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e is for 8, turn 8 sideways and you measure God's love for you.

another quiet day... woke up to the sound of my Japanese roommate (Motomasa-san) packing up ready to leave for the airport... i felt sorry for him because it was a very wet day - raining for most of the day and it didn't stop until late in the evening. for that reason, i didn't go out at all, watching running man all day in my cold dorm room.

at around lunch time, i decided to venture to my cafeteria and purchased my first meal... the meals at the cafeteria are significantly cheaper than eating out - a meal costs me 2000 won/$2 and the portions are just right. BUT the ticket machine stole my 10000 note so i lost $10 right there. LOL. o well... 

it wasn't until around 5pm that my other room mate entered, his name is Seong-Yun and he is a very nice guy; except he doesn't speak much English.. so i am forced to speak Korean with him.. which is okay because it is good practice, but unfortunately it will be hard to communicate and hence, building a relationship will be a very steep hill.

at around 7.30, a group from the exchange students program decided to meet up and go for dinner... my friend and i thought it would only be around 5 people so that was kool.... but when i got there.... 20+ people showed up.. LOL.
but it was okay in the end, one of the guy's room mates came along and he's a Korean local student (Han). he's a really nice guy who genuinely wanted to know more about Western cultures and the language. he tried very hard to communicate with us and to teach us a bit about Korean culture.. 99% of the time, it seemed like it was only me who understood what he was saying/explaining.. haha!

we had a very nice bulgogi.. i think it's beef short ribs... but it was called bulgogi.. either way.. it was REALLY well done... we talked a lot and ate a lot... and the Europeans drank a lot LOL.
funny thing is... we found that if it's really obvious that you are a foreigner (i.e. you have blonde hair, blue eyes, etc..), Korean locals tend to be a lot nicer to you. my European friends were telling me stories that they were on the train and almost every Korean local around them asked them in English if they needed help and one of them even gave them his business card + contact details should any of them need help.... if i ever looked lost in public, all i get is weird looks... LOL. o well..



after dinner, we went our separate ways... the Europeans went to a bar and drank some more while i decided it was time to go home.......

which is when the homesickness kicked in....


i was walking uphill to the street where my dorm is... and looking at the bright lights, people walking on the streets and feeling the unusually cool breeze reminded me of Sydney... it's been 8 days already and i feel like one year will be a torturous amount of time... i know that my flight home will most likely be at night as well and looking at the city lights of Seoul is only making me more excited to be on that plane home and flying over the same lights.

i miss the comfort of family, joy in friends, freedom in language + transport and a lot more...

it is the same feeling that i had last week maybe because i have just moved into my new dorm/housing...

i envy Jo because her room mate is an Aussie and they're both new to this experience... on top of that, it's only one person whereas i have two room mates who, not only have lived here for half a year, but also cannot communicate with me as well as i want them to... it just means my experience curve here in Korea will be significantly steeper than i had first thought it would be...

my European friends who are staying for 4 months are lucky.. sometimes i envy them because they only have to be here for 4 months... not sure if its the homesickness talking, but i do wish my time here was shorter...


im listening to Maroon 5's Beautiful Goodbye again... the song that reminds me of pre-departure days... and MYC... sigh... all of those times associated with feelings of comfort and tranquility.
as opposed to now, when i am on the edge of my seat constantly wondering if i will survive one year.

i have to be strong. 


i still can't believe i wasted all my credit in two days just from data/3G.......... wut the.

Thankful: My room mates are nice and willing to help anytime they can... After getting over that language barrier.

Prayerful: Strength as I am feeling very homesick + lonely. 

Dangers: If I am not careful, I can be in very inconvenient situations... the European guys are very hard party-goers and their moral code isn't as... in-tune with what I am used to..