How does it feel to be married at the age of 21?

First of all, obviously, I'm 22 this year but I don't wanna admit it since it's not my birthday yet. Duh. 

Second, the title might as well be rephrased to "how does it feel to be married to a foreigner at the age of 21". 

Eh, lupa. Assalamualaikum, w.b.t.

It's been a long time here. Since my last post, I was preparing for my akad, and then my exchange student program, shopping, packing, and settling in Korea. And now, I'm here in Seoul *phew*. Can't believe I make it here after years of having South Korea as my one of my countries-to-visit-before-30. 

from Instagram : snfad_diela 

from Instagram: jeyoungpeterkim 

Some families and friends might say, "Balik kampung ke Fad?". While some are worried and exaggerated my 6-12 months away from Malaysia. I mean.. eh helloooo I'm not leaving here forever lah please jangan tacink lebih nangis nangis cenggini korang kenapaaa *heart's crying tapi tunjuk macho in front of others*. Or so I thought... And I'll be like omg this is so heartbreaking and exciting (that I'm leaving Malaysia for studying and travelling to Korea), I miss my family.. my sisters and brother especially TT_TT *crying*.

Then, Hakim be like "자기야~~ 울지마~~ 마음이 아파~~ I'll make you happy yada yada *hugs*". OK tak nangis dah *lempang* leuls

So, can you deduce my answer to that question? 

Let's see if any of you get it right.

What does it feel to be married at the age of 21?

How does it feel to be married to a foreigner/Korean at the age of 21?

Answers:

1. I'm feeling busier than usual. Perasaan emak-emak pun datang dengan harapan perkahwinan di usia muda membantu saya untuk menjadi lebih matang dan berdikari, memasak sendiri "Esok abang nak makan apa? Nak breakfast apa?" "What do you wanna have for breakfast/lunch/dinner?", buatkan air untuk suami "Abang nak minum apa, sayang buatkan" "Do you wanna drink anything? Coffee? Tea?", tunggu suami depan pintu, kemas dapur hari-hari, beli barang dapur, check barang apa yang takde kat rumah tiap minggu etc etc. My husband helps with almost everything but there are a lot of things going on in my mind like now I have few additional boxes for "fefeeling wifey" "menu for today" "apa lagi nak buat kuasa2".

2. Remind of my mother(s) every few minutes. After being married, then I truly realized, "so this is how my mother have been spending most of her days". *grateful* *sayang ibu* :') <3

Siapakah kanak-kanak riang di Legoland itu?

Happy roomies at Beryl's Genting Highlands.

Sungai Congkak <3 MOCHUB

the6

My XOXO girls XD
Photo from : Danny's Instagram

3. Cherish the good times I had. Maybe it's gonna be a lil' bit hard to have girls' day out (GDO/GNO) now that I'm married so I'm grateful and I appreciate the good times I had with my friends, the sleepovers, the gossipings, the travels etc. p/s: you can guess what's GNO, can't you?

4. Knowing someone will always be there for you. Don't get me wrong. I have a bunch of friends who I can lean on, every time. But the feeling, the support you'll get from your other half is totally different. It feels pure, soothing, romantic, I think you get it (before I go corny) *chuckles*. 

4. BEST OF ALL. When the relationship is being built in the name of Allah, it makes us stronger together, learn about/from one another, develop ourselves towards a greater person in and out, accept the differences. Since my husband is a Korean and I'm a Malaysian, there are a lot of cultural differences, not to mention the religion (at first). For example, most Malaysians will be late for an appointment but try to carry that bad habit in Korea, none would wanna make friends with you. He used to get mad at me every time I was late but then after, he will nag like a mother sampai nipis telinga kau. Ok tak buat lagi. Kali ni betul-betul. In fact, during the pre-marriage course (kursus pra-perkahwinan) that I took, one of the speakers reminded us like all the time. You have to remember and be aware of these little/big/you-thought-it's-nonsense differences between men and women. What more if you're being raised differently. These differences should not make you apart from one another instead grow as high/big as possible. Together. 

So, that's that. 

Thanks for the picture, Amree!

안녕~~! ^_^

Marrying a Foreigner in Malaysia: Documents Checklist

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Hello!

Salam Ramadhan.. :)

Our 'akad nikah' ceremony will be in less than 16 days yet we still have lots to do. It's not that I'm freaking out. No, not really. But because the whole process is painstaking. There are a lot of documents needed to be prepared actually. Good thing is since my future husband is a foreigner, one of my friends advised me to settle his first and yes, it helps a lot. 

Image from :bridalmusings.com

Believe it or not, I don't even have 'kursus pra-perkahwinan' yet (gonna take it this weekend). In fact, we haven't submitted the form to registrar office or PAID. LOL *ketawa sambil menangis*

Even though oppa asked me a few times on what else should be done/prepared, is there anything else I could help/do, there's nothing really. Just the process of going back and forth, here and there (of which he can't do because he's in UTM preparing and getting ready for IELTS the same day as my kursus. Even if he's here, he can just follow me around, not really talking as most of the offices I'm dealing with have minor command in English including the jabatan issuing his Islamic certificate in Johor). 

This one from here

Thank you for this image 

Anyways, here's the checklist if you're a Malaysian girl to marry a foreigner in Malaysia.

Bride :

1. Photocopy of IC

2. Photocopy of 2 witnesses' IC

3. Photocopy of wali's IC 

4. Certificate of pre-marriage course (kursus pra-perkahwinan)

5. HIV test 

6. Parents' marriage certificate

7. Form 2C - get it here

8. Form 1 (if the address in your IC is different from your current address)

Groom:

1. Photocopy of passport

2. Photocopy of 2 witnesses' IC

3. HIV test (previously, when I asked Islamic Johor Center about this, they said he doesn't have to take it but the one in Selangor insists)

4. Form 1 (use the bride's home address and ask head of the village to certify)

5. Letter/Islamic Card (for mualaf - new brother/sister)

6. Approval letter from

         (i) groom's consular/embassy (he paid USD4 = RM12 for this *price varies according to                  embassy I guess) 

        (ii) Malaysian Immigration 

7. Form 2A - get it here

So, that's about it. Ours has been done 80%. Oppa said that the paperwork in Korea is simpler (I hope so!). If you're in the same shoes, all I can say is good luck! 

** Note that the pictures are just decorations to let your eyes rest. ;) I know how does it feel to read without pictures especially with such a boring writing of mine! Haha. 

ok.. Happy breakfasting!

Travelling to Korea: preparation part 1

Assalamualaikum. 

Salam Ramadhan al-Mubarak. :) 

Warning : This post is wordy.

Another 2.5 hours to breakfasting so I decided to update and share my preparation for the trip to Korea. In my case, studying abroad in other country for more than 2 months. I need to prepare. Throughout the preparation, I sometimes feel like not doing anything else but just the preparation alone because I feel excited whenever I want to travel. I don't know since when travel has been part of my interest. 

Ok ok enough with the chatter. Let's get to business. I'm gonna try to help myself (and if possible, you) to prepare for this long travel whether you're on your own or with someone else. Good thing is you can divide the work if you're travelling in group. Best part is if you are most probably have overweight luggage before or after departing, you can share the burden too. Truly is the best part if you're like me TT_TT I remembered how I went off to USA with 20kg and came back with almost 100kg luggage just what on earth did I buy/get there?! Really can't put myself on hold for more ramblings huh?

Serious. Kali ni betul-betul.

School

Since I'm going to study in Sungkyunkwan University for one semester (4 months), I need a student VISA. To get the student VISA, I need:

1. Acceptance letter from the host university
2. Verification letter from home university (stated that you are a student in the U and you have enough money to study there)

When I went to get a VISA to USA before, I only need the acceptance letter. Guess different VISA needs different kind of documents.

House

Regarding accommodation, I'm not gonna apply for off-campus housing (in SKKU the options are iHouse, Koart Ville and Migaon Ville which cost $1700/sem around RM5k++) because I'll be staying together with my forever boyfriend. :3 However, since both of us are still in Malaysia and Mr.BFF is busy preparing for IELTS, we hardly find a place to be rented online, especially when most of the landlords don't speak English. And tell you what, housing rental isn't cheap in Seoul. Like at all.

More info on housing

Still, we contact so many websites and owner for the housing. The problem is the big amount of key money (security deposit). Only today, I found a nice place that we like, in-between both of our universities (but closer to mine) and still within our budget- the most important part. Hehe. You may find your preferable here (there are many others :

Habang - If you would like to save money on housing, good location, not sharing the room with others, don't mind a small room, Goshiwon is the place.

Eden Realty - find your own apartment for you or/and your family.

Jays Real Estate Agency - you need an amount of key money, find your own officetel/one room here.

Craiglist - a lot of houses and rooms available.

Seoul Loft - if money isn't a problem and you wish to live in an apartment like you see in k-dramas. LOL *gelak unbelievable sambil nangis*

Money

Since the currency of Korea Won to Malaysia Ringgit is 3:1, you should expect to pay 3 times higher than in Malaysia for almost everything. Not only accommodation is expensive, the living cost is no joke too. At least for someone from a developing country and not rich. LOL *nangis tepi katil* I was informed in the student's handbook I received that the average monthly spent in Seoul by the students is 600,000won which is around RM2k++ YES. But.. Do you know that the Korea government offered a few scholarships for students? Here you go. You gotta ask the host university you're applying to whether there's any scholarship offered by the university or other organization. Thank God I asked and the university informed me when it's open. Applied for it and.... 

Fresh from the oven. Alhamdulillah... :')

Shopping before going
Faham tak kenapa tulis before? Faham tak? 
I can't promise you that I won't shop there. Well at least not that much I did in the US. My BFF already told me that we need to buy a few things before we go to Korea especially things that are expensive there:

- medication

- books (heard from a friend of mine that English books are not that easy to be found)

- winter clothes
- contact lenses
- hair products

Besides, for Muslims, it's not easy to find halal food  and if it does, expensive. So I decided to buy a stock of foods before leaving like instant noodles, tomyam paste (I plan to cook on my own to save some money on food) etc. Kalau nak cerita pasal shopping boleh habis 2 3 entri. 

See you soon on the next preparation phase ok!