Foreign Food Market at Itaewon

These are the pictures of the foreign food market in Itaewon.
I wrote an entry on my blog 3 weeks ago, I guess about this place.
so this time it is only the pictures

Masjid Itaewon

Got back from the Itaewon Mosque.
The windy and chilly, yet bright Friday did really help me enjoy the day.
First time ever I got my share of bread and milk after the Friday prayer. I mean, it is a usual sight that the Mosque distributes free milk and bread for everyone after performing the prayer.
Yeeea I got some.
Then, rushed myself to Coex Mall to meet Pak Mochtar Masoed there.


We went to Bandi and Luni Bookstore to buy some books and flashcard in Hangeul for Eyra.
Oh, I should have taken the pictures, first.
Here are the situations in Itaewon Mosque today.

My first Smartphone

Although I don't think I am smart enough to use it:(
I am afraid that I bought it simply because everyone is using it in Korea. Korean people, especially those in their teens and younger generations, are those who are the lucrative market for the smartphone and i-phone. That's about it.
So, I came to the phone store with two ambiguity on my mind....as to buy smartphone or just a regular phone. After all, I would only need the phone to talk and send sms.
I do not need any internet access since I got it in my dorm.

But, the temptation to buy the smartphone was so strong..that I ended up buying the smart one:)
I bought LG LU 6800. I think  I got to make sure that I can use it as I would like to have it.^^
But, the thing is...I do need time to adjust myself in using it.
After all, I have to make sure that I make the best use of this handphone because it is 35,000 Won per month. I got to do this right.

My verrrryyyy light breakfast

No time to prepare my breakfast (lately....usually I do). Instead, I just grabbed ( bought :) one bread from the Family mart downstairs  on my way to class. Got to time to eat it; but I managed to be in the class about 5 minutes before it started. So, I got time to take a breath and eat my bread. More surprisingly, I saw the turned-out-to-be empty room even 5 minutes before the start of the class.

breakfast & homework

얼굴 'Face'

사람은 모도 각기 다른 얼굴을 갖고 있다. 착하고 품위 있는 얼굴을 가진 이도 있고, 흉하고 험상궂은 얼굴을 가진 이도 있다. 우리에게 자기의 얼굴을 선택할 자유는 없다. 얼굴은 이세상에 태어날때 부모님한테서 선물로 받은 것이다. 즉, 재주나 체질과 마찬가지로 운명적으로 결정된 것이다. 누구나 맑고 아름다운 얼굴을 갖기를 원한다. 추하고 못 생긴 얼굴을 바라는 사람은 아마  이 세상에 한 사람도 없을 것이다. 톨스토이의 작품을 읽고 보면, 그가 젊었을 때 자기에 코가 넓적하고 흉한 것을 무척 비관하여 세상을 부정적으로 보게 되었다는 이야기가 노온다. 젊었을 때에는 특히 자기 얼귤의 미추 (美醜)에 대해서 유난히 관심을 갖는다.
Each man has his own face. There are those who have good and dignified face, there are those who have rough and rigid face. We do not have the freedom to choose our own face. Face is a present that our parents* have given us since we were born to the world. Likewise, talent and physical characteristics are predestined facts. Everyone wants to have bright and beautiful face. It is unlikely that there is anyone who wishes to have an ugly and rough appearance. If we read one of Tolstoy's works, we would learn that when he was young he disgusted at the sight of his own nose for being big and flattened that he became to look at the world negatively. It is argued that when we are young we are prone to be particularly concerned about our looks (as to whether we are pretty or ugly).

* in the Korean text, it is our parents who decides the looks of our face. The translation should be God has given us....
(Taken from the reading material in the class, 안병욱, (행복의 미학), 1966
.....to be continued

Practice of what I learned today

얼마 전에 제 생일이었는데 생일선물은 커녕 축하인사도 못 받았다. 이번 생일에는 미역국을 먹기는커녕 밥도 못 먹었다. 게다가 아침에 화장은 커녕 세수도 안했다. 돈을 받기는 커녕 다 썼다. 일기예보에서는 오늘 비가 오기는커녕 태양이 비추기 시작했다. 고기를 먹기는 커녕 계란도 안 먹는다.
....
시계를 선물로 받느니 차라리 ...
고기를 먹느니 차라리 굶겠다.  잘 생겼지만 성격이 나쁜 사람하고 사귀느니 차라리 못 생긴 사람과 사귀겠다. 나는 얼굴 못생긴 것은 참아도 성격이 나쁜 것은 못 참아. 성격이 나쁜 사람과 사귀느니 차라리 외모가 별로인 사람을 만나는게 낫겠지.
월급이 적지만 쉬운 일을 직장하느니 차라니 월급이 많지만 힘든 일을 선택하겠다. 나의 친구가 잘 생긴 백수와 결혼하느니 돈 많은 스무 살 연상과 결혼하겠다. 여러 정류 많이 있어도 모조픔 가방을 10개 사느니 차라리 명품 가방 한개 살 생각이있다.  담배를 많이 피우는 남자를 친구로 사귀느니  술을 많이 마시는 남자를 친구로 사귀고싶다.  볼것이 없는 안전한 나라로 여행을 가느니 차라리 복 것이 많지만 위험한 나라로 여행하겠다. 변화많은 모험적생활을 가지고 싶으니까요. 한국에 온지 3주 넘으니까 내가 먹어 본 편의점 음식을 먹느니 차라리 먹어 본 적이 없는 다른 나라 요리를 먹겠다. 집에 대해는....내가 교통이 편하지만 비싼 집을 사느니 교통이 불펀하지만 싼 집을 사겠다.  지하철 없어도 학교까지 그냥 걸어 가도 되니까요. 컴퓨터가 없는 것으로 생활하느니 휴대폰이 없는 것으로 생활할 것이다.  지금 컴퓨터를 통해서 무료 전화할 수 있기때문에 휴대폰 없어도 괜찮다고 생각한다.

다다익선(多多益善)

다다익선 (dadaikseon) means 많으면 많을수록 좋다 'the more, the better' or 'the more the merrier'
We were talking about this proverb (?) in the class. Wait...is it a proverb?  or is it just a phrase(?) gosh...how come I got confused as to define and to categorize this one?
Anyhow, I won't get myself stuck with this seemingly trivial (though important to some linguists) notion.
So, as we were talking about this, one of my friends was intrigued by the idea of having more girls, the better it'll be. And that's his disposition.
But, when he was challenged by an argument stating that supposed the quantity of the girls is not the issue being concerned about; instead, it was the girl's age being 'the more', he was somewhat aghast as to whether he should like the idea of 다다익선. :)
However, on a split second, being a smart one, he said that he'd rather have 소소익선 (sosoikseon) which means 적으면 적을 수록 좋다 'the less, the better' ^^
The thing is.....is there such a proverb(?) as 소소익선 in Korean, despite the fact that it is possible in English 'the less, the better'. Well, I do not know it myself. Maybe there is. It's just that I cannot find it, as yet.
One thing for sure, I acknowledged the wittiness of my colleague  for being the smart one.

Komodo Island, Indonesia

First of all I am so flabbergasted as to see what Komodo Island is all about.

anyway...the reason I am writing this is simply to thank you for having maintained one of the magical islands (Komodo Island, Rinca and their surroundings) to their present conditions up to now.

...I simply watched a program on Metro TV depicting Komodo Island . Gosh...it was so magical and seemingly unbelievable that those kinds of islands DO exist in our archipelago.

This is simply to assert that ..until I watched the program on Metro, I never realized that Komodo Island and its surrounding islands are Breathtaking. I am proud to have these island in our country, Indonesia .

As I watched the program, I never kept myself from imagining that I was exalted right into the island complete with its culture and astonishing views.

I was so speechless to see all of them on TV that in no time….I hooked myself into the net the following days, spending hours browsing the net just to know more about the island(s). It’s worth it.

I AM ASHAMED TO MYSELF….

I’ve been traveling to other countries and never have I been aware of what we have in our own country.

Now …..never have I  been so proud of being Indonesian as I watched the magical views on Komodo islands. It’s like a surreal picture to my mind.

Lately in KOMPAS and other national papers…we see that more and more countries are promoting their tourist destinations to Indonesians. Seeing the ads about our neighboring countries with their beautifully-made ads….often I keep thinking to myself  that surely they do have beautiful things to offer. BUT on the other hand, those kinds of ads really somewhat blinded me as to what is beautiful about our own country, Indonesia .

I am ashamed to realize that I’ve been unfair in judging my own country.

I should’ve known more than just Bali and Bali ..

I should’ve gone even further to the east….

Komodo Island and other islands in Komodo National Park sure do have something magical and unique to offer to all people over the world. Not only be attracting people to come but..simply by letting them know the existence of KOMODO islands is more than enough to –once again—let the whole world know…HOW beautiful Indonesia is.

I’ve been browsing through lots of homepages made by Indonesians and foreigners—mostly Westerners—who dedicated their homepages to KOMODO island and other islands around Komodo National Park .

Indeed they do depict that the existence of the National Park that all staffs are currently taking care of…REALLY WORKS.

Terima Kasih for being there.

ouww…one more thing:    YOU have a well-designed homepage. I mean: you do give full description on the project. I like the interactive menus and pics. too.

What I learned in the first day of class (part 3)

Korean language does have its own difficult terms in expressing some notions that I found it easier to grasp in English. So, learning Korean language does require my rigorous perseverance in order to have the slightest idea of, say, what a particular terms or expressions mean. Here are some of them.
1. 무릎을 꿇고 앉다 'sit on one's knees' or ' duduk bertekuk lutut' in Indonesian.
2. 팔짱을 끼다 'fold one's arms' or 'bersedekap' in Indonesian.
3. 턱을 꾀다 'rest one's chin on one's hands' or 'menopang dagu' in Indonesian or 'songgo wang' in Javanese
4. 양반다리를 하다 'sit crossed-leg' or 'duduk bersila' in Indonesian

Nope, I am not gonna elaborate the lexical or grammatical differences (should there be any)...coz I cannot. It would cost me an arm and a leg to do that. Instead, I'm just gonna jot down the notion concerning the no.4 term. It is arguably true that sitting crossed-leg in front of other people especially those of elder ages is considered as being rude or socially insensitive in Korean society. It would be obnoxious to find an intern or a  job interviewee do this on their job or in the interview. It is likely that he/she would not have a chance of passing the test.

What I learned in the first day of class (part 2)

The best part of being in a class from different cultures is the simple fact that everyday I can learn and come to realize trivial cultural traits from other countries. Today, I learned something about what the Japanese do when they give a sum of money to the bride and bridegroom in their wedding.

In Japan
Giving a sum of money sealed in an envelope to a newly married couple is a cultural thing in (I think) most cultures. But, what I learned from my Japanese friends is somewhat unique. It turned out that the amount of money inserted into the envelope should be in the odd number. So, one can give like 1,000 Yen, 3,000 Yen, 30,000 Yen; 5,000 Yen or 50,000 Yen (for instance). They must not give the amount of (say) 2,000 Yen; 40,000 Yen, or something like that. The meaning is simple, the even number of money implies the breakable union so that one should not/must not give an even sum of money to a couple in their wedding.  Hmmm interesting.

How about Korea?
From what I learned from the class, Koreans do not recognize the taboo that Japanese do in relation to the amount of money, be it odd or even would not matter. However, Koreans usually put 30,000 Won; 50,000 Won; or better yet...100,000 Won.
You want to know the meaning? (warning: it is just a 농담 or jokes among friends)
30,000 Won = 더 이상 만날 필요가 없는 관계 ' Since I don't think I'd meet the couple again, I might as well give this amount of money.'
50,000 Won = 이 친국가 괜잖은 친구로서 ...이정도는 괜찮다 'Well, this friend is a nice friend of mine, so I'd might as well give him this much'
100,000 Won = 와....아주 아주 진한 친구다. 제가 이정도를 꼭 줄거지. ' Wow...this is my best friend (ever), he/she deserves it.'

How about in China?
Well, although they do not know the odd and even number kind of stuff, there is one particularly interesting point to note here. One must  / never give a pair of shoes or a wall clock to the couple or to any person. Well it does have a meaning. Giving shoes implies that the giver wants the receiver to go away from his sight. While, giving a wall (mounted) clock means that the giver wish the receiver to die away soon. ^.^. As I asked how the logical explanation of such belief, it has something to do with the Hanca (Chinese characters) pronunciation as well as the symbol for the word 'clock' that resembles the sound of  the word in Chinese that means 'death' :) hmmm..how peculiarly intriguing that is. !!!

What I learned in the first day of class (part 1)

Here are what I learned from the first class. It turned out that I do not know a lot of stuffs. ^.^. I feel like being in a fishbowl where everything is visible, yet unreachable. So, I decided to live in a huge fishbowl by imagining that the whole Korea is a huge fishbowl for me so as to give in to endless arrays of new things I can learn during my stay in Korea.
hmmmm...let's see.
1. I learned the difference between the word 초대장 and 정첩장. First, I thought the there was only the first word in Korean language, it turned out that the first one is the general term for 'invitation', but then, the second term being the special term for 'wedding invitation'...that is something that I did not know of.
2. I learned these words before, i.e. 생일 and 생신. The first one being the general term for any 'birthday', while the second on being the polite form of the first word to address those of elders' birthday.
3. Then there are the terms called  회갑 and 고희. The first one is a celebration to commemorate one's 60th years of age; the second one being the 70th birthday. In the olden days of Korea, being able to achieve 60th years of age was considered an achievement in itself, considering the hardness and troubled times Korea had back then. All of the family, relatives, up to the grandchildren gathered to congratulate the elders on this auspicious day. But, since the economic development set in, more and more Korean do live exceeding the 70th years of age. Since then, nowadays, the 회갑 is not commonly practiced. Instead, they have the latter one or better yet..the 80th or 90th birthday. (hmmm...I do not know what the terms in Korean are for these ones). 옛날에는 회갑을 자주 했는데 요세는 60살까지 (넘어) 살 수 있는 한국인들이 많아지기때문에 특별하게 축하할 필요가 아마 앖다. 대신, 70살의 축하하는 생신 (고희)를 한다.

My Classmates 우리반친구들

우리 반친구이다.  오늘은 첫날이라서 자기소개를 물론 해야 지요. 원래 12명인데 한 명이 빠져 있어서 11명만 남아 있다.  간단하게 소개하려면 어떻게 할 지 모르지만 그냥  마음대로 적어 도 될 것 같다. ....^.^  치카, 이월, 에바, 웬, 아카나, 아린, 우정, 택초, 일리야, 피오트르, 그리고....나...
- 치카라는 친구가 한국드라마와 영화를 좋아하게 되어 한국으로 유학할 생각이 있는 일본에서 온 학생이다.  카나가와현에서 온 치카는 보조개가 있는 얼굴을 가져서 웃을때 예뻐 보인다고 생각한다.  (오 노.....오노......이것은 그냥 저의 의견일 뿐이다...다른 의미가 없을 걸요)
- 이월 씨는 중국에서 온 친구이다. 지난 학기에 같은 반에서 공부했기때문에 이월 씨가 어떤 친구인지 잘 알고...서로 이해할 수 있다. 내년 봄학기부터 외대 학부 일본어학과에 입학하고 말겠다는 소리를 자주 들었다. 이얘기를 처음에 들었을 때 제가 제일 궁금한 것이 바로 왜 일본 대신에 한국에서 일본어를 공부하고싶은 이유이다.  그 칠문을 몰어봤더니....한국에서 공부하면서 한국과 일본의 대한 다 같이 이해할 수 있도록 바로 그의 바람이라고 답했다.
- 에바씨는 교환학생으로 폴란드에서 온 친구이다.  이월 씨처럼 지난 학기에 저의 반친구이었다. " 폴란드에서 한국어를 전공하기때문에 일부러 1년동안  외대에서 한국말을 더 깊게 배운다"라고 했다.
- 아카나 씨는 일본 지바에서 온 친구이다. 올해 2월부터 유학을 하고 있다.  (아카나씨의 얘기가 더 이상 못한다.....종보가 부족해서요......)
- 아린씨가 오늘 아침에  저옆에 앉은 친구이었다. 제가 교재를 아직 안 사서 한권을 빌려 준 친구가 바로 아린이다. ^.^  아버지가 한국에서 일하고 있으니 한국에 자주 여행을 간다고 말했다. 어머니도 중국에서 어떤 TV방송에서 안나운서가 된다고 얘기했다. .......역시....다음학기에  방송영상학과에 입학하고싶어 한다.^.^
- 우정 씨는 중국 산동(?) Shandong 에서 온 친구이다.  올해 4월부터 내년까지 (언제까지는 얘기안 했다) 유학하고 싶어 했다.
- 택초 씨는 패션감각이 제일 많이 있는 친구이다. ^.^ 날마다 항상 멋있는 옷차림을 단정하게 입고 학교에 나온다.  hmmmm 구렇군!  중국에 있는 창춘 (Changchun)외국어대학교에서 한국어를 전공하며 지금 2년 동안 교환학생으로 여기 왔다.
- 일리야 씨는 우리반에서는 나이가 제일 적을 것 같다. 카자흐스탄에서 온 일리야 씨는 좀 큰 편인 안경을 끼고  미소 띤 얼굴이 보여 준  친구다. 화를 자주 안 낸다고 생각한다. 상대방에게 화를 내지 못하는 남자인 것 같다. :)
- 피오트르 씨는 에바씨와 같이 폴란드에서 같은 대학교에 다니고 있다.  피오트르의 매력적인 점은....바로 그의 푸른 눈동자이다.
이상 말한 바와 같이  그들이야말로  ........바로 나의 가을 학기 반친구이다.
다들...외향적인 친구들인 것 같아서 재미있는 가을 학기가 되길 바란다.

The new class: Reflections

Well, of course, life has its own way of mending things up. Like what I'd experienced this morning. I thought that having been prone to customized and take-it-for-granted routines would hinder me from being able to grasp the new ideas in class. It was not quite what I'd been afraid of how it would've been.
The new teachers I met today were nice and decent.
I'm glad (at least to the point where I am now) that my fellow classmates were nice, even I'd known some of them from my previous class. Back to the teachers, I think they'd do just fine to handle us.^.^ I mean, we came from differing cultural backgrounds from (let's see.....) 6 nationalities: me (Indonesian), Chinese, Kazakhstan, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Polish. From what I learned today, each of us has our own unique way of expressing ideas in Korean language, I guess it is mostly due to our previous learning as well as exposure to Korean culture. Thus, we kinda have different, yet, similar in the way we express ourselves in the language we are learning at the moment.
---
This is the first time that I have a male teacher in the classroom, since most of the Korean teachers are female. So, I guess my class teacher is an exceptionally extraordinary one because he ( I think ) has dashed through the barriers of all predominantly female positions, i.e. Korean language teachers. So, I guess it'll be an interesting journey that I'll be having for the next 2.5 months until December 5, 2011.
--
I hope and pray that I will make the best out of the class this term.

The new class starts today

It's Monday, September 26, 2011.
I think I am ready (am I)..well, I got to be^.^ for the new class of Korean language training at FLEX Center, HUFS.
I mean....I got to meet new friends, new faces, new teachers, new environment, new book, new phrases to learn to....and so many other new things I will encounter.
새로온 학기 드디어 우늘 시작한다. 물론 긴장되지만 새로운 친구뿐만아니라 새롭고 색다른 경험도 있을 거라고 생각할테니까....걱정할 필요가 없을 것같다.
선생님들도 어떤분이신지 궁금하고 있다.....^.^

Honeymoon in Bali (1939)

I just bumped into this movie on the internet (http://www.live-online-tv.com/tv-movie-tv-movies-tv-online-live.html)
I loved it.
It is a simple romantic movie. ^.^
I learn a lot about how Bali was pictured in the 1930's, as well as how the actors and actress portrayed its beauty as well as how American life was back then in the Pre World War era back in the 1930s. It is truly a remarkably light and delightful movie.^^
This is one of the quotes that I like^^

Gail Allen: Well... there aren't that many white women there, are there?
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: Not many.
Gail Allen: But a lot of Balinese girls...
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: Oh, a lot of them.
Gail Allen: A man like you, any man I mean, do you... er... I mean, do you marry those girls?
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: [Shakes his head] No.
Gail Allen: Oh. I... I... I suppose some of the men... I mean I suppose, er, I mean...
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: Well, you said you've seen the pictures.
Gail Allen: Do *you* have a girl out there?
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: Five.
Gail Allen: Five?
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: Five. One does the cooking, one keeps the house clean, one takes care of my clothes and one dances for me.
Gail Allen: But that's only four.
Bill 'Willie' Burnett: [Raises eyebrows and nods knowingly] 
taken from (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031440/quotes)

Thoughts or Ideas to Ponder

- I can see the burgeoning prowess of technology in disseminating the K-Pop explosion. I saw that some groups from Jogja and other cities in Indonesia deliberately uploaded their gathering activities into YouTube. If there is one thing, I presume, logical enough to explain why they do this is that.....they want to show their existence, and I also presume that they may have wishes that other groups or people from Indonesia or from other countries...or better yet...the artists they idolize themselves.....see what they've been doing in YouTube come up and say "Hi" or even support them....that would make what they do seem/become invaluable. I just cannot believe how (out of respect to the presence of their idols) they spend their own money to celebrate, say, one's idol birthday! This is so unbelievable or unimaginable to those who cannot understand the K-Pop phenomenon.  (From this thought: I think I can write something like:  The relation among K-Pop Idols, YouTube, and K-Pop Lovers: Bridging the Two Seemingly Improbable Worlds

- I saw an article in Korea Herald on September 24, 2011 about the ever-growing influence of K-Pop in Asia. The thing was that...the news focused its report on the social impact of K-Pop in the Philippines (covering 95% of the whole news) and in Thailand (the remaining 5%). Hmmm, I just wonder that Indonesia's K-Pop explosion has yet to be recognized, though. I am sure there have been lots of news covering this phenomenon for the last decade. Still, I think, the idea that craziness towards this K-Pop also occur in Indonesia needs to be brushed up to the Korean world:). (From this thought: I think I can write deeper about the phenomenon in Indonesia for the last decade). I think I did it already but in smaller scope, covering only that of Jogjakarta)

- After being in Korea for the last three weeks, I came across some notions about how this K-Pop artists are really really 'products' of rigorous training and 'captivity' to make them what they look and sound today. They have undergone excruciating experiences to shape how they look and how they behave in front of the camera. This would be ( I think) a good start to write something about this. I am sure that there must be lots of articles or papers written about this, but by looking at those ones, I guess I can start something that may be overlooked in its core. 

- I also came to realize the relation between K-Pop stars and the applicable laws in Korea that allows teenagers to work full time. It is interesting to see how the under pressurizing it would be to come with terms of being idols and being teenagers at the same time. I presume they must've prepared themselves for this. They (all of them??? that's the question) must have chosen this path as their life, though. So, from this thought: I can write something about whether they are aware that as teenagers they have their rights of not having to work overload. I also kind of questioning whether Korean law in regards to teen/child labor do apply on  these kids (a.k.a. K-Pop idols who are mostly still in their high schools when they start their stardom). I am sure a lot of scholars must have written something about this notions). Let's see what I can do with this.

- I also came to see the exploit of K-Pop in Korean television shows. Well, what I mean by exploiting is that...the artist should or must do something to meet the palatable eyes of the viewers...or the eyes of the TV producers. ^.^. Well, I mean...it may not be an exploitation....I do not know yet...what it is....but....the female stars (more often than their male counterparts) tend to dress up in minimum outfit, especially mini shorts. Well, I guess the artist themselves like to dress up this way. But, I just wonder how this would impact the younger generations who are still in kindergarten and elementary schools. They must be aware of this. Now, the question that come to my mind is how fast Korean society changes itself in term of what is being appropriate and what is not. I am not the one who can judge actually, because it is subjective in nature: simply speaking because I come from Indonesia--a predominantly Muslim country; in that I come to Korea with a perspective that wearing short pants or tight pants in public is regarded as being insensitive to the religious or social norms. So, going back to what I wrote earlier, the female artists of most K-Pop idols do like wearing short pants in their music videos and in their live performances. And.....interestingly...that is one of the marketable notions of what K-Pop is all about, in terms of female artists, of course; though in terms of male K-Pop stars...the relatively similar issue may arise: i.e. having to show off their six-pack body and well-built hunk-like features. Now, once again, sometimes it would be sooooooooo interestingly challenging to do a questionnaire to the ajumma or the ommonies, the mothers of young children in Korea on how this so-called K-Pop artists have shaped or changed the way they see the changing society in Korea; in precise: to see as to whether the seemingly acceptable notion of short-pants in front of their eyes being thrown upon their young children.

Actually, I can somewhat predict what they would mostly say....but it would not be an interesting part. I was just glued or intrigued by the fact that......Korean girls / young girls love to show off their long legs..and that is the simple reason as to why.......short pants combined with high heels are a trending fashion during summer. Now, it is Autumn already.....but I can see some of the girls do wear short pants although ( I am sure) they know that it is so indisputably cold.^^. Gosh, there are so many things to think and write about. ^.^

- More ideas to come soon.

Narcissistic Suray

Just this time around. I watched myself in the mirror and saw the reflection of someone who's currently 37 years old. This time around, I feel the need to closely scrutinize my own face in the mirror. Since I might as well want to keep the pictures of my own reflection, I did it deliberately on my face so as to keep its visage as I saw it today. What ticked me more was when I realized that wearing yellow T-shirt like I was wearing gave somewhat a bright rendition to my face. So, this is the reason why these pictures suddenly came up as an entry. ^.^. Narcissistic Suray? well, you could've guessed it.
How can a narcissistic person upload a picture of himself being protruded and swollen like that?
How can a narcissistic person upload a balded figure of himself in a close exposure like that?
Well.....this is narcissistic......oh swell.

Jim Henson's characters are on Google's Theme of the day to celebrate the 75th years of Jim Henson's characters. Since I do not want to miss the chance of not being able to see today's theme, I copied the whole creatures and post them into my entry:)

Roti Boy in Seoul

The first Roti Boy I had in Korea:)

Just got back from having dinner with Seonhee and Hannah, two of my close friends we met in Jogjakarta a couple of years ago.
Having acknowledged that we cannot eat pork or any meat, they invited us to have dinner at all-fish restaurant near campus. It turned out to be quite a nice and clean place where I can eat beoseot suntubu (버섯순두부) while Wawan had his 구이참치, well I did not know what that was, but all I knew was that it was fish. ^.^
The price was the same as that in other places, around 4,000 Won.

But, the thing that made us want to come back to this restaurant again was the fact that the rice was cooked/steamed with other ingredients like peanut-like vegetables..so that the rice was differently nice and delicious.
For sure, we want to go there again.
Then, we had a coffee afterward at Roti Boy.
Yes, this Roti Boy sells Coffee as a set menu.
We bought a set menu consisting of one cup of Americano coffee and one bun of Roti Boy (3,300 Won).
Since we really miss Roti Boy we used to have back home.....having this Roti Boy right in front of our campus was a treat in itself.
For sure, it will be helpful should we miss home:) ^.^ Especially since it is a bit different from what I had back home, this Roti Boy bakeshoppe sells coffee and ice cream!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Well, this is just what I thought I saw on my way to Daejon. It took me a while to realize what that was until I passed it by. Then, I decided to take the pictures of these obnoxious act of courage:) Well, they were just statues placed in such a way to lure people's attention, especially those first timers who come to Daejon. It is located in the thorough fare of the main downtown area in the Daejeon city. I did it!
 I took 6 consecutive snapshots of the display.
See it for yourself to be mesmerized.
Since it was taken from the speeding bus, the pictures are zoomed in speed motion and thus made them look somewhat blurry; but I think that would add the excitement to the pictures.

the last picture I took on my way to Seoul

Cute little Korean Toddlers

Oh... aren't they so cute..????...:)

hahahaha......I think one of the reasons as to why I found them cute is because they were simply cute. They were all having a picnic on their own, eating their lunch while playing with the other toddlers at their age.^^
I bumped into them on my way to the exit to the parking lot.
Found them cuddling-ly hug-able ;)
The cute and innocent looks on their face erased the disappointment of not being able to explore the park^.^
Thank you, little ones.

A Glimpse of Daejeon Expo Park

no one but me ^.^

Despite the fact that we could not explore the park, I did not feel sad (hehehe...actually I was). To compensate of what I might've experienced, had we been inside the park's theme rides....I deliberately took a walk further up and took two snapshots at the park. I think it was SK Imax Theater. Well, it would've been great,, if we'd had a chance to see inside. But, hey...there will be time to visit Daejon again, then.
As for the moment, taking a picture with the theater being the background would be enough. ^.^

Sept. 23, 2011  Daejon Expo Park

Phantom of the Opera or Rabbit of the Opera?

After I finished making my craft, I took time to look around other groups only to find out that they had pretty intriguing crafts they made. I bumped into Roy who seemed to keenly polished his black and white mask. As I asked him what that was...he thought it was supposed to be some kind of yin and yang symbolized in the mask. It turned out to be not what he had expected in the first place.
But, I thought it was an excellent job.
It was simple, plainly made into one of a kind......I bet no one that day made the one this simple yet perfectly tuned into a rabbit mask that he made. I dubbed it as "The Rabbit of the Opera"
Since it was so captivating (at least to my eyes), I wanted to put it on and took a picture of myself wearing it.
Roy turned out to like it the way it looked. The idea of adding another color to the mask was then.....gotten rid of. Great decision. Otherwise, it would not have looked this attractive.

Daejeon Expo Park (part 2)

Here is what I made inside the Park.

A supposed-to-be Korean traditional mask.
But, it turned out to be a mask of its own.....well, the color was intentionally replicating the one of Korean mask, though. Although it was not what I meant to be.
After completing the first one, and since I still had some remaining play dough, I might as well use it to make another one...and tatatatatata.......this is how it looks. Oh, I also made a small version of me:) see it in the picture?
Too bad, the last one cannot go into the plastic since I made in minutes after the first two masks were inserted into the covering.

Daejeon Expo Park (part 1)

I was so excited to be there again......:)
Although it turned out that we did not explore the area even for 15 minutes.

bye bye futuristic park:) though we did not even feel you:)

The only reason why we came to this place was because inside the park there were some kinds of traditional stalls that would teach us to make Korean traditional handicrafts!
Yes, you read it right.
Instead of exploring the IMAX theater (oooohhhh), the roller coaster (ooooooooooh), the 4D movie theater (ooooooooooh)....and so many oooooooooooohhhhhhhh nooooooooooooos again........


We were ushered to the stalls where we could only choose one booth and made ourselves contempt to what we chose in the first place and stuck with it. So, before choosing, we got to make sure that that was what we really really wanted....:)
After taking an attentive look at all of the stalls, I ended up making a mask out of play dough that I would stick into a piece of paper and then have it covered in plastic (see the picture later on).
So, all of the students...had already chosen their lots and started being busy with what they were making.
Hmmm...it was fun. It turned out to be just quite fun, though.
I wished I could make two choices.
Making masks, making jewelry, beads, mirror, paintings with Korea-themed ingredients.

Korea's National Museum of Sciences (part 5)

The Entrance hall

It was time to visit the Expo Park. (although, later on we found out that we could not explore it at all:)

dangerous tube:)

for the sake of...

On the way to the Park, we had to walk across a parking lot where some interesting things were visible enough. One thing that stroke most of us were the huge cucumber or pumpkin being planted on the roof of a long tube connecting the museum and the parking lot.
Since they were so big, I felt kinda scared to go underneath it, well...for a simple reason of getting hit by a falling pumpkin:)
Guess, it'd been thought of, though. Extra protection to hold those huge plants from falling were in place intact.

Korea's National Museum of Sciences (part 4)

Another section worth-taking picture with:)
It was simply a globe actually.
Nothing more than that. It simply caught our attention so as to have another angle to capture.
Actually, we were a bit exhausted of exploring the museum.

So, to take the time off for a while before exploring other sections (still lots to do), we sat down and took the picture.

Another pic shows a replica of NASA air space ship. Not that impressive, but hey.it was the fun part of taking picture that kept us glued on keep searching what to see next...inside the museum:)
For sure, it was fun.
I felt like a kid, though:)

Korea's National Museum of Sciences (part 3)

Since all groups were like exploring in their own sections of interest, we were finally split up into small groups. As what we did, Elmira, Maya, Adgerim, Wawan, Rois, and me were busy patrolling each section attentively. Some were quite interesting, some were just not too worthy to look at. So, we might as well go to each section and take some pictures. That's exactly what we did. We found the section where we could take the whole section of the museum as the background. As for me, the idea of while-being-here-why-not-do-this attitude set in, so....one of the results....was me at the front seat of a car being displayed.