My Exam Week

Well it's over babeh!

Exam week in Korea was excruciating boring, it's either I was studying or facebooking, ehmmn.. not really facebooking but playing facebook game. Luckily, my other game account was inaccessible, if not my exam week will be my gaming week. I'm not a gamer really, just crapping. :)


Yes, I can

My last exam was Statistic, yet, no matter how I like subjects related Mathematics, if the questions were all in Korean, it was a different story. Nearly going to submit a blank paper but I kept going on. Felt stressed up when I saw friends handing up the paper sooner than I had expected.

But they are Koreans, I am foreigner ma.. Frankly, if all questions were in English, I can at least answer the majority of them. Not all but the majority because the questions asked me to compare Soviet Union economy with Korean economy? (verdict - mf, leema questions came out, how to answer la!), talk about Korean Presidental election, statistically wise (verdict - wait till I convert myself to Korean first la... then I might answer the question lah. lol)

Statistic - verdict - damn.

Okay la, not all exams were tough. I would say my english exam was the best. Perform fantastically I think. :) English in Korea... can't expect much too.. Next was the biology exam, okay, I did okay because I studied. The questions were all in Korean (Biology somemore) but answered the majority... minus when they as me what the hell is 전정계 (vestibular apparatus, ear thingy), then I have a bit problem in that. Wei... how am I suppose to memorize all la! at least I did my very best okay d la..


Exam Week - Before and after

Chemistry exam? tekan... the only exam that I have no confidence but just pressed the "hit and run", hope I pulled the right trigger. :( Exam week was the only time I gain weight.. no restrictions in eating, very siok, but after weighting, OMG! My Malaysian cookies were already in short supply because one day one container, now I left with only Hari raya chocolate cookies and some nut biscuits...

Lets see what I am going to say tomorrow :)

Saying Hi - Intro

Hi guys,

People always say blogging is easy because when we blog, we can just express what we want to say. Of course it's easy at some point (You guys should try blogging too) but to write something interesting is difficult.

I am actually not a good writer, at first, I try to write something interesting as my means of of writing good university admission essays, scholarships application, etc. But now, everything is over.. I have already been admitted to study in a Korean university under scholarship, I am no more writing for school magazines and I had stopped writing for my university english magazine.

My Life? Well, it's pretty monotonous these days, no hu-hah, but the most common part about my life is I take lots of naps. After classes, I would be napping. Taking naps makes you really alert, its like Red Bull. Ah~ A free one lah..

Recently, I was selected to write something about Korea. You can notice a bit changes in my blog, don't you? haha. The frequency of my posts increased compare to my normal rate. For your information, I am not getting paid for writing but somehow, why not helping to write something that will make your trip to Korea (if you are visiting Korea la) better.

Frankly, instead of following by tour to Korea, I really recommend going to Korea alone or with groups of friends and not by tour. It might sound ridiculous but try going and visit factories and not the real tourist spots if you go by tour. Tour companies are profit-making so it is likely that you will be going to places not in the itinerary. :(

The only problem in Korea is communication, this combines with the lack of information on tourist spots in english, then I think we have a problem here. Anyhow, since I can speak in Korean, I will make your life to Korea a bit enjoyable :)

I am proud too, to say, that all my posts are original and written by me. I think writing from your heart is way better than getting the information through "Cut, copy and paste".. This blog will be mostly about tried and tested advices or infos by me. Example is the way to Muju Resort, you can't find it elsewhere :P However, you will be reading many articles (about 2 per month) that are not by me. It was from the organizer that are asking me to post them. Well, only 2 per month okay mah... *

And of course, I will edit it to FEEL like reading a blog instead. ^^ Not going to bore you anymore so happy reading :) On a personal note, my exams are all over so look out for more posts. I need your comments/advices on what to write. Wei. Even my polls got only 4 replies (on the top left part of this blog). Hmmn..


Best regards,

Kyle


* Will be titled under WSK or ADV

23 November 2010

Today, I felt like going back home and not coming back here again. I had been here for too long, done so much but somehow, there is still some sense of dissatisfaction in me. Teachers are okay, friends are great, everything's good but there is nothing extraordinary :(.

Just a dream

Just a dream

"Open my eyes, yeah.. it was only just a dream.
So I travel back, down that road.."

Banana Milk in Korea?

My table is always a mess..

우리 나라에서 딸기우유, 초콜릿우유와 일반우유만 있는데 한국에서 더 한 맛이 있다. 이는 바나나우유이다.

[In Malaysia, we have strawberry, chocolate and plain old white milk. In Korea, they have another that is the banana flavored milk.]

말레이시아에서 MILO에 대신 우유는 인기가 별로 없어서 이런 경우는 바나나우유가 안 생겼다 (아마 우리 날씨는 우유 쉽게 망치다).

그러나 한국에서 아침마다 우유가 옆에 있어야한다. 이 때문에 한국 우유 회사는 많이 타입 우유를 살 수 있다. 또한 한국과 말레이시아도 커피맛 우유가 있는데 사실은 요즘 매점빼고 일반 가게는 못 찾는다.

[In Malaysia, other than that of MILO drinks, milk has no popularity here. This makes it even impossible to see banana flavoured milk. (Well, I think maybe because our country's weather makes milk easily spoilt)]

[But in Korea, milk is very common for breakfast. Hence, in Korea, the milk company can sell more milk varieties than in Malaysia.]

[Also in both countries, coffee favoured milks are available but honestly, aside from convenience store in Korea, it's really hard to find them these days in normal stores.]



**

When I first arrived to Korea, I had no idea that banana milk would be so common than back home in Malaysia. Anyhow, I still like my chocolate milk.

Korea - College Scholastic Ability

Today, for the first time in this week, I heard the sound of a plane flying above my uni. My university is located quite near to an air force base and also near a US military camp. Sirens, jets flypass, etc were common occurences in Daegu.

The reason for the sudden disappearance? KCSAT (Korean College Scholastic Ability Test) or 수능 in Korean. Some dislike it, some like it. In fact, most foreigners like it ^^ This is the only time where traffic is at minimum and sounds are greatly reduced. A huge majority of Koreans are really hardworking people and exams are the only means of accessing their capabilities.

The life of a high schooler begins at 7am and ends at 9pm. Throughout the day, they do nothing but study. Not many have the chance to participate in co-curricular activities and those who did them, well, they must be really good or else they might not have good future. Students caught not studying are severely reprimanded.

This is so different from my schooling life. When I attended high school, outdoor activities constituted a huge chunk of my time in school. Studying was never imposed whereas in Korea, there are teachers to ensure students do study. Tough life huh?


It's sad to know that he, one day, will soon face the reality of competitive education in Korea

On the day of the exam, most flights were rescheduled, military planes were grounded and anything that makes noise were discouraged near schools. Typically, it is a silent day. It is also customary to see students following strange superstitions like eating sticky rice (떡) which means that they will not forget what they had studied, not washing your hair before your exam, dreaming of pig means good luck to you, etc.

Departmental stores here took advantages on this annual event by promoting "brain" food like enriched milk, green tea-enriched make-up, etc. In Malaysia, we had advertisement of Stabilo pencils. lol. The one where nerds... opps.. I mean top students claiming that the eraser and pencil works wonder during exams. so good ah? haiyah, no wonder some friends obtained better results in exams than me. hehe. And one more, some chicken essence brand too... ah, nevermind...

Until today, I cannot concur whether exam is good or bad. Some might say having exams does not test our interpersonal skills, it makes us more introvert, wrapped in our cocoons of books and there will be no meaning of growing up as a normal beings and not as competitors among friends.

Without exams, how are we going to distinguish ourselves from the rest, the mediocre and the better ones? How are we going to know jobs that we are good in? How are we going to test our knowledge?

Most students in Korea will make it in CSAT, some will not. They probably will resit next year. Like every year, it's common to see streams of exasperated parents visiting temples and praying so that they children will make good in this exam, the exam that will determine their sons' and daughters' future..

PS. Well, this post was partly "inspired" by my coursemates. lol. We were to take English conversation test last Monday and a week before the exam, our professor told everyone the listening texts that might come out for exam (we were told of 3 but only 1 will be for the test). I did not study the texts at all because there is no point memorizing the text for LISTENING TEST!!! So while the professor distributed the test sheets, he waited for while. So I thought, "GOSH, WHY ARE SOME STUDENTS WRITING ANSWERS ON THAT PAPER!!! (I am a bit panic la) EXAM STARTED ALREADY AH? ISN'T THIS ENGLISH LISTENING TEST OR HAD I MISTAKENLY UNDERSTOOD? IF NOT ENGLISH LISTENING TEST... HOW AM I GONNA FILL IN THE ANSWER!!! BO (did not) STUDY LA!!! LEEMA" So I asked the professor, he told me he was waiting for the students to just read the questions. The test will start soon. FUUUHHH... LISTENING TEST... *relieve*... Listening Test also memorized the passage. lol.

17 November 2010

Hi peeps,



The smells, the sights

My exam is around the corner
So I think I need to temporary stop blogging ㅋㅋ
Can't be blogging too often right?

Maybe I'll continue next week
Trying to de-digitalize my world but to no avail



수업을 듣기가 힘들어 하루 중엔 수업을 듣기 때문에 점심과 저녁 빨리 먹었더니 배가 넘 아파 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 방학 방학 빨리 와~