Day: Day 1, Sunday
Rate: $1 = 79Yen
Time: one hour earlier in Japan
It was a tiring journey to Japan on NW flight. I didnt have enough sleep before i head off to meet prof P at ard 4am. PP does not like to check in any luggage so i have to try & squeeze everything into my roll-on luggage. As everyone knows, airport 'dun like' liquid. . . i clearly forgotten abt it. I always check in my toiletries so it has not been an issue for me at all plus I have not been travelling overseas on a plane ever since the plane liquid incident happened. Luckily, i did not have to throw away all my liquid/lotion bottles. The rule in Changi Airport is that you have to be able to squeeze in all your liquid bottles into a transparent zipbloc bag . . . Everyting able to squeeze in? Good.. you can proceed to board the plane. NO?? Pls throw away liquid bottles that you are unable to squeeze. Ok, i threw away one. In addition, i drank up all the plain water in my water bottle. Hehe.. actually they forgot to check a hidden compartment in my bag and it contains my contact lense solution,ahhaa.. Shhh... im nt a terrorist anyway.
PP told me abt her flight experience.. how she always kana checked at airport. There was once which she was 'invited' for a full body check. This time round, my bag was roughly checked but she was more unlucky. Her whole bag had a thorough check by CA officers.
"Osama won." (quoted from Prof P)
6am & the plane took off from Singapore to Narita Airport. PP and I had diff seats. She was in the Business Class and i was in the Economy Class. I was excited!!! I always love to travel & to fly on the plane,hehehe.. Weak me was unable to lift my roll-on luggage up till the storage cabinet above our seats & a NW cabin crew helped me. A Caucasian male from Arizona sat beside me . . he helped me to carry my luggage down. (Haha, im weak i know)
Many people had told me they did not like plane food. On the contrary, i love it! How can you say plane food is not nice? I think it is delicious.. and i like the fact that everything is in small portion. Another thing i like about sitting on a plane is the nice scenary view from on top. An additional bonus is that you get to watch free movies, play free games, hear free music.. kekeke.. (im not talking abt budget airline of cos). Everything was good except space was cramped.
I still love to travel still.
-----------------------------
2pm: Met up with Linda, Jenny, Prof Kim, Prof Tak, BC etc..
Everything was not familiar at all. They talked to each other.. being the odd one out, i just stood aside and admire Japan Airport & Japan. But they were really nice ppl as i get to know them more along the week.
Salah info to those whom i said to that i will be staying in Tokyo. i stayed in a countryside area called Kashima (鹿岛）& it's an one & half hour ride to Tokyo from Kashima by bus.
图：前往SMTC (Sumitomo Teaching Center) 住所的路上
The ride from Narita Airport to SMTC lasted for ard 45mins. I was quietly admiring Japan streets... while the rest was chatting away. Wow......... i love the streets...
图：很平静的感觉。。一片大草地。。矮矮的屋子。。我喜欢！
图：我住的地方
图：看到我的房间吗?
Takiko san gave us a warm welcome at the front counter before we checked into our room..
My room number was 414, right next to PP (413). My room and her room is a big difference ok! Mine is a single bed room while her room & bed is twice bigger than mine. Her room had cookies, drinks inside the fridge, movie dvds. Mine has nothing. haha.. it seems like im complaining but im not. It should be this way la.. cos she's the guest and im the follower. I benefited too. She gave me one of her cookie box,ahaa..
I was terribly fascinated by their toilet and facilities. Let me list down how fascinating it is:
1) See the above pic? This device is by the side wall of the toilet bowl. Finished your business? Press one of the self-explanatory picture. Water will gush out from the inside of the toilet bowl to wash ur Ahem. Of cos machine is machine. Aiming is not 100% accurate, pls do self adjustment of ur Ahem. You can even control the volume of the water that sprayed out. In addition, there is a 除臭 button.. u know wat it's for.
Actualli i still have figure out all the buttons yet. On the top row, there is 3 similar pictures.. i been wondering for days on the diff. Till now, i still dun know. (I tried all and came to a conclusion that the volume of water is diff but im nt sure)
2) The Toilet Bowl Seat is warm!!!!!!!!!! Ok la, tis im fascinated cos i nv tried tt b4.. but i tink it's normal in cold country cos weather is cold.. u wont wan ur butt to be frozen and everything to be stuck in ur body. hahaha..
3) They provided us with Shiseido shampoo & shower foam!!!!!!!! Ok, this may nt sound great too.. but hotels always provide ulu ulu brand of toiletries. At least this brand is of gd quality i know. Idiot! If i know they provide, i wont wan to bring mine and add on to my luggage weight.
4) Automated table lamp! yah, im not talking abt the toilet anymore.. I just simply have to move my hand close to a strip of protruding part & Click! The lamp light will be automatically switched on. You dun have to press on any button at all!
I love the whole room.. its arrangement.. everything.
PP proceeded to show me ard SMTC.
Her teaching classroom...
Oh ya, the projector screen in the classroom is amazing! There are diff layers.. first outer layer is the wall that blend with the surrounding walls. If you choose white board, the wall opens up and the white board is the 2nd layer. If you choose projector, the wall & white board open up & reveal the 3rd layer which is the projector screen. Once you choose projector screen, lights in front will automatically be switched off. Amazing..
我们的办公室
SMTC另一边的景色
熟悉吗？Does Osim iGallop rings a bell?
It's called Rodeo Boy 2. . . (similar function as igallop)
Okie, i was not really that free to see see look look play play.. Before dinner, I helped PP with a bit of work, tried out the function of the video cam, asked front office for the right no. to dial from Singapore to SMTC and from SMTC to Singapore (语言不通。。真的是鸡同鸭讲）
Dinner.............................*Slurp*
The marvellously delicious, mouthwatering Sukiyaki dinner . . .
Sorry, no photo..
What was on the table? Golden mushrooms, 白菜，a very special kind of 菜，香菇，beef (ingredients for SukiYaki), Big plates of Tempura, Sashimi, Salmon....... *drool*
Rice, pickles, Miso soup & fruits was served. It's a full course Japanese meal!!
Im fortunate. So fortunate.
My first Sukiyaki dinner.. i didnt really know what was it. Sukiyaki is just like Steamboat.. but ingredients are not cooked with water but rather with soy sauce, lard & water. It tasted superb at first but as you eat more, you will need to add more water or else your cooked food will be too salty. I can really drool just by tinking abt it...
I was puttin my full conc on food.. first dinner with them & im the youngest so not sure what i can talk to them abt. The table is so big.. not conducive for talking also.
Dream at 11.11pm.
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Date: 26th Feb 2007
Day: Day 2 (Monday)
I woke up at 6am/6.30am!!
Bath...
7am give morning call to PP.
(It's almost my standard procedure every weekday morning in Japan)
Our meal venue & timing is fixed. Venue is at a canteen/cafe..
Breakfast was a spread! It ranges from Jap rice & Miso soup to Cereal to sausages & eggs to Natos (Special sticky peas - you can mix it with Mustard & soy sauce to eat it.. bleh! not to my liking) I really feel like im living in a hotel. Good food Good room... what more can i ask for?
Class only starts on Tues but i still have to work for PP. I felt sleepy all the way till Lunch-time.
I was looking forward to Lunch, hehe... BF was good so will Lunch be tt good too?
You get to choose btw 2 sets. Normally they try to make it either one is noodle set, the other is rice set or one is western style (but not entirely western.. it will be mixed with small dishes of jap food) & the other more of Japanese style.
I LOVE THE FOOD.
EG.
Shit manz.. i really miss them (the food)..
Back in Singapore, i often unable to finish my food. But in Japan, i could actually eat up everyday! Small portion but many varieties.. i love it. You know the way to fatten me up,hahaa..
Food was really healthy.. now i know why Japanese 那么长寿。
Anyway, lunch was a bit awkward today. I sat with PP and Linda etc didnt join us! Instead, they sat at another table. "Is it me?" that's the first tot that ran thru my head. Anyway, Linda explained that she tot PP wana talk to me abt work (notes was on the table) so they didnt wana disturb us.
After lunch, it was "trying hard to fight the sleeping bug while working" time.. (Yup,rest of the days more or less the same)
4.30pm was the orientation. It was as if im attending a funeral. -_-"
Ok.. im nt being rude.. i said tt cos everyone wore BLACK except me!!!!!!!!!!
You will def notice who is the most inexperienced & youngest ard.
Ya, it's me.
Well.. i have learnt that black is the IN colour in the business world. Sorry, i shld say Black is the permanent IN colour in the business world.
We took a grp photo & i hide right at the back so i wont look awkward being the onli one with a dark purplish jacket instead of a black blazer.
The class size was 30, 4 gals & rest are guys. One by one, they introduced themselves during the orientation. PP was not ard so i helped her to note down individual's nickname or preferred name. 30... it's so hard to rem all..
I felt like an entertainer during dinner. Sitting at my table was Teppei, Yuichiro, Hyun Bae. 2 Japanese & 1 Korean. Ok, at least i gt the most handsome guy . . haha.. (he looked a bit like my ex... hmm, sorry no photo cos i could not access the dvd which contain the photos)
Although i felt like im the one who did most of the talking, they were really great guys.. I get to know them better as days passed. I did not mind to do most of the talking.. after all, im considered to be the helper ard.
Dinner....... hmm................. ok, im talking most of the time so... cant enjoy much... food . . erm.. was good however. . . portion was too too too too small. (there was a dish wif just 1 prawn, 1 scallop & 1 small piece of fish) It was Sedap so =X
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Date: 27th Feb 2007
Day: Day 3, Tuesday
First day of class for the GMBA students!!
As usual, wake up, bath, give PP morning call at 7pm.
Very jialat... 2nd day & i already started to 赖床。
I had my fav bacon for BF, hee..
Work Work Work. . . 12pm lunch (Rice with eel or Ramen)
The class was scheduled to start at 1pm. I helped with the set-up before the class starts.
It was the first day of class so PP wanted me to sit in to have a feel of how her class is conducted.
Thus, i sat in from 1pm-3.30pm.
Well.. i was quite impressed with her teaching (on Oral & Written Communication). She used humor, egs, illustration & she interacted with the class. I could see that the class liked her teaching as well. If she was one of the NUS lecturers, her class will surely be popular among students.
Shopping TIME! 4pm . . we are supposed to board the shuttle bus to the mall (JUSCO). Hmm.. it is quite a small mall like Gek Poh Shopping Centre. The main thing there is the supermarket..
On every Tues & Thurs 4pm, a shuttle bus catering for only 7 will fetch the 7ppl from SMTC to Jusco. This time round was special as all of us wanted to go tog so there was several shuttle buses to pick us up to JUSCO. Well.. i hate to say it.. everyone of us only had 1 hr to get the thins we want because the shuttle bus will arrive in one hr time. If we missed, cab at ur own expenses!
On the way there, i sat with Kelly (a Taiwanese gal). It was nice to be ard with a chinese.. hahaa.. She asked abt my age,hahaha..ok, i know i look young. *BIG SMILE*
Misa joined us before we stepped into the supermarket.. She was a great help! With her ard, we can overcome all communication barriers. Kelly & I was like.." Misa, what is this?" " Misa, which one is better?" Keke..
Supermarket was the only place we shopped but we didnt even comb the whole supermarket in one hour. Too busy asking Misa questions la.. In the end, i didnt really buy much. It was only Day 3. . i have to save the $ for rest of my trip in case i need any emergency $.
White day was near the corner (14th March) & I accidentally knew that PP's bdae is on 5th March (Peeked at her bdae wen i photocopied her p/p).. so i bought a small white day choco gift for her as bdae prex. I told Misa & Kelly too.. they may want to celebrate for her as well =P
Do you know what is White day? I know that Japan's V day is a bit different from Singapore. They actually break up V day into 2 days. One day will be the gal giving the guy a gift and the other day will be the opposite. .. I know abt this but nt sure of the dates.. 14/02 is the say whereby gals will give their prez to guys and 14/03 (white day) is the opposite.
Hmm................... i tink hor............... the sequence shld be reversed!
14/02 shld be the day whereby guys give to gals and 14/03 otherwise.
Why let gals malu first????????????????? -___-
Before we leave the mall..
Back in the office, Takiko treated us to cakes!!!
She said that my Japanese pronouciation is good,hahaa.. I love her..
Students are really hardworking.. every weekday they worked till late in the night. They were still discussing when i walked back to my room. One Japanese student was very cute (I tink it's Takao).. He said 晚安、辛苦了、再见 to me..so so cute~
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Date: 28th Feb 2007
Day: Day 4, Wednesday
During Bf, i chatted with 3 japanese students (Takao, Yuichiro, Nori).. Surprisingly, Takao lived in Singapore for 2 years before. He said he like Singapore and will love to visit there again.
Nothing exciting happened during the day.. it's a working day.
Oh ya, Kashima's soccer team is very famous as told by Tak san. There is a stadium nearby and matches are held there sometimes. There was a match btw Osaka team & Kashima team on 10th March..i really wanted to see but im flying back on the 9th. Sigh sigh..
Lunch was with Linda, Jenny, Tak etc..
Dinner was the best part of the day. We went out to makan!!!!!!! To one of the best restaurant in Kashima !!
(I think one of the highlight of this trip is def food,keke...I tot i will prob gain few kg but sadly, no.. just 1 kg from 42 to 43 kg.. someone said if i dun gain till 45kg when he is back, he dun wan me le.. sobz.. 我很努力了。。 (V_V).. come to tink of it, i shld tell him if he dun lose 5kg, i dun wan him wen he's back!!!--> pk, pls take note）
PP didnt join us.. cos she had too many things to handle. Hmm.. i wanted to stay back too but Linda etc helped me to ask her if it's ok for me to join them. Keke.. im lucky ..
It was an authentic Jap restaurant.. WOW! My first step to a JAP Restaurant IN JAPAN!
Dinner lasted for 2 hrs. . . . .
Food, food, food, food ,food...
A lot of food!!!!
You know.. my first trip to Japan.. and i almost tried all kind of Jap food.. tt's why i said im fortunate sia. The most impt pt is i did not pay a single cent!!!!!!!!!!!
Dinner menu as follows:
Fried popcorn chicken
Sashimi (BIG PLATE)
Tempura (BIG PLATE)
Sushi (BIG PLATE) - there is a particular tuna sushi which i cant rem the name. It cost 590yen ok! ard $7 plus... for just one sushi i tink.. they all asked me to eat the 590 yen sushi *Cheeky smile*
fried cheese (Jap love cheese)
Sea cucumber
Ice-cream
Miso Soup
Hmm.. i tink there's still some dishes that i missed out. Too many for me to rem liao!
No doubt, the bill must be extremely expensive! But i didnt get the chance to know the price.. FREE MEAL!
I eat until my stomach wana crack liao..5 of us could not finish everything, it was way way too much! But at least i tried everything,hee.. im satisfied (^_^)
Feast ur eyes ba.. (i only took few photos, sorry.. busy eating)
Fried cheese!!!!! Melting cheese inside.. SLURP... one of my fav~
Scallop with Veggie...I miss the food
All Sashimi!! (The best is the prawn.. sweet.. tender.. wa...)
Sushi fiesta! Now im regreting.. why i didnt eat more?
From left to right: Jenny, me, Linda
During the dinner.. Takiko teased me =(
There is a staff back at SMTC which handles all equipment or technical problems. It is only my 4th day here and im nt good wif faces and names..i roughly remembered his name so i called him Mr Tako. His actual name is Mr Kato... Mr Tako actually means Mr Octopus! Shit manz.. He's a nice guy & he didnt blame.. onli Takiko laughed at me =(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: 1st March 2007
Day: Day 5, Thursday
Im getting tired. . . 6hrs of slp every night. Im a pig, im born in the year of pig. 6 hrs tidak enuf!
It was a bad bad day also. . .
the photocopying machine 简直跟我过不去！
I wanted to print set by set (stapled) but ended up the machine churned out page by page (unstapled)..SIGH.. with the help of Linda, Jenny & Takiko, i organised everything set by set, nicely stapled and punctured. Thanks to the power of grp work.. thanks to them.
I mixed up some of the documents as well.. i better dun go into details.
i had banana for bf.. besides the first few days and last few days of the trip, i skipped bf. No time.. i rather have more time for slping than eating.
Lunch was great.. nice spaghetti, potato with tomatos & soup. (Takiko was my lunch partner)
Highlight of Day 5: A Visit to Kashima Shrine.
Intro :: Kashima Shinto Shrine (鹿岛神社） is the most famous spot in Kashima & it is also one of the most famous shrine in Japan. Known for its peaceful ambience, unlike other shrine, Kashima Shrine is not crowded with people which is a good thing. Preferably to visit the Shrine b4 5pm.
Time:: 4pm
Weather:: Very chilling..
With Takiko at the front gate (Torii)..
Hmm.. Not much pics cos we used video most of the time. Video is in dvd so inaccessible by me. hehe..
Takiko was our photographer.. she was really really nice.. All the lucky charms shop was closed except for one. There were diff charms.. marriage charm, safety charm.. hmm.. all the charms seemed irrelevant. The pretty ones are very ex also.. I wanted to thank PP for bringing me to Japan so i bought one Good luck charm for her but didnt get any for myself. (one charm is ard $10 plus.. very ex) Hee.. but know wat? I had one too!! Takiko bought one for me & one for Prof!! Now u know why i love her? She's so nice..............
I went straight to work after the visit.. Dinner was once again delicious.. veggie wrapped with beef. .
I was hungry at night again so i went to get Instant noodle from the vending machine. And i discovered a FREE tea machine!
FREEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee TEaaaaaaI happily walk back to my room with my instant noodle & tea.........
A work note on my dooor *shiver*
I walked all the way back to the office across the building.. retrieve PP's bag.. went to her room & went back to mine.
Instant noodle & tea time!
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Date: 2nd March 2006
Day: Day 6, Friday
Finally i get to cycle today. Keke..
I have been aiming to cycle from the 2nd day onwards. To be able to cycle in such a countryside area.. enjoying the scenary & weather.. it sounds great and it will be great too. I am anxious to explore the surrounding area of Kashima.
Before i get to the cycling part.. Linda & Jenny left in the morn.. BK left few days earlier. They have been of great help to me.. Linda is really a funny women & Jenny is cute. With them ard, office was not that quiet.. A small small office & there's people from 4 diff countries. . isnt that amazin? Jenny, BK is from Korea. Linda, PP is from America. Tak, Takiko is from Japan & of cos the Singaporean gal (me~).
Great bunch of nice ppl to work with. Linda & Jenny headed to Tokyo for a short holiday before heading back to their original workplace.
From left to right: BK, Linda, Me, Jenny, Takiko (Tak is the photographer)
Hmm.. ppl in the office were getting lesser & lesser..
One of the students, Kenji, sat wif me for lunch today. He's a nice chap.. there was no more space at all the students' table and he purposely shifted from his table to sit with me so i wont be alone. (Why am i alone? Sigh.. PP had lunch & dinner scheduled appts with diff students everyday & rest of the staffs was nt ard) I dun mind sitting alone but he's really nice to accompany me. Lunch & dinner times are really the time which i get to know students better.. it's the time which i can chat with them & get to know some of them better. I must say Kenji english is good! He's the only student that asked me so many questions and talked to me a lot more abt himself without me having to question more. Lunch was not tt delicious (Soba, siew mai & fried rice) but the lunch partner was great =)
Right after class, the Taiwanese students & i arranged to meet at 4.10pm at the front lobby. On the way down, i met Ichiro and he intended to cycle to 7-11 as well. So we went as a grp..
I chatted with Kelly & Eric on the way there. Actually I didnt know that the Taiwanese students knew each other before this Japan trip. Oh boy, i was wrong! You could see how close they were from the way they talked & teased one another. SO i asked Kelly:" Did all of you know each other b4 this trip?" Yes was the answer.. they meet up several times b4 the trip. Jeff & Eddie were good frens & Eddie's gf is in the same study class as Kelly. WOw.. small Taiwan sia..
They kept asking me if im cold or not..... i wore slippers, 1 spag, 1 long sleeves sweater and 1 long sleeve jacket......... ok la, i must admit, it's quite cold at times but i still feel ok. But the Taiwanese said i did not wear enough. Eric lent me his big-sized pullover on the way back to SMTC. I was touched by their thoughtful act & warm concerns..
Hehe.. my motive was to cycle so i didnt get much stuffs. Eddie offered us ice-cream & Jeff offered me rice cracker....... so nice of them. I aimed the comics.. intending to come back and buy at least one. It's cheap lo!! one Jap comic cost only ard $5 wheras a Jap comic in Singapore Kinokuniya will be def more than $5!!
Outside 7-11.. I sure look fatter..hahaha..
这张照片好怪。。哈哈
After we took few photos outside 7-11, we headed back to SMTC. (Originally we wanted to cycle further away but Eric had a dinner appt with PP) Dinner was with the Taiwanese.
Dinner menu: Fried chicken cutlet with cheese. Prawns & mushrooms wrapped in pancakes. Rice. (*.*)
8.30pm.. i was walking from the office back to my room, planning to have an early sleep. (Im will be going to Tokyo for a day trip tml) As i passed by the lobby, i could hear loud laughter. It came from the canteen. Ok, it must be the drinking session that Eric invited us to this afternoon...
I was thinking, "should i quietly creep to my room?"
Before i could tink more, i was spotted.
But it was fun, i didnt regret it.
11 plus.. we were still at the cafeteria. Wow.. by the time it was near to 11pm, i didnt have much energy to talk except to laugh & smile at their jokes.
Japanese & Korean treat drinking as part of socialisation..... Thus, Eric bought many bottles of wine. . everyone was drinking ard the table. At first, we started talking in small grps. After that, our bonding session started with me as the first starter (I didnt want to but... ya.. no choice). Everyone was given a chance to introduce and talk more abt themselves. After the introduction, they are supposed to ask someone else ard the table a qns.
On my left was Kenji, Mr Bear. On my left was Misa, Emma. Opposite me was Eric, Joo sang.
They were so cute.. humorous & friendly. Maybe it was the multi-cultural ambience that made small small comments from ard the table into laughters. It was just like back to school days whereby ppl just laugh over small things and pair each other up. Well.. i was one of them who kana this arrow & i was paired up wif Mr Bear (ok, he's married somemore). Anyway, everything was a joke. Mr Bear is a funny guy. Misa was also paired up with Suzuki & Teppei,haha..
Hmm.. the most shocking part for me was when Jeff asked me who will i choose & prefer (from one of the guys ard the table)? O_o
Gosh...................
Pengz.............
Eh Jeff, i was tired and mind was blocked. Why did you ask me such a qns at such a timing which i cant tink properly?
I said:" Actually im attached."
*Quiet...*
*somehow, i feel no one responded to wat i answered*
Hmm.. is my answer too serious? I tink so.. hahaha..
Some of us still stayed ard the lift area to talk after the drinking session. Eric was drunk, Eddie was tipsy........... Eric was sooo drunk that he could not even rem he went to knock on Kelly & Ymei's door & it was Misa & I who pulled him back. I ended up escorting him to his room -_-"
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