Bumped into These...

OTW to the Kyunghee Hospital...I was walking through a rather dilapidated alley that seemed to be out of place within the surrounding of the area. Yet, I glimpsed some graffiti and paintings on the walls. I managed to take only two pictures of them..since there were too many people coming back and forth ....during the alley's rush-hour.^^ 

Above--> free hug, everyone?

Or...snow white receiving a bomb? a black-bottled perfume? a black apple? 

and another one that looks like small colorful people on one's nose. How itchy that could be, eh?

Shadow Play...

Turn off the light....turn off the light....like what Nelly Furtado said.

As it went off, the kids came to play along with the smartphone's flashlight...and out of the blue...they came up with this.  

Might as well let them play with the imagination ....instead of using the apps for games. 

Not that it's bad..but...sometimes...they need to explore the other possibilities of using the apps for things others than 'staring' at the glaring screen.^^ 

They like puppies....even though they know that we won't allow them to have ones in the house. So, puppy dolls....or puppy shadow play like this.....came to the rescue.^^

행복이 가득한 우..리의 집

One day Eyra got home with two huge used-boxes. Little did I know that she'd already made a plan to make a house out of the boxes. So, without further ado, she unfolded them up..., then..I overheard the snip snip snip sound....and then somewhat a rather heavy quish quish quish sound of carbon box being cut.  

Oh my...Eyra and Freya tore the boxes up and then combined them with scotch-tapes. Yup, that's what they literally making. Even, they have a door and three windows. 

Not only did they cut and shape the boxes into what they meant them to be, but they also glued some fancy papers onto the surface of the box so as to give them a feel of colorfully designed house made out of carbon boxes. 

Even, Eyra named it 'House full of happiness' 행복이 가득한 우리의 집' 

And...by Magrib time...they somewhat finished making a home for themselves.

Back from Suwon...

An afternoon after going out of the Catholic University Hospital in Suwon. The silhouette of the buildings over Suwon....then..I grabbed a bus...heading towards Suwon Station.

and enroute to the station...I got myself fancied over the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress that encapsulates the city of Suwon. Now..I was approaching the Paldalmun Gate (팔달문).

Taking pictures on the moving bus...yet I could appreciate the view that it offered.

This Paldalmus is dubbed to be the southern gate of Hwaseong Fortress. It is said to be the only detached gate of the fortress. I didn't know why...but I bet there must be reasons for this. (learn your history, Suray..:)^^ 

then...as the bus continued its journey...suddenly there were locations that rang the bell. Yep..I'd been there, of course. 

Now..more and more facades of the Hwaseong Fortress came into full view through the window of the bus. 

I bet...taking a stroll along the fortress while learning the history behind this walled-city could be an inviting course....maybe next time.

Then...as far as I could see...the fortress' magnitude came into full view..as I was driving away ..from them. 

There were people jogging or strolling along the perimeter of the wall...which I presume is all public spaces.  

Oh, I got informed that with only 1,000 Won admission ticket for an adult, we could explore the whole fortress. Sounds too good to be true.  

I shrunk the pictures so as to give a perspective of what's cool about Suwon...has to be found by ourselves. 

See you again, Suwon.

Get Well Soon, Ben....^^

Yep..this is what caught both of our attention. It's posted on the pedestal of Benro's bed in the Catholic University Hospital in Suwon. We saw and made jokes about it. The very fact that we joked and talked about it...tells us something: I know that Ben is strongly fighting over his cancer...and I know that no matter what happens...the happiness and willingness to survive the cancer is right within Ben's heart. He told me and I know it does.  In fact...number 2 pretty much summed up what Benro looked to me, at least. I could be wrong..but I just do not want the pain to increase. It's just too unbearable. 

Benro, my friend, my student, my colleague, and my pal who is now lying in bed at the hospital due to his lung cancer....should be proud of being who he is since he is surrounded by friends..thousands of them who wish him good health. Friends from walks of life...take turn visit him at the hospital...and that I think....simply shows how close and utterly friendly he must have been all these years to everyone....

And...I must say that I felt sorry for not being able to be there all the time. ..in fact my visit to meet him last week....was only possible after I finally got my classes over..and then..right after Friday prayer...I decided to pay him a visit. Yes...it's been a month since he struggled with the stadium 4 cancer that he is now suffering. 

Benro told me that he'd better cheer himself up all the time...by realizing that instead of being 'preoccupied' with the cancer, he'd rather be as cheerful and happy as he used to be. And..yes..that IS the spirit.

So, if almost every day....he posts a pic of himself on Facebook or other social media..it does not mean that he ignores what he is in for...but instead..that is one of the ways he communicates with the outside world, including his families back home in Indonesia..who always want to know how he is doing. Yes..that's good, Benro. Keep doing it.  

As for the meal, he ate ( and still eats) as he wants it to be.,,and I am happy to know that he is now being a somewhat vegetarian....not fully..but this helps him save time and energy of not having to tell the staffs what he ought not to eat...or saving him from having to worry about what to eat in the hospital. 

The hospital simply knows that. Period.

When I gave him a visit the other day, he got this sprout soup, kimchi, reddish kimchi, some half-boiled veggies, tofu, and rice, of course.

He dug into the meal as he should have. And..looks like he did enjoy his meal--> which is more than relieving to me. 

Good, Ben. I am sure that you'll get through this.

Can't wait to have you around in campus or on the radio..

We promised that we'd pair up on air over radio, right?

Hoping that it will be realized soon. Amen. 

Till then...Bismillah...be strong..and stay healthy...and keep smiling and be positive. 

Right, Ben?

Near Boramae...

The buildings near Boramae district at the southwestern part of Seoul. Been here for many times for something to do. The Character building..yep.that's the name of the very building I went into. The whole area seemed to be fully overshadowed by the tall building that surrounds them. Even..there is this intersection that --I am pretty sure--never got sunlight ....literally. Well, I may exaggerate it a bit..but...just think..the whole area is full of concrete that even you can ditch the sun ray or sunlight if you hate them..especially during summer like this.
* It took me almost 2 hour to get from home to this place. Gee...what a challenge. But for the sake of ......, I go to this district once in a while. 

Bye Bye my Study Room for Now...

Summer break set in.

Empty classes and empty lab rooms were used to be uncommon even during summer break. But this year is surely different. We GOT to move out of the studying room. We owned this room...but the summer renovation of the whole building...means only one thing: we got to move out. 

So, the other day..I went to the study room to collect some of my left-out stuffs. Got to take them out before renovation starts. *ahem* my 2,000-Won -and-not-too-comfy-cushion...^^ yep..got to bring you home, dear.

It's pretty empty. I bet it's completely is...by now. 

Bye by my small study room. See you again next semester?  hmmm....

The Rainbow-Lover~~ Freya

She's fine now. Freya got recovered from more-than-a-week fever that finally got her take a rest. But..as soon as she found herself healthy and cheerful as she usually has been....she just couldn't wait to grab some drawing pencils and started drawing what she loves the most: rainbow. Only this time..I sense that the rainbow is inside the 'talking box' uttered by a girl she drew in the picture. I wonder if the girl was actually herself. 

But that does not matter. What does is that she's fine and getting ready for school and other summer vacation. 

She really has a knack for drawing rainbow in most of her drawings. And..as for the butterfly that she drew....it looks like she learned it at school....

and the fact that even both the girl and the SUN do have a smiley feature on their faces....is something worth-noted. Yep, she's back.

Waiting for the prescription.... Filled

A week ago, Freya got to went to the E.N.T. or ear, nose, and throat at Kyunghee University Hospital due to her swollen inner ear that caused  a 'stir' at home ..and that had made her absent from school for a week.
After a thorough check-up for about 30-minute, finally we got a prescription for her to be filled at a nearby counter across the street of the hospital.

Thanks to the insurance that we put ourselves into....we didn't have to pay much. 

As for the medicine, too...it's not expensive as we feared it to be. 

And today...after a week passed and after having all of the prescribed medication to its maximum dosage....

Freya is finally free from what she suffered a week earlier. We learned that her swollen inner ear was due to the high fever she'd had a week earlier and ....nothing more. 

and....thank God we got it covered by the medical insurance, 

otherwise we'd have paid much.

*oh, the picture above showed our waiting time and as to whether our prescription filled or not. 

It's a good way of knowing before hand what we could do while waiting.

A Blitzkrieg Visit to the Hospital

After a week-long fever, Freya was getting better for two days....until she felt that her right inner ear got swollen..so much that we got to rush her to the nearest hospital. 

Treated for a while before ....realizing that we should've brought her sooner. 

But,....thank God...she's getting better now ...under treatment. 

Oral medication + additional ones for a week + and let's see what's gonna happen.

Hope for the best. 

Get well soon, Freya.

Jongno 3-Ga Exit 3 @ Night

Well.well...well..who would've thought that this street turned into a pojangmaja 포장마자 or street food stall haven as the night fall. Yep, this is the very street that I encountered the other day when I was looking for Youth Hostel where my friend, Adi, were staying. I got to reach exit 3 to reach the hotel..and while at night..the street was relatively calm ...I mean..no 'happening' that could be eye-catching to look at...

but..when the night falls, it all turns into this festivity.

Both on the right and left side of the sidewalks....all kinds of street-food-stalls are set up..and the crowds start to pour in. 

That's exactly where it all began. When you just get out of this exit...you'll find yourself immerse into the commotion.

*worth to try for anyone who's looking for something different in Seoul @ night.

(Another) End of Class Dinner!!!

Thank God..there'd been rice and banchan or side dish..otherwise I would not have eaten anything.^^ Our class just ended a week ago and the professor invited us to have a dinner at Suraksan station, line 7, about 30 minute subway ride from campus. 

He told us that there was this delicious fish restaurant there.

And..here it was.  

Dong min dung, my Vietnamese friend, seemed to be so eager of devouring into this fish......and fish....and fish. Oh, the restaurant juin was cutting the fish into small chops....of course...in a Korean style by using scissors.  

See? scissors are widely used to chop the food. I am sure that they're solely used for food.  

It turned out to be Nong's, my Thailand friends,  first-time to visit this kind of restaurant.

Well, good for you, too, then...

After devouring ourselves into all-fish related food...which I could not eat at all....we're heading to this on-the-roof-top live music bar.....^^ 

Say cheese, guys. 

The Base camp live music bar....drenched in pink disco lights. 

Again...since I don't drink:-) ....the only thing I could delightfully enjoy while being @ the bar was of course..as the picture shows....fruit platters!!! yup, I bet it's expensive..as just in any other places like this. It could be meagerly cheap at any restaurant but definitely NOT at this kind of marked-up place. But, boy..they're fresh.^^ 

Cheese...with Mindong and Paloma, my Mexican friend. 

*Have a great summer holiday, friends.

Till we meet again next semester.

Taking Adi to Namdaemun

Let's do some shopping for Korean souvenirs @ Namdaemun.

Since you're not here for long, you'd better use the one-way subway ticket!^^ 

Okay..the commotion in the Namdaemun market during rush hour/lunch hour. What a sight to behold. It's culturally unique feature of the market. People just go into the small alley full of food sellers who make most of the food on the spot while the customers sitting in front of the stalls waiting for the order to come out.  

Then, off we went to 삼보사, my must-go place for souvenirs inside the Namdaemun market.

This market boasts itself to be a shopping haven for average people like me...who do not have to worry too much about being hassled by others.

n fact, the fun fact about this market is that it has lost of things to offer. 

Looking for the perfect color and design of Korea-theme souvenirs..this time...they'are looking into t-shirts. 

3 for 10,000 Won..........................................................................................!!

The quality, hmm..well..don't ask..but they're surely comfy to put on. 

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