HELLO ALL!

a placement test isa test which you take to see which level you get on. in Yonsei, similar to any University that offers Korean Language is divided to 6 levels which follows the TOPIK leveling system. but there is also a 8 level course designed specifically for native English speakers. but that would take 6 months more to complete where the usual one only requires 1 year and a half to finish.

the Yonsei Korean Language Institude (KLI) building is located pretty far from the main entrance which actually took me about 25minutes to arrive pfft. upon reaching the KLI there were many people (around 400 people wth) gathering at the entrance of the auditorium where there were a little speech in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. was really happy that I could understand almost everything she said!

we were told that we will receive a small piece of paper later stating which classes we should go to for our placement test and that the test is divided to two sections, 말하기 and 쓰기. which means speaking and writing. also, for those have no background in Korean at all should stay in the auditorium and also those who have only learned it for 2-3months because according to the teacher Yonsei’s language standards are higher than usual Universities.

there was a funny part when the lady who was giving a speech said ” for those who does not understand Korean AT ALL, please stay in the auditorium” except she said it in KOREAN. hahahahahahhaahah. so for those who understood what she said, we all laughed. =P. even that serious looking lady giggled at herself.

the paper was 13 pages long. the first page is…….. super duper uber easy. I think I could complete the first page correctly with just 1 month worth of Korean knowledge. 2nd page is easy too, but a little deeper. then there comes the 3rd and 4th page which was pretty alright and 5th page is more tricky. 6th.. I only did half. the rest was beyond my understandings so I left it blank. the teacher did say if you only want to skip 1 level you can complete just the first 2 pages. hahaha. but judging I did until 6 I consider myself pretty hardcore. =D.

as for the interview (speaking), she would firstly ask questions which are simpler like what’s your name where you come from.. followed by questions like ” if I were to go to Malaysia, can you introduce me places to go to and why?” and “what’s nice to eat there?” and then she will hand over a cue card depending on which level she think you are at and she tells you to explain through there. I am very weak in my speaking grammar so I am not really sure if I can get into level 3 but she said I’ll either get into level 2 or 3 depending on my written test =D. I only took classes until half of what I think should be level 2 so I am okay with both results. but of course, I hope to skip to level 3! save a lot of kaching kaching. =D. also, the interviewer thought I was Korean until she saw my name “your name is.. weird.” “I’m Chinese. =D” “oh! I thought you’re Korean.” ahahhahaha. everytime.

the orientation session will be on Friday (super excited!) and earlier when I was in the auditorium, I met a friendly guy, Hugo who was from Brazil, but Korean. you call Koreans who’ve migrated overseas 교포 Gyopo. he was keeping me in company throughout the whole session there until we got our classroom number (which was in random order) and got into different classes, I was the first to enter the class so I picked a corner and after a few people came in, there came this young Korean girl, Margaret. when she looked my way, I smiled and she came to sit next to me and we became instant friends! =D. I was gobsmacked because she told me she’s from Brazil as well. I mean, how many Koreans will you come by that come from Brazil. especially those 2 were the only people I know on my first day here. she was also shocked when I told her the friend I made earlier came from Brazil as well and is also Korean. at first I thought they might know each other. but she had no idea. haha.

was lazy to curl my frizzy hair so I simply just braid it up and since the hairband I bought is in a neon turquoise, I used a gift box string to wrap around it wth.

*lower quality pictures are taken with my phone because I forgot to bring my DLSR pfft.

welcome to Yonsei University!

it’s so Hogwarts. well, only 2 parts of the school looks like this. hahaha.

FINALLY GOT MY PHONE! thank goodness my phone is unlocked (not such a bad thing for not buying with a plan after all) and is usable here which means I do not have to spend money to get a phone which is cute but has no smartphone functions. for friends who want my number please message me via facebook or send me an e-mail =).

I applied for the prepaid because all I want to do is send SMSes and ask people where are they etc. it requires you to have an Alien Registration Card/Passport. it’s quite troublesome to get it, so I only recommend this method to travellers who are staying for more than a month. if not, just rent a phone at the airport with an expensive deposit or you can let them photostat your credit card =).

saw this guy “sun bathing” in Yonsei earlier haha. I bet he is one of those who studies very hard until he have to sleep here =S.

and the rest are just random photos from my daily life here :

Sausalito Milk Chocolate Macadamia Biscuits. the chocolate chunks are awesome. but the biscuits are a little too buttery for me.

there’s this sweet shop in COEX that sells sweets and cookies from all over the world (was very shocked to see a few Malaysian snacks where I later found out that it’s made in Indo wth.) and this Sausalito biscuit are sold at certain convenient stores which cost 6,000won. at that sweet shop in COEX, it’s only 3,500won! still expensive for me but that’s a bargain! worth a try, right?

if you’re a cheapskate like me and is staying in Korea. please explore Daiso because it’s like the life saver of mine. you can get similar stuffs in many shops but in Daiso? most things are 1,000won. and they make everything 2,000won feel expensive. pfft. that coat roller thing is VERY VERY VERY important because it’s bloody dusty in Korea. eventhough your windows and doors are shut, the dust just piles up on your bed. so be sure to get that. same goes for the duster. I use that as a broom wth. I’m truly a hardcore cheapskate hahaha.

and as you can see, that basket is for your bathing necessities. in Korea, if you leave your soap/shampoo in the bath, people will just use it. with NO MERCY PFFT. and a bottle of bloody shampoo costs at least double of the normal priced shampoo in KL. it’s mad I tell you. usual priced shampoo can cost you RM50. but of course, I opted for the cheaper ones. which are still expensive.

the day I thought it would snow but it didn’t. but at least my phone snowed a bit *sniff*.

just in case you were wondering what I eat here everyday. the ajumma cooks well! so I am eating a lot of rice everyday. JUST LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF RICE! there’s even curry on one day! yum. but curries here are sweet and.. not really spicy.

setting up a bank account in Korea is really quick and easy. I did mine at Woori Bank Yonsei Campus because I heard if you go other places they would require you to provide them your Alien Registration Card. but since Yonsei have been dealing with thousands of foreigners each year, their bank suits us students the most.

and look! there are butterflies on the bank book! (that’s literally what I said when I got the bank book. my mom too when I showed her wth. like mother like daughter.)

annyeong~! 안녕~!

meet Tokki 토끼. it means rabbit. it’s long, maroon and has a ribbon on it’s head. use it as a pillow/bolster. because it’s really huge, so sometimes I just sit on the wall with it because my single pillow couldn’t do so.

this is the pathway to the subway station in Incheon Airport. pretty yes?

and the most famous view of Incheon Airport. the picture that is frequently used whenever they say that Incheon Airport is world’s NO.1 airport. =D. and that is the subway station on the left!

awesome thing is what all of them were playing with their phones. some watching TV, some playing games, some just sms-ing. that one uncle in the middle was on his phone!! right before I snap the picture pfft.

the eyes tell you its evil. at the Hongdae Toms Cat Cafe. apparently those with the blue scarf might scratch because they are “sensitive”. =P.

I slept on warm ondol flooring the Korean way the first night I arrived here! thank you Ailing! it was really comfortable albeit on the floor. especially when the weather is so darn cold.

and she has 4 pomeranians. super active. the most active dogs I’ve ever seen. I’ll video a shortclip of it when I visit her again. haha.