WEEK 16: Student-Tourist Transition

I was gradually shifting from a student into a tourist. Most of my friends (especially Europeans) have flown to another warmer countries i.e. Southeast Asia to enjoy the warm beaches and local beers. HAHA! Have fun guys!

As for me. I was still stuck in SNU with presentation and finals! There was this course about nuclear engineering which required us to hand in a final paper at the exact last day of school. That was just plain disappointing. HAHA! Now, I could not have any excursions before the school ends. HAHA!

But, nobody longer cared about it. I went for ski and had a haircut. HAHA!

Daemyung Vivaldi Park, as the locals called it, was a reputable ski resort in South Korea located at the province to the east of Seoul. With 2 hours of car ride, one would be able to enjoy various slopes starting from plain ridiculously easy slopes to a mind-blowing extreme slopes. HAHA! Truthfully, this was my first ski experience and I was patiently taught by one of the members in SNU Buddy. HAHA! The very funny lesson that I learned at first was the lesson of how to fall. I was startled when I first heard about this. Shouldn't we learn how not to fall, instead? No. Falling was, in fact, the best way to stop yourself from going down the slope. It was the best brake ever in ski.

The lesson was quite tough and simple. How to lower one's speed while going straight. How to walk upwards. How to recover from fall while one was on a slope. How to move in a curvy manner. I absorbed everything from the first drill and aimed for a challenging slope. I went there with my professional friends and indeed, I fell a lot of time due to the slope difficulty. Sharper techniques were needed for me to control my speed and balance, which I did not really master, in fact. However, as the result, I was learning faster and faster. In no time, I was able to conquer the intermediate slopes with confidence. HAHA! There was a pain in my feet, though. First timers, huh? XD
The next day, I had a muscle ache all around my body. HAHA! I seriously did not feel like moving at all at this day. But, I had an appointment with my buddy. We were meeting at Myeong-dong for shopping. HAHA! Well, I was there for a hair cut at a very famous hair studio. The cut was priced around 20000 KRW (20 USD) and I had to say I was impressed. Usually, I looked like an idiot on a short hair, but not in this case. HAHA! I looked quite fine and exquisite, actually. Maybe it was a placebo effect. Well, who knows? XD

peace
vixklen

WEEK 15: Not-going-out-week

Presumably the last week of the school! Most of the assignments due that week. Final exams were conducted at that particular week too. Everything ended at that week.

What I did on that week was simply studying and finishing my assignments.
The only blog-worthy stuff that I did this week was my visit to National Geographic exhibition. I went there with my Australian friend, Grace Park. She was an exchange student from Australia with a remarkably strange English accent (probably it was just me, but my other friends noted that too) studying criminology.

There were only few stuff I have to say about the photography exhibition.

"Astonishing. Simply Stunning. Absolutely Stunning"

peace
vixklen

WEEK 14: First snow, First farewell, First concert

Three topics to blog about this week.

First Snow - 28-11-2010
It was SNOWING! I could not believe my eyes witnessing tiny snowflakes filling the atmosphere. I, immediately, ran outside to feel the snow. Snow is, actually, quite similar, in a few ways, to tropical rain. It's just that snow is solid in nature and thus, can accumulate into piles whereas rain accumulates into puddles. Well, me and a few Singaporeans (who are first-timers as well) went out to have a feel of snow. We played snow-fight too! It was so exciting and cold out there. I was on my shorts and I went outside. As the result, I could no longer feel my feet (and later, hand, because I was holding the snow continuously).

That was amazing. My first snow experience was at South Korea. I would never forget this.
First Farewell - 03-12-2010
The first farewell that I bid to everybody was on that day. It was the Farewell Party organized by the awesome SNU Buddy, a club in SNU dedicated to voluntarily serve as the medium in integrating the exchange students to the local Korean community. The party was as usual involve beers and sausages. Very typical, indeed. But, what I enjoyed the most in this party was the company. Once again, I tried to break the comfort-zone barrier and joined the other group of people attending the party and thus, I found myself making new friends and connecting with even more people. At that moment, I was so thankful to my 1-hour-ago-self who was making decision to go there alone or to go there with different group of people. HAHA!

I chatted and introduced myself with many people. Exchanging words, culture and interests. It was so awesome that I would like to meet them again in the future. Well, there was a very special occasion at this party, though. I was chosen to be the Best International Buddy for attending (almost) all SNU Buddy events, uploading the event pictures to the Facebook (almost) immediately and showing enthusiasm in supporting SNU Buddy as a whole. I was very surprised about this because all I did was trying to make the best out of my exchange trip by maximizing the interaction between me and locals. HAHA! Well, I was an orientation organizer, so I knew exactly how it feels to be appreciated and supported, it felt like... success.

First concert - 04-12-2010
OK. The Asian Song Festival that I attended was not counted as the real concert as it was free of charge. Now, for the real deal, I went to YG Family Concert with a ticket fee of 77000 KRW (around 77 USD). Well, some said cheap, some said ridiculous, some was jealous, some was excited. There were different kind of responses. HAHA!

The sole reason that I attended this concert was to see my favorite artists namely, BIG BANG and 2NE1. Recently, before the concert, 2NE1 just released an album named "To Anyone" and it was a MAJOR hit! The music that they presented was just what I liked. As for BIG BANG, I loved them since I was introduced to Kpop by one of my friends.

The concert itself was awesome. Big Bang with its flashy, catchy, full-of-charisma performances. 2NE1 with its energetic performance. Gummy with her strong, transcending vocals. Se7en with his dancing skills. (Last, but not least) Psy with his AWESOME stage presence. Nobody could resist standing up and dance together while he sang. XD Please call me via MSN or Facebook if you wanted me to describe the whole thing to you. It was indeed the most memorable moments in my life. HAHA! YG FAMILY, I LOVE YOU!

peace
vixklen

WEEK 13: Mug & Mugging

The 13th week of my exchange. I probably will bother you with this phrase again, but I have to say it anyway. TIME FLIES WAY TOO FAST! I want to be in Seoul longer =(

This week (end, more precise), I studied for my final exams and went for a pottery-making session! Well, I've never try it before, so I might as well give it a shot.

OK. Starting with my first topic, the study! Well, the study vibe in SNU is not THAT strong compared to what I experienced in Singapore. Probably, students here take it less serious and thus, less competitive. The entrance competition to enter SNU is indeed very fierce, but the competition INSIDE SNU is not THAT competitive. As the result, students played a lot and studied not so much. In contrast to what happened in Singapore, the entrance competition is not very competitive, but the school is as competitive as life-death matches.

Well, all in all, I need to study to give a good impression that exchange students from Singapore are indeed (near) to perfection.

Oh, and there is no such things as "EXAM WEEK" in SNU. The final exams were conducted on usual class sessions. =)

The next topic about pottery making. I was making a mug and a tea-cup. I made a mug with musical pattern on it, inscribing a few notes which was full of meaning to me. I also made a tea cup, hexagonal in shape to fulfill my geeky-demand of being a chemist. HAHA! Bayer strain theorem would explain that to you. =P

These clay-games were really A PAIN, I told you. A PAIN. It was so difficult to mold them to what I like. From these session, I started to contemplate and begin to appreciate what Michaelangelo had brought to us. A great man, indeed.

peace
vixklen

WEEK 12: Homestay

Nothing so much this week due to homeworks, projects and mid-terms. HAHA! I only managed to go out this weekend.

There was a Homestay programme where international students can stay at a Korean family residence for a weekend for free. All you need to do was to register yourself to the district office by email. Very convenient, indeed.

Everything started at the Friday. I was fetched by the father of the family who speak VERY limited English. He brought me to the local traditional market to buy the ingredients for dinner. HAHA! Just imagine, I spoke a VERY limited Korean, he spoke a VERY limited English. So, what's the best for our communication? Body-language. =) At the market, he asked me in Korean what stuff do I like to eat. I told him this and that and he just spontaneously bought the stuff at the market. HAHA. Feel so bad, actually. >.<

After the market stuff, I was brought to their residence. A flat. Quite spacious and "messy". Well, I have to say that my house is WAY more tidier with all respect. XD And, I was given a guest room. Very comfy and homey feeling indeed. Having this once in a while after all those dormitory life is very amazing.

During the dinner time, I met the mother of the family who is the contact-person as she is the one who proposed to her husband to apply for this programme. HAHA! She wanted to improve her English, not by the books and theories and grammars (Yes, who need grammars =P JOKE!) Well, we communicated and exchanged our culture. I showed them how does food served in Indonesia (esp. Malay food, thanks Wikipedia, you made my day). The day ends by a sound sleep at my room alone. AWESOME!

The next day, I went to have a full-course meal with the mother's friends. Her friends, well, were almost as the same age as her. HAHA! So, that means, for a day, I was accompanied by Korean aunties capable of finding topic in the matter of nanoseconds. They were SO TALKATIVE. I have never met anything (or anyone) as talkative as them. XD (It was a compliment)

A funny thing happened the evening at this day. Somebody knocked on my door around 10 PM. When I opened the door, it was the eldest son of the family who is currently at the home, taking a break from his military service. He was a very manly man, I have to say (and bad-tempered, that's why I tried to keep my distance from him). HAHA! Well, (again) despite our language barriers, he managed to tell me that he would like to invite me for a dvd at the living room. We watched "How to Train Your Dragon". Luckily, I haven't watched this. XD We did not talk at all during the movie. He read the subtitle and I listened from the dialogue. HAHA. It was an awkward times, I had to say. XD Well, but I find it quite fun and have an impression that he was very friendly indeed by offering me orange juices during the movie.

The third day was quite normal. We did not do anything special and I just went back to my dorm (to the REALITY). I felt so DIFFERENT when I stepped into my dorm. It's like I have been having vacation for a while. XD

Well, I have experienced how a Korean family 'works' XD So interesting and unique. The sons are VERY respectful towards elders. Bowing are a very common practice to show respect. =)

peace
vixklen

WEEK 11: An Inception of Art

The 11th week of my exchange student trip is indeed very important to me (as a social being). Why? My birthday was on this week! To tell you the truth, I was clueless on what should I do on my birthday. The culture here is that the person having a birthday have to 'invite' the others to his/her birthday party. Well, that's kind of different from the culture in Asia where everything is done discreetly. Birthday celebrations are discreetly done. Birthday invitations are discreetly done. Even, birthday dinner/meetings are discreetly organized. HAHA. That shows how discreet (Southeast) Asians are. XD

Enough of the crap. My birthday was on 10th November and I invited some of my fellow exchange students that I knew quite well. I invited my buddy too. Well, I personally prefer a smaller birthday celebration where everybody could interact with each other. This, however, is so hard to achieve as I don't usually hang out with same people a lot of times. As the result, I have friends in various 'gang' XD Well, I don't mean to put it as if the community here is very closed and resistant to new personnel. I find assimilating to different gang is very easy here as compared to the same thing at Singapore. XD

OK. I digress. HAHA. Well, the birthday celebration was a blast. I enjoyed it so much thanks to the presence of a few of my friends. To mention them one by one: Alfred (HK), Sammi (Sweden), Joey, Jeff and Huipin (Singapore), Johan (France), Hong Seok (Korea). Some of them even brought me some presents. Aw, I was so touched. XD

And the day after my birthday, was the Pepero Day. You may want to google what does that mean for Koreans. XD This is like a Korean-Valentine Day, where one express his/her interest by giving "Pepero" (or better known as Pocky Stick). HAHA. I didn't get one on this day =(
Nah, just a joke. XD

On this day too, I went to Seoul Art Center with the Photography Class and learned some techniques from our teacher. =) Awesomeeee. =) I spontaneously feel so 'art' after the session ends. XD Oh, I went for a lunch with Grace, my classmate at the Photography class, exchange student from Australia, once the class ends. XD

And for the weekend, I went for a Temple Stay to experience more Zen meditation! =)

peace
vixklen

SNU Final Exams PART 1

1. Introduction to Surface/Interface Chemistry
Exam: It was really a straightforward exam. The answer will be either you know very well or you do not know at all. This is due to a very diverse nature of the class composition. Some of us are from Mechanical Engineering departments, some from Forest Science, of course, some from Chemistry department, the 'appropriate' department for this course.
Result: Just announced this morning. 49/71. The top two scorers have points of 56 and 53. So, I guess I am not THAT bad.

2. Organometallic Chemistry PART 1
Exam: The first part of the exam which is last Monday was quite okay. The questions were not as hard as I imagined. Well, PART 2 of the exam will start in another half an hour. Wish me luck.
Result: I don't think the result will be released by the lecturer. =.="

3. Introduction to Nuclear Fusion
Exam: Alright, first of all, I have to mention that this course is actually designed for Year 3 Physics or Nuclear Engineering students. My lecturer was really shocked when he saw the student list for the first time finding a Chemistry student in his class. The math covered in this course was totally mind-blowing, but thanks to that, now I could construct my own fusion reactors in my home (at least theoretically, because you can't purchase any superconducting coil from eBay or Amazon).
Result: Last midterm, I got 70% results with the class average, 71%. So, for the finals, I could confidently answer all 7 questions but one. So, I predicts that my score will fall around 70-80% range too. Well, I am not aiming for a full-mark here, seriously. There is no way a Chemist could beat Nuclear Engineers in a Nuclear Engineering exams. XD

OK. I will post more about my exams! (And of course, I will write something about my course here. Some are really emo and some are really fun and surprising.)

peace
vixklen