over the 3rd floor at Kyunghee Univ

Just got finished my translation stuff at Kyunghee University. Got some stuffs to finish there.
Afterwards, I got a chance to take some shots before going back to my dorm at HUFS.
It was a good thing that I could cherish the moment I spent there.
It was about 5 pm. I could pretty much see the Seoul Tower beyond.

the view on top of the building

 

Halloween Starts Early

Yes. I did not know how they did it.
In a slit of the nights...I saw lots of balloons celebrating Halloween sprung up all over the lawn in campus.
It is indeed a Halloween Party. Wait, I thought Halloween is supposed to be on October 30th...the end of this month,then....
then.....

then....as to why I am looking at these celebration all over the place?
I did not know why.
My friends told me that the fourth week of October is gonna be a midterm exam...and we won't be able to do anything during which. Well, I did not whether that is the simple reason as to why I can see the Halloween celebration starts early in HUFS, i.e. today and up to October 7!
Well, I won't get myself prone into the questions. I might as well enjoy what they have.......to offer us.
So, here are the snaps I managed to take on my way to class and on my way to have lunch today.
I should've taken more pics, though.

TV tubes @ HUFS campus

I won't talk about what it means.
On my way to buy the moisturizer...I was intrigued by the idea of taking a picture in front of the arrays of television tubes attached against or inside the walls of HUFS professor buildings. The building itself faces the street where major traffic passes by. So, I guess it was intentionally designed (from years back then...but not sure as to when it was set up) so as to give an impression that HUFS offers lots of languages from all over the world. Although the tubes are those of old-fashioned ones, but I kinda like it, since it was like a moving and alive time capsule. Each tube broadcasts live television streaming from different TV stations from all over the world. It is a nifty sight actually. I wonder if anyone would take picture in front of it.

oops...got to work this out on how to take pictures at night time:)

 Well, I could bet that no adult Koreans or even students (Koreans, of course) who dared or even had the slightest idea of taking a picture right in front of it...especially now. People might just stare at them and wonder as what the point of taking the picture there. It may look so childish...or worse.....so kampungan, 촌스럽다 (chonseureobta), so old-fashioned, dowdy, rustic, ....... like someone who just arrived in town and saw TV for the first time. :)
well ....I did not care whatsoever.
The fact was...I found it amusing to pose in front of these old tubes:)
In fact...I kinda liked it especially in the midst of the chilling weather like now.^^;)

Moisture to nourish.....what is it...do I need this?

It's Autumn. So cold. terribly cold especially for a tropical guy like me. Being 'flown away' to the land of the morning calm (I hear say)....is like experiencing the cycle of life (read: four seasons). Well, it is not 'LIKE' then..I AM experiencing.
Back to Autumn...
my friends (who happen to be Koreans) told me that the first few days of October is too cold for them, too. ...My oh My....what about me? yes, as I jotted down earlier...I am fffhhhheeeeeelliiinnngg zzzzooo ccoocoodlddldldldldddd......
and...what irritates me is:
first thing first....my head is the first one to suffer....since I have no hair. :) it is like the icy (no ice, actually) prickles of the cold autumn wind (especially at night) sticks and penetrates deep into my scalp or beneath it.......gasp!
second....my skin starts to cracking up. It becomes so dry easily...that I feel the pain and irritatingly.... prickly.... dry....skin on most of my body. It's been like a few days since I first noticed the symptom:) (I think it is too weird to use the word 'symptom' to describe it). Anyway...still...it kinda make me want to scratch my skin every time I feel the prickles in my skin.
so....I learned that I got no other choice but to buy moisturizer for my skin.
so....I ended up buying this Vaseline . I might as well learn and practice my Korean, then.
1870년부터 세계인의 피부를 지켜온 피부 전분가, 바세린.
'Vaseline, the expert on skin care for the world's* skin since 1870' (*actually it should be literally translated into 'for the skin of the people of the world:)

I bought it at Lotte 999 Store. Well, it cost me 10,999 Won!!!
Two for the price of one. 

바세린 토탈 모이스처 나리싱 로션 or it reads like this...(baselin total moiseucho narasing losyeon)^^. hmmm interesting, isn't it? It is actually English, only it is written in 한글 'Hangeul'
so..it translates into...Vaseline total moisture nourishing lotion
This thing would give me this:
피부를 촉촉하게 해 줄 뿐 아니라 보호
Not only moisturize, but also protect the skin
빠른 흡수와 끈적임 없는 사용감으로 사계절 내내 이용 적합
literally translates into' fast absorption and non sticky in usage four seasons inside usage suitability'
well...what it means is that it is fast absorbed and non sticky (lotion) suitable throughout the year
24시간 지속되는 보습효과
literally means '24 hours of continuous additional efficacy'
I think it means it works for 24-hour
.................
I just put some on my skin....and it smells (well) like any other moisturizer....and more importantly...I do not feel the prickly heats on my moisturized skin....:)

It's Not Unusual

well...well..well....I thought I could not find something else....
but Darren's Criss new rendition of new songs (I mean) old song.....magically glee-s-tified..into something new...is popping up in my computer screen.
And I bumped into Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual....
well, after listening and watching Darren's Criss singing this song...
now..I'd better ask myself whether I would remember this song as Tom Jones or Darren's:)
maybe it's a little bit exaggerating....but....
let's see.

Something's Coming

GLee and GLee and GLee again...
I feel like being punched in my gut knowing that the 3rd season of Glee has come already. And I feel like I am the last person to know. I am in Seoul and I cannot watch the Glee!!! I have no StarWORLD like I have back home via Indovision. Or I cannot just see it at the same time as it was airing in the US..like what I used to do back home.
But......in YouTUBE I just bumped into this Darren Criss again.
well, you guess it, folks...I am (shyly admitting) that I might be crazy to love Darren's voice. well, only his voice???? (hmmm )
anyway..I bumped into this...West Side Story's Something's Coming of coz it is Darren's versions
 woow.....it DOES make my day. I was stuck with my translation stuff. I did not sleep enough because I got to finish the translation and editing....and as soon as I finished it....I pampered myself my hooking myself to Youtube....and bumped into this beautifully ....speechlessly....awe-and jaw-dropping performance...:)

서울역 Seoul Station, Korea

Taking Pak Mochtar Masoed to the train station to catch up his Incheon Airport express train from Seoul Station. Carrying two big luggage of approximately 40 kilograms.

Anyway, that's a different thing.
The thing was...we took a look at how the station has changed for the past few years. A Galleria department store is an integral part of the station; so is Lotte Mart. I guess it eases people to travel or shop or experience both. The vending machines that sell the tickets automatically are spread everywhere. Still, those who are lining up to take their turn to buy the tickets are still a common sight there.
The 6 floor below the ground is enough to picture the depth of the station that links itself with the airport.
Before departing, we had a chance to take pictures in front of the station.

Namdaemun 남대문: Full of Sights to See

Apart from people criss-crossing the pavement, sidewalk, and sideways inside the whole complex of Namdaemun. There are a lot of new exciting things to behold for new comers to Seoul: especially for those who are for the first time got exposed to Korean traditional crafts or better yet...the atmosphere inside the Namdaemun market.

a captured moment

this is only 5,000 Won!!! a result of concentrating
 our senses of sights and hearing so we know where
the cheap stuffs are and when they are cheaply sold.
Alert Alert and keep listening! Lots sellers just
shout out
the prices of their stuffs. Just like the bag that
I bought. 

many kinds of Korean stuffs imaginable

an optic store (I wonder if they sell glasses for astronaut?)^^

A bit noisy, somewhat clean, somewhat organized, and yet...still alluringly attractive to people from all over the world. I overheard a Malay, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Russian, English being spoken everywhere I went to.
Let me get back to my entry...
I took some pictures that show how exciting it is to see the sights and hear the sounds of Namdaemun, even when we come not for shopping.

Souvenirs from Namdaemun Market, Seoul

It's not that I am going back home to Jogja. But, I got to buy all of these Korean little cute stuffs for my wife. What? well, she's gonna do something about it. I guess she really needs them since she is thinking of having to give all of her colleagues something that may represent Korea but those that are not that expensive, but still worth-giving. Well, it is (actually) expensive to Indonesian standard.^^:) hehehe. But, I think it is worth it...because they have relatively good quality and more importantly...it is a cute little stuffs that fit into the luggage to carry back home.  It was a bit hard to decide which ones from soooooo many choices of stuffs to choose from.
Namdaemun market where people go for shopping is also famous for having a wholesale area of Korean traditional souvenirs.

six pendants of differing colors, well only 4 colors, though. attachable to any device or gadgets or better yet, it'll just be fine for any wall decorations or as a hanging decoration.

nail cutter attached to or with...a Korean traditional doll

a key holder equipped with a pen

key holder beatified with small cute doll and janggu 'Korean traditional musical instrument

key holder equipped with a flash light 

see the flashlight?

Finally, after a stroll along the corridors of seemingly endless arrays of shops and shops, I set my eyes on one particular shop "삼보산 한국 전통 민예품 전문점' (Sambosa: the store for beautiful traditional products of Korea). Since I bought all of the stuffs there, I got a pretty good bargain. Even,one ajumma served me with a one bottle of yakult. Sure, it was not much, but the warm welcome that people have in a store is more important. More importantly, they were so kind and patient enough in answering most of my curiousness. So, here are the results of souvenirs hunting.^^
------------
Another story that I would like to jot down here was my trip back and forth to buy 녹차구루 ( green tea powder) and kim (김) for Pak Mohtar whom Mrs. Mohtar asked to bu them.
So, here I am.
back from the trip to take pak Mochar to the train station and back from the 'blietzkrieg' shopping at Namdaemun.
See the little pink round thing: it is a mirror, as an extra bonus for having bought a lot:)
The ajumma asked whether I had a girlfriend (hmmm I may not look like I am married man (?)^^, and as I nodded , she gave me a pink mirror for my 'girlfriend' :)
Now, after sending them home, it will be up to Mama to decide who's gonna get what.

Dinner di Geum Gang San 금강산

Masalahnya ini bukan geumgangsan yang ada di Korea Utara, tapi hanyalah nama sebuah restoran yang sering kita datangi apabila Prof. Yang mengundang kami semua.
This is a place near our campus where only the certified fresh food are served.
We were all happy to meet over the dinner.
Three professors from Malaysia (Encik Zaharani Bin Ahmad and his beloved wife), Encik Lim Kin Hui,  one professor from English Linguistics Dept. (Mr. Lyman McLallen), one professor from Indonesia (Pak Mohtar Masoed), two students from Indonesia, one from Malaysia, one from Korea, and Pak Yang dan Prof. Park Jae Bong
A sumptuous meal.