On my first day of work, my bosses brought me for dinner (and I slept!). Well, I dozed off because of the alcohol. :P. Last week, we went out for our 송년회 (SongNyaenHue/YearEndPartay!) at this Japanese restaurant. Sashimi was served and it tasted awsome! Never thought I'd say that, but yeah, raw fish has been added to Dong's list of munchables, joining the dull list of- until now- boring foodstuff (for some reason, none's coming to mind now). Anyway, had loads to drink. Min sangmunim had a little more than the rest I think :P. And when Mr Tak came to join us, we sang his birthday song the IO team way (International Operations), i.e., in Korean, English, French, Chinese and Malay; I had to sing it in Malay (although I cannot recall ever doing so... >.<). Basically, I repeated "Selamat Hari Jadi" along with the standard birthday tune.
Right, so this togetherness and invisible bubble that brings and keeps working colleagues together, or even Uni mates or any bunch of friends- it's called 정.
This was all explained to me during my taxi ride home with Suyeon (that's nuna-elder sister- Suyeon to me) and I'm not sure if I got the whole concept 100% right through the foggy glasses of intoxication. Then again, I'm quite confident that I've explained MOST of it correctly.
So as we weaved our way through traffic, I was aware of how the lights (accentuated by the effects of booze, and also by my astigmatism) glowed with extra fervour all around us. Then came the bridge over Han river. I remember seeing it on my way to work every single workday, and almost every time, it managed to attract my eyes- be it weary or alert- towards a masterpiece of nature's doing. It might not be the most beautiful body of water; I've seen lakes that might as well have jumped straight out of an old Chinese (kung fu movie?lol.. can't find the word for it) WuXiaPian武侠片 in Hangzhou's Xihu. It may not have the prettiest of bridges; the ones in Fiorenze or Venezia blew my mind away.
...but somehow, the Han River which divides Seoul into Northern and Southern parts, is special. Perhaps I'm just not used to crossing such a wide river every day. I've seen how the sun glimmered invitingly against the water surface when I first arrived about a month ago. I was also keen to observe how parts of the river surface froze under extremely cold weather (extreme for a Malaysian like me! Even considering the fact that I've stayed 2 years in the UK.). That night though, as we were crossing it, the way the city's skyline reflected enchantingly off the dark mass of water painted a picture of humankind's modern heights meshed together with nature's serene, steady stream of life. I was enthralled. Staring out the yellow sedan's window, which was now stuck in a mild traffic jam, I said to Su,
"It's... beautiful."
"Yes, I know."
I think Korea hasn't been the best of "holidays" for me, because for one matter, I'm actually working and living in it, not just stopping by for a weekend sojourn. When you stay long-term in a new place, you tend to notice the good, the bad, the loud, the lousy... and Seoul has been like that for me. I feel that slowly, I'm peeling off its defensive skin, layer by layer. Warming up to me, that's what it's doing ;). And the river scene that night serves as a reminder to me in times of weakness and homesickness- that although there might be days where the river is a picture of dull and grey, that's definitely not the whole story.
Right, so this togetherness and invisible bubble that brings and keeps working colleagues together, or even Uni mates or any bunch of friends- it's called 정.
This was all explained to me during my taxi ride home with Suyeon (that's nuna-elder sister- Suyeon to me) and I'm not sure if I got the whole concept 100% right through the foggy glasses of intoxication. Then again, I'm quite confident that I've explained MOST of it correctly.
So as we weaved our way through traffic, I was aware of how the lights (accentuated by the effects of booze, and also by my astigmatism) glowed with extra fervour all around us. Then came the bridge over Han river. I remember seeing it on my way to work every single workday, and almost every time, it managed to attract my eyes- be it weary or alert- towards a masterpiece of nature's doing. It might not be the most beautiful body of water; I've seen lakes that might as well have jumped straight out of an old Chinese (kung fu movie?lol.. can't find the word for it) WuXiaPian武侠片 in Hangzhou's Xihu. It may not have the prettiest of bridges; the ones in Fiorenze or Venezia blew my mind away.
...but somehow, the Han River which divides Seoul into Northern and Southern parts, is special. Perhaps I'm just not used to crossing such a wide river every day. I've seen how the sun glimmered invitingly against the water surface when I first arrived about a month ago. I was also keen to observe how parts of the river surface froze under extremely cold weather (extreme for a Malaysian like me! Even considering the fact that I've stayed 2 years in the UK.). That night though, as we were crossing it, the way the city's skyline reflected enchantingly off the dark mass of water painted a picture of humankind's modern heights meshed together with nature's serene, steady stream of life. I was enthralled. Staring out the yellow sedan's window, which was now stuck in a mild traffic jam, I said to Su,
"It's... beautiful."
"Yes, I know."
I think Korea hasn't been the best of "holidays" for me, because for one matter, I'm actually working and living in it, not just stopping by for a weekend sojourn. When you stay long-term in a new place, you tend to notice the good, the bad, the loud, the lousy... and Seoul has been like that for me. I feel that slowly, I'm peeling off its defensive skin, layer by layer. Warming up to me, that's what it's doing ;). And the river scene that night serves as a reminder to me in times of weakness and homesickness- that although there might be days where the river is a picture of dull and grey, that's definitely not the whole story.
