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안녕하세요!

The title says “Hello!”.

You might have known, I’ve been learning Korean for a few years now.

First started with Basic Korean at Bt Panjang CC. The trainer was a native Korean, but the syllabus was too fast for a beginner (I had zero knowledge on Korean alphabets at that point of time). Although I attended every lesson and did all the homework, with the usual-favouritism on students who are more outspoken, the trainer taught very fast, assuming everyone were as knowledgeable as the girl who could interact with the trainer in Korean.

I gave up attending class after the 8th lesson.

A year later, Fen asked if I was keen to attend Korean class with her. Of course I said yes! So we started classes at Bt Batok CC this time round, under the trainer Jang In Suk (the founder of Jang KC Centre). I love her style, she was patient enough and made sure everyone understood what she taught. There was no favouritism (yay!) and everyone progressed at the same pace. It helped that I had Fen & Pat attending the class together.

Just as there this phase along the line of “nothing goes smoothly as planned”, I had to stop attending classes when I got posted to work in Hong Kong in 2011. By then, I’d already completed Intermediate-2.

A year in HKG, I attempted to self-study but time didn’t really allow me to do that.

When I came back to SIN, I attempted to go back to Bt Batok CC under Mdm Jang, but my busy schedule (on top of laziness) caused me to miss almost 70% of classes. And you might have guessed it right – I had no khakis to attend class with! It’s a waste on money I know.. Didn’t help that I’d registered myself for the Advanced-1 class when I retook Intermediate-2 class. I didn’t go for the Advanced-1 classes in the end, forfeiting the course fees (thankfully it wasn’t that expensive!).

Should I say Lady Luck was shining? Javin (one of my classmates from secondary school) texted me for advice on Korean language schools, saying that he wants to learn Korean too. After many weeks of discussion, we concluded that we will attend class together! Having shortlisted a few language schools, we decided on Sejong Korean Language School which is located at Tanjong Pagar – pretty central considering where we work.

I’ll be learning Korean from Basic-1 again. New school, new environment, new syllabus – it’s easier to start from beginning than to feel lost in class. Helps that I have a new partner to practise with! That should be enough motivation not to skip class now.

I can’t wait for classes to start on 7th May!

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Learning to let go

Recently, I’ve started to “like” more pages on facebook that talks about random stuff. Some of which are actually quite interesting.

Science of Madness, from its name, talks about anything that is science related. So there was such a post:

20130423-cupofwater

 

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

It serves as a good reminder to many of us.

Quoting work as an example – after a long and shitty day at work, you reach home weary and can’t wait to hit the bed. Wake up the next morning and the cycle repeats. Some might dread going to work – possibly due to stress or whatever not. This kind of “burden” as I name it, is something that we can learn to deal with (the pot calling the kettle black, I know..).

The kind of stress we have – not just at the workplace, it can be a “grouch” that we hold against anything in our daily lives – are sometimes the root causes of our unhappiness. The longer we hold them, the more tired / unhappy we become.

Stress, don’t take it too hard on yourself. Learn to deal with it in a positive manner, it will give you pretty (and sometimes unexpected) results.

Grudges, they come and go. There will be too many of them for you to remember every single one of them. Take them as lessons learnt. The experiences gained will be valuable in your decision making should the same thing happen again.

So the trick is – learn to let go.

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Becoming a Masters

As I make slight progress towards my 8 year goal, steps have been made in place. Have shortlisted a few courses to take:

When will I be taking them, depends on my availability.. Definitely not this year, with the start of a new job (yes I won’t be an unemployed soon!) and the continuation of the current 4 students’ tuition and the start of Korean classes, I highly doubt I have time for other activities this year.

It had been a good 2 months break, which allowed me to set lifetime goals, making steps to fulfil lifetime dreams, spending more time to understand myself and what I want in life. I’m glad to say I have moved on 🙂

Looking forward to the new phase of life next month!