#My mom and sister just arrived home safely from their trip to South Korea! Very happy for them.seems like they had the time of their lives | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

odium-amare · 6 years

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Bian Gi (chapter 1)

If I had known life would play me this way, I would have made the wise decision to pay more attention to the Buddhist sermons my mother often preaches whenever my brother and I do or say something that displeases her.

Had I realized that if I wanted something too much, fate would mess with me by giving me the very opposite of what I wished for. That could have saved my helpless ass so many times.

The now…

My name is Bian; Bian Nguyen. Before you ask, no. I am most definitely not Chinese although the surname Nguyen probably gave that away. It is not everyday a Vietnamese girl is named a name as unusual as Bian. Mai, Thao, Linh perhaps but Bian? Nah. When I learned that the meaning of Bian was ‘secret,’ I was dismayed. What was mother thinking of giving me such a wannabe edgy and dark name? It did not suit my usual (as I like to think) cheery personality at all.

I never thought that in my life, I would learn to appreciate the meaning of my name later on.

At only twenty-one years old, I am an aspiring makeup artist to my parents’ disappointment. It is cliché but you guessed it. In their heads, is it not be better to have a law or medical degree? Why dabble with cosmetics? Is it even going to bring me a stable living?

There was a time where I had second thoughts for my own self preservations and wanted to live up to parental expectations. I thought that getting a ‘higher quality’ degree was my goal too, but I liked beauty way too much.

Growing up in Asia, Korean entertainment was part of everyday life. They were the standard for looks, film, dramas, music, dancing, technology, everything. Okay, so maybe Japan had the upper hand for technology, maybe, but you get the point. Southeast Asia does not really have much if we’re going to be honest and my naïve self adored Korean entertainment. I, like many other younger generations all joined in on the whole ‘Korean wave’ trend, followed the latest hot news, the latest fashion, makeup and more. I decided to minor in the Korean language in university next to my business major.

My ambition was to move to Seoul, South Korea and become a professional makeup artist. Hopefully, they acknowledge my magnificent skills enough to promote me to style celebrities, my optimistic brain could not help whispering.

I currently work at the local Etude House in Trieu district which would finally come to an end today. Today, I say goodbye to my friends, coworkers and family before my flight tomorrow. Years and years of saving up from work and gift money has finally enabled me to move to Seoul. I booked a tiny apartment for myself in a small town that resides in the capital.

Glancing at the time on my phone, I squeaked and ran out of my parents home with my work bag in tow.

Upon entering inside the Etude House store, I jumped at the loud explosions of firecrackers and cheers from fellow staff members.

“CONGRATULATIONS BIAN!!”

“W-what the,” I could not help but exclaim with a surprised laugh. “You guys scared me! Don’t this again.”

“Oh, lighten up. This will be the last day we’ll be seeing you so we might as well make it special,” One of the associates, My Lan, said.

They all laughed and surrounded my person asking all sorts of questions and requests at the same time, I could barely make anything legible out. I felt a light slap on my back. Turning around, I found my manager smiling widely down at me.

“Look at you moving to Korea. You will be ahead all of us in the beauty industry now. With all of their advanced investment and opening businesses in Vietnam, times really have changed for the millennials.”

“Manager, please don’t say that,” I replied flushing a little, but she hushed me.

“No false modesty now. You worked hard for this trip so you have every right to brag once in a while.”

Two of my fellow beauty advisors approach me rapidly asking:

“Hey Bian, make sure you bring home souvenirs and the fruit rolls for us okay? Don’t be too greedy.”

“Bring home some quality makeup that we don’t have here yeah?”

My head was spinning and I felt a hand pull me away to the back register counter. It was my best friend and coworker, Thi.

“Hey. The manager told me to give this to you,” She briskly said and handed out a large red packet. “Your salary plus a bonus for this last month. Think of it as a gift since you’re leaving us.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me. You worked for it,” Thi smacked my arm. “You won’t forget us, especially me, will you? Make sure to keep in touch every day.” Her voice was so insistent, I had to laugh.

“You don’t even have to say. Obviously I will!”

She reached into her purse and took a small object out. In the light, I saw her holding a familiar looking lipstick.

“Remember this lipstick that you and I fought over in the Shiseido store a few years ago that sparked our friendship in the first place?” She tossed it to me and I scrambled to catch it in surprise. “Take it with you on this trip. Wear it when you find your significant other.”

Touched and brimming with emotions, I pulled Thi into a huge hug.

“…Thank you.”

It was dark when I was bicycling back home. Strapped to my bike were several packages of farewell gifts. When I got to the huge flat screen television attached to one of the tall buildings, I stopped to see what was being portrayed on the screen. Aside from a few advertisements, girl groups and boy groups were being shown. Slowly, the TV attracted a crowd.

“And now, we will be introducing the top five actors in South Korea with the full package: looks, talents, history and personality!” One of the MCs announced. His spoken native language was dubbed Viet so people here could understand. The TV began showing the list and introducing each actor starting from number five. Getting off the bike, I was walking closer to the TV, intrigued to see if my favorite actor on there would be shown.

“Second place would be Ji Jang Suk. This young and upcoming actor is known for his serious yet dashing looks that is perfect for portraying the roles of agents and spies,” The MC continued.

“And now for number one…”

I stood on my tippy toes. I knew they were going to announce him soon. He is just way too well known to not make it to number one.

“Finally, number one goes to…”

I heard the crowd whispering to each other excitedly and curiously around me, making me strain my ear even further.

“Actor and model, Gi Hyeok!”

A grin broke out on my face and I, too, was cheering wildly with the crowd like the devoted fan I was. Soon enough, a tall, dark-haired and handsome man was shown in one of his casual photoshoot picture. The scene then switched to him and several security members walking down the red carpet in one of his drama previews.

Smiling at the camera and the crowd, the actor waved good-naturedly to the hectic fans inside the TV.

“Gi Hyeok has started off as a model at Namwoo Actors Agency after dropping out of college. With ridiculous good looks and on stage charisma, he quickly rose to fame around the world with his signature movie, ‘The Joker Card’ along with countless dramas of various genre. He sings and dances on the side, speaks four different languages and is a black belt in three kinds of martial arts. Gi Hyeok is the very definition of versatile!”

The sharp ringtone from my phone buzzing interrupted and I ran back to my bike while picking up.

“Hello?”

“Bian! Do you have any idea how late it is? You haven’t even finished packing up yet,” My mom’s agitated voice shouted. “Have you forgotten you have to wake up at 5 in the morning? Come back here before I give you a good beating!”

I wasted no time racing back home.

“My god, look at you,” Mom clicked her tongue, lounging on my bed while I shuffled around the room with my open valise. “South Korea is extremely cold. Don’t forget to pack warm clothing. Did you add the winter boots we gave you last year?”

“Yes, yes. I remember!” I huffed as I quickly threw in toiletries and beauty products in a smaller bag.

“Are you that eager to leave your parents, the people who birthed you?” Mom continued, this time with a whining tone. I smiled and ran up to peck her affectionately on the cheek.

“You already know that I love and am grateful for both you and dad’s hard work in bringing me up. Now that I am going out there to make a living, I will pay you all back while pursuing my dreams at the same time,” I reminded, squeezing her soft hands. Mom’s face mellowed out a bit and my bedroom door slammed open.

“Are you sure an ugly sister like you can make it in the makeup business up there?” My brother obnoxiously hollered as he walked in.

“Nay! Get out or at least knock first!”

I threw a pillow at him and we both squabbled for a few minutes before mom subdued us both threatening more beatings.

It was a joyful night for all of us.

The monotonous noises of the plane ride was disrupted when the speaker sounded with an announcement from the pilot. Groggily, I wiped my eyes from the short and uncomfortable few hour nap I managed to take from my uncomfortable sitting position.

The deep voice said in Korean and then translated to Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and English.

“Good morning everyone. It is currently 7:45 AM in Eastern time. We have now arrived in Seoul and getting ready to land~”

Quickly, I looked out the tiny window. There was a beautiful, crisp blue sky with wisps of white clouds here and there surrounding a good amount of land. The skyscrapers jutting from underneath still looking small from my altitude looked stunning.

A shiver down my spine.

If I had known then what I knew now, I would tell the innocent self I was five years ago to turn back and go home back to Vietnam where I was safe and not…Sad.

#bian gi #my fic #kdrama fanfiction #korean drama fanfiction #korviet

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bruceroseman-blog · 7 years

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Go East Old Man

Get Your Kicks… WAIT, What?

Check engine light, oh NOOOOOOO!!!

Not four hours into my trip across America and my check engine light lights up and I thought I was cooked, goosed, stuck, wrenched, and fried. How was I going to go 2,800 more miles with some unknown engine problem on day one?

Fortunately, I had purchased roadside assistance from AARP – yes, I’m over 50 and yes I’m a card-carrying member (mostly for the free donuts!), but the light never came back on and my Ford purred across the country with no further issues. Whew, what an auspicious start!

Losing the California Dream

It was the ultimate reverse commute, California to Pennsylvania, in Ford no less! How American.

Indeed, can it get more classic than that?

What a way to add another notch to my bucket list. And, isn’t it a rite of passage for every American to cross the country in a car?

It had been over three years since I added anything to my list so why not do something epic. I had to try it at least once!

For many years I scorned such a trip as I never really idolized cars or road trips and preferred trains, planes and boats. Perhaps it was the 60,000+ miles of Ubering I logged a year and a half earlier in and around San Francisco Bay Area and my love of shows like American Pickers that changed my mind. In any event, I was ready for a new adventure.

Easier Than I Thought

It wasn’t too easy to leave my home of nearly 30 years and give up the California dream, but it wasn’t too hard either. I was getting priced out of the area anyway, thanks to high tech firms, making my beautiful corner of the world totally unaffordable!

Besides, I was in-between jobs, if you know what I mean.

I felt as if I had overstayed my time and all that was left was the gut-wrenching feeling that I wasn’t growing or going anywhere and the time had long passed to get a move on. Nothing was left for me in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Get Your Kicks on Route 66 (Sort of)

So, with a reliable car, bought originally to ride-share spoiled Millennials around the Bay Area, I again sold everything I owned, in a record 72 hours, except for that car and what I had come back to California with three years earlier, from my stint working on cruise ships just three suitcases. (See Life At Sea)

When you’re not encumbered by family or a job, it’s always a whole lot easier!

All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia

I had bought a plane ticket to Philly earlier this summer that was supposed to be a plain old, long overdue visit to my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and cousins until it morphed into a very welcoming plea to return to my roots. The love and open arms of my extended family awakened the possibility that I could leave the solitude of the West Coast and find more than I ever had in California.

With the help of AirBnB and the only friends I’ll miss in Northern California, I saved enough to make the trip. And on Saturday, Oct. 14th, 2017(I purposely avoided a departure on Friday the 13th), five weeks after my visit, I jumped into my car, left northern California and drove south to Barstow, CA. to connect with Interstate 40/Route 66 and head east.

Good Morning America!

Most days I started out early, hours before the sunrise, up and out of my motel room before 5:00 AM, every day and in every time zone (Look, mom, no jetlag!)

Driving in the dark, trying to get at least a couple hundred miles behind me before the sun rose, happily listening to an audiobook, treated to the amazing spectacle of Venus rising with the diminishing crescent moon soon to follow.

It was my favorite time of the day when the sky lightened, turning from black to purple, to pink, as the desert spread out before me in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, paralleling the old Route 66 doing 75 mph on Interstate 40.

The sky so big, the scenery so grand I wanted to capture every moment and photograph it all, but the road compelled me to drive and drive and drive.

In fact, I only stopped a few times every day at places like Painted Desert Indian Center to capture a taste of it for my friends watching my progress on social media and get a free piece of petrified wood.

Or, to buy a keychain or postcard in every state at some unnamed truck stop where I saw too many Duck Dynasty clad gentleman for my comfort.

If only I had purchased a GoPro camera to mount on the dash and continually shoot photos at intervals (should have, could have, would have… -sigh-), but I was watching my budget and ever diminishing savings. It was my only regret, not stopping and seeing more!

Plans be Dammed!

Originally, I had mapped out dozens of interesting places to stop, but as I mentioned above, money or the lack of it severely curtailed my options. And, with the suggestion of a friend who had made the trip several times in her life, I just winged it with only a rough plan to make it to certain cities and landmarks like Albuquerque where I had to pick up new lenses for my sunglasses that weren’t ready when I left. (Thank you Costco Optical in Santa Cruz!)

But I still had a few places I had to see, like Meteor Crater in Arizona, that corner in Winslow, Az., an interesting museum here and there along the way, Mike and Frank’s shop in Nashville and a very cool stop along the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. If only I had more money to spare! Next time. Next time!

At least I didn’t get any speeding tickets, although I did get a warning from a nice highway patrolman in Arizona at 5:15 AM, who happened to have relatives in the Philadelphia area – small world!

Deserts, Farms and Truck Stops

Ah, the ever-changing landscape of Middle America, the mornings in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky as fog lingered to the fields around me whiffing above in tendrils with the wind, passing truck, after truck, after truck, after truck.

The Waffle House in Arkansas with the super friendly staff and deliciously inexpensive $5 pecan waffle, eggs and coffee, the nearly empty Bluegrass Parkway where I cried listening to Tom Petty’s “Face in the Crowd.”

The early afternoons as the roads cleared and miles passed. Timeless.

My only thought as to where to stop, sleep and eat as the miles crept on and on and on…

Sleep Anxiety

The only real anxiety, besides the check engine light on the first day, was finding a place to stop for the night to sleep. I brought a tent, sleeping bag, and other camping gear, but I never really felt like roughing it in the end and preferred a good bed, some cable TV, somewhat reliable Internet and real sleep.

As much as I love to star gaze, it wasn’t a big enough drawl to just relaxing in a clean motel – well, at least 3/4th of them as I’d rather not think about that one night in a $29 dive in Oklahoma or the marginally OK motel in downtown Flagstaff. (At least the Flagstaff motel was close to the Flagstaff Brewing Company with live music and great beer).

11 States of Mind (12 Including NJ)

In the end, it took less time than I thought, just seven days and 3,140 total miles. It didn’t rain a drop and except for a very tight spot on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, sandwiched between a big rig truck and a retaining construction wall at 75mph, I had nothing that scared me or came close to an accident. I was lucky!

The last day, however, was the toughest, as no matter how much coffee I drank or how loud I played Bruce Springsteen – what else would you play as you as entered Pennsylvania? --, I could not stop yawning as fatigue finally crept in. I stopped every hour, sometimes less as I got closer to Philly on that last day.

And I knew I was close when I could pick up KYW New Radio 1060 (If you’re from Philly, you know the jingle). And then, suddenly I arrived, driving into the ally of my sister’s house – her and her husband waiting to record the momentous event. Somehow it felt sad, a bit underwhelmed, but joyous as I had made it safely with my car intact. And it was over.

Now What?

Sitting in the guest room of my sister’s house in Northeast Philadelphia writing this, I begin the first day of the rest of my life and ponder my future at 55.

Should I get a New Jersey real estate certificate and make “big $$$” as my cousin says, teach English in South Korea and run the risk of getting nuked, go back to PR, or get back on the road?

I won’t bore you anymore, but ask: Any suggestions?

Epilog: Don’t Fly The Unfriendly Skies!

Suffice it to say, I’d highly recommend taking at least one trip across America in a car. Your whole perspective will change as this is HUGE, boundless country with so much to see. One can’t possibly imagine.

And, oh yeah, take plenty of snack food (I took two bags of homemade beef jerky) plenty of good music and several audio books – unless you like being distracted changing channels and searching for something to hear.

Drive safely!

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suximaxini-blog · 7 years

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The Tiring Day 1 – LOST IN SEOUL

I planned on writing about our -my sister, Nadya, and I- trip to South Korea since we were back from February. It was merely us two, in a strange nation where we barely talk in our mother tongue (except for the time we spent with one of our friend, whom being very nice as our local tour guide and treated us with delicious food). But, I got very lazy to write. Haha, so me.

So, we went there unexpectedly. One day, my sister asked my mom whether she can go to Seoul, my mom was in the happy and easy going mood to be that easy to agree. Like, seriously…we booked our ticket, made our visa (I needed to go twice since I did not complete something the first time, totally forgot what was it), booked our hostel…mom only gave accommodation expenses, so besides that, it was our money. For 4 days and 3 nights, our budget was so tight that we cannot afford to enter any restaurant since we were too afraid of the price. HAHAHA. Therefore, we were so grateful of our friend who had treated us delicious courses.

Suddenly tonight, after a hectic Eid day, I spent my leisure time watching one of my favorite TV Program; it is Japanese one called “Why Did You Come to Japan”. It usually broadcasts you some tourists’ stories who visit Japan for some special purposes. One time, they recorded a story of Seba-chan who visited Japan to explore their Ramen, as he spent about 3 months to eat ramen in Japan. First, he used his bike to cut the transport expenses. However, by the time goes, it is hard to maintain its function, I guess, so Seba-chan continued his journey by hitching some random strangers, who happened to know him already throughout the program. Or the story about the Sasebo guy, an Australian man whose main visit to Japan was only to eat Sasebo Burger. The mayor of Sasebo city even making him a special t-shirt with its mascot and make sure he can eat any Sasebo burger for free.

Tonight’s story was about two brother in their first time visiting Tokyo and the older one happened to lost his wallet. His younger only has a debit card but it cannot be withdrawn. They looked so lost and pale. THERE! I saw the resemblance of me and Nadya with that story. HAHAHA. Just the two of us, where we needed (desperately needed) to work together to make the rest of our stay pleasant for both of us. First thing when we arrived in the airport, we thought, or I thought, we still have plenty of time to wait for our luggage after the immigration.

I checked on the screen, to where should we go to get out baggage. I was so sure regarding our gate and told my sister that we need to wait. We called our parents to notify them that we have safely landed. After waiting for approx. 10 mins, I got bored and asked my sister to wash our face and put on a little make up just to lighten up the face (we just woke up and face was definitely inhumane).

We, or I as the eldest, was so clueless…I sensed something was not right when I saw no one from our flight in front of the moving belt (whatever you call it). Hehehehe, we went to the wrong side. I did not panic because I saw my sister was already in the mode. We walked back and forth to ask someone. We asked several people but nobody can answer us. I was so confident regarding the information I have to find our luggage. I had all the details, but nobody was actually helping. Was it too early? Is 9am-ish early to you? I take note that the airport crew are not that capable of using English language and not (really) helpful. I even asked several times to lost and found counter. Nah, nothing.

Lucky for us, we found our luggage just being thrown outside the belt. The, supposed to be, right belt since long time ago. Just like that. Abandoned. THANK GOD! They were saved.

After that, we followed the itinerary we made and proceeded to ask the direction to buy the temporary SIM card and bus ticket. At the bus counter, the lady who was in charge told me that rather than buying only the bus ticket, I could buy T-money and got a discount for bus fare, also made it easier for us to use public transportation. It cost us, 100.000 Won for 2 cards. Right choice! Buy T-money everyone, at the airport, to make it simpler.

We departed for Anguk. And it was safe until we got off the bus. But, since it is my experience that you read, we lost again. My sense of direction IS BAD. We went back and forth with our luggage and the problem was not that the humidity came from heat; it was the cold we could not bear. I asked several people again with the simple, “Jogiyo? Heoksi, Yellow Brick arayo? Yellow Brick Hostel eodisoyo?”. So sorry, my mind was cloudy and I cannot think of whether it was polite enough. Nadya then took the initiative to ask a grandpa with broken English and showed him the website with picture and address, HE WAS SO NICE, he did not hesitate to take us there. To the front of the hostel, where we need to walk through an alley. We thanked him a lot by bowing with our might, if it was not for him; I supposed we would spend our time just going back and forth with no end.

We stayed at the Yellow Brick Hostel 1. We booked through Traveloka and chose the hostel because its rating and comments, they even served breakfast (sadly, although we paid for it, we’d rather buy onigiri for breakfast because we were always in hurry) and A ROOFTOP! Yep, rooftop was also the reason, although, once again, we went there only twice, the arrival and departure, and you will hardly see mountain. I recommend you this hostel because for the price they give an excellent service in a very good location. It is very easy to reach by subway, like super easy, after I get to know the area. HA!

On the first day, we arrived by Friday actually, I booked a flower arrangement course at Florinn, a flower shop I found in IG. Jenny ssaem, the owner, was a petite young lady whom very passionate with her job. It was very nice of her to guide to her flower shop nearby Ewha University…the uni I once dreamt about. Then again, we were lost, HA! I was just not accustomed to the blocks. We rode a bus, based on what Jenny ssaem and google maps suggested. We found the nearest bus stop and hopped the bus. You know the google maps give several suggestions right? Well, we could have taken the subway, but Nadya was afraid since we saw no station within our sight. Shortly, we rode the wrong direction. We should have taken the other direction with the same bus number and struggling to find the place when we arrived. Nadya was so patient to keep up with the clumsy me. HAHAHA, thank you adek!

I would tell you in details regarding the course later on. Since this post is about ‘LOST’.

We went shopping around Ewha before decided to try subway, aimed for Hongdae. Hongdae (Hongik Daehak) station in Friday night is super packed with people. After a short walk, we wanted to conclude and have a good sleep for tomorrow’s agenda. It was 8-9 pm ish when we took a bus, one we were sure was the correct one. We followed what the google maps said and arrived at, the supposed to be nearest bus stop from our hostel.

I was so confident with my maps, we even dropped by a Nature Republic store to buy wet tissues. We walked and walked and walked and walked, back and forth again…then I was scared to say that maps decieved me. I tried to calm Nadya and changed it into Waze. It was already 10 pm-ish. Food stalls were crowded with people chattering and drinking. I started to panic too, however, it was not the main concern, as we just wish to go to bed. I tried to set my mind straight and followed Waze. BUT! As you know, Waze gives you alleys suggestion, where it directed us to a dark and quiet neighborhood. Nadya was trying hard to object but I insisted that was the way to reach our hostel. I knew it well, she nearly cried, since it was her first time experience abroad to have a vacation and I gave her a bad situation.

Merely with her clumsy sister, she lost. I wanted to cry for different reason, I blamed my self for putting my sister in the situation. In the end, Waze could not give us the direction too, or it could, but we were afraid to follow since homeless men are drunk already.

My phone was nearly died even after an emergency charging. We found a small shop in an alley. Nadya asked me to stop by. I was planning to ask direction since maps could not help me. It was around -5 celcius and we could not think clearly, all we wished was only to reach the bed and tucked ourselves inside the warm blanket.

The owner was an old couple. The grandma greeted us with worries. She cannot speak English, my Korean is limited as I told her that I needed to call the hostel, if only they can pick us up, or at least giving the right direction. She said, seeing two freezing girls asking for help is so pitiful that she agreed to even talk to them! However, nobody was answering our call. Then I asked her to draw us a direction to reach our hostel, she was not sure and asked her husband about it. The husband, I guess, he did not really like us because he raised his tone and giving the body language of letting us be after mumbling the direction.

The grandma, was an angel sent to us, she was really kind. Despite her husband disagreement, she drew as the easy map, repeated the key store and even took us to the main road. Nadya and I bowed to show our gratitude and even kept the paper she gave to us. The map was so clear, we could easily found our hostel. Well, after several asking again, since Nadya was so scared we would lost again, so she wanted to make sure, we took the right direction.

We finally arrived in our room at 11 pm-ish. The first thing to do, CRYING! We cried and hugged each other as we were so afraid that we would make a headline about being lost here. HAHAHA, then the next thing I do, tell Nadya not to call our parents at the moment, since it could make them worry, we’d better keep it for ourselves, at least until we got home.

Hehehehehehe

The experience, nonetheless, did not make me give up. I even wanted to explore more, to avoid getting lost again. At least, not to our hostel.

((To be continued))

#seoul #korea #sister #trip #lost #2017

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