I was
checking my Twitter yesterday when I came across Belle’s tweet which reminds me
of our wonderful-post degree-pre-convocation student exchange program to
Pukyong National University in Busan, Korea.
It’s funny how my memory works, if it is not because of Belle’s tweet, I
would have forgotten that last year today, I stepped my feet for the 1st
time in Busan, Korea. As a first foreign country which I travelled to, Korea
has grown into me and I miss this beautiful country from time to time but
sometimes, when I am too caught up with what I have in my life, I forget
certain details which I deeply cherished. Reminder from a dear friend is what
all of us need to realize how far we have come and accomplish in life.
Belle’s tweet.
Throughout this time, I've always browsed through the photos which were taken in Korea and at the same time, the thought of setting up a blog or travelog to narrate our astonishing trip have crept into my mind from time to time. But, I never seem to come around to it. Thus, yesterday when I read Belle’s tweet, I decided that perhaps today is the most suitable day to do so. Now, I am sitting in a room, typing my thought away while trying to reminisce all that which had happened while we were there, the time where we were one year younger than we are now and curious with all that which we encountered in a foreign land known as Land of The Morning Calm.
As that was my 1st travelling trip to a foreign country, it triggered an intense sentiment in which it inspired my 1st writing on Korea:
Going there:
If it was not because of UM and Pukyong National University, I do not think that I would have the chance to travel to Korea in recent time due to financial constraint. However, the collaboration between these 2 universities had allowed us with such golden opportunity to be a part of this unique and beautiful culture of Korea. Despite certain technical difficulties and misunderstood which had occurred, I am grateful to have been chosen as one of the students to participate in this Summer Exchange Program.
Don’t be fooled by all the zeroes, it only worth RM 500.
Virgin flight - Vietnam Airlines at KLCC, my luggage was somewhere there with other students’ luggage.
Despite the wrong spelling for “beef”, I kind of miss plane meal as I’m editing this photo. Those buns were really yummy.
Touched down:
After a strenuous and long journey of night flights, we finally reached Gimhae International Airport early in the morning. Before we touched down, I was expecting a sunny and warm morning as stated on the brochure: “International Summer School”. Boy, was I wrong, we were welcomed by raging rain which left us trembling like homeless puppies.
While I was waiting for the representative from Pukyong National University, I wrote this:
Flight transit in Vietnam and Gimhae International Airport.
Pukyong National University:
After our plane touched down at Gimhae International Airport, we were guided by a few friendly and efficient representatives from Pukyong National University. All of us were given keys to our respective rooms, useful information/pamphlets/brochure of our courses and etc. We then boarded the bus and heading towards Pukyong National University. I still remember vividly how I felt during that bus ride. Despite the fact that most of us were dripping wet from the rain and it was not a very comfortable ride as we were sitting with all the luggage, we were very excited. I was getting ecstatic as the new, unfamiliar scenery and images of Korea zoomed by.
Pukyong National University surrounding.
My room.
As shown from the photos above, the moment I stepped inside my room, I was impressed. Coming from a background of a public university student, I have to admit that the differences between Malaysia public universities and Korea universities are distinct. It’s not just a matter of room or cleanliness, the longer I stayed in Busan, the more differences could be spotted and compared to. Yes, I agree that we should be grateful with what we have and the fact that we have the opportunity to pursue our tertiary education, but, there’s a lot which Malaysians should learn from other overseas universities and it’s a long path for Malaysia universities to go through before achieving the goal as a leading university.
View from my room.
Me, chilling (literally) at the balcony.
For the first few days when we arrived at Busan, the weather was so cold, windy and it rained frequently due to the typhoon. Despite the coldness, I somehow enjoyed the weather there. I don’t even mind the rain. The air was fresh and pure and I found myself spending more time at the balcony alone, day dreaming, thinking, and singing for my own amusement. Some writings were also inspired and on the 1st night, I wrote this:
Beautiful night view of Busan from my room balcony.
International Summer School:
For this International Summer School program, I’ve chosen “History of Europe” as my study. It was an interesting course, taught by a lecturer from Malta, he reminds me of the “Italian Man Who Went To Malta” joke. As much as I enjoyed the course and his teaching, I can’t seem to remember the name of the lecturer, but I know it rhymes with the word “Cappuccino” or something. I remember sitting on the 3rd or 4th row, listening to him, scribbling on my note book, observing the students in my class and thinking: “People who truly know history is really really cool.” And, the funny thing was, me being typical me, ended up having a secret student-teacher crush on him instead of falling for the cool Korean guys. I remember feeling pretty crushed when someone told me that he has a girlfriend *pout*. Good time. I guess that’s the reason why I can’t recall much on what I had learned. UM will not be pleased with this *grin*
My student card.
All those which participated in this program, I was somewhere in the photo.
When I didn’t have any class, I enjoyed strolling either alone or with my peeps around the university area with my camera and snapped scenery which captured my attention. With our course being delayed on the 1st few days due to some problems which occurred to the lecturer’s flight, I found myself with extra free time compared to others. The university itself is surrounded by fascinating buildings which I enjoyed capturing.
Cycling is
highly encouraged at the campus area and the uni also provides bikes for the
students’ convenience. Another good habit which shall learn by Malaysia universities.
Food & Drinks:
I must say that when it comes to food & drinks, I absolutely fond of Korean dishes. Before I travelled to Korea, I am already an avid Korean food lover. When I was there, the interest intensified and now I am a bigger lover of Korean food. I believe that every food tastes nicer at the place where it originates from and this trip has proven my belief. However, despite all the must try food & drink, I would like to advice my Muslim friends on the food selection. Due to the fact that pork plays a major role in Korean food preparation like some other countries, you might want to be extra careful while ordering your food. Sometimes, you might think that your food doesn’t contain any pork because you can’t see it but it will be better to double check as there is something known as “minced pork”. Otherwise, Korean food is scrumptious and enjoyable.
Street food nearby Gwangali beach. Left side of the photo is handmade candy, top right is a famous pau shop, and bottom right is not for the faint heart – pupa!
Korea dishes which we were fortunate to taste on a university trip to Gyeoungju.
Lunch at Samyeong.
Sharon and Selina with the big, round something like fried rice with cheese.
Delicious street food at Nampodong and how it looked like up close.
Abundance of mouth watering street food.
Trying raw octopus for the 1st time. After I had felt how the chopped raw octopus moved inside my mouth and grabbed my teeth and tongue, I vowed, no 2nd time!
A nice, simple meal at a small restaurant near to uni.
Bibimbap for lunch.
Apart from trying all the mouthwatering food which we deeply enjoyed and savoured, another way of blending into the Korean culture is to try all sorts of activities which the Koreans enjoy. One of the activities is, drinking. So, one night, my friends and I went for a drinking session at a local restaurant which is situated nearby to the uni. From the photo, you can see that my friend Voonie is pouring Makgeolli (Korean Rice Wine) to what appears as a bowl and the green bottle is Cider. Due to the alcohol element in Makgeolli, I can only drink the Cider which is also soda.
Drinking session.
Drinking session is not perfect without some really good food, we ordered egg and cheese, pancake, and shin ramen.
Another drink which I enjoy is Korean banana milk. It is not widely known in Malaysia but for those who would like to give it a try and do not want to go all the way to Korea to try it, you can purchase it from Jusco supermarket. It might be too sweet for some but I personally love the fragrant of both the banana and the milk. It is best to drink cold. However, the banana milk which I’ve tried so far were all purchased from the supermarket, my Korean friend told me that the best banana milk is the original one which is sold at their local market. I’ve yet to try the original one.
On the left side of the photo is the banana milk purchased in Korea whereas on the right side is the banana milk purchased in Malaysia.
23rd Birthday:
To add icing to the cake, I was actually turning 23 in Busan *smile* I remember waking up on the morning of my birthday and having the strangest sentiment ever. It is possible to feel sad and happy at the same time for that was how I felt that time. I was sad because I was not with my family and I missed them deeply. Yet, I was happy and excited with all the adventure which we had planned. It’s funny how two different emotions could congeal at the same time. My friends threw a warm lil’ party at Twosome for me and we had the time of our live. Bliss is simple and sweet when you are with people who truly care about you.
Friends who spent their precious time celebrating my birthday.
Chocolate chiffon cake.
Sharon and Voonie devouring Twosome’s Coffee Ice Flakes.
One of my wishes came true on 12th February 2012 :)
Gifts!
Blossoming flowers:
We were there during the summer, and the flowers were blooming beautifully. I can’t resist but to capture the moment. I might not know the names of certain flowers but what I do know is, they are beautiful. As beautiful as our precious youth which will eventually wither as time goes by.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 2:
Apart from that, 3 days after my birthday, another exciting activity came up. We went to watch the final sequel of Harry Potter at a mall which is not near but within walking distant with the uni. All of us, grew up watching Harry Potter so it was not easy to go inside the cinema with the realization that this will be the last Harry Potter movie which we’ll ever watch. I remember crying like crazy throughout the whole movie. I think I freaked some of the Koreans out with my bawling :P Anyway, the fact that we watched it in Korea with our close friends, has made it memorable and great.
Our crumpled movie ticket.
Korean Princess:
Who doesn’t dream of being a princess? But not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouth. However, while I was there, I managed to have a lil’ taste of what it feels like to be a princess. Boy, that was fascinating. We went to a museum in which the tourists are allowed to try on the Korean traditional clothes. Eventhough it was overall an amusing process, I can feel the inconvenience which one must go through with all the layers of the clothing.
Going Home:
Despite the fact that we were scheduled to stay in Busan for 5 weeks, due to some technical problem between the universities, our stay has shortened to 4 weeks. 4 wonderful weeks regardless of certain trials and tribulations which we went through. And, if you’re curious with the amount of money which I had spend when I was in Korea during that period of time, it was lesser than RM 1000. Due to the reason that it was a collaboration between UM and Pukyong National University, our accommodation and meals are provided by the uni. Hence, I do not spend much. If you’re travelling alone or with family and friends, I would have recommended a higher amount of budget to be allocated to your travel as the living expenses in Korea is quite high.
2 days after I had touched down in Malaysia, another writing was inspired by this trip:
Last lecture. Our class was initially consisted of a larger number of students but some of them were scheduled to return earlier.
Officially completed the “History of Europe” summer course at Pukyong National University.
Grateful for the safe return.
Souvenirs:
Souvenirs could be quite costly for a student who is travelling with
limited budget like me. However, there are certain places like Nampodong which
considers as the famous flea market which offers abundance of souvenirs to be
bought at lower prices. However, if you’re not fluent in Korean, it is quite
hard to bargain for a lower or better price as most of the sellers at the flea
market do not speak English. It will be very convenience if you have a Korean
friend to bring you around like we did. Sharon’s Korean roommate Hyeeun is kind
enough to spend her time with us and bring us around. Grateful *smile* I would
highly recommend others to buy beauty care products as souvenirs if you travel
to Korea. It’s because the products are really inexpensive compared to what you
can get in Malaysia and so many selection. However, you must be careful with
your luggage limit as the products could be quite heavy and take up more
spaces. Few famous Korean beauty products brands are Missha, Etude House, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment