Wo(a)ndering thoughts!!!

Previously I posted something about me being so un-artistic, I don't remember trying any kind of ART.. Recently I had a chance to try/create HANJI (Korean) Souvenirs, Hanji sounds more like a dish right (Koonji -Porridge in Korean, Chinese, Tamil)  maybe that's what attracted me.. Haha.. Jokes apart, Hanji is a Korean hand made paper and the things we can do with it amazing.. The paper itself is very delicate, it comes in different natural colors which is then used to form beautiful paintings to Souvenirs. Hanji art itself is of two kinds-First one is in some form of drawing/painting and another one  in 3D form anything  from LAMP to dolls.. Traditional Korean painting which is done without colors or color paper..its just white paper and black ink(kind of..to my knowledge) and it mainly concentrate on baboo trees, Crane ,flowers or mountains, Korean calligraphy etc., I have tried calligraphy at Hongbeopsa temple , they organize Korean culture learning every month.. Its was

For a while now, Aaryan is so much in to cooking with mama.. If I stand anywhere in kitchen he comes straight with a chair to watch/help me. I must admit I'm not in to trying new stuff in kitchen. I'm kind of person who just goes to Kitchen when I'm hungry and my cooking is always fast. I could spend maybe 30min to 1hr in a day. Whatever can be cooked fast and tasty ,that's all it matters. This week, he is been helping me wash my veggies, soak/wash rice for Idly(Steamed rice cake) batter, Marinate veggies for stir fry and he even helped me make roti dough. I don't know how long this sudden interests of his will last, but I thought I will write it down for later (or even show him to keep doing it..)   Helping me stir the Mushroom with Soysauce  & other spices   Helping me wash the rice and lentil for Idly batter     This one is the classic Roti master!!!  

Its another move, but this time we are so much more excited as we are moving back to our HOME.. Staying in a hotel sounds like fairytale( actually it is , I will miss all this lazy/don't have to clean the apt days) , but sometimes we need our things..I'm in that point where I just need more space to move around. I think its time for us to move back HOME.. Lot of stressful moments awaiting for us, moving is not a joke.. When I think about it now, it gives me biggg sigh.. I cant wait to move back home, settle down and drink my tea sitting on my lounge.. that what I call HEAVEN (well, for now... ) So much more stories to come about our another big move.. wait for it..  

A very good friend of mine kind enough to get me a Korean healthy snack called 'Yakgwa' , when I tasted it..it just reminded me of my moms Athirsam..Athirsam is a South Indian snack made of Rice and Brown sugar. When I looked in to the ingredients of Yakgwa it said the same thing. What a coincidence!!!! Then I start to think of all the Korean snacks I have tried which has similar texture ,taste and ingredients but their shape is different. This is the just small list of Korean-South Indian snacks to my knowledge which I tasted personally and found they are similar. Pictures I took from google images and PC are listed at the end.. 1. Steamed Rice cakes: In Tamil we call Kozhukatai and in Korean its called Songpyeon (half moon cake). Both are made of rice flour and stuffed with sesame seeds or nuts with brown sugar. Kozhukatai is a special dish which is specially made for Lord Ganesha on his birthday (Hindu elephant face god ) and Songpyeon is made specially for thanks gi

Korean Ajummas they call the aged women here.. who are more active and fun loving than I'm- from my opinion. I just admire their healthy life style. I see them often at the park with other ladies just chit chatting after a good hike or spending their day with their girl friends at SPA or doing Aerobics at the community pool or taking care of their grand kids. They are Super- Women I would call.. First thing I noticed about these super women are they care about people like once I saw this lady told this10yr old boy(not her own) in train to put his feet down, not to stamp on seats. Other times at my pool, they come to me and give me ideas on how to breathe or kick and encourage me. I can feel a sense of CARE there, not once felt nosy. Lot of times they offer A some candies or cookies with love. I have seen lot of ajummas run small Korean restaurant or their own veggie shop on the street.. Its always healthy to keep yourself occupied isn't. No wonder we cant judge their age

Art.. that word in any form- dance, music, sculptures, architecture, history, drawings interests me.. I have to admit I ain't  an artist(Cant draw a line artfully..)  But I'm happy to be an ART lover.. ART in any form or language can entertain me.. I really admire people with any artistic skill, I really wish I had atleast one.. My dad paints when he gets time(I had to really plead him to draw..) but when he takes his time to draw something it comes out so realistic.. I really wonder how none of us in the family got that skill passed on.. Well, artist skill is not inherited, had to be in-built.. When I visited Italy, it was like walking in Dream. Every step you take is a history and everything you see is ART. The buildings and their history no words to say, we planned to see Italy's main cities for 5 weeks. But I don't think I had enough time to breathe in the air. It was so magical and poetic , I always have a fascination for history. Maybe being born in rich cultur

This time my friend invited me to her Sister's holiday home at Tsushima Island. It was a last minute plan as she was planning to go with her mum but her mum cancelled on her. So I got an invitation  which was great( I must thank her mum for this opportunity).  For the best trip , you need good company with like minded people. I was lucky enough to get OSM company, both my friend and her sister took control on the whole trip from planning the day to trying out every possible good food in town.  My friend's Sister Y was so enthusiastic to show us everything in the island. Tsushima Island,Nagasaki: Its one of those Japanese Islands closer to Busan and only way to get here from Korea is by Ferry. There is airport in the Island but flights fly only from other Japanese cities like Fukuoka.  There are 2 ports to reach here , on the north Hitakatsu Port which is only 50 minutes from Busan and on the south Izuhara port which takes 2 hrs from Busan. Whole Island from north to South

When I first moved in to Korea I struggled for everything because of language barrier. I didn't have a clue what to expect before moving here. I was looking for help from basic grocery shopping like Milk, Yogurt to  visiting hospitals. Thinking about it now, I thought I must write it to help anyone moving here in future.. Just the things I felt would help. Safe place: Before starting, want to say Korea is very safe no doubt. Its so safe once when I got down from taxi , I kept my sons backpack at the side of the road and start to get the stroller from boot. Finally I put my son on the stroller and completely forgot about the bag. I went to my friends place and realized I left the bag at the signal 30 min back and went down there .. Surprised to see bag was still there untouched. Yes I agree there is nothing worthy in that bag but still it remained there untouched is something I cant expect it anywhere else. Google Translator : This is a great app for smart phones, because

I watched this amazing Bollywood movie PIKU yesterday..Its about a father/daughter bond.. its like any family ,they argue, fight and emotional sometimes.. Dad (played by Big B) in his 70's & he worries all-day about his poop.. Its just funny how he(sometimes daughter played by gorgeous Deepika) talks about it like its weather.. At times dad/daughter goes in to details without realizing how it puts the person next to them awkward. (PC:http://www.koimoi.com/photos/piku-movie-posters/) This reminds me of babies.. I remember when A was a new born, every thing was a worry..one of them is poop.. Its just that  we mothers doesn't feel awkward to talk about it. Sometimes it could be our main topic and we can discuss about it for hours. When we have baby, until they do things on their own(which is literally never according to parents dictionary) , we worry about all the things which we never-ever imagined we would think & worry ..it could ultimately lead to a big discu

This is another write up on my memory lane-2011 Year of travel to my dream places- London, Touch of Europe & Asia.. I can officially name 2011 as my year of travel.. Last I did travel like this was in 2005 with friends.. I love travelling, preparing for travel, planning for travel.. anything to do with travel.. I guess everyone does- new culture, new place..  I don't like rush and see all the touristy place. Take all the time to spend as much time to explore & understand the place / culture. Most important thing I learnt from all the travel is to  use public transport as much as possible, I believe thats the only way u learn abt the place &  meet ppl.. here goes my 2011 nostalgic travel lane.. Feb: Germany G had official work in Stuttgart & I decided to tag along(as always..) .. That was a nice break for me & ofcourse G had to work hard everyday.. So I was forced to have fun  solo.. From Stuttgart we had to go to Balingen which is 2hrs train ride south o

This happened almost 4yrs back..2011 September.. I'm going back to revisit the moment which I'd written it somewhere .. It brings back nice memories and God knows how time flew so fast.. It happened in Manila; believe it or not it wasn’t a shock or surprise or anything expected. It felt as though I had no feelings. When I saw those two red lines, I was not sure whether I’m reading it right or maybe that thing is not working properly (hey, don’t blame me!! It’s just after so many disappointments , I reckon anyone would go to that state). I was feeling feverish past 3 days with a headache , I thought it was from the weekend trip we went to the Pagsanjan falls.. I was talking medicines for cold/flu. Just for the fun of it, I bought this test &  decided to test it after G leaves for work. I tested it as soon as he left the room & the instruction said to wait for 10 min . So I left it there & after maybe around 30 mins I realized I had to check the results. I went

Have you ever tried cycling hands free on a slope or  swimming(you heard it right).. I admire you if you have done one of these.. This sounds simple but not for me.. Guess I have to start from the beginning to make you understand my part.. I wasn't sure why I was scared of getting into water in first place considering I didn't have any 'BAD" incident in water..  When I was little my uncle used to teach me and my cousin how to swim but I used to tell him I'm ok kicking water near the shallow end which is ankle length.. Swimming was never a necessity until I was an Adult and moved abroad.  I was missing out of fun activities like rafting (Duh!!!), or Canoeing (really !!!! ) or even just take a boat on a fun ride(eyes rolling!!)  .. ok!! ok!!.. just get on to the pool.. Now when I think about it..I think I'm such a control freak , I have to have control on everything.. water is where you completely let go of  yourself.. its a scary experience for me ..LETT

This is just another write up about A's interest at this point in time.. He surprises me with his Lego creations every time he build something new. His interest might change as he grows, this is another capture of memories for him to read when he grows up. Its all started when A was around 1.5yrs old , G & A used to play pretend Zoo/Farm with Lego and animals...it goes for hours.. I wasn't part of it at all, whenever I ask A to Lego with me he used to say he can only do it with Dad. :( that's how Lego started its journey with A.. After A turned 2.5yrs , Lego became his best friend at home.. he can play for hours with Lego and create his own imaginary world. A is more in to zoo(Thanks to G and his interest..) .. But when he built Lego phone, Ironbox ,bunk bed, zoo animals after seeing it somewhere. I don't know what to say, I didn't even know you could do all this before.. There you go, you grow & learn as your child grows. Listing his creations w

Busy all day doing nothing.... : Busan Chapter comes to an END.. : Recently we got confirmation from G's company that we will move back to Melbourne this Dec. I felt relieved when I heard the news becau...

Recently we got confirmation from G's company that we will move back to Melbourne this Dec. I felt relieved when I heard the news because I can go back to work / A can start his kinder  and most of all we could move back HOME.. But then it got me thinking we are so used to BUSAN in our everyday lives ,I think we will miss this place. I'll take home millions of memories and countless friends I made here and last but not least I'm so proud I can read Korean .. But I thought it would be a good idea to list down the things which are part of me in my daily life now so I can read them year later.. So before I forget, let me do just TOP 10 things in my list. 10. Couple T-shirts:        It seemed weird when I first moved in 2yrs back seeing couples/family (mom-son, mom-daughter, dad-son, dad-daughter, whole family) wearing same pattern shirts. Now I feel it is kinda cute when I see them. I would be surprised if a Korean couple doesn't have one of those 'Couple T-shirts&