Lotte World

Lotte World used to be the biggest indoor theme park in the world, but now the record goes to Trans World Studio in Bandung, Indonesia. (But....still...I have to make sure that this is true:) Anyway...I went to see my junior back then in the university. She was my junior back then in 1993. Hmmm.....18 years ago. Oh my God.






Time flies so fast.
She was having a TESOL seminar at Sukmyung Women University right here in Seoul. I was kinda surprised to see her here because the last time  (a month ago) I checked her status, she was in Australia for her Ph.D. at Monash University.

So, I got to make sure that she was the Novi I used  to know.
She was and she is.
She finished her seminar yesterday and today it's been free time.

So, she took her daughter (along with her) to have a vacation in Seoul while attending the workshop.
That's why she wanted to go to Lotte World as it would keep her daughter busy.

It was late at around 7.30 pm when I met her at the main gate of Lotte World.
We went outside of the park and had ourselves two orange juices and shrimp burger at Lotteria. We talked a lot during and after the meeting.
back to Lotte World
I think it has added several thrilling rides....:)
Loved it.
(gosh..I am so sleepy) got to sleep and have it continued later on.

Spec? What kind of Animal is it?

Well, it is not an animal. It turned out to be the short term of 'specification'.
The funny thing is that...I just learned that this particular word has been so coined in such a way that it has a special meaning in Korean language. I did not know anything about it until I set my feet again here in Korea.
So, what is so interesting thing about this Spec or how Korean affectionately(?) refer it with..스펙 (seupek).
I would not have been so intrigued had I not talked to my Korean friend who was about to have an interview the other day. She told me a lot about it and how it has affected lots of Korea's job seekers or fresh graduates. It has affected them so much that a lot of concerns have been raised as to whether this so-called 'monster' really necessary in the first place. Monster? Yes..some are so afraid of this spec that they got themselves obsessed with this and preoccupied with this...that .....86% of job seekers got stressed out of it.
I bumped into an article on the net (www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011050907360652449) about this phenomena and how it has affected Korean youths.
It is reported that 8 out of 10 job seekers are stressed out because of this. Based on a survey conducted towards 802 people, 86.6% confirmed that they are under pressure due to this lovable creature (Hhehehe..this is my own coined word for spec). Even, 26% of them said that they are stressed out that they are in a state of necessary psychological counseling. Hmmmmm.....how serious.
....................For those who might wonder what spec is ....?
please wait till my next entry......

The chilling Autumn

whatimeanbychillingisnotthatitishorrifyinglyterrrifyingly chilling:)
What I mean is that..it IS truly cold and bone-chillingly shivers me up.
I am not (yet) used to having been exposed to this 3 degrees Celcius temperature.
I thought it would not be this cold today....that I just went out of the dorm with a light jumper. Gosh..clumsy of me for not taking a time to notice that even my smartphone shows what temperature was. Well, the user is not smart enough:) hehehehe.
But....instead of going back to the dorm and warmed myself up with a thicker jacket...I was just dashing myself through the chilling morning on my way to the language lab.
Without further ado, I just got into the class and warmed myself up by sitting still.:)
It was a good thing that a portable heater was available. Had it not been there, I would've got frost bitten...(exaggerating......) and yet..it is not yet Winter:) oh....................no. what am I supposed to do...when the Winter is approaching.
I just hope that it is just going be just fine.

Retale and Dalevari?

I bumped into this intrinsically eye-catching phrase on the signboard of a food store in Ansan. I just finished praying at the Islamic Center..and got out of the building when I saw this funny sign. It made me wonder and stand still....really..simply because I wondered if I was the one who might not understand what it meant. I asked myself whether this would be English...or another language that I did not know of.

I think it should be kept this way:)

I kept scrutinizing on the sign board until I came to a conclusion that it IS English...judging from the words above  it. So, it tickled me and served me right.... I could not help but smiling when I realized that what it meant by Retale was supposed to be 'retail' and the other one dalevari was supposed to be 'delivery'
It cracked me up...but one thing for sure...It made me giggle and had a nice time the whole afternoon.^^
I would never forget it.
It is a good thing to see and behold.
Since I am not into linguistics...I do not know how to address this phenomenon...what to call this kind of misspelled words....
Anyone knows?
One thing for sure..it is an interesting thing to see and learn.
But..wait..should there be anyone who can tell me that it might be a different language: that is not English?

Warung Barokah

Well, the name itself suggests that it offers something about Indonesian food, for sure. The coined word of Halal (kosher) is posted everywhere. Although some still concern about the authenticity of whether this is truly certified Halal, the legal movement should be endorsed to officially help the country join or acknowledgethe certified Halal thing.
This Warung Barokah offers Indonesian food (pls. note that the word MASKAN is kinda misspelled) everywhere I see even on the windows, the word MASKAN instead of Masakan was put up everywhere.
So, It was a funny thing to see how things work out right here.

Took some pictures at the rear end of the restaurant...= did it.

Indonesian Restaurant in Ansan

Another entry about Ansan town.
It was my first time to Ansan.
The first impression was that....it was not like being in Seoul where Koreans dot the place.
This place felt different.

The first notion and 'sight and sound' that came to my mind was that....it was more like in international melting pot where lots of foreigners just mingled and got in touch with one another freely. The streets were dotted with lots of nationalities.
....
I was greeted by a person who handed me a brochure about Indonesian restaurant called ' Prambanan' I bet he judged from my looks that I would definitely be Indonesian. And He got me right.
After all...the reason as to why I came to Ansan was to find an Indonesian restaurant to have some back home dishes..that I miss.
Since I am a vegetarian..I was thinking of eating tempe or tahu (a kind of tofu)...and lots of veggies. It served me right. I got some nasi kuning.( the story was posted on my previous entry).


I found the street a bit dirty in Ansan.....
It's a good thing that the sky was blue and the temperature being cold......those two things had somewhat helped me disregard the a bit nuisance of having to see not-that-clean street. Well, it was comparatively clean but not that clean as the one I used to see in downtown Seoul. Anyway...this is another story.
So....I took some pictures of how the streets looked like..
Lots of peddlers, vendors, sellers...of any thing imaginable were there....:
what a sight and sound of Ansan.

Nasi Kuning in Ansan

First time ever that I went to Ansan, a 2-hour ride into the southwestern part off Seoul city. Some still considered it as Seoul..but not for those who live there...since it is a bit kinda small town....where mostly small or medium sized enterprises are located.
Got to see and taste the town myself..since I heard that there are lots of Indonesian restaurants there. I was right. As soon as I got off the metro, two different guys were approaching me....and gave me pamphlets of their newly opened Indonesian restaurant.
The names themselves vary: Barokah, Kartini, Batavia, Garuda, Lea Original, Warung Indonesia, Prambanan, and many other things.
The simple reason as to why I went there in the first place was because...
I wanted to eat Indonesian diet...

taking a pic. before eating them up:)

nasi kuning and sate kambing (lamb satay): way up off

nasi kuning!!!

so, I was lucky enough to have nasi kuning or yellow rice.
It was relatively more expensive than Korean food back up there in my campus (hehehehe). But, the idea of making it as a nostalgic or a shooting step to soothe the longing for my country's staple food...I might as well end up eating it with gusto....because it was delicious.....more than what I expected it would be.
There are lots of other Indonesian food that you can name.
Soto, empek-empek, krupuk udang, es dawet, es soda gembira....and ....other imaginable food you may have tried before.

since I am a vegetarian, I gave up the rendang (beef) and gave them to Wawan whoe instantly felt the sparkle his eyes because it was cool.
Oh, the price of one plate of nasi kuning was only 6,000 Won.
Worth the price? I think so.

Fengshui or 풍수 (風水)

I just finished translating this interesting article about Fengshui. I find it interesting to share. This article is originally written in Korean in the Korean language textbook for Indonesians who are learning Korean language. 

Sejak dari dahulu telah dipercaya bahwa tempat yang airnya bagus, udaranya segar, dan sinar matahari bersinar terang adalah tempat yang menurut fengshui bagus untuk ditinggali. Bila tinggal di tempat seperti itu, siapa pun yang melihatnya sudah barang tentu percaya bahwa tubuh akan semakin sehat, pekerjaan terselesaikan dengan baik, dan keturunan hidup sejahtera.

        Berbagai macam cara untuk menemukan tempat baik seperti itu telah mulai dilakukan dalam waktu yang sangat lama berdasarkan berbagai pengalaman dalam melihat segala sesuatu yang tertuang dalam, bumi, langit, dan alam yang semakin lama semakin detil dan terangkum rapi. Setelah melalui proses perkembangan ilmu, muncullah apa yang disebut dengan fengshui (風水) saat ini.

        Fengshui atau pungsu bisa digabungkan dengan kata 'jiri' sehingga bisa disebut juga dengan pungsujiri (風水地理), sedangkan jenisnya terbagi dua, yaitu fengshui eumtaek (陰宅) dan fengshui yangtaek (陽宅).

        Fengshui eumtaek terkait dengan lokasi tempat orang mati disemayamkan. Sedangkan fengshui yangtaek terkait dengan lokasi tempat orang yang masih hidup berdomilisi atau tinggal. Dalam hal ini, fengshui eumtaek terus menerus mempengaruhi para keturunan yang masih hidup dari para leluhur yang telah meninggal. Secara luas hal ini bisa dilihat dari adanya istilah '묏자리 풍수' (fengshui moetjari 'fengshui lokasi kuburan') yang telah menjadi semacam kepercayaan tradisional orang Timur di mana mereka melakukan ritual pemujaan terhadap leluhur sebagai dasar kepercayaan mereka. Dengan kata lain, jika orang tua atau leluhur yang telah meninggal disemayamkan di tempat yang baik, maka pengaruh 기(gi,氣) atau energi positif akan terus diterima oleh keturunannya yang berarti seperti menerima keberuntungan. Memang, apabila yang pernah hidup disemayamkan pada tempat yang baik, maka para leluhur yang telah meninggal pun dari balik kuburan tak akan keberatan. 

        (Dalam sebuah cerita Korea) ada seekor katak hijau yang tak pernah mendengarkan perkataan orang tua. Dia menggali kuburan di pinggir kali, maka setiap kali hujan datang dia selalu khawatir jika kuburan tersebut terhanyut yang akhirnya membuat dia berduka. Memang, bila orang tua atau leluhur disemayamkan di pinggir kali, maka hati keturunannya pun tak akan tenang. Wajar juga bila mereka yang meninggal pun tak akan nyaman di dalam tanah.

        Sementara itu, fengshui yangtaek terkait dengan tempat tinggal atau lokasi rumah orang yang masih hidup. Dewasa ini sering pula disebut dengan saenghwal pungsu ('생활풍수'/ 生活風水) atau fengshui kehidupan; atau fengshui interior karena berkaitan dengan tata cara menata interior yang saat ini menarik perhatian khalayak umum. Pada prakteknya, walaupun para leluhur yang meninggal tetaplah penting, sudah sewajarnya bila ternyata lokasi tempat tinggal orang-orang yang masih hidup jauh lebih penting. Bila sama-sama penting maka siapa pun pastinya akan berharap untuk tinggal di tempat yang mendatangkan keberuntungan dan ketenangan bagi kehidupannya.

 

인연 (Inyeon)

인연....(inyeon). Hmmm it is a bit hard to translate this word (term) into English. Well, Korean has specific way of addressing a relationship among people especially when this particular relationship last long or even when we do not want it....this still exists or linger through our lives. Some say that it is literally means 'the string of human'; the knot of people';  or some say it is 'destiny of people to people's relationship', or simply a 'fate'.
For what it's worth...
I just bumped into Prof. Lee Kang Seok, a professor from Hanseo University, who happened to be always visiting my university (Gadjah Mada University) in Jogjakarta twice a year. He always come with his students to carry out the saemaul undong project in one of the village in Jogjakarta. I met him in Jogja...and what's more interesting about our meeting in Seoul was ....that we just met in Seoul. And...what's more intriguing than that is the fact...that we met in HUFS....not in Hanseo. I've never expected to see him at Hanseo University myself....let alone meeting him in HUFS. But....fate just interfered this seemingly improbable thing.
I bumped into him when he was stepping out of the graduate school where I was studying.
I did not know that he had a class every Friday there.
He did not expect it, either.

We met and had a coffee at Dunkin for about 30 minutes.....only. Since he got to catch the train to Ilsan...which is a bit far from Seoul. Well, one thing for sure...I would definitely contact him again, after all, he teaches at my current university at the moment.
I also just learned that our university has this Aviation department. It was set up two years ago in collaboration with Hanseo University. Oh, I see now as to why he is teaching here.:)
What a small world!
I bet my fellow students who knows Prof. Lee would expect to see him again simply because ...he is such a down-to-earth, caring, and understanding professor: a simple reason as to why lots of students love him.
Good to see him in Seoul.

Sports and Games = No Classes

It is supposed to be held tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 14, 2011)...but since the weather forecast predicted that it would be raining tomorrow....the sports and games are held today.
This morning, all classes from level 1 to level 6 jammed the whole soccer field and tennis court in campus. We had the games and sports to celebrate the diversity that we have right here. It is once again plainly visible for us to see that there are around 400 foreign students who are currently studying Korean language and culture at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Not to mention those in the graduate school--who did not participate in the event.

From left: Elmira, me, Borey, Felix, Wawan, Aigerim,
(+ Jobirson)

Taekcho, me, Illiya

It was actually a once-every term activity. Last year, I heard that they also had a singing competition in Korean. But, this term we had this sports and games competition. It turned out to be quite an interesting thing to do, apart from being stuck in the classes with books that do not talk. But, today...I am sure that most of the students did practice using the Korean language as their medium in conversing with others.
There were four teams distinctively differentiated by the colors of T-shirts: blue, yellow, red, and green.
I am in the blue team who got the most awards from the event.
It was indeed such an interesting event.
Since all of us are required to take part in at least one activity, I decided to try my strength in running competition....only that it is not a usual one since I got to run with my partner with our legs tied into one another. It was the sprint of our day. I found it hard at first since we got to coordinate our movement together.
We did it anyway. It turned out to be quite fun.
As usual, taking pictures is a must-thing to do.:)