’t know it’s chance or just my luck because CAU held a big event at Olimpic Building in Seoul. I went there with Thao, My, and Huong by CAU’s bus, there were so many student who wanted to go there because they really wanted to see Jang Na Ra and especially Big Bang’s performace, so we have to stand in long line to get the bus=( It took 1,5 hours to get there.

After waiting 1,5 hours, we arrived there. The weather was cold but the sun’s ray was so hot.   I thought that i wore a wrong clothes because I felt so hot for wearing a warm coat. We could’t enter to the building directly because we have to stand in line and wait until the gate was opened, it’s so tiring. I could see that big bang has attracted people’s attention, especially for girls. They drove them crazy…

It has been evening when the gate was opened but everybody looked weren’t tired but they were so exited. My friends and me has been so exhausted because were so hungry, the good news was we didn’t need to wait for eating, because as we entered the gate, we got our burger, of course we ate it quickly=p The opening was so great, but there were so much speech, so everybody was looked so bored. But after Jang Na Ra and Big Bang performed, the situation became noisy. They left their seat for going in front of the stage just for taking picture.

We went back to dormitory at 11 pm, we were so tired but we were satisfied with those event=p

28′th September 2009, me, thoa, mie, and huong went to Yuri Oni’s town, An Nyang… We departed at 2.15pm and arrived there at 3.45 pm. So long journey….. actually i were not in a good condition because of the cold weather. It was so cold, approximately 10C. Yuri Oni has waited us, when we got there. First, Yuri Oni showed us some boutiques in the Lotte depatment store. There were some good clothes with a good price. We bought some clothes. Because it was almost evening, and we got our lunch so early, we were hungry. We ask Yuri Oni to deliver us to Mc. Donald (we were be anxious to taste Korean Mc. Donald’s humberger=p). The taste isn’t much different from Indonesian Mc. D’s humberger but I could get chili sauce there=(

After that we went to No re Bang (Karaoke). It was the most beatiful kaoroke place that i’ve ever seen. It’s looked so lux…………. there were a grand piano, lux bar, and romantic decoration. Of course, we had to pay extra money for that=( i got little difficulties to find western or chinese songs because almost the list songs were Korean songs. I often listen to Korean song but i can’t sing it, that’s my problem. Finally, i could find some western and chinese songs, so i could take part for singing (I miss my friends in Indonesia at the time because we used to go karaoke together to sing hikz……). It isn’t only a good place but a plesant place because we could get ice cream free. We ate 3 cups of ice cream!!!

After that, Yuri Oni wanted to treat us, so she took us to restaurant for dinner (i were not hungry because i were still full of the humberger and ice cream =) ). Yuri Oni ordered so much food (appertizer, dessert, main course, salad, and many more). All of the food were so delicious, especially the food that resemble with lumpia and the mustard chicken (i don’t know the what the name is because i can’t memorize it). We ate all of the food……… that seem impossible but we did it……. It’s because we didn’t want to disapoint Yuri Oni (actually we were so full!).

We got to dormitory at 12 pm, we had to run to go there because if we arrived there over 12pm, the dormitory will have closed. At the time, we forgot about the cold weather……………..=p

Yesterday I made appointment with Pipi Oni to get our dinner together. I, Thao, and Mi met her at Nae Ri Entrance. We ate Korean Traditional Food, it was so delicious. It was made from chicken, cabbage, carrot, topokki, chili sauce, and some flavor. All the ingredients were mixed together at the big pan. We could see the cooking process directly. It was the first time, I could find Korean food that is really spicy…….. and the taste was so delicious………

Pipi Oni not only treated our dinner, she also treated us capucino….. at the coffee cafe. She is really friendly, although we have just met twice but she could spoke a lot of things to us. She has had one son, she showed us her son. He is very cute, his age is still 7 month. This year she will graduate from Chung Ang for her major Korean Literature. She tough me Korean language. She did it sincerely…….. Thanks God……… You confront me to her. She is really nice Korean woman…

20th September 2008, I and the other international students went to Incheon. We visited Incheon Ceramic Museum. First time came there, i was bored because there ware just various kind of hand made ceramics. What made me unpleasant was we couldn’t take any pictures there, because taking picture in those museum is forbidden. But we were allowed taking some pictures in some location of those museum. Of course, we wouldn’t miss these chance, i and the other students showed off our narcissism=p

I made friendship with one of the Seoul Campus student. His name is Mico, he come from Hawaii. He helped me and my friends taking our pictures. His major is photograph, so he could capture our pictures well. We got our lunch at Korean Restaurant, we ate some traditional Korean food. Almost of us didn’t know how to eat the food, so we just ate it with our own way. That was so funny, especially when I looked at some of the western students ate with chopsticks, because they met difficulties to use it. The students who sat in front of me is from USA, her name is Nancy. She ate all of the food well. I was little bit wonder about it because as I know almost western people don’t like spicy food, but not for her……..

After that we made our ceramic. There were some teachers who led us to make our ceramic. That was so interesting. I made my ceramic with full of my heart (like Ghost movie) huehehehehehehehe. I didn’t realize that the time was almost over, but finally i could finish my ceramic nevertheless it was looked so worst compare with the others=p it was so shame…….. But i enjoy those moment because i got many friends from there……………

September, 12, 2008 is Chusoek Day for Korean People. Those day is often called Harvest Day. Because of that, during 3 days we got our holiday and almost supermarket and restaurant closed. I was affraid for being alone at the dormitory, so I asked Heng, Dao, and Mi whether they have plan in those holiday. Then they invited me to join them going to Seoul. I was so happy to hear that because I didn’t need to waste my holiday in my room.

At the Friday Afternoon Mr. Chou picked up us. Mr Chou is my friends’s lecturer. He went to Vietnam 1 year ago to learn Vietnam language, therefore they knew each others. He is so friendly but I couldn’t speak to him much because I didn’t know Korean Language lot and he couldn’t speak English well, so i was being a good listener=p From An Seoung to Seoul took 1,5 hour, so we arrived there at the evening. He brought us to the famous river in Seoul, it was located in the central of the Seoul City. We walked around the river and got our dinner at the Bun Sik (itinerant food stall), we ate Kimbab (I thought it wasn’t delicious like the previous Kimbab that i’ve ever eaten). But I had to pretend that i liked that food to respect Mr. Chou.  And i’ve just known that my friends didn’t like too when they said to me, but they tried to ate kimbab gluttonous (–)!

We spent our night at Cimcibang, it is a sauna place where people usually get sauna and sleep there.  I Couldn’t sleep because I used to sleep at bed, yet i had to sleep on the floor with the wood pillow. The result, I sleept so late, just 3,5 hours=( At the morning I had to wake up earlier because i wanted to take bath alone, no one else exactly! So, i felt so tired……. After got our breakfast, we went to Seoul street to shop. There were so many mall there, and of course the price was so expensive, not like in Indonesia. But we could find the  shopping center that sold the clothes with the cheaper price. After finished our shopping, my friends had appoinment with their friends who studied in Korea too. There were so many Vietnam students there, and i was intoduces to their friends. They welcomed to me. We got our dinner together at India restaurant, it was my first time to eat indian food, and i didn’t like it actually, neither did my friends. We choosed the wrong place…….. (the food wasn’t delicious and the price was so expensive, it was so bad…..) =( after that they went to bar, I, Heng, Dao, and Mi didn’t want to go there actually but we had no option because those night we were going to sleep at Fong’s house and we had to follow wherever she went. We was shock with their habbit, they like to drink beer, but I was wonder they drank so much but they haven’t got drunk. They drunk 3 times at 3 different bars!!! I, Heng, Dao, and Mi just drank coffee and we prefer to ate everything was served in table, in the case we were so full and wanted to vomit… It was my first time to walk around the street over midnight,  moreover until 3 am!!! We could get sleep after they couldn’t drink anymore……

I learned much from that. I learned how to defend myself from bad influences, and i could………. I know that God always guides me, He protects me…….. He loves me much and much……… I came here as Lisa and i’m going to back home as a Lisa, no changes……… I promise to God……

2 days ago, I went to my campus’s church. Because it was my 1st time for going there, I didn’t know when the services would begin. I ask a woman (at least I knew that her name is Elise) who sat in front of the church, and she asked me to go inside the church because the service would no longer begin. I couldn’t understand anything because the service is provided in Korean Language. When the service was over, Elise said that the Minister invite me to introduce myself because Elise told him there was a new people who came to the church, but I didn’t know because he spoke in Korean. After that we chatted and she introduced me to her friend, Paul. Unpredicteble, we had the same class, and he told me about the assignment that the profesor gave in the first meeting. I didn’t know it because I passed the first meeting. I knew that God has planned me to meet this guy in order I wouldn’t miss my score in those assignment. After arrived to the dormitory I told my room mate about what has just happened to me, and I couldn’t believe that my room mate and I had the same class to!!!

Today I attended the Database Management class, not like the last week, I prepared everything well, I didn’t forget to copy the handout. When break time, 2 people came to me they acquainted themselves, they said that they wanted to make friendship with me because they knew that I’m Chinese Indonesia and they were interested to know about me because their major is Chinese Language. Their name are Claire and Brain. They invited me to get dinner together.

I was shock that in the Advanced English Composition class i met girl that i knew in the dormitory her name is Ji Yong. She also took the class. I’ve just realized that I’ve got many friends in Korea. There was a girl came to me suddenly, she said that she took 2 classes that is same with me, those are the Database Management and Advanced English Composition. She said that she had korean friends from Indonesia and she want to introduce me to her. And finally I knew that there were many Korean people that has been lived in indonesia for long time…….. the best thing is they can speak Indonesia, so I can chat with them………

This morning I could get up late because my class would be started at 13.30 am, but I had to go to the international office to borrow the book that I will use next week. I said to Miss. Hang A Reum that i passed the Basic Korean Language yesterday because I didn’t know that the class has been changed to thursday, so I didn’t know what book is used in those class. She borrowed the book to me in order I could copy it but I had to return it this afternoon. I tried to ask the copy center to copy the book quickly but they said that they couldn’t finish copying it this afternoon, so I had to return the book to Miss Hang A Reum without getting the copy=(

After that I , Dao, Heng, and Mi got lunch together with Yu Ri Oni, we ate Tokoci (If I don’t forget that’s the name=p). It’s delicious, I thought that it’s so similar with “Cimol” but the shape is different, Cimol is round but Tokoci is long like sausage. I have just known that Cimol can be eaten with cheese (what I mean is tokoci not cimol=p).

Today I had 1 class, I thought that class would be so suitable for me because the subject is so familiar with my major IS. But the fact wasn’t like what I expect to. During the class the Professor talked in Korean Language and I didn’t understand any word he said. After the class ended, I said to him that I am international student, and I said that Miss Hang A Reum told me that I can take the class because the class is provided in English. When I finished talking, he just saw me with so much confusion, then I knew that he can’t speak English…….. OMG……. that’s so bad……………….. I took the wrong class…….

Oops…….. I did it again