Winning with Zero Plate

Episode 3: Saved by a Friend

Before flying to South Korea, Aida was very happy because she won a scholarship, and she got support from her husband and her son's support as well. She never read the Korean scholarship requirements for learning a language in the classroom. She just thought that she would simply learn the Korean language to live in Korea for just 3 years and in her daily class the language would be in English. She just arguably believed that nonsense and skipped preparing for learning the Korean language before coming to South Korea. She thinks she will solve all the crimes by staying away from her husband. Then she flew to Korea full of hope and happiness. When she arrived at the airport in South Korea, especially at Incheong Airport, there was no one of her campus officers to welcome her. Thank God, Aida has already asked her senior high school student, who is already living in Korea for 10 years, to meet her at Incheong airport. Her name is Maria, and they starting the conversations. Aida is always lucky because she always get good friends and help each other.

Maria: Aida, could you give me your Academic Scholarship coordinator contact number so that I could easily explain your situation and destination information to him and ask other related questions.

Aida: Sure, this my academic coordinator KakaoTalk contact number so you can talk to him.

Maria: Okay, I'll ask your coordinator some questions.

The phone rings... Maria speaks Korean very well and started her conversation with Aida's Academic coordinator.

Academic Scholarship coordinator: Yes, who is this?

Maria: I'm Aida's friend. I wanted to let you know that Aida is already at Incheong Airport.

AS coordinator: Oh, good, I'm so happy to hear she's arrived.

Maria: I was wondering, can't you guys come to Incheong to pick her up?

AS Coordinator: We're just waiting at Busan Station, not at Incheong Airport. We are so sorry.

Maria: Oh, it’s okay. I'll buy her ticket from Incheong to Busan, and Aida will arrive there at 5 p.m. Thank you very much for the information.

Maria explains to Aida that the scholarship coordinator can't pick her up at Incheong but will meet her at Busan Station with other scholarship recipients. Maria bought Aida's train ticket from Incheong to Busan Station because Aida had not changed her money to Korean money yet. Not only this, Maria showed Aida where she should take off the train, directed her, until meet the coordinator. Not only that, Maria also informed the coordinator and made sure Aida was there before she gave her consent, feeling that her responsibilities were complete. Maria told Aida not to be afraid to ask for help when she needed something, and to not hesitate to ask for help from me, and to not just sit quietly with your hard situations and conditions. After that, Maria invited Aida to have lunch first before parting ways.

Maria: Aida, let's eat first. You must be hungry. Don't think too much about your family, okay?

Aida: Thank you. I don't know who I would have asked to help me here without you.

Maria: Hey, don't say that. We've known each other for a long time. Even though we weren't close in high school, we're best friends now.

Aida: Thank you again for your kindness. But let me text my husband and son first. I wanted to tell them I met you and that we're going to have lunch together. But where should we eat?

Maria: Let's eat around here. You won't be long here. I'll be taking the KTX to Busan, so we'd better eat around here. Oh, Aida, this is my friend, Sonita. You studied together in Jakarta for your undergraduate studies. Let's get acquainted.

Aida: Hi, my name is Aida.

Sonita: My name is Sonita, nice to meet you. Don't worry, everything will become easier once you get used to the South Korean environment. It's okay to feel different at first, but you'll feel lost again once you finish college because over time, you'll realize, "Wow, that time flies so fast." You have to stay motivated to study.

Aida: Thank you for the advice and support. I'll never forget this moment.

Maria: Hey, stop with the emotional advice. Let's get something to eat, I'm really hungry.

After lunch, they hugged each other, took a picture together before leaving. Maria is a good friend because she still has class but she asked permission to meet Aida even she also allowed work to have time for Aida. This is a big sacrifice for Aida as a normal friend to a best friend. After that Aida left for Busan. When she got there Aida WhatsApped Maria and Sonitabahwa dia sudah sampai di KTX station dan sudah menemukan student foreing lainnya dan akan pergi ke dorm sekolah setelah itu.