This is a personal entry, that I'm writing in the middle of the night, alone in my room. I havent write something like this in a while, not in this blog, not even in my diaries/journals (I have several cute books but ended up not writing much. this is something im still working on 😅) 

Anyway, after my first semester at HUFS ended, I had some time to think (a lot of time actually). I was feeling a bit melancholic, probably because I was all alone and had some free time on my hand without ongoing lectures. I was going through my notebooks, when I found something I wrote in my diary, that I had forgotten about. A lot of things that I wished for back then is now a reality. Reading my own diary had me reflecting my whole life, of how lucky and blessed I am. When I think about it, a lot of things in my life happened late. At least later than the people in my circle.

When most of my friends finished school at 17, I finished school at 19.

When most of my friends got their drivers license at 18, I got mine at 20.

When most of my friends finished studying and started working at 24 or 25, I finished studying at 29.

When most of my friends have traveled far, I only had the chance to travel overseas at 26.

A lot of things in my life happened a bit late, but I have always believed that everything, every single thing, happens for a reason. There must be a reason why my timeline is different than  most people in my circle. When those things were happening for them, I would also pray for my time to come soon. I would look up to them for inspiration, and learn from their experience so that I could be more prepared when my time comes. At this moment, a lot of other things have happened in their lives, and Im still waiting for mine.

Most of my friends are married now, they found the one that they will spend the rest of their lives with.

Most of my friends had their first baby recently, they are now mothers living their motherhood.

Most of my friends are already living in their own house, while I'm still living in a dorm.

If I keep looking at what other people have and what I dont, I will never be grateful. I may not have what they have yet, but I believe that its for the best. Instead of looking at what I dont have yet, I should be looking at what I already have and understand why it happened the way it happened.

Because I finished school at 19, I had the chance to make more friends and learn more invaluable life lessons.

Because I got my drivers license at 20, I had the chance to drive my family everywhere when they need me.

Because I finished studying at 29, I got to make my parents proud.

Because I didnt travel much, I got to spend more time reading about places.

Right now, surely, I am still waiting for my turn to get married, to have babies, to decorate my own house. The time will come one day, inshaallah. When Allah says its time, it will happen. Those things have not happened yet, but I can already see the reasons why its being delayed for me now.

Right now, I get to enjoy spending time with myself, discovering and relearning me. I get to focus on my parents, repaying them for all they have done for me. I get to save money for that dream house (on a brighter side, the professor dorm where Im staying right now is free!) I get to focus on my career, I get to enjoy my freedom, and many other things that I should be thankful for.

"Perhaps you hate a thing and is is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not". - 2:216

Our timelines are different. There are some things that we may experience later than other people, and there are things that we may experience sooner than others. But why does that matter though? Whats important is that we work our lives out and have redha at the same time. Worry about tomorrow, but not too much. Have dreams about the future, but also be prepared for surprises. Pray for everything that we want, but also believe in what He plans.

The next time I have doubts, I shall come back to this post and remind myself that sometimes things may be a bit late, but they are for the best.

Assalamualaikum everyone! Salam Ramadan.. 

just like that its already another year, another Ramadan. Cant believe we made it through 2020, alhamdulillah.. I know its already April 2021 but I still havent moved on from 2020 because I feel like it went by so quickly. It was definitely a year to remember for me.. 

I was offered a job towards the end of 2020. The job that brought me here to this beautiful land Korea..🇰🇷 the offer came when I had just finished my viva, and I flew here right after I submitted my full thesis. The beauty of Allah's plan.. what used to be complicated has been made easier, what I used to question has been answered.. Everything still feels so surreal. Its just been about 2 months since I first arrived, but I have learned so many new things 😃

Ini kali pertama saya tinggal di negara orang. Walaupun saya dah biasa hidup sendiri dan berjauhan dengan keluarga masa belajar, pengalaman berada di tempat orang jauh lebih berbeza. Terutamanya di negara yang bahasanya asing untuk kita, seperti di Korea ni. Kekangan bahasa salah satu cabaran untuk saya di sini, selain daripada perkara-perkara lain yang akan saya kongsikan dalam post ni. 

I will now share with you what living in 🇰🇷 had taught me so far...

1. Halal Food is Limited

Sebelum datang memang saya dah dapat bayangkan juga la mesti susah nak dapat makanan halal nanti, tapi realitinya lebih susah daripada yang saya bayangkan 😅Bayangan saya hanya sekadar bayangan 😆 Setakat ni saya dah boleh beli daging dan ayam halal online, dan mereka boleh pos terus ke rumah (alhamdulillah for this!) If you watch my instastories you would know how excited I was to receive those halal meat hehe.. Tapi, sebelum datang sini, saya belum betul-betul faham tentang benda-benda lain selain daging/ayam. 

Contohnya, barang macam biskut, sos, dan mayonis pun susah nak dapat yang diyakini halal. Saya guna aplikasi Mufko untuk imbas barkod dan app tu akan beritahu kita tentang status halal sesuatu produk tu.. dan kebanyakan produk di sini ada campuran bahan yang tak halal (alkohol/haiwan) atau mungkin diragui halalnya kerana dibuat di fasiliti yang turut memproses makanan tak halal yang lain.

With my friend from Italy, Samuele and my student, Hong Seok Woon at a halal restaurant in Seoul

2. Not Everything is Available Everywhere

Yang ni pun saya dah bayangkan dah sebelum ni, tapi sekali lagi realitinya jauh berbeza daripada bayangan saya 😂 Tak semua benda ada di semua tempat... ok kita tolak makanan sebab dah jelas bahawa makanan di Malaysia berbeza dengan makanan Korea. Mula mula saya ingat sekurang-kurangnya mungkin mereka ada bawang merah ke, tapi rupanya tak ada (kena pergi Asean mart baru ada) Barang lain macam kunyit, limau, juga tak ada. Tapi, saya nak cerita tentang benda selain makanan pula.. 

3. I Need to Learn Korean

There have been numerous occasions where it felt so challenging to survive here without knowing a little bit of Korean.. Most people here speak Korean and they will speak Korean to you. English is not as widely used as it is in Malaysia.. Saya dah mula belajar bahasa Korea sikit sikit sebelum saya datang ke sini, dan saya dah boleh baca tulisan hangul. I will study harder 😠 Fighting!! Setakat ni saya dah boleh pesan kopi dekat kafe, tapi satu ayat tu je la 😂 Kalau orang kafe tu balas panjang-panjang, saya cuba agak agak maksud dia lepas tu jawab dengan angguk atau geleng je 😆

4. Almost Everything is a Little Bit Expensive $

Ada orang tanya saya tentang harga barang di sini, mahal atau murah? Sebenarnya pada pendapat saya, hampir semua barang di sini lebih mahal berbanding Malaysia (tapi ada sesetengah barang yang lebih murah, macam beberapa jenis/jenama skincare). Mata wang Korea lebih besar berbanding Malaysia, jadi kalau kita buat tukaran nilai, memang terasa mahalnya tu. Tapi Cikgu Zaid (guru yang pernah mengajar di HUFS juga sebelum ni) pesan jangan duk tukar-tukar sebab memang akan rasa mahal 😅Saya dah kerja di sini dan dibayar gaji dalam mata wang sini, jadi tak boleh fikir dalam Ringgit dah 😂

1000 won di sini lebih kurang RM3.60, tapi kita kena bayangkan 1000 won tu macam RM1 atau RM2. Barang-barang Daiso di sini dalam 1000-5000 won, sheet mask yang murah murah kat Olive Young (macam Watsons/Guardian di Malaysia) dalam 1000-2000 won, dan harga secawan americano di kafe-kafe biasanya 2000 won. Untuk barang-barang ni saya rasa harganya lebih murah berbanding Malaysia, tapi kalau saya berbelanja di pasar raya, biasanya saya akan keluarkan kira-kira 70,000 won setiap minggu (lebih kurang RM260).. dan saya tak beli banyak sangat barang pun sebab saya tinggal seorang je, jadi pada saya perbelanjaan ni agak tinggi berbanding Malaysia. Tapi macam yang Cikgu Zaid pesan, jangan bandingkan dengan Malaysia ya.. 😅

5. Waktu Solat Berbeza

Korea negara 4 musim, dan sekarang musim bunga (dah hampir masuk musim panas). Jadi waktu siang semakin panjang, dan waktu malam terasa sangat pendek.. waktu solat juga sangat berbeza. Sekarang waktu Subuh di sini dalam pukul 3.45 pagi, dan Maghrib dalam pukul 7.15 macam tu. Ini pertama kali jugalah saya berpuasa lebih daripada 13 jam. Tapi, cuaca sekarang masih agak sejuk, jadi tak terasa sangat penatnya tu. Cuma badan dan mulut rasa kering sikit sebab cuaca sini kering dan kerja saya pula memerlukan saya bercakap banyak hehe.. Sejujurnya saya masih rasa berpuasa di Malaysia lebih mencabar sebab cuaca panas tu buat kita lebih cepat dahaga dan penat. Mungkin kalau Ramadan jatuh pada musim panas di sini nanti lebih mencabar sebab waktu siang panjang dan pada masa yang sama cuaca juga panas.. 🌤

Ok, setakat ni dulu perkongsian saya kali ni 😃 Saya datang ke sini untuk bekerja, jadi pengalamannya mungkin sedikit berbeza dengan mereka yang datang ke tempat asing untuk belajar.. mungkin datang belajar lebih seronok sebab ditemani rakan-rakan seperjuangan 🎓 

Saya tak ada kawan-kawan dari Malaysia, sebab setakat ni saya seorang je pensyarah dari Malaysia di sini. But I have made some new friends! From Indonesia, Italy, Russia, Czech, Croatia.. and of course Korea. But we didnt get to spend that much time together because as working adults, we are basically devoting our lives for work 😂 we work on different schedules.. and when we actually have some free time, sometimes we prefer to spend that time alone.  Jadi kebanyakan masa saya luangkan dengan diri sendiri.. jalan sendiri, makan sendiri, shopping sendiri. On the brighter side, I learn to enjoy my own company and I have more time to slow down and focus on myself.. im grateful for everything.

Thank you for reading guys! Im looking forward to share more soon 💕