gladyzka

[gladyzka]

of sunshine and blue skies

I was studying for my midterms when I feel somehow suffocated and just need to take a breather. 

I don’t know why (well, okay, I do actually, I guess) but I can’t concentrate much on studying and I’m thinking about the “future” instead. That’s a bad trait of mine, to be honest. Some might say you should think ahead but thinking too far ahead will only resulting in negative thoughts--well for me it’s like that anyway. I’m thinking a lot of things about the distant, yet close, future and about somehow I might ruin things up. 

(I’m a pessimistic that way, oops, but I’m trying to be better by not thinking too much. ‘The storm shall pass,’ the poet once said.)

Because of this, I feel like writing and posting about the Seoul landscape would help me feel better and move on from this feeling and then I can continue studying, which is why I’m here now instead of buried deep within my textbook, rest in pieces.  

One of my favorite things living here in Seoul is definitely the view. I really like the tall buildings surrounding my sight, being the city person that I am. ‘But Jakarta has a lot of tall buildings too what do you mean,’ might come across your mind now but all of you know Jakarta is not walkable, full of pollution, high chance of getting your things stolen, etc. All of you know this and Seoul is definitely not like that so, there’s that. 

one of the views you can see from Ihwa Mural Village

the view from the “center” of Han River / Han Gang

And not just the tall buildings, the sky is definitely my main favorite thing. Everywhere I go in this world, I really like looking at the sky the most. It’s also amazing to think of that while we all are living on the same planet and share the same sky, the sky is somewhat different in every country. 

the view from Namsan Tower’s lower deck, taken on different hours of the day

As you can see, Seoul is also surrounded by mountains. The combination of urban and metropolis look and the serene mountains around the city is beautiful, for me. 

the view from Naksan Park, observation deck 3

another view from Naksan Park, aided by Huji app

Can’t believe I’m halfway through my journey here already and I just realized this earlier today. I will definitely miss seeing this view of Seoul when I go back home. 

[gladyzka]

remember, september

Ah, I can’t believe it’s already Friday again. This week has went by really fast, surprisingly. 

See, I have this week-long holiday from Monday, October 2nd to Monday, October 9th (mainly) because of Chuseok--which is Korean Thanksgiving. I said mainly because supposedly Chuseok itself is only 3 days long and it’s from Wednesday to Friday. Tuesday was National Foundation Day of Korea and the second Monday is National Hangeul Day. The previous Monday was a temporary holiday, which in Indonesia it is something like “libur kejepit” but it is official, in a way, so there’s that.

I can’t remember doing anything productive this week or going out to explore, unless you count Lotte World which I went to yesterday. My plan for this week to explore Seoul is out ever since my sleep schedule is ruined and only spend most of my days in my room hanging out with my friend, rest in pieces Gladyzka. But since she went back to her place earlier, I don’t have anything to do now which is why I thought, hey let me be productive and finally update my blog.

As the title suggested, I am going to talk about what happened this September--a.k.a my birth month. Mostly about my feelings and some (small, yet special) moments that is not something that could fit in a standalone post and definitely self-indulgent. And, uh, has some of fangirl-y moments that has k-pop idols in it so if you don’t want to read me rambling and talk about it, feel free to skip this post, hehe.

i took this picture on september 2nd, a beautiful view to greet september, don’t you think?

September has always been a little bit special to me because, you guessed it, it is the month of birthday. Even now when I don’t see the point of making a big deal of my birthday or looking forward to that day, but I still like September. It has also a nice ring to its name--but maybe it’s just me being biased.

This year, September has been a very, very, special month, more than usual and very dear to my heart. It is a month of new beginnings and new opportunities, new friendships and new experiences. My days in one of Korea’s top three universities has started, meeting and making new friends from across the globe, trying new things, trying not to be me--a closeted introvert who rather not open up to people and try to make conversations instead of staying in an awkward silence with strangers. 

I jokingly made a pun in my Instagram’s bio by putting “currently in a S(e)oul searching journey”, but honestly it has a bit of truth in it. I am trying to find out who I really am and testing myself living alone in a foreign country without any family relatives in the same country. It’s not like I am completely attached to my parents and this is my first time away from them, no it’s nothing like that. It is the first time I lived in another country away from them though. I am also trying to be a better version of myself, for the sake of my future and to be a better daughter to my parents and better sister to my siblings. I am still doing all that now, trying to be better that is, but then again you cannot expect yourself to change in a span of a month, right? 

On a less serious note about myself, I had the greatest time so far in Seoul! I’m not going to lie, coming here was a very hard decision--which I might talk about on another post. I knew before coming here I might have some good time but I did not expect to have a really great time! I saw a lot of famous people (mostly Korean idols but I also did saw Hollywood stars) pretty up close, which might not be possible to experience in Indonesia, haha. I tasted a lot of great food, and trust me Korea has a lot of. I went to new places with beautiful views, right here in Seoul without going somewhere else. I went to three concerts already, which to be honest I should not have done because I need to save my money up but then again if the price is to be converted to Rupiah, it is really cheap! I would say I feel bad going there but they were some good deals so, oh well.

All in all, I am really happy and enjoyed my time here so far! I hope the next 3 months to come, while I am here in Seoul, will leave a good mark in my life too. I hope I could go back to Indonesia being a different, but better, person. And I hope, on top everything else, I will be happy and live my life to the fullest.

[gladyzka]

same old, same old

i’m actually feeling sheepish when i’m writing this post because i feel like i have never changed--even though the purpose of me making a blog is for me to Change.

Same old Gladyzka, trying to blog but fails because she does not updates it regularly. Heaves a big sigh. 

I am ashamed of myself to be honest but oh well, I am still making a progress now aren’t I? Updating this a month later is a good thing because my last blog died because I never update it again after one (1) post. If it’s a consolation, I keep thinking about blogging almost every day. When I took some pretty pictures, I think of posting it here. When I went to an area here in Seoul and it catches my eye, I think of posting it here. Just had experienced something new, and I think of posting it here. Basically, I want to post here but not seem to find the Right time. Not just “find time” but the Right one, if that makes any sense.

Well, since I won’t be updating about my adventure here today, I’m just going to list the things I want to talk about here in my blog. Think of it as a check-list of some sort:

The places I’ve been to in Seoul

My Busan trip

The concerts I went to, maybe?

The reason why I am going in this exchange program in the first place and how I feel when I was about to embark on this journey

The fireworks festival in Seoul

My classes in Yonsei

Events in Yonsei that I participated in

....maybe about Yonsei in general haha

I think that’s pretty much it! I will probably add more here or in my notebook if something else comes in mind. Oh, also, I have a week off now because of Chuseok (Korea’s Thanksgiving) and some other national public holiday so I was thinking I could catch up on blogging about the things I wanted to say here. We’ll see.

Hope to be here soon!

[gladyzka]

day 1: arriving, a glimpse of hongdae, and looking for a place to stay

After contemplating whether I want to start a blog Again for the nth time, I finally come to the decision that, yes, I want to (try) to start a blog again. I made several attempts to start making a "digital-journal" ever since people are raving about starting their own blogs, and also ever since I saw how my sisters running theirs successfully. I even made one last year in 2016 when I stayed in Rotterdam with my sister for 3 months and had an euro-trip with her--so sort of like a travel journal and what it feels like to live in a foreign country with my sister, along with other countries I have visited so far in my life.

All of those attempts didn't come to fruition (okay mostly because I'm a lazy git but also because I'm not confident in publishing my thoughts) but I am willing to try yet again because I'll be living in Seoul for approx. 5 months. And also because I want to practice writing in english, maybe my writing skill could get better, right?

...Right.

Okay, Day 1, when I arrived at Seoul and what I did the whole day.

But before I go on about that, here are some minor information about what's going on with me:

I'm going on an exchange student program to Yonsei

The dorm there is expensive for me because I only get a partial scholarahip from my university and even That wouldn't cover my stay in Yonsei's dorm. rip.

With that said, I'm staying in a goshiwon for the whole program because it's cheaper and usually they serve free food (mostly only rice and kimchi, but I could buy more food to go along with those). Neat isn't it? But if you aren't fond with close spaces and could afford a dorm, I do suggest just go for the dorm because if not.. well I'll explain in my next point.

The thing is, goshiwons aren't as pretty as in the pictures of their blogs. Usually it's even more cramped than what you see and what not, which is why I planned to go look for it with an osmosis (read: friend of a friend) who's Korean but could speak Bahasa so she could help me out find a goshiwon that's perfect for me.

Since there is no way I'm bring my two luggages and one backpack that has my laptop in it, I booked a guesthouse for one night so I could move in to my chosen goshiwon on the next day.

I think that basically covered what I'm going through!

After I arrived at Incheon Airport, I went straight ahead to my guesthouse which is located near Hongdae. Since check-in is at 3pm, I went there just to drop my luggages and took a quick shower—this is because I planned to meet up with a friend of mine from UI who is also in the exchange program to Yonsei. This is also because I planned to meet up with my osmosis friend (which I mentioned earlier) at 6pm, so I have time to kill and looked around the area which will be my home for the next 4 months.

After I meet up with her, we had lunch (jajangmyeon!) before starting to wander around Sinchon. Seriously, we just walked around Sinchon's main street (I think it's the main street anyway, ha) because none of us really have a plan that day. Both of us ended up buying a 5,000 won for 10 face-masks tho! What can I say, it's a good deal.

the famous jajangmyeon that we had for our lunch. my friend’s goshiwon’s manager said the restaurant is also pretty famous! definitely a great dish.

After we got tired of wandering around Sinchon, my friend and I decide we're going to Hongdae instead. Actually, it's also because we want to buy sim cards for our phones but because we don't know the exact location of the store, we decided to go around Hongdae instead.

Honestly, Hongdae reminds me a bit of Harajuku a bit but I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. Maybe the fact that I haven’t explore Hongdae more and only saw a little bit of it that reminds me of Harajuku.

a glimpse of hongdae

We still had time to kill so we went out of the inner streets to see the main streets. There are daiso and miniso, CGV, lots of tall buildings with other stores in them. We went to the Kakao Friends too! The merchandises were so cute I actually want to buy them if I have a lot of money to spend on. 

i thought i managed to snap more pics inside the store but turns out i didn’t, so have this lovely ryan instead!

Finally, it’s time for me to meet up with my osmosis. She’s a very nice lady and can speak my language very well! Around 6pm until 9pm we went around some goshiwons located in Sinchon. Some I have heard the name of from goshipages.com* but some I don’t even know about. Long story short, we stumbled into one of the goshiwons that I actually know from goshipages. I’m actually reluctant to go in because I know based on the website the monthly rent is way above my budget. But, I trust my osmosis and another neat thing with goshiwon is that you can ask for a discount from them if you stay long enough there--which is why with my osmosis it’s better because she can bargain for the monthly rent price. 

It proves to be successful because the manager agrees to give me a room which I think is worth for 320,000 ~ 350,000 won into 280,000 won/month! It fits with my budget nicely and with a room that is actually bigger than what I thought I would have. It’s all because of my osmosis friend and I am forever grateful for her. I did have to pay another 10,000 won for bed sheets, a thin blanket, and a pillow but it’s worth it in my opinion. The only downside (which is more like in my personal view and not that much of a downside) is that they only serve free rice and kimchi, while the goshiwon that I actually wanted to be in (in the same montly rent aka 280,000 won) serve not just both of those things but also ramyeon, bread and eggs. Imagine the money I could save for food! But all in all it’s alright and you know what they said: beggars can’t be choosers.

After I secured the room, my friend and I bid our goodbyes with my osmosis because it’s getting late and she has a daughter to look after for. Since it was 9pm and we haven’t had our dinner yet, we decide to eat the famous street food that people rave about--such as tteokbokki, odeng, frieds, etc. Street food vendors are lining up every night near exit 7 of Sinchon Station so we went there to check it out.

the vendor we went to ft. tteokkbokki and odeng

We tried tteokbokki, odeng, and some frieds. Sadly, I didn’t take a picture of the frieds because it was being readied by the ahjumma when I took it. I did have a video though which I might or might not upload it one day, ha!

The street food was sooo good and it made both of our stomaches full even though the serving was already divided. Not just that, it also counts as cheap so it’s great for broke uni students like my friend and I, haha. I also have thought of one day taking odeng home and eat it with rice because I am sure it will make a great combination. Plus, it would be cheap and make my stomach full, what’s not to like?

Famished, both of us went home to our respected places--my friend to her goshiwon and myself to the guesthouse I’m staying for the night. It will be a big day tomorrow after all because I’ll be moving my things to my own room. 

Overall I am: excited and happy.

*goshipages is a great site to look for goshiwons to be honest. I looked there at first but stumbled upon a problem with a manager in one of the goshiwons I looked up on there. Since that happened, there isn’t any option that fits me from there financially, hence why I looked around when I arrived. My friend who’s from the same university didn’t have any problem with hers though, which is why she already has a place secured before even coming to Seoul.

[gladyzka]

practicing in illustrator

[gladyzka]

a birthday gift for my friend’s 20th, done in Illustrator.

[gladyzka]

a gif that i made for Universitas Indonesia’s social media accounts, supposedly for its campaign, when i was an intern there.

[gladyzka]

some posters that i made for Artbound’s (2017) internal audition for FISIP UI’s students.

[gladyzka]

some social media contents that i made for Gelar Apresiasi Seni Mahasiswa Baru (GELMAB) FISIP UI 2016.

[gladyzka]

Poster for GAR,inc. – a company for a school project that served martabak as its main menu.