[Part 2] 65. End of mid-term/final exams

What an unexpected turn of events today.
Time and time again, it has been shown to me that the best things happen when I least expect them.
Which means that I should just give my best without expecting anything in return from now onwards.

Last week, I thought we did really well for our presentation but we ended up as the runner-up and didn’t win the 100,000KRW prize. A few weeks back, we were the runner-up for our trial presentation too but the wining team gave us 10,000KRW to split amongst us.

This time round, I was just beyond tired and wanted to be done with all my deadlines, with this Business Presentation and Case Competition class’s 2nd leg presentation the last of everything for this week of mid-term/final exams.

Yesterday, after my Econs final exam ended at 11am, I worked on the slides and flow for the presentation all the way till 4.30pm before rushing off for my Korean exam at 5pm and then starting work on the slides again after watching the Heirs (my biweekly relaxation time)…all the way till 3am! And I resumed work on the slides again from 10am all the way till 1pm that my teammate had to send me a message asking me to stop editing the slides and to go to school for our rehearsal.
12 hours spent on doing up the PPT slides. Can you believe it?!?!?! I was so sick and tired of everything that I told my other 2 teammates that they have to buy me dinner because I did so much for us!!!!!!!!

So anyway, we rehearsed through our presentation, just once, and then rushed to the classroom only to draw lots and got the 1st slot to present. I was in a major WTH mode because I didn’t even had the time to rehearse my part and we didn’t have a thumb drive to transfer our slides to the main computer. Thank goodness Sara’s group wanted to go first so we swopped ours for their 6th slot. If not for them…

We wouldn’t have won!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, so unbelievable. Considering how we’ve been the runner-up team for 2 out of 3 presentations and how last minute we were this time round with me presenting the most important part of our presentation but not being able to rehearse sufficiently before presenting… in terms of content, I think we did well this time round, but definitely not for delivery! So yeah, we will have our names engraved on the trophy and receive 1,000,000KRW to be split among the 3 of us.

I was really in shock when I went up to receive the trophy.
For the 1st leg presentation, the 2 judges didn’t really like our presentation. This time round, there were 3 more judges, including the vice-president of CJ E&M International, and I was quite discouraged from the feedback about our 1st leg that I just wanted to get this class over and done with. And actually, I had a very bad week which resulted in me breaking down in class just before my Korean exam yesterday. I know that the things that happened are none of my business because it’s the way others want to live their lives but their actions affected me directly/indirectly. Our grades are bell-curved. If you cheat and you do better than me, you deny me of a better position and grade. And that’s not fair. That’s morally wrong too. And I have zero tolerance for cheaters. And then there were 2 friends who couldn’t turn up for our exam because of an inexcusable reason which I shan’t reveal online. Here I was, being stressed over my presentation and working hard on it (for the BPCC class, we are graded on 3 presentations, that’s it, and the final one was the most important) and yet,  I still went for the exam. And they asked me to inform our teacher instead of doing so directly themselves. If there’s anyone who can’t make it for the exam, it should be me because I didn’t have enough time to finish the slides. The 2 of them didn’t even take the class so I don’t see how they could not go for the exam. So yeah, I was in a major irritated mode and winning was the last thing on my mind.

Much thanks to my classmates who came up to me and complimented me. Really felt the love and support! I have never received such compliments before back in NUS.

Anyway, the class was supposed to end at 5.30pm with the after-party starting at 6pm but the class ended at 6pm instead and we only set off for the dinner venue at 6.30pm. I had to catch the KTX to Ulsan at 8pm and I wasn’t able to change my ticket for a later timing because the tickets were sold out. Since it doesn’t make sense to go to the restaurant to say hi and bye and then go to Seoul Station, I decided not to go at all, even though my team’s the supposed star for the night :(
So while everyone else was celebrating the end of module, I had a quiet dinner in the KTX and slept all the way to Ulsan where H was there to greet me at the platform. But you know what??? I was so blur and tired that I almost got off the train without my overnight bag!!!!!!! Thank goodness I remembered my bag at the nick of time. Oh gosh. I really scare myself sometimes with all the stupid things that I do, especially when I am tired.

It has become our routine or so that right after I arrive in Ulsan each time, we would go to Homeplus to shop for cereal and snacks. We got chicken too because I was really hungry. Feels so good to be back in Ulsan :) Being in Ulsan’s like a dream. Seoul’s reality, Ulsan’s a dream.

Our favourite ice cream and cereal

Moral dilemma

Wow, I never expected to be in such a position.

What will you do if your friend cheats during an exam?
Will you report him/her?

I am actually very irritated/angry with this person because this person made me unable to concentrate on my exam as I battled with the moral dilemma of whether to report or not. An extra cheat sheet, using his/her handphone to surf the internet for answers (throughout the exam) and even poking me to ask for answers?

Such low standard. Seriously.

What a coincidence that I have my Ethics exam tomorrow. I used to be of a deontological position but now, I are more of a utilitarian/relativism position, according to my prof’s Throughput Model. You probably know my next course of action. Life’s unfair. The world’s never fair right?

Focus Clara

When I’m kind of free, I don’t feel like blogging.
When I’m not free, I keep wanting to blog.

Reminder: blog about Pink Ribbon Marathon volunteering session last Sunday, and my 1st meeting with MBA students from the other schools in Seoul: Korea Uni, Ewha Women’s and Sungkyunkwan.

Anyway, I really want to revive this place again so please wait for me :) After my mid-terms/finals next week!

The end of Module 1 is coming

Last week, my buddy treated me to tea.

This week, he bought me dinner. 

I need to do something. 

Anyway, over dinner, I asked him to consider bringing Topshop and Warehouse into Korea. 

Right now, Korea doesn’t have many UK fashion brands. They have the Spanish and US brands but not Topshop and Warehouse. So if you see these 2 brands in Lotte next time, thank me :) 

Can’t wait for Module 1 to end next week! 

I’ll have a 3-day week from end Oct-end Dec which leaves me with Thursdays and Fridays off to do photoshoots around Seoul and make the most of the coming autumn foliage. 

Where am I from

Alright, at the post mid-autumn festival gathering/lunch for Singaporeans earlier, I was asked if I were a Singaporean -.-

I always get asked this question even in Singapore.

And then I was asked if there's anyone in my family who's non-Chinese.

I am 100% Chinese.

Well that guy thought that I'm from Myanmar or Thailand :'(

In Singapore, I get the Indonesian Chinese answer the most, followed by mainland Chinese.

In Korea, I get Korean, Japanese and Hong Konger.

Interesting.

Stolen mail at SK Global House

WTF. Seriously, this is the first time that this happened to me.

The parcel was delivered on Saturday but I didn’t know until I checked my Gmarket account just now.
But actually, for the past few days when I walked past the table with all the parcels, I didn’t see mine at all. I just went down to double-check the table again, and sure enough, my parcel wasn’t there.

I’m in an extremely foul mood now.

Beware if you move into SK Global House. Your mail may get stolen.

I miss Silla’s Global Town where all parcels are delivered to the security guard’s room and he watches you when you go in and you have to sign on the file after you’ve collected the parcel, under his watchful eye. And he knows who you are and your name.

Buddy meeting!

I met my Corporate MBA buddy today and it was a great meeting, despite being only 15-20 mins long!

I can’t wait for our future meetings because he said he’ll bring me around the Lotte department store that he works at in…Bucheon! I haven’t been to Bucheon for a long time…brings back many wonderful memories of my summer spent there with Jeannie back in 2010. 

I told him how I have to go to the department store and walk around every now and then. It’s one of my favourite past times. I mean when I was young, my mum used to bring my brother and I to Orchard every now and then after she picked us up from the childcare centre. And when I was studying at RGS, Orchard was like our playground, especially Far East Plaza. Buying chicken rice back to school, telling my favourite rojak store uncle that I wanted rojak without sauce…ahhh the memories. 

Ok, my skin is really bad these days. I’ve tried expensive skincare products but nope, they don’t work. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sleeping really late between 2-3am these days. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been exercising. Maybe it’s the weather. I keep complaining about my skin, I know. But it’s really so bad. Gone are the days when my problematic areas were only confined to my T-zone. 

I shall stick with hot lemon water every morning from next week onwards, sleep by midnight everyday and exercise more regularly. But I really don’t know what to do in terms of products to use for my face. Maybe I should go to a 피부과 and get a facial but I read online that extractions aren’t legal in Korea now. I feel like selling my Clarisonic now too. 

상견례

Ok, I haven’t been blogging properly, like what I used to do on a daily basis.
There are many reasons why I haven’t been doing so, aside from being busy with school.
I really wanted this blog to be something that I’m proud of, something that holds all my memories from every single day spent in Korea. But sadly, this blog didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.

Module 1 is the busiest module for my program. By the end of October when Module 2 starts, I’ll only have school from Mondays-Wednesdays and I hope to spend 1 day a week exploring Seoul and taking nice pictures AND blogging about it.

But other than being busy, the real reason is that I don’t want my blog to be read by some people because I don’t want to be judged on what I do or buy. I don’t want this blog to be used against me. So until I figure out how to balance what I want or don’t want to share, I will not blog about things that are too personal. Maybe I’ll lock my blog and if you wish to follow my journey here, you could let me know and I’ll invite you. I’m still undecided on that. But today’s entry will be an exception because I really want to share what I experienced! So please keep the contents of this entry to yourself. Thank you!

I had one of the most authentic Korean culture experiences today: I attended a 상견례 (official meeting between the bride and bridegroom’s families before the wedding) and it was like what you normally see in Korean dramas- a private room with both families seated opposite each other, bowing, being very mindful of every word used and every action so as not to offend the opposite party and to gain favour for the marriage.

H’s brother is getting married and his 상견례 was held today in a Chinese restaurant in Wonju 원주.
My plan was to make a day trip down to have lunch with H and his family since Wonju is nearer to Seoul than Ulsan is and I can’t meet H as often as I did when I was still in Busan. But then his parents wanted me to join them for the 상견례 too because they seldom get to see me and they wanted me to spend more time with them. However, it was weird too because a 상견례 is only for immediate family members but they said it’s alright, because I’m a foreigner. In Korea, being a foreigner means you can get away with some things haha.

Anyway, I took the 10.50am bus to Wonju from the Seoul Express Bus Terminal for 10,400원. It was a 우등 bus ride which means more spacious seats. There are 일반 ordinary buses to Wonju too but whether it is a 일반 or 우등 bus depends on the bus timing. The journey was supposed to be 1.5 hours long but thanks to heavy traffic, it took almost 2 hours for me to reach there. And I could have taken an earlier bus too but I got lost in the subway station. I didn’t know which exit to go to and whether Wonju belongs to the Honam Line 호남선 (Central City Bus Terminal) or Gyeongbu Line 경부선 (Seoul Express Bus Terminal). I didn’t find Wonju in the Honam Line so I decided to go to the Seoul Express Bus Terminal to try my luck and see if a bus to Gangwon-do’s there. Thank goodness it is! H didn’t tell me at all and I never learnt about Honam or Gyeongbu or Yeongdong or how to take intercity buses during Korean class -.-

I reached Wonju at nearly 1pm and we headed off for lunch shortly after that. Barley rice 보리밥 (7,000원 per bowl), eaten in bibimbap style! The food was really delicious yet cheap. And potato pancake 감자전 (7,000원) is so amazing!

After lunch, we were quite full so we walked around before heading to Baekgunsan Recreational Forest 국립 백운산자연휴양림 to walk around and take some photos. The weather was perfect and there weren’t any mosquitoes in sight. Some of the leaves were turning red too!

Hello lil froggy! 

My pretty shoes from Clark

His best modelling photo to date 

Lovely afternoon spent soaking in nature

So sweet haha 

Back at his brother’s apartment, his brother went for a haircut while everyone else fell asleep because they were tired from the 4 hours car journey from Ulsan to Wonju at 6am. I spent my time planning my schedule for the next few months. Busy Business School student! And at 5pm, everyone started rushing around getting ready while I started feeling a bit inappropriately dressed because H’s dad and bro wore suits and his mum was quite well-dressed too. At 5.30pm, we rushed out of the apartment and were in the restaurant’s private room before 6pm, just before H’s gf/fiancee and her family arrived. We had to stand in a line behind the chairs (I was standing in front of the chair until H told me to get behind it instead) and bow when the other family came in and only sat after they sat. I don’t know if the bride’s family has to be more respectful to the bridegroom’s family or the other way round but I think that because the future bride’s parents are much older than H’s parents, his parents were more respectful. I think it’s so stressful to be a Korean because you have to watch your manners and be careful not to offend the other party! Before eating, I had to make sure that everyone ate first before I ate. But H was really sweet and he kept watching out for me. He even peeled peanuts for me! Ok, I don’t get it but Koreans think it’s dirty to eat the skins of roasted peanuts so they peel them away too. The same for desserts which was a bunch of grapes. At the end of the meal, everyone’s plates had the grape skins and grape seeds while mine only had the grape seeds because I ate the grapes AND the skin. Oops.

The 상견례 went quite well (IMO) and thank goodness the bride-to-be’s elder sister, husband and toddler came along too so there were 5/6 of them and 5 of us and we were entertained by the little boy during the dinner because he kept wanting to eat jajjangmyeon. And later on, he went around massaging his parents, grandparents, aunt, H’s bro, H’s parents and ignored the 2 of us, maybe because he deemed us too young for massages. This is another thing that I’ve noticed in the Korean culture: kids learn to give massages to their parents and their grandparents from a young age and I find this so endearing and sweet. You’ve probably seen the kids doing so in 아빠, 어디가 variety show. During the dinner, his mum gave him corn to eat and he used it as a telephone too hahahaha. And when eating the grapes, he put me to shame because he peeled off the skin from the grapes first before eating while I ate them all. The bride-to-be’s sister and brother-in-law are from Korea University and the brother-in-law is a doctor. The food was pretty good and it was interesting to eat a 8 course Chinese dinner in Korea because the Chinese food’s localised to Korean taste. No sharks’ fin or fish maw soup; instead we had 누룽지 soup which was delicious. No fried rice or mian (I can’t remember the names anymore); instead we could choose between jajjangmyeon and the spicy seafood noodles soup. And bunches of grapes for desserts! I’ve never eaten them like this in a Chinese restaurant before.
Oh, and I didn’t take any pictures during the dinner because it would have been rude to do so.

The only photo taken at the restaurant

At the end of the dinner, we saw them off at the car park. Us standing in a line again, bowing and shaking hands and waiting till they left before we got into the car. H bought me my bus ticket back and this time round, I took the 일반 ordinary bus and reached Seoul at 10.20pm.

What a long but interesting and fulfilling day!

School life

Yesterday, I Skyped with my parents and complained about how stressed I am because I feel like I’m the only one doing everything. My mum told me not to kay kiang. I said I am kiasu.

I am on 2 scholarships now actually. The government pays 5,000,000KRW in tuition fees, max. And the Business School’s 미래육성 scholarship that I’m also on pays off the balance of 13,806,000KRW per semester.

Which means…my grades matter.

Which means...I have to serve as a TA for about 10 hours or so a week.
I’ve never been a TA before and while my fellow scholars weren’t too happy about additional work, I’m pretty excited about being one! I've just met my Prof yesterday and he has a Ph.d in Management from NYU. For now, I’ve been tasked to vet his lecture notes (in English) for his Strategic Management class for the undergrads.

And today, I was assigned my corporate MBA buddy who’s in Sales Management in Lotte Department Store :)

Alright, this is the latest update on my school life and I have a meeting in half an hour’s time for Marketing. I've just gotten free rings from our President who used to work in OST. Yay!!!!!

I am sorry for being MIA, dearest blog.

MBA life has been a very busy one, in particular, this first semester.

But right now, all I want to say is that my blood is boiling.

Substandard work, heck-care attitude, free-riders…
I am dealing with a group in which less than half of us are doing the real work?
Other groups are running at like a 7-member strength speed…and we are like...
Come on guys.

This is testing my limit.

Next semester, I will pick the right people and hopefully, we don’t have to stick with our orientation groupings.