I need.. sleep

Hmm I realise that I haven't been taking enough photographs here as compared to some of my friends on exchange (the photos in their albums count by the hundreds just one week into exchange!).. I usually love to take photographs on holidays but somehow, I don't feel that inspired to take photos now, whether in school or when with friends. Taking photographs is my personal way of remembering and immortalizing beautiful moments and feelings so I guess the lack of motivation must mean that.. no such moment has occurred yet. Haha it's tough - I mean, these are people I've met for like what, 2 days? The natural environment's not helping either; the streets in Seoul look largely similar, the trees and shrubs paint a bleak picture of grey and dirty-white and it's just so cold, it's difficult to hold my camera. (You can totally tell from my previous posts that I'm soooo afraid of the cold. I used to think that icy cold weather is one of the most fantastic things around and I was really looking forward to the low temperatures but now that I'm here, shivering my toes off, I think the heat in Singapore must have drove me crazy and delirious to have wanted sub-zero temperatures.)

I'll try make a conscious effort to take more photographs though! :D

 Bibimbap (비빔밥)

Tofu stew (순두부찌개)

Quirky bag designs

  

Market at Gwangjang Market (광장시장)

Cute bench designs at Sinchon station (the other side's a cat in a hat!)

 

Me at my favourite bubble tea outlet - Bubblee PONG! 

(Personal recommendation: Ice blended citron juice with pearlsss, nyamnyamm :P)

Anyway, some things I've learnt about Korea during the Orientation speeches yesterday:

1. Koreans dislike eye contact on public transport. (no wonder... few people looked back at me on trains... ahahaha I love to people-watch on trains so they just have to learn to deal with it :P)
2. Koreans are not very helpful in public (ie. if you trip and fall, it isn't strange to find out that no one comes forward to help you out) because they think it's better to ignore you, save you from the shame and just hurry along on their path. (which I think is a really inconsiderate and peculiar norm- if an old lady falls, I think 'face' or her ego will be the last thing on her mind. If she falls, that simply means that she needs help. Period. Nothing else. Help her or I'll trip you too.)
3. Koreans' walking pace is usually really fast and along the way, knocks and bumps are perfectly normal. (see earlier post for my thoughts on this)
4. In other countries, it's usually pedestrians first, then cars. However, in Korea, it's cars first, then... more cars... and nothing else. Haha they don't really care about pedestrians here - it almost seems as if cars have the right of way everywhere. It also doesn't help how cars seem to materialise out of every street and alley because it just makes walking on the roads so difficult (they don't have very good pavements here) and more importantly, dangerous. Walking on the streets in Seoul is a challenge in itself (few flat roads, loads of bumpy, rocky, treacherous lanes and pebble streets) and as if that weren't enough, they decided to throw in cars driving everywhere!
5. Skinship is quite ordinary between friends of the same gender (think: hand-holding during karaoke sessions)
6. Looking good (makeup, newest gadgets, branded goods) is important here (oh wells- coughs- my makeup-nil face... ahaha)
7. Koreans really love drinking. Korea has the highest alcohol consumption in the world.

Some people I've met yesterday: (lest I forget)

• Yan Ru from NTU, Singapore
• Jamaica from Australia, born in Singapore
• Jack from Australia (vegetarian)
• Guo Min from China
• Jose (pronounced as Hose?) from America
• Lewis from Australia, born in Thailand (majors in Korean and Economics)
• Kevin from Hawaii (oooh pineapples and coconut trees!)
• Olivia from America, born in Indonesia
• Casey from America, Korean-American
• Beatrice from America, born in Hongkong(?)
• Tammy from Hongkong (does not like chicken)

I don't think I've talked so much in a long time. I think this is almost 4 times the amount of speaking (to non-familiar people) I do in school. It's good that I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, talking to new people and pushing myself to initiate conversations (: but I do admit that it gets very tiring at times. Sometimes, all I wanna do is walk along the street in silence comfortably, not awkwardly and not have to feel any obligation to fill the void with conversation.

Speaking of people, I only have two pictures taken with friends. (furrows brows) Haha I'm not as trigger-happy with people I don't really know so here's hoping that more pictures will come in due course!

This is Deannie, my fellow law schoolmate.

This is Jamaica, who very interestingy, only has a faint Australian accent and who has also retained her mandarin-speaking abilities. She's either a 93 or 94-liner but either way, she feels like a xiao mei mei (who um, drinks) to me haha

And this is.. my roommate, Zenn! Haha super enthusiastic Shinee fan who will travel to the ends of the world for her Jonghyun oppa X)

It's getting late and I'm gonna sleep now (way past the intended 11.45pm sleeping time ><) so I shall just leave you with a video of Korean dancers! I don't like how all the dances (didn't record the rest) sexualised females but.. you gotta admit that these girls got skills! Be amazed!

...

...

There was an error uploading the video D:

which means...

you guys can't see the awesome and sexy dancers

hahaha

If you're interested, just whatsapp me or something and I'll share the video with you via dropbox! (:

GOODNIGHT!

잘자요!

Reminder:

I still need to post about Yisze's "mission"! (EXCITING much)

I have stuff to say about Darryl's parting words to do things out of the ordinary! (I've been doing a lot of that!)