Aka Aurora's Tales

I can't believe I'm now in level 26. Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday with my classmates whom I consider as my cousins. We went to Puncak, West Java, for our farewell party. But, that's not what I am going to write about.

As a 26-year-old girl, I find myself not in the right level. I feel weird. I don't resemble someone who is actually 26 years old. It's not about the thing that I mostly hang out with people who are younger than me, but it is from inside of me. My friends who are in the same level with me have thought about marriage. Honestly, I don't know what to do with that reality. I believe that God has saved someone for me to live with forever, but I am really clueless about it. Other people are barking around, asking me when I will get married, who my boyfriend is, why I choose to concentrate on my career and study more than about finding Mr. Right, seriously I'M SICK ABOUT THESE !

I am childish and yes, I do admit that. But someday I want to have someone who will wake me up to face the real world with his lovely way. People always say to me to marry someone older than me, maybe way way older, but hey, I find myself more comfortable to be with someone younger. But most of the people won't hear me. I was close to someone who is 2 years younger than me and it didn't work well, because we were not mature enough to be together. I stepped out of the relationship. I was also close with a guy who is 7 years older  than me, but he just saw me as a little girl no matter how hard I try to be more mature.

This year, I find a guy who is 6 years younger than me. Very smart, charming, young, and hard-working. Who don't like this kind of guy ? But if I say I'm into this guy, people will just shout on my face and say that I am stupid to even hope to date this young guy. I also don't bring myself to even try to love him instantly, because I know I will be the one who will be hurt in the end of the game. I try to read him, learn about his personalities and his goals. He once stated that he would like to get married two years later. Wow, this is getting even crazier. I don't know whether he was serious or not.
I just don't want to hope for more. But if God says something different, I'll accept that wholeheartedly.

26 is such a crucial number in my life. I've been single for too long. I need to rely on someone who can comfort me whenever I have problems and shed my tears also someone that I can talk to everyday and give me his personal opinions. Besides that matter, I want to develop my career and finish my study soon. I want to run, not walking. I want to jump high, not just hopping. I will give my best.

Welcome, Level 26!

On the 364th day of 2015, I would like to share what has been happening in my life. I never expected to be given such an amazing time this year. It was all wonderful despite all life problems happened. I am going to break down the timeline of my life in 2015. Hope it will give me a new motivation to start a new happy life in 2016 !

JANUARY 2015

In January 2015, I started the first day of  2015 by wishing my Russian friend, Yulya, a happy birthday. Hahahahaa yes, since she was born on January 1st. Nothing much happened in January, but I went back to the gym! I remembered that I was so enthusiastic to go back to the gym and get rid of annoying fat stuffed in my body. I met Koko Abbie, my favorite instructor and my beloved brother. My sister and I had a Wingstop date with him, too! On January 2nd, I also wished Nana, my Filipino friend, a happy birthday. I forgot whether I called her on that or not, but I think I did! Yes, she's my bitch ever! hahahaha. Aaaannnddd it was also my first time meeting my new lil niece !!! She came from Padang, West Sumatra,, and she is damnly cute and chubby :3. Not to forget to mention about waiting for my (who is now an ex-) crush to come back to Jakarta. Hell yeah, a girl like me was totally weak if it turns to love matter. I was so happy meeting him again at that time ( bloody hell >.< ).

FEBRUARY 2015

I don't know what was going on my mind, suddenly this thought popped out. I decided to go back to college to take a Bachelor's degree!!! I was out of my mind hahahahaa but I am very thankful to my crazy brain to even think about that. I was really in need of skills improvement since I felt so stuck and bored with my  (previous) job. I enjoy teaching, but I'd like to try something new. But the thing is, I don't realize what other skills I have besides teaching and singing. I wanted to try to be a Public Relations, but it's not as easy as I thought. In the end, I decided to major in Performing Arts of Communication. This is what I am looking for and this is what I want to do. I enjoy singing, dancing, and acting. I enjoy standing on stage and performing, I'm never shy to face many people. I am confident enough to perform.. In spite of my age that reached 25 years old this year, I confidently went forward and enrolled myself to London School of Public Relations Jakarta, Indonesia. I don't care about what people said, but I just don't want to regret about the things I've been dreaming of, but wasting the given chances to pursue them. Here I am now as a student yet I really enjoy it :)

My sister and my late father share the same month of birth. My father was born on February 18th and my sister was born on February 20th. Back then, we usually celebrated them together, but since my father passed away in 2009, we celebrated it in a different way. I bought a small cake for my sis and had a small party at home along with my mom. Also, I sent both, my father and my sis, prayers on their birthdays.

Friends at the gym gave me so much fun, too! Our hip hop class with Eday was crowded and Eday got even closer to us. Eday is one of humble guys I've ever met. We also joined a special Valentine's Day class with Koko Abbie and Kak Cindy. I gave Abbie a flower that I got from a restaurant. He was tremendously happy. It was not about the flower anyway, but about my sincerity towards him of course :) He's such a great instructor and a great brother, so he deserved it.

My love life was bland like unsalted butter. I found out that my (who is now my ex-) crush had a girlfriend. Sh*t that guy! If I had known about that, I wouldn't have waited for him for ages!

 

 

 


MARCH 2015

I think in March, I felt like I had no more interests in working at my previous company. I lost my confidence in teaching English! That was really bad. People kept bringing me down, but I tried to be stronger. I never lost my smile even though my was totally in pain. People said that I'm a hypocrite with no exact reasons. They just 'slapped' my face like that without telling me what was wrong. I was crying so much and I wished I could step out of that company soon. But, since I remembered that I have my mom and sis who need my hands to help them financially and I was going to continue my Bachelor's degree in September, I held it up and stood stronger.

Ah, I also learned to play piano by myself! I chose to play Mandy Moore's song, Only Hope. My teacher was Youtube hahahaha I nailed the first verse of the song, but after that I  didn't have time to practice anymore, or maybe too lazy hahahaha



 MAY 2015

I started my small business by selling delicious jams, such as Ovomaltine, Lotus, and Reese's. It was a bit hard to find those jams in Jakarta. Thanks to my ex colleague who distributed them for me and thanks to this business so I could save up my money.

May was also the most important month for my one of my best friends, Rizaldy, since he tied the knot with his girlfriend. Pepi, my other best friend, and I threw a bachelor party to him. Because of that, we met again. On the D-Day, Pepi and I attended his wedding party. We were so happy for him. After attending the party, Pepi and I decided to join Body Jam class at Fitness First. It was my first Body Jam class and I totally enjoyed it. In the same month, I also joined a special Body Jam class at Fitness First with Eday.

My mom also celebrated her birthday on May 10. We had a special dinner at Holycow steak. Mommy also wore a birthday crown to get a free steak hahahahaha it was a great nite :)

Also, my best friend, Kak Nessa, celebrated her birthday at the gym. She brought a big pan of bite size cake to the class. Happy!! :))

 


 

JUNE 2015

In June 2015, I decided to leave my company. I was auditioned to be a dance teacher for kids and I was accepted, so that was why I handed in my resignation letter. I was so excited because that was the chance for me to open a new chapter of my life. I was sick of being trapped with people who didn't please to have me around. It'd be better for me to move back and search for a new luck. However, it was hard to leave my good friends there :(

In June, I  got more ambitious about dancing. My instructors, Eday and Abbie, never stopped telling me to practice and practice. They trained me and gave me very good advice in dancing. They inspire me a lot.

I've been wanting teaching Korean since years ago and suddenly I got a chance through a 4-day holiday program that my previous office held to teach group of K-Pop and K-drama lovers who are so curious about learning Korean and reading hangeul ( Korean characters ), not only simple annyeong haseyo ( Hello! ) or kamsahamnida ( Thank you ). I graduated two years ago from a reputable university in South Korea and I got used to communicate in Korean and interact with the local people. That's why I really want to try to distribute the knowledge to other people who are interested in it.

As I guessed, my students couldn't read hangeul, but they surprisingly knew some phrases in Korean that they admitted they heard it from K-Pop songs or K- dramas dialogue. Our class was started at 1PM. I came a bit early and headed right away to the class room after preparing some handouts.I saw a mid-aged woman who sat on the bench. She mustn't be one of my students. But then, she was! I was quite surprised! Wow, I wondered why she took a Korean class. She told me that she's a fan of Korean dramas for a long time. That's why she wills to learn Korean. Her name is Mrs.Ina. She's a fast learner and always has a lot of questions to ask.

Other students are Zahira, Mira, and Vrasya. Three teenagers who adore EXO so much brightened  the classroom up with their jokes. Our first lesson was self-introduction and greeting phrases. I played a video that was taken from KBS World's Dugeun Dugeun Hangugeo, a TV program in KBS World that provides free Korean lesson weekly. My students were so thrilled when they knew that they were going to learn from a popular drama, Dream High. Kim Soo Hyun, Suzy, and Ok Taecyeon were the leads of this drama. My students learned how to introduce themselves in several versions, both formal and informal.

Our second day was still filled with learning simple phrases. But then I told them some stories that I experienced during my stay in South Korea. They were amused with my stories. I told them about Korean cultures as well. In the end of the lesson, I promised them to talk about shopping in South Korea on the next meeting. Yes, I know what they would talk about first, shopping for Korean boybands and girlbands' CDs. Heol ... hahaha

On the next day, I prepared stacks of fake money. I planned to have a 'shopping session' with my students. But before that, I told them about popular shopping spots in Seoul, such as Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Namdaemun, Insadong, Ewha University, Hongdae, etc., and also about phrases that we use for shopping. I also showed them Korean Won cash that I have in my wallet. After that, I asked them to 'sell' their stuffs, such as pencil cases, stationery, books,etc. They took turn becoming customers and sellers. They were laughing when they called their friends as 'ahjumma' who sell the stuffs. It was so fun!

Our last day was wrapped by learning numbers in Korean  and reviewing lessons we had learned. We took a lot of pictures, too. It was such a great success for me ! Even though there were a lot of mistakes here and there, but I salute my students' effort to learn Korean language in 4 days. Hope that I can get more chances to learn and teach Korean in the future. Annyeong!

I have fallen in love for many times... a thousand times, maybe.. I fully know about how my feeling is when I'm in love. I remember about the excitement of having a crush and trying to get closer with him. But the thing I remember the most is the feeling of broken heart. Well, the thing you always dream of will not instantly come as you wish, sometimes you need to struggle more to achieve what you've been dreaming of.

I, as an example, am a 24 year old girl who's been dreaming of having someone to rely on beside my family and friends. Do I have nobody who's approached me? No, many of them were coming to my way, but I don't think one of them will be THE ONE. Receiving a false hope when I thought he was into me? Yes. Being approached because he wanted to 'use' me? Of course, yes. Living in a friendzone? Many times, dude. Seems pathetic? Yes, it's not your mistake if you conclude it that way. But I never think that my love life is gonna be suck forever.



Why could I say so? Why could I be sure? Because I know, God has destined me to be ' another pair of shoe' of a guy who's living out there now, whether I know him or not. God makes me surrounded by good people who sincerely love and care about me. But as a human, even though I think my friends and my family are enough, I still can't help thinking about this guy who I will invite to row a boat together in the future. There is a guy that is very close to me these days. I've been knowing him for years. He's a good guy yet a 'player', not really sure about this, but my friends said so ( how naive I am! Duh! ). We stick together like hell and have fun together. I read a quote on the social media, 'In women-men friendship, there's no way they can avoid the sparks of love.'. Why so? Women and Men are made to be together, depend on each other, and live together. It's possible for us, women, to feel this way to our male best friends. When we can't get enough of being together with him, we tend to look for a chance to meet him and in the end, our hearts say, yes, you need him. He is the one that I need.

I do believe in it, because it happened to me several times. It's easier to be in love to someone when I know that person personally for a long time. It's more intimate and I know the reasons why I'm in love with him. But again, the closer you get to him, the more you want him for your entire life. Again, that's only your imagination. We can feel this way, but he might not feel as what we feel. This is what I call 'a dilemma' phase. I splash the signs of how I feel to him, but the response is so slow. It's not a direct response, so I have to wait for it, but the bad thing is he gives me a response when I don't understand what the hell fucking happens to him. It's all about timing. We never get it right.

As I'm not tied to anybody, I can hang out with other boys and take selfies intimately with them. But I wonder if he cares about it. He only shows me some surprising reaction when I have another guy besides me, but sometimes I conclude that's how the way he jokes around. I can't differentiate what's joke and what's serious thing now. Whenever I am not tied to anybody, I have rights to have other guys around me. So does he. He can have a lot of girls surrounding him. But this case still leaves an enormous question mark in my head. I can't even think why.

People say, that 'my guy' has such a trash past. Dating with these and those girls, a devoted playboy (okay, excuse my word, it's exaggerating), and other things. Compared to myself, he's nothing. But he's gonna be a way different when we even can't notice it. This earth revolves. So does he. I do understand, people around me said that because they care a lot about me. They just don't want me to be hurt for the thousand times. But, I always believe that God has saved someone, maybe this guy or other guys, to match his marrow bone to mine. That is what we call, we are meant to be.

Yeah !! So let me begin the Seoul Adventure story by telling you about my trip to Nami Island. Since I stepped my feet in Korea for the first time, I really hoped that I could visit this famous island. Yeah, Nami Island is famous for its romantic situation because popular Korean drama, Winter Sonata, was filmed there. Nami Island is located outside Seoul, or exactly in Gangwon-do. So to go there, I had to take a train and also a ferry!

My friend, Astrid, and I tried to figure out how to go to Nami Island easily from Hongdae, the place where we stayed. So from Hongdae, we took a subway to Cheongryangri station (청량리 역 ) then from that station, we took an ITX to Gapyeong station ( 가평 역 ).

at the Cheongryangri Station

Astrid and I before riding an ITX

Astrid and I inside of the ITX

ITX train is the as fast as KTX, but it's cheaper and the route is shorter than KTX. The subway fare is 1.600 won and the ITX fare is 4.000 won per trip.


When we arrived in Gapyeong, we went to the information tourist center nearby and asked how to go to Nami Island. The staff said that we can go by a taxi or a shuttle bus. The shuttle bus daily fare is 5000 won. So you can ride it freely in one day. But if you just plan to go to Nami Island without going to Petite France, you better take a taxi because it's much cheaper than taking a shuttle bus. Since first we also wanted to go to Petite France, so we chose to take a shuttle bus. But then we realized that we didn't have enough money to go to Petite France as well, since our money was sooooo limited :(

To go to Nami Island Ferry Station from Gapyeong Station only took 5 minutes. Then we bought a ticket. A ticket to Nami Island actually costs 10.000 won, but for foreigners, we just needed to pay 8.000 won. Round-trip ferry riding is also included.

Nami Island and Petite France brochures

Nami Island ticket for foreigners

On the way to Nami Island ...

A cute cafe in Nami Island

Nami Island area is enormously wide. So prepare to walk further. It's tiring, but your eyes will be satisfied by the amazing scenery of this island. Astrid and I took almost 3 hours to walk around this area. My first stop was a First Kiss Park. It was a Winter Sonata drama where Bae Young Joon and Choi Ji Woo did their kissing scenes and built snow men. As we expected, of course, that is a really great spot for couples to take pictures ... errr, maybe taking pictures while kissing ... 헐 ~~ I just could chew my saliva seeing that kind of scene hahahaha If only I came with my boyfriend ..... hahahaha. There was also a bridge at that park. But the unique thing is a glass wall on the edge of the bridge furnishing with empty soju ( Korean liquor ) bottles. I also took some pictures there.








The good thing about traveling in Korea is the facilities in the travel spots. I am a muslim, so it's a bit difficult for me to pray while travelling. But suddenly my eyes stared at the building by the library. There's a musala in Nami Island! Musala is a Moslem praying spot. Since I hadn't done my midday and afternoon prays, so I headed to the musala and prayed. I felt so blessed hahahaha So if you're a muslim, don't worry if you want to travel to Korea. You don't need to be afraid skipping your prays. Thank you to the Ministry of Korean Tourism and Hospitality for this kind and great facility !! ^^


After adventuring around this beautiful island, we ended up going to GS 25- a minimarket in Korea - and stuffed our tummies with the simplest snack in the world, kob ramyeon ( 컵 라면 ) a.k.a cup noodles hahaha


Actually you can find a lot of 닭갈비 ( dalkgalbi - Korean spicy chicken dish served with sliced of rice cakes and vegetables ) restaurants, but yeah, because we had to tighten our belts, so we chose to have cup noodles instead of dalkgalbi. So sad ... T.T But for everybody who will visit Nami Island, please do visit one of the dalkgalbi restaurants there. Dalkgalbi is a really good dish to be enjoyed with the whole family.

At 5 PM, we waited for the shuttle bus to bring us back to Gapyeong station. The last shuttle bus is at 5 or 6 PM. So make sure not to miss the last bus, because you will end up wasting sum of money. We headed back to Seoul by the ITX train at 6 PM. We really had fun!!!