A Thursday...

"그냥 목요일입니다."
It's just (another) Thursday.

That's someone's answer when he was asked if he'll do something special today since it's Christmas. This is probably true for a lot of people here, especially those who are of another faith.

I do not want to feel the same way. I shouldn't feel the same way since I know the real reason for this day. That the reason we are celebrating Christmas is Jesus.

I don't know why, but it's starting to feel like it is just another Thursday. A lonely one at that.

Being far from my loved ones makes it worst.

It's our first Christmas without my dad and to top it all my mom, my brother and I are in different places. All these technologies are not even of any help to ease the loneliness, to bridge the distance.

There seems to be nothing that I can do to ease this feeling. I'll just go to sleep since it's just like any other day.

Literature Review and K-pop

Listening to music has always been a given whatever I'm doing, whether writing a report, reading a book, or thinking of what to do next.

Depending on my mood for a particular day, the playlist would differ: classic, praise and worship, country,  acoustic or OPM. Since I left my netbook which contains that different type of music at home, my choices have been cut down into two major categories: pop (English) or K-pop.

At first, I intentionally listen to Korean songs while reading documents which are written in English, and then listen to English or OPM songs while studying Korean Language. I did this because I thought by doing so I'm able to concentrate better on what I'm reading or studying.

Nowadays, it does not work as well as it used to. While reading research articles, a word or phrase in the Korean song I'm listening to would catch my attention and without realizing it, I'm already looking for that particular phrase, learning how to write it, looking at the context with which it was used, or worst looking up the translation for the whole song.

Should I stick to instrumental or classical music instead?

525,600 minutes

A view from the plane before touchdown

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred moments so dear,
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

I first set foot on South Korean soil exactly a year ago. During that time, I didn't know anyone here aside from my sponsors (Dr. Lee and Dr. Kim of KoFPI), Prof. Kim, Yoo Ri (KGPA), and Freda. It was really such a leap of faith.

Love at First Sight - Mountains

It was truly an adventure. All I had were my luggage, a few bucks, and a printout of an e-mail in which the name of my laboratory captain, who fetched me at the airport, was written. I'm just so blessed that since I arrived, my professor (김동근 교수님), my laboratory captain (이관희) and other lab mates, my room mates/friends  were always there to guide and help me.

Fascinated with the tunnels
Some of which are almost 2 kms long

In a year, I've been to various places in South Korea; ate different Korean food/delicacies (including puffer fish); learned to eat spicy food,  use chopsticks and commute to and from Incheon International Airport and major cities; and most especially, gained new friends from different countries who've made my stay here more enjoyable and memorable. I'm so grateful for all of these.

There's one thing that didn't change though, I still can't speak Korean, my tongue is just too stubborn.

I look forward to another year.

Korean and Philippine Forests

Found this book while trying to arrange the books and journals in the bookshelves in our laboratory. I can't seem to concentrate on what I'm supposed to do before I've arranged the books.

Anyway it's just one of the very few books that is in English plus it would be a good reference for me so I started reading it.

Learned quite a lot already by just reading the introduction: ROK (South Korea) occupies 45% of the Korean Peninsula, they usually just have two typhoons per year (kakainggit naman, the Philippines have more than 20), forest covers 64% of their land area which is composed mostly of coniferous forests, and they have a growing stock od 97.8 cu.m. per hectare in 2007 which means it could be higher now.

It was not as if they haven't had problems on deforestation. They had their fair share in the 1950s that in the 1960s their growing stock was merely 10.6 cu.m. per hectare. How they've come from that to the present situation is amazing.

Having spent most of my life in a mountainous area and having been witness (both first hand - where I've seen recovered bodies of victims of a landslide laid in an elementary classroom - and through the television) to various disasters caused by typhoons which was intensified by the lost of forest cover, I could not help but wish that the Philippines could do the same.

The first chapter is about Changes in Forest Ownership. The Korean government conducted a Forestland Cadastral Survey and subsequently the transfer of forest ownership. After reading this part I realized it's a very long, winding, and difficult road for the Philippines to follow what was done in Korea. With all the land disputes and the claims of ancestral land domains by indigenous groups. Even government agencies' roles (DENR and NCIP) and laws or policies are sometimes in conflict.

Will I see greener mountains with the implementation of the NGP? Will the local governments especially in the Cordilleras be able to stop the conversion of forested areas to vegetable farms? These, and a lot more questions are still hard to answer.

When Koreans Party, They Party Hard!

May 15 was 스승의 날 (Teachers' Day) here in Korea. I've seen students in other departments or laboratories preparing various gifts for their professors. Other's buy expensive gifts, while others prepared personalized gifts. I then asked my lab mates what we're going to prepare for 교수님.  I learned that in the past he has expressed that he doesn't like receiving gifts, especially lavish ones because he doesn't want the students to be burdened and so our laboratory captain just bought cake which we then ate together.

It's a simple celebration indeed but for me it was very meaningful one. We spent time talking (well for my part mostly listening) and we've learned a lot of things about each other. And to top it all, I've seen 교수님 being goofy and playful, teasing one or two of the members in our laboratory.

But when I said "When Koreans party, they party hard", I wasn't referring to the aforementioned, but the things that happened after.

Anyway, before our modest teachers' day celebration, 교수님, 관희, 치웅 and I had a meeting with a professor and students from the Civil Construction Department about a project on Forest Road. When the meeting was done they made a reservation at a restaurant that serves Korean Native Beef, and so that's where we went to have dinner.  Since the four of us didn't drink any alcoholic beverage, we finished eating first. We then proceeded to a coffee shop, where we were joined by 2 other students from our laboratory, then after a while by the professors from the Civil Construction Department.

교수님 went home and we went back to the laboratory, but only to shut down the computers, get our bags, tag along another 2 students, and headed back to downtown.  As 성은 (who I learned later during the night is our resident rapper) said while calling others to join us, "We're going to party! 관희어빠 will buy 치맥! (chicken and beer)" By the time we found a place that can accommodate us and would serve us alcoholic beverages (some students didn't bring their IDs and the waiters wouldn't take our words for it that all are more than 18 years old) there were ten of us.   Halfway through the time we spent there, one student who said he can't speak English, gathered enough courage or probably with the help of alcohol started talking with me. We probably stayed in the restaurant for more than 2 hours, eating chicken, fruits, etc; drinking 소주, 맥주, soda, and water; watching music videos and talking about various things.

When we left the restaurant, it was after 11:30. I thought we were walking towards the terminal where a taxi line is located but then we passed by a 노래방 (karaoke). Someone asked, "shall we go?" I didn't even hear an answer to the question, they just went straight in. We sang, danced, laughed for almost two hours. They tried to make me sing a Korean song but I still can't read fast enough to be able to do so, so I 'played' the tambourine.

By the time one of the female undergraduate student and I got back to the dormitory, it was almost 2 am.

Well probably those in Metro Manila area do the same, but since I'm not a Manila Girl, I wouldn't know. I went out with my workmates before and stayed out much later but we usually go to bars with live bands in Baguio City and stay there for the whole time. At times however, the guys are too drunk by the time we leave the bar that fun turns to irritation.

For the most part, I didn't say much during the night, I was just an observer because of the language barrier but I still enjoyed being in their company. It  surely is an experience that I will definitely remember for a long time.

Blue

Blue is not my favorite color, it never was. Neither was I so blue in such a long time, disappointed maybe but not blue. But it is a state I am in right now.

It started last Friday. It wasn't the case when I woke up or when 교수님, 관희 and I were on our way to Yeongju to attend the second workshop for the first year of the conduct of a project under the Korea Forest Service.

I've attended various seminars/workshops/forums/meetings  before which are all in Korean so most of the time I do not understand which is being said. I often just look at the presentations and try to understand the context with the aid of the graphs and pictures or based on the few words that I already know. I also at times use the dictionary in my handphone to translate the key words.  That was what I was doing when the professors from Seoul National University and Konju National University were presenting their accomplishments. When it was 교수님's turn to present I just listened. After each presentation, the evaluators and other participants were given time to ask questions about the presentation. That's when it started.

I realized then that aside from studying or preparing for the requirements in my classes, I'm actually not doing anything for my professor or in our laboratory. I couldn't help in the preparation of the presentation, I couldn't hand in the copy of the presentation to the organizers because even if I knew what to say I wasn't that confident to speak in Korean, and at that point I couldn't take down the questions that were being asked to 교수님. And so I felt so useless.

That's when I wrote in my FB account the following :

At times like this, I feel like I'm useless. Well at least to my professor and in his projects or tasks. I can't even help in taking down questions of participants on his presentation.

I never felt this way before. My former bosses used to say that I'm able to do complete staff work, and I'm proud of being able to do so.  but now there's nothing that I can do. It makes me doubly sad because he's been so kind to me but I can't even do the simplest tasks for him.

I hate feeling this way. I guess it's a lesson on humility but it's a rather heartbreaking one. 

I tried to fight it but when the next presentation started, tears started rolling down my cheeks. It was just fortunate that the person seating beside me was oblivious of what was happening or maybe he just pretended that he didn't notice to spare me from feeling foolish or that he didn't know what to say.

When I heard 교수님 and 관희 talking about it, I wanted to ask if I could join them and other members in our laboratory in conducting the survey the following day but I didn't have the courage to do so. I thought that I'd just be on their way.

Relatives, friends, fellow foreign students here at KNU, and even a boss of mine wrote comments or sent me messages, mostly of encouragements: that I just have to give it more time and I will be able to learn the language, that it really takes time to learn a new language, that I am not the only one feeling that way. One even said I just miss the times when I was most efficient and that I should stop comparing the situation, and that even if I feel that I am useless, probably to my professor just my presence matters.

With all those words of encouragement and by doing other things such as reading a book, studying Korean and watching movies and dramas over the weekend, I tried to take my mind off of it.  But once I stepped into our laboratory this morning, the feeling of ineptitude came back.

어떻게요?

Forest Roads Leading to Middle Earth

One of the courses I'm taking this term is 임도설계학 (Forest Roads Design). Being an agriculturist, this subject, just like the course on 산림작업시스템특론 (Forest Operation Systems) last semester which are both being handled by 교수님, is a new one for me. Thus, I have to do some advance reading and since almost all of the printed reference materials are all in Korean, I have to rely mostly on internet sources.

This morning, I started reading the materials which my professor gave me, in the introductory part of the Forest Engineering Guidebook it stated "the materials presented in this guidebook are primarily for skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable technical personnel..." And so, since I am not skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable on this particular subject, I decided to look for more basic reading materials on forest roads. I turned to good old Google and typed "forest roads."

When the search came out my eyes as always, looked at the pictures on top then to the short description on the right side.  These descriptions, more often than not comes from Wikipedia, thus I looked at the main links.

It was then that I realized that three of the top five suggested sites are about "Old Forest Roads" in "Middle-Earth."  I can't help but smile. Initially because I am a Lord of the Rings fan and  then because it is just so funny.  I was expecting that scientific or technical papers will flood the search but instead it was filled with Tolkein's fictional world. I was even tempted to open the sites but then I have to study so I browsed further down the list and found one from Colorado State which had more basic discussions about the topic.

Middle earth will have to wait.

Unscathed

Last snow of this winter

I guess it's spring already. Though it's still very cold, especially with the wind blowing.  They call it 꽃샘추휘. I really thought and hoped I would 'emerge from the winter season' unscathed. That I won't get sick. That I won't get colds or cough which are very prevalent these days. But I guess it's all wishful thinking.

It just started with a sore throat, then after a day or two it turned into cough.  There were times when I felt like I had a slight fever as well. I'm so thankful that it didn't turn out to be a full-blown flu.  Everyone around me were saying 감기 조심해 (not to catch a cold), but then I guess there's no way of avoiding it.

Everyone in our laboratory had some sort of colds. It started with 관희 who had the worst one, when he came back, all of us - 교수님, 소라 and I - sort of followed suit. That started the inside joke in our laboratory "관희 때문에" (because of Kwan Hee). Until now when we hear someone is not feeling well, especially when it is someone who got in contact with us, 교수님 would say "관희 때문에."

For now, I no longer have a cough nor a sore throat. I'm so grateful that it didn't turn out to be a flu and for having people who took care of me. My roommates, 교수님 and my captain who wanted to bring me to the hospital right away, and especially Manang Heidi for taking care of me - for the medicines, mandarin, etc. which made me feel a lot better.  I believe that having you around, made all the difference not just because of the medicines but more so because you made me feel like I have a family I can run to here in Sangju. Thanks a lot and God bless you and your family.

Brain Freeze!

La Trinidad, the capital of Benguet Province has a relatively cool climate compared to other parts of the Philippines. This is where I grew up. Aside from staying in a place with a relatively low temperature, I wasn't so fond of drinking cold beverages.

Things changed when I went to Los Baños for my undergraduate. Everything was so hot, even water coming from the tap was so hot. During my first weeks of stay, I bought ice and added it to the water for bathing to make it more tolerable. And because of the very hot weather I started drinking very cold drinks. Slurpee anyone??? :)  And that's when I experienced and learned the phrase 'Brain Freeze'.

"I'm having brain freeze!" Oh no, not the kind one experiences when drinking or eating very cold stuff.

My brain just froze and stopped working! I've been trying, since December, to write a paper that my professor told me to write but I still haven't finished it. 아직도 안 끝났어요! Initially I say to myself that I can't concentrate because of the cold weather. It's my first time to experience winter afterall.

I guess, just like any metabolic process in plants like photosynthesis and respiration that slows down with low temperature, my brain also slowed down. So slow that I fear it might have stopped altogether. Especially when it comes to thinking how to put all the things I've read into a paper that could be published in a scientific journal.

I hope it will 'thaw' by this weekend. I only have a week or two left before the extension given by my professor ends. :(

First snow... November 18, 2013

Chopsticks and Smartphones

Chopsticks and smartphones are two things one has to have when in Korea. One is obviously used when eating and the other for a lot of things.

I've been trying to learn to use chopsticks since my college-days. Kuya Ron, a Chink friend, would teach me how to properly hold chopsticks and how to use it whenever we went out to eat in Chinese restaurants. I would try to use it but after about five minutes of not successfully eating anything I would ask for spoon and fork.  My fingers were so stiff instead of being relaxed so I couldn't pick up anything using the chopsticks. Oh yes, I've tried! Every time I eat in restaurants in the Philippines where chopsticks are used, but my fingers would hurt first before I finish a meal so I'd just give up.

Then, by some twist of fate I had to come to Korea, to a country where everywhere one decides to eat, one has to use chopsticks. So I had no choice but to learn how to use it.  A week or two before I left the Philippines, I brought out the only chopsticks in our house, a "pasalubong" (gift) from Korea, and used it every dinner.  During that time, the time we spent for dinner became longer because I ate slowly since I was using spoon and chopsticks instead of fork.  My parents couldn't do anything but smile and bear with me.

When I got here in Korea, I told myself that I should be able to use chopstick. So whenever we eat out, and 교수님 or  관희 or other Korean friends would ask me if I want to use a fork instead, I'd always tell them that using chopsticks is fine.  At first it was hard especially when eating noodles but I eventually got the hang of it. I guess it is largely because of necessity.

In 2011, when Janice and I went for a vacation in Singapore, almost everyone we meet was using an iPhone or other smartphones or tablets. I've seen how these gadgets were so useful not just for calling and sending text messages but for other purposes as well.  We used Rizza's (Janice's sister) iPad to know the best route to take from one place to another, to see the schedule of buses, and to locate a shop.  All of these are possible because Singapore has a good internet speed.

Smartphones, just like other technologies, have also flooded the Philippines market by that time but I didn't buy one. Not because they are expensive, I could always save up for one if I wanted to; but mostly because even if I had one, I won't be able to use it fully.  It is a fact that our country's internet facility and capability are not that good, especially when one not in the metropolis, so buying a smartphone is not a good idea. It's like buying a Ferrari and driving it to work in a place where you can only go as fast as 30 kph because that's the usual traffic situation.

It's a completely different story when one is in South Korea, the country which has the fastest internet speed in the whole world. Using phones other than smartphones in Korea is a waste of opportunity. It's like having a Formula 1 race track in your backyard but insisting on driving a beat-up beetle on it. The night I arrived at the dormitory, I was able to send an email to my boss and a message to my brother because there's a WiFi connection. Having a smartphone is no longer just a luxury and an accessory but a necessity.

So I got myself a smartphone. At first, just so I could call my family in the Philippines, but as time passed by my phone has become my ultimate 'personal digital assistant'. Aside from using it for calling, sending text messages, alarm, taking pictures, and listening to music which are the uses of my previous phones. I use my phone for other purposes, of course with the aid of the internet: calling and sending messages through Skype, KakaoTalk and other messaging apps, listening and downloading music, watching videos, viewing social networking sites, doing research, checking e-mail, taking pictures and videos and editing them, knowing the weather, locating a restaurant or bus stop, discovering bus and subway routes, learning Korean, and even the daily mass readings and reflections.

Chopsticks and smartphone. Things that didn't matter so much when I was in the Philippines but now that I'm in Korea, things that I can't live without.

재미있었어요! (It was fun!)

Monday after a long weekend, my mind is still on vacation mode.

In the morning I tried to finish one subtopic in the paper I'm writing but all I was able to manage was write one paragraph. I couldn't extract more.  The same thing happened early in the afternoon. I just stared blankly at the monitor.

But I guess I wasn't the only one.

In the morning, 관희 (Kwan Hee) asked me if I know what 윷놀이 (Yut Nori) is?  He's just so fond of asking "Do you know" questions. Just like: Do you know Ryu Hyun Jin? (starting pitcher of the LA Dodgers) Do you know Kim Yuna? (2010 Olympics figure skating champion) And as always, my answer is "No." I thought he was talking about a person again, but apparently he was talking about a Korean traditional game which is usually played during New Year.  He then explained how it is played and then he said that it is best played when there are more players so we'll play it in the afternoon when 소라 (Sora, another member of our laboratory) comes to the laboratory.

Around 3 p.m., 교수님 (professor) came to the laboratory from his office and called us to the larger room of our laboratory.  I thought we'll have tea time. We usually have one when he calls everyone to gather. Instead we played 윷놀이.  교수님 and 소라 teamed-up and as 교수님 instructed, 대학권생 (graduate students) which meant 관희 and I, formed another team.

And so we played... 관희 and I lost.  Four times!!!! Even if at the start of each game we were leading, 교수님 and 소라 still ends up winning.

Be that as it may, the game was lots of fun! ^,^ Not just because of the game itself but mostly because of the experience of playing with them. I got to see 교수님 think of strategies to remove our 말 (token) out of the 말판 (board) and watch 관희 throw the 윷 (sticks) in various ways to hopefully get the needed number of points to get our 말 cross the finish line.  소라 and I laughed a lot. Just looking at them and their reactions was such a joy. 진짜. 대박!!!

Since we lost, 관희 ended-up buying chicken which we ate together.

Tomorrow again? I wish! But I hope more that my mind will no longer be on vacation mode so that I can finish the paper and give a draft to 교수님.

윷놀이 말판과 윷
(Yut Nori Board and sticks)

LOST: Translation

X: 안녕하세요?
     (Hello)
Me: 안녕하세요?
     (Hello)
X: 한국말 잘 하시네요.
     (You speak Korean well.)
Me: 아니요. 한국말 잘 못 해요.
     (No. I can't speak Korean well.)

X: 한국에 언제 왔어요?
     (When did you come to Korea?)
Me: 네?
     (Yes? Which means: Pardon? because I didn't understand)

X: 뭐 먹고 십어요?
     (What would you like to eat?)
Me: 네?
     (Pardon?)

And so almost all conversations end with me saying: 미안합니다 (I'm sorry). I don't know Korean that well.

I'm lost.

No, I have not experienced getting lost in Korea just yet. Yeah, sometimes I take the wrong turn but I still manage to go to wherever I'm supposed to go. Mostly because I seldom go out without a companion who can speak the language, especially during my first months of stay.  It was only after more than 4 months in Sangju that I dared to go to downtown alone. I asked for directions but in a mixed Korean and English sentences.

So it is more of being lost in a conversation because at first, I don't know what they were saying but now it's more of, I don't know how to answer them in Korean.

I started studying the language when I was still in the Philippines but all I was able do was to learn how to write, and in a way read Hanguel, and memorize some phrases, like hello, thank you, good bye.  I told myself, I'll learn it fast when I get to Korea. Boy, was I wrong!

I never thought that learning a new language is this difficult. I had Korean Language class last semester and I did learn new words and some grammar points. Answering workbooks is easy. But it was not much of help in speaking. I still can't answer in Korean when people I meet ask me questions.

I watched a video saying that one can be fluent with a new language in just 6 months. I really wish that was true, but I'm on my 6th month already.  The speaker in the video said that a person can be very good 'theoretically' while learning a new language but may become 'deaf' when in a situation where the language was to be used. Deaf because she can't understand what is being said.

In my case, I think it's more of being 'dumb' - unable to speak. Most of the time, I can understand what people are saying especially when it comes to daily conversations because I already know the words or at times based on the context. So when I'm asked a question I know what to say but don't know how to say it. I become dumb - 'Korean dumb'.

My friends in the Philippines know that I tend to set very high standards. Not just on other people but more so to myself.  At first, I didn't want to use the language until I'm sure that my pronunciation or grammar is correct. But as the days passed by, I became at ease in just answering in English instead of using Korean. It then became my handicap. I didn't develop the confidence in speaking the language. And this is made worst because not a lot of people can speak English or would like to speak with me because they, just like me, are not so confident in using it.

I can't go on like this! I will not be able to gain much from this experience if I can't communicate with the people around me or attend symposiums, which are almost always in Korean, and just listen without understanding.

I'm trying different ways to help me learn the language: books, videos, audio files, and online lessons.  Now, I no longer care if my pronunciation  or grammar is correct. I try to use the words that I know mixed with English words. I hope all of these will be of help.

Books, online lessons coupled with prayers

Heaven Sent

Blessings! We receive blessings of different sorts everyday. Just waking up to face a new day for instance is already a blessing. For me, people that come to our lives  are the best blessings we can get, well of course more especially if they make our lives easier, more enjoyable and fruitful, and they help us become a better person.

Dr. Dong Sup Lee and Dr. Sung Ho Kim

I've been hearing about Dr. Dong Sup Lee (이동숩) for a long time. He usually visit the Philippines once a year and each time he will stay in our university.  He was, back then a professor at Sangju National University. I first met him in 2011 or was that in 2010, I'm not really sure. While having dinner he asked me, "Would you like to come study in my University?" Who in her right mind would answer "no", right? So I said "Yes Sir."  

When Dr. Lee visited the Philippines in July 2012, I was so surprised that he still remembered who I was, and in passing he again talked about me studying in Korea. This was also the time when I met Dr. Sung Ho Kim (김숭호), a colleague of Dr. Lee who became the president of Korea Forest Promotions Institute after retiring from the university.  I wasn't able to personally talk to him during that time because they were busy.  But after that we had constant communication because he was the one who looked for a scholarship for me.  In February 2013 he asked me to apply to the KGPA Scholarship Program and in March I received notification that I'm "nominated" to get the scholarship but that I have to apply to and be accepted by a university.  He helped me in a lot of other things after that. He "introduced" me to Professor Kim, answered my querries about the application process in the university, visa application, and even on how will I to get to Sangju once I arrive in Korea.

Professor Dong Geun Kim

One of the application forms for the scholarship has to be filled-up by a professor in Korea and this was accomplished by Professor Dong Geun Kim (김동근) of Kyungpook National University, probably due to persuasions coming from Dr. Lee and Dr. Kim. Still he did it even without meeting me or knowing who I was.  I just started sending him e-mails when the result of the scholarship application came out and so I had to apply to a university. I applied at KNU in May this time with the help of Professor Kim. He even paid the 60,000 원 application fee. And after a rather long wait I was accepted by July. (Oh, for those who have Boxbe, make sure you check the Boxbe waiting list folder if you're waiting for an important communication. I almost lost this opportunity because I thought there's no email yet, but all along it was just in the waiting list and I almost missed the deadline for confirmation.) I've pestered him with a lot of questions, especially when I was preparing for visa application. There might even been a time when I've sent him 3 e-mails in a day but he replied to each query even when he was on a business trip in Europe.

The three of them had and are such blessings to me until now.  One is my 아버지 (ahbeoji - father), he introduces me to other people as his "daughter from the Philippines"; the other my sponsor and the very first person to make me drink 소주 (soju) :-(; and the last one is my 교수님 (kyosunim - professor), a very caring and understanding mentor. They are the three pillars I hold on to.  I wouldn't be able to enjoy this opportunity without them.

Oh there's a fourth pillar, who's in the Philippines.

Lunch with Kwan Hee and Areum

Another person has been helping me a lot since I arrived in Korea. My laboratory Captain, Kwan Hee Lee (이관희).  He fetched me from the airport, brought me to Daejeon for the KGPA Scholarship Awarding Ceremony, accompanied me in Daegu for the orientation, helped me in applying for a bank account, an Alien Registration Card in Gumi, a hand phone, registering in my classes, and with a lot more things. At times, I think I've burdened him enough to last a lifetime but he's always there ever so willing to assist me, to be my representative, translator (I cause most of his headaches by forcing him to speak in English ^,^), and friend - even if here in Korea you can't say that you're friends with those younger or older than you. But since I'm a Filipino, I guess I'm exempted. He even sometimes tags me along and introduces me to his friends, who are always fun to be with. He has made my first months here in Korea a lot easier.

They are all heaven sent. I can only pray that blessings be poured upon them by the Almighty.

First Encounter

Awarding Ceremony

The day after I arrived in Korea, I had to attend a welcome ceremony for new scholars under the Korea Green Promotion Agency (KGPA) Scholarship Program in Daejon City.  The program included an orientation on what KGPA is and its scholarship program.  The scholars came from various countries. There were three in our batch, an Ethiopian, a Chinese, and me. During the program we presented our plan of study. I guess mine was the least detailed one, mostly because forestry is a new field for me. I've studied horticulture for my BS and MS so even if it is somewhat related, forestry or more specifically the application of GIS/RS in forestry is something I still have to learn.

KGPA Scholars at the Korea Forest Service

We visited the Korea Forest Service after lunch. We looked at an exhibit showing the status of forests and forestry in Korea. One of the things I've noticed while travelling from Incheon to Sangju the previous day are the mountains which are all covered with trees. It was so hard to believe that the same mountains were actually devoid of forests in the 1950s.  Photographs showing how the Korean Government was able to reforest their mountains gives hope to someone who comes from a country or a hometown where landslides has become a common sight because of deforestation.

KGPA Scholars and staff at the hanok village in Jeonju City

In the afternoon we traveled to the hanok village in Jeonju City. It was such a great experience because we got to stay in a traditional house, try doing one traditional art (paper fan making), and eat traditional food. It was as if I'm in a Korean Telenovela.

It was so great meeting the other scholars and the KGPA staff, especially Ms. Ri Yoo who has helped me a lot when I was still preparing to come to Korea.

An amazing experience! And to think it was just my 2nd day in Korea.

Adventures in Korea: 시작

This all started when I left the Philippines for South Korea. I never dreamed of coming here to study but I guess it is all because of fate or as the Koreans call it 운명 (unmyeong).

Someone once said that meeting people is all part of 운명. It is with the help of people who came to my life that I'm here.

Unexpected?

In a way, YES. I thought it was just a joke when my former boss told me that he asked a friend of his to look for a scholarship for me to study in Korea. But as days passed by, things started to fall into place: applying and being accepted in a scholarship program then to Kyungpook National University, getting a visa, and other things. Just like a puzzle which is slowly being formed, the hidden picture became clearer. So clear indeed that on August 25, 2013 I came to Korea to start a long adventure.

And I'm not going to waste this opportunity. I will definitely make the most out of it. My adventures in Kimchiland.