日本試験やら広島の旅程計画やら期間試験やらで忙しくなっているやな！

Sorry for neglecting my blog for quite a while. Got 3 Japanese tests over the past week, and next week is the midterm. Not that I studied a lot for them either; only around 1 hour a day, which is nothing compared to the amount of time I spent on mugging in SMU. So, I guess the things that are really keeping me busy are the dinner gatherings and the planning for Hiroshima trip.

Have I ever mentioned about dinner gatherings in my blog before? Dinner gatherings bascially refers to the whole group of SMU students (which are me, Kane, Weili and Michelle) swarming over to one of the floor's kitchen and cooking and eating together. Dinner gatherings are really fun and cosy, as we tried each other's cookings and shared our life stories with one another. But the drawback is that one dinner gathering is awefully long, around 2 to 3 hours (from cooking to eating to washing and cleaning up). So at the end of the day, I would always be so drained that I concussed immediately upon reaching my room.

Oh, and tonight is Ting Ting's (a girl from Thailand who can speak perfect Taiwanese Chinese) bday, and we are going to make her dinner and celebrate with us. I'm going to make tomato pasta with cheese. First time doing it, so hopefully it would turn up well. Will post up videos and photos of the past dinner gatherings sometime soon (hopefully).

And right now, I am also coordinating a weekend trip to Hiroshima for the exchange students. We would be leaving APU on Friday 12pm and coming back around 1pm on Monday. As next week is still the golden week, we are facing problems in finding accomodation for Friday night. May have to spend the night in Karaoke or some 24 hours shops. Haha, so quite some uncertainties in the trip planning, but this just adds on to the fun and excitement. Can't wait to go to Hiroshima.

Oh, I just went to Oita City over the weekend with the usual suspects (left to right: Jenelle from Hawaii, Michelle the Ah Lian, Kyoko from Japan, Dion from Thailand and Weili from SMU).

Did you notice that I was wearing a suit and a shirt? Initially we planned to go clubbing after shopping in Oita. Clubbing was really cheap over here: S$27 for drink as much as you want. But at the end of the day, we were so tired from shopping and trying to find the god damn bar that we decided to call it a day. Wasted for dressing up so nicely!

Picure in Beppu:

Pic in front of Oita Station: Pic in a steam engine train, which we chanced upon it in our fruitless search for the bar:

Act cute pic with Michelle and Kyoko:

Dinner at this damn good Korean restaurant: Overall, Oita was OKAY only lor. Slightly better shopping scene compared to Beppu (the town APU is located in; the town which has only one shopping centre; and the shopping centre is a main tourist attraction over here! How sad siaz). But really nothing compared to the traditionally-rich and culturally colourful shopping scene in Kyoto, nor the energtic and vivacious scene in Osaka. Yah, so I think one trip in Oita is enough for me. The next destination after Hiroshima would be Fukuoka and Okinawa!

P.S. Heyz peeps from CS! Long time no see! I was thinking of you people just a few days ago. Was contempating of visitng you all at your new office after I come back from Japan. Unfortunately, I have reformatted my laptop recently, and due to my carelessness, I have lost all data (and that means all your email addesses!). Please send me an email so that we can keep in contact!

P.P.S. I think I still have Duncan's office phone number, which I used to take MC. Is the phone number still the same?

上級日本語Iの挑戦に応じた

I love the life here! Time strolls lazily in APU. Right now, I am listening to ‘Wicked’ (Broadway musical), munching on DARS chocolates and surfing my friends’ blogs, while the afternoon sun showered my room in all its golden splendor. Sugoku shiok ya na!

An update of my life here: I have just finished the first week of school. The classes I am taking in APU are: Japanese Intermediate, Japanese Advanced 1, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Foundation in Information Technology, Internet Fundamentals, International Finance, Financial Markets in Asia, Introduction to Political Science, and Introduction to International Relations. And I have joined Akido in APU. Surprise! (Daniel, we can spar with each other when I come back).

From the classes I have attended so far, most of them are not as intensive as those in SMU, with the exception of the Japanese classes. Everything is taught in Japanese, and the Sensei speaks at the speed of a normal Japanese would (which is like the speed of a Shinkansen to me). Yet I have decided to do both Intermediate Japanese and Advanced 1 Japanese class together. If I ever survive the Japanese classes, my Japanese will be so freaking powerful that I can take JLPT 1 by the end of this year. But well, that is provided if I survive the classes. So pray for me, my friends.

Oh, I just got myself a new baby: Casio Ex-word AZ-H9100 electronic dictionary. It didn’t come cheap, but it is a necessity for the Japanese classes over here. Ogle at its splendid silvery beauty:

Some of the photos I came across while I surfed through my picture folder:

APU Entrance Ceremony (the International exchange students):

Yoo, my Resident Assistant from Korea:

Some of the guys from my block:

International students from SE Asia:

I think APU is the most international University in the whole of Japan. Around 50% of the students are international students. So in my block, you will see people from all over the world. The international cultural mix here is so rich that SMU pales much in comparison.

Oh, last Saturday, the Student Outreach Office arranged a Hanami for the International students. We went to the Beppu Park and had a sumptuous picnic in the sea of Sakura.

Kane, Weili and me:

And what do SMU students when they are together? The SMU jump!

All the International exchange students:

And our very very kind staff from the Outreach Office! Thanks for arranging this wonderful Hanami for us! Otsukaresamadeshita!

今から後悔がなくて生活したい

Just had a cooking party with the girls from the 5th floor. It was really fun. I made Tofu Salad (didn’t look extremely appetizing but it tasted good so anyway) and there were all kinds of food from everyone.

After the meal, we played Bingo and afterwhich, we watched this movie called ‘Click’. It was about this guy who suddenly got a remote control where he can fast-forward his life. And basically, he used the remote control to achieve his dreams of becoming Big and Successful. However, along the way, he neglected his wife, son, daughter and parents. By the time he realized this, he is already old and fragile and his Dad is already dead. I was crying at the last part of the show, cos I could so relate myself to the main character.

The two years in SMU have been fabulous. I have gotten almost all I wanted: I aced my GPA, achieved an excellent CCA track record, and grabbed my desired internship. However, have I allocated enough time to my family members and my friends?

In all honesty, I didn’t. And I am so so grateful to all the great people out there, who have given me your precious time and dragged me out of my self-created rat-race. To my Mum and Dad, who are always there for me, even when I always flare up at them with no apparent reason. Thank you so much. And my sister, my cat and my rabbits, who are always at my disposal when I need to relieve some boredom. Thank you so much. And to my brother, whom I have always neglected, I am so sorry. Let me amend all the broken relationship that I have so wistfully brought upon myself.

And to Jiaming and Dillon. Though we talked and met like less than 10 times a year, I’m still so glad that both of you are always by my side. And to Jiaming’s parents too, always treated me as if I’m part of the family. Thanks!

And Des and Ash! Thank you so much too! We had so much beautiful memories together! Thanks for always taking the initiative to accommodate to my hectic schedule. And I will see you again in May! Take care!

And Andrew, Weifa and my other Bravo brothers. Thanks for bringing so much laughter and bliss to my two years of torment. Especially Weifa, who always make the effort to msn me to check if I am still alright and stuff. Really appreciate it dude!

And my JCC friends! Jas, Maki chan, Kit Chan, Zhao, Ryan and Nia. I miss all of you so much. I was clearing my email and saw our stepping down emailer. The smile on all our faces, and suddenly memories of all the past events started pouring in. Our inaugural JCC camp, our Vivace booth and our small lunch gatherings! 思い出しているんよ。絶対忘れないやな。

And last but not least, my wonderful SMU friends. Sean, Harvey (thought I hate to say this, but yah Harvey), Justin, Teckwee, Daniel, Wanzhen, YL, Wenduan and Theo. Sheez, I know I got to get hated for this if I forget to put in someone’s name here. But yah, right now, these are the pple that I am really grateful for. For giving me so much of your time to me!

Thank you! Houmani okini!

さよなら！一月の不思議な旅程。

School is starting in 2 days time! I can’t wait for my Japanese class to start. Hopefully, I will be able to pass JLPT 2 by the end of this year.

Anyway, back to my traveling journey. So after spending 5 days in Osaka, we headed over to高野山, which is reportedly the holiest place in Japan. That mountain is filled with tombs and temples. We spent one night over in one of the old temple on the mountain (which ironically had a damn good wireless connection. That was also where I first chatted with Harvey since I left Singapore) Quite a cool experience. Our room was almost like a 旅館 (Japanese style high class hotel) and the atmosphere there was really serene. The next morning we woke up at 6am to attend the morning service. It was freezing in the morning, and we were all so sleepy, but I guess attending the morning service was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Crazy pose in our room:

And after staying in 高野山 for a day, we went down to京都. 京都 is a must-visit if you ever come to Japan. The richness of the Japanese culture and tradition is so thick that it is almost palpable in the air. Went to 金閣寺and 清水寺. If you ever come to 京都, these are the two must-visit tourist attractions. If you like shopping, then you can’t miss 祇園 and the food district. Good food, traditional handcrafts, and lots of clothes and accessories! Really shop till you drop.

In front of 金閣寺:

舞妓さんと一緒に写真を撮った:

Our hotel room in Kyoto (highly recommended by Lonely Planet and me):

Kyoto University (Japan’s Second Best University). Kit chan, Kyodai whoooooor!

And we went past this fantastic cake shop, which sells all kinds of fruit cakes. Everything in the shop looks so yummy, and despite the exorbitant price, we headed in for our afternoon tea (S$10 per slice but it was heaven):

After 京都, we went to鳥羽, which is right besides the seaport. There we stayed in a Ryokan, and I finally experienced that kind of 幸せ感 that is always depicted in Japan Hour. The onsen was really good, and it has a whole array of Shisedo skincare products (Japanese’s upmarket skincare brand) for the customers to use after the bath. I think I used up at least half bottle of their skin conditioner. But the best thing about a Ryokan was its dinner. Look at the Sashimi boat!!! Lobster, fresh fish (dunno what fish but it tasted good anyway), abalone!

Marvel at the myriad of 海鮮料理。There were like fried oysters, miso-boiled oysters, French cuisine baked fish, more sashimi and many other kind of foods. And as the rest did not really like oysters, I think I took their shares and gobbled down more than 10 oysters. (Ash, aren’t you jealous? Hah:p)

Look at Weili’s and my totally satisfied faces:

I think for those (Desmond and Ashley) who are coming to Japan, you got to try staying in Ryokan for at least one night. It doesn’t come cheap, but if you wanna experience that kind of 気持ち illustrated in Japan, you really can’t miss it! Yah, the next morning, I woke up early to take the morning Onsen. Breakfast was served at 8.30am. And again, it was another feast of seafood. Hahz (my stomach is hungry again).

So after鳥羽, we finally and regrettably concluded our amazing weeks of traveling. Really shiok to travel and shop and eat, but I guess it is also a good time to bid farewell to this kind of life, at least for a while. Too much traveling is exhausting and law of diminishing marginal return starts kicking in after certain point.

From鳥羽, we took a 3 hours train to Osaka. Afterwhich, we took an overnight bus from Osaka to Fukouka, and then another 2 hours bus to Beppu Wan. Lastly, a cab down to AP House.

And here at AP House, another journey of amazing experiences awaits the 4 of us. I’m sure we will have hell lots of fun over here in APU.

おはよう大阪！

Hello everyone! Right now I have finally arrived at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. After one whole month of traveling, it is comforting to be able to settle down at one place, albeit a totally unfamiliar one. And I must say that I am really impressed by the standard of the APU hostel. My room has everything, ranging from a personal fridge, aircon and a telephone, not to mention the necessities such as desk and wardrobe. Take a room at my room:

Here’s a very short recap of the 5 days after my Wwoofing. I met up with Kane, Weili, Michelle and Jingping at Osaka on 16th March 2007, and there we embarked on our 2 weeks of non-stop traveling around Kansai Area.

Our first stop was Osaka. There we spent 5 days, going to places like 海遊館 (biggest aquarium in South-east Asia), Universal Studio, Osaka Ferry Wheel, 南 (Osaka’s amazing shopping district where all we did was to mai dong xi and chi dong xi).

My really tiny business hotel room (my arms could almost touch both the walls):

Group photo in front of 海遊館 (look at our 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Kawaii pose):

SMU jump in front of Osaka Ferry Wheel:

Extremely delicious Okonomiyaki at南:

Spiderman pose in Universal Studio (brings back all the good memories of my JC days when my class was totally engrossed in the Spiderman 1 movie):

Wicked! Ashley, I caught this really musical for free in the Universal Studio! Ha-ha. Okay, not the whole show, but 35 minutes of its best parts. The story gave a twist to the orignal Wizard of Oz, telling a tale of a mistaken Wicked Witch of the West. The songs were fabulous, and the actors could sing, but some of the songs were translated into Japanese. So I guess some of the flavours of the orignal musical were lost.
Hear Thor the lion roars!

Oh, and we saw this really cute girl, and Kane just couldn’t resist taking a photo of her. Sheez, now I miss my sister.

Okie, I guess I will stop here for now. Feeling lazy again. Will blog on the Kyoto and Toba photo the next time.

P.S. The weather at APU is toally crazy. It's supposed to be spring now, but it is totally freezing over here! Wind temperature was as low as 4 degrees today! And it was hailing yesterday! Quoting Masa, one of the Japanese students over here: Fucking Cold!