2 weeks in Japan (",) - Part 2

Date: 3rd MArch 2007
Day: Day 7, Saturday

I missed my breakfast..Lack of slp due to the previous night.

7.15am : Met up with my sight-seeing group, namely Kelly, Ymei, Prof Pr, Kazu (Information guide), Kim, Jun & Misa (Tour guide)

7.25am: Everyone arrived & off to bus-stop. (The bus tik costs 1600 yen i tink) 1600 yen per person, 1.5 hrs journey to Tokyo train station. (do some math and u will know how exp it is)

1.5 hrs..................................... to Tokyo (Jun was my bus companion - we even drew a sketch of our own country)

He told me that bus schedule & timing is fixed in Japan, unlike Singapore. I wonder how Japanese bus driver can be so punctual? So amazing..(ya, he said Japan bus is punctual.)

First stop: ASAKUSA.



It is definitely a tourism spot in Tokyo (Been listening to Jenny & Linda talking abt this place in the office). So over there, you will not only see Japanese but ppl from all ard the world. A Buddhist temple.. 2 stretch of stalls lead the way to the temple. Stalls that sell souvenirs, food, kimono, toys, accessories etc...... and this:


(Photo from Kelly, thanks.)

Hmm.. i put it as my Msn pic and has successfully attracted several guys that came to ask me:" What is it?"

It is Purin (Japanese Pronouciation). Go check it out urself. =P


Our Sight-seeing Group

It was great to visit such a place with Japanese in our group. They taught us how to draw lots, tie up bad lot and keep good lot, to throw coins into a well before entering the temple etc...

TEPPANYAKI LUNCH!! SLURP SLURP........
The restaurant is really a traditional Japanese restaurant!
Everyone of us knelt and gathered around the Teppanyaki iron plate.
We cooked every dishes by ourselves..needless to say, every dish was delicious.
The waitress gave us bowls of erm... mixture? (it looks like watery flour mixture with egg)


Mr Kim Chef


Oishii~

One was seafood with egg, one was just veggie and one was like Mua Chee (the one we had at pasar malam).. cant remember the rest.

Once again, i was amazed with the toilet........
You need to wear slippers in the toilet.
马桶的贮水箱和洗手盘连为一体，每次抽水时，水龙头自然就会流出自来水，用来洗手。用来洗手的水接着再流进水箱，用于下一次抽水时


After a discussion on the next place to venture, we decided on Odaiba.

2nd Stop: Odaiba

To go to Odaiba..
by bus? NO..
By train? No...
By plane? OF COS No....

Yah.. by Ferry...

It is like an island linked to Tokyo.. well, i think it is still part of Tokyo.

You can take ferry all the way from Asakusa to Odaiba..
Along the journey, you will see 14 beautifully & differently designed bridges.
I will love to take photos of all 14 bridges but.. hard la.. i didnt try also cos the ferry is not really of open concept.

The last bridge (Rainbow bridge) is the most beautiful bridge of all i feel.


Okie.. photo is not tt nice.. you see, it's misty..


On the ferry.. (which costs 1220 Yen = ~$15)

Fuji TV building is situated on Odaiba. There is a mini statue of liberty on Odaiba too. From Odaiba, you are able to see half of Tokyo Tower as well.

Fuji TV is a pretty building. The icon of Fuji TV is Laugh, a blue dog that looks like Snoopy. After paying for the entrance fee, we are allowed to tour 5 floors of Fuji TV. Each floor has its own theme..

On each floor, we are supposed to find a stamp machine and stamp on the brochure we obtained on the 1st floor we visited. After 5 stamps, Laugh will be formed!
Smart idea........ all of us were having fun doing that.
Hmm.. actually Fuji TV is not really a great place to visit if you dun know much abt Japanese hosts, programs, artists etc..
Nothing much to see.. the only thing i enjoyed is stamping on my brochure,hahaha


Kazu & Me reporting news live from JBC =P

After snooping & stamping on 5 flrs of Fuji TV building, we went to a shopping mall for a short shopping trip. Yah.. it was really really SHORT shopping trip.

Dinner............
Beautiful, romantic dinner......
We had a room to ourselves! Furthermore, the view...... wow... gosh...... gorgeous!
From our dinner room, I could see the orange Tokyo Tower (Orange in the Winter & White in the summer), Rainbow Bridge, the whole view across Odaiba. Shoik! It was definitely memorable.

Okok.. back to the food..
There was a dish which i particularly love it a lot.
I didnt take note of the dish name but it was meat immersed in melting cheese in a bowl....... Bagus! Their cheese dishes are always so delicious.

Dinner was of cos great, needless to say. Photos are in dvd so.. ya, sorry
But... here's a night scene across Odaiba from the outdoor area of the restaurant.



The last program of the day - Ferris Wheel!! (^_^)

900 Yen for a ride..or rather for one full round. Amongst the gals, i was the lucky one to actually sit with the 3 guys in our group. (Well, i can just say it was purposely arranged). Photos was taken... maybe i will just show it to pk. *gleeful smile*



End of my Tokyo trip..(Passed by Ginza b4 we took the bus back to Kashima.. as told by Jun, Ginza is the most expensive area in Japan)

We managed to get a 10.30bus back to Kashima. So by the time we reached Kashima, it was midnight. (The bus driver overshot our bus-stop and sut sut U-turn back for all of us)

Kashima Sweet Kashima.

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Date: 4th March 2007
Day: Day 8, Sunday

YAWN. You can imagine how tired I am after the previous day of touring Tokyo.

It was a 'no energy' day for me.

Woke up at 8am (slightly later than usual)
Reached office at 8.30am.

Nothing much to say about this day because it was a working day.

Hmm.. i lunched with Yuichiro (the not bad guy) and chatted with him on his racing hobby. Oh ya, he loves to race and get married at a super young age of 24. Not bad-looking but married at such a young age.. sigh.. hahaha

My cycling itch came again.
Eric & Jeff rode with me to Jusco. Hmm.. terrible mistake.
Why?
I fell down -___-"
... and injured my knee. Heng, 皮外伤. But... bleeding. (I knew it only wen i came back from cycling.. no wonder knee was painful)

We took 30mins from SMTC to Jusco. It should not take tt long at all......
Me again.
I was riding on an electronic bike but.......
I didnt know I must switch on a button to activate it.
There was a stupid LONG upward SLOPE along the way to Jusco.
I had to rest twice...
When I reached the top of the slope, Jeff discovered both Eric & I didnt switch on the button.
Pengz. . . .
No wonder so kan kor for me.

Anyway, thanks to Jeff & Eric for taking care of me. If i went alone, who knows what will happen. I might still be lost in Japan now,hahaha

Dinner was a fun chat with Kazu, Kei ito & Ichiro. I mistaken Ichiro to be a Korean and made them all laugh at me =(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: 5th March 2007
Day: Day 9, Monday

Shit! I overslept & PP called my room... tot will be meeting her at office instead so my alert mode was off.

Oh ya, it was PP's Birthday!

Upon reaching the office, all of us (Tak, Takiko, me) wished her Happy Birthday and presented our gifts to her. My gift was chocolate & Takiko's gift was a pretty candle ornament. It was not that simple.. the students had also planned a surprise for her and Takiko helped to buy the cake. (是我大嘴巴告诉每个人的,haha)

After class, the plan started. Yuichiro and ymei carried the cake in & Takiko and I was the video-women. Stupidly, i did not press the record button hard enough and nothing was recorded from my video cam....

She does look happy I think..
She said she always kept her bdae as a secret.. (Sorry, i peeked at your p/p when i was photocopy it) Opps!

You know, it can be sad being in another country where no one knows abt ur bdae and therefore did not celebrate for you..so i just spread ard!~ That's all.

Lunch was with Tak San (everyday i have meal with different people.. gosh)
Tak San is a very nice person to be with.. he always told me info on Japan which I will be interested in. He told me that Ramen is popular in all parts of Japan and considered to be the most popular noodle. Japanese living in the Kanto region (East Japan) prefers Soba wheras Japanese living in the Kansai region (West Japan) prefers Udon. Interesting fact ah~

CYCLING TIME ! (There's nothing to do except to cycle.. besides, i love cycling..)

I didnt ask anyone..make it a pt to be alone this time round so i can really take my time to simply admire Kashima streets while cycling and to take my time in shopping. Hee..


Photos that I anyhow took on my way to 7-11

天不作美。It started to drizzle on my way there (5pm).

I realised the 7-11 cashier will say out the prices of all the items that i bought as he scanned in the price into the cash register..

Sky had turned dark when I stepped out from 7-11...
As mentioned earlier, Kashima is like a countryside so there are not many street lights on the street.. 踏回去时，前方的视线是昏暗的。。脚踏车的自动夜灯又不亮，只好凭着感觉慢慢地骑回SMTC。唯一害怕的是像昨天一样跌倒（因为路是不平的。）

虽然危险，但觉得还是一种享受。

Late dinner time.. Eh? No one was at the cafeteria so I had my dinner alone for the 1st time =) Beef, Macaroni soup, fish, banana, pickles.. it was great. Those who know me knew i hate to have meals alone outside but..... it was diff this time round. I could fully enjoy the Jap food and quietly sit there to enjoy it, heee..Too bad i was unable to admire the scenary outside because in the morning, glass was transparent but at night, it was a mirror.

I walked back to the office after dinner.. WOW! Everyone was in the classroom.. no wonder..

Eric asked me to take photos of him & his grp working.. (He said no one helped him to take cos he's the photographer) After which, i played ard with his camera taking shots here and there & all other grps discussing in action.

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Date: 6th March 2007
Day: Day 10, Tuesday

3 days left in Japan~I do miss things back in Singapore.

I am a Video-woman today. =D

All video-taping of every group presentations was handled by me. From the set-up to preparing & showing the videos to them.

It was their first grp presentation........ and Yawn, i was a bit bored by them. All the presentations were really serious. But they did a good job though. I had the easiest job of just standing there to record,hahaha

Lunch was with Takiko & Tak San. Once again, Tak san told me something interesting and informational abt Japan. As told by Tak san, Northern Japan depends on snow for water while Southern Japan depends on typhoon for water. I tink insufficient water might be caused by global warming in Southern Japan one day....

4pm was the videotaping exercise. There were 3 grps of 1 pair each. Each pair are supposed to have a 20mins discussion and decide on their final choice. Yah.. i was the video-woman again.

It was cute to hear their discussion.. In a normal discussion, speed are normally fast. But as their common languages were not English, their discussion sounded like slow motion discussion, with X2 slowness pressed on the videocam. All of them spoke slowly and carefully during the discussion. But it was really cute...(ya, i was eavesdropping to be ready to press the stop button when they made their choice)

What did i do with these videos? Well.. it was an achievement for me!! PP asked me to look out for all the listed response strategies, link them tog and make it into 1 video. Oh boy! I was excited to do that!! The last time i did a video movie was for Michael b4 he headed off to Shanghai NOC. Now, i get to do it again ^_^

It took me one whole day.. to find all the strategies and make it into a movie. But i was really statisfied wif my work. I extracted one part of Suzuki's video where he kept sniffing..and added my own comment on top:"Suzuki had a terrible flu...." I showed it to PP and tot she might ask me to remove that cheeky comment.. hey, i was wrong, she love it! I guessed the class love it too cos they told me they were laughing loudly when that was shown. *SMILE*

Dinner - Takiko, Tak, Nori (The jap guy who wanted to learn Chinese)..

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Date: 7th March 2007
Day: Day 11, Wednesday

It was a hurtful day for me. I was hurt by what one of the GMBA participants said. After this incident, i feel quite proud of Singaporean. Singapore does have its own style and characteristics. Through this incident, i realise i do feel a sense of belonging to Singapore.. cos wen he insulted Singaporeans, i was damn damn damn mad!!! I wanted to scold him right in the face in the cafeteria but I ren. If I wont need to face him for 2 more days, i would have just walk off.

Anyway, pls dun ask me abt it.. i wana forget it. I tried not to be mad at him on the following day cos it was stupid to be mad at someone for so long. But i know in my heart, i will nv be frens wif this kinda ppl anymore. Somehow, i wanted to just throw away NP of him & me.. but i didnt.. suan le. I hope not to have more contact wif him in future.

Forget abt the sad thing.. i wanted to cycle again. To get rid of all the unhappy tots & to relax after a day of hard work.

However, i was busy all the way till irt was dark outside. Being the stubborn me, I really wanted to go out even though PP & Tak discouraged me to do so. In the end, Tak said he wanted to get something from 7-11 too.. so he will be going with me.

Frankly speaking, i know he does want to get breakfast for tml but the main reason shld be to accompany. Such a nice guy.. he is just like my dad.

We went.............. ok, after tt i regretted a bit. The weather was too damn cold for any normal human being to withstand and the street was too damn dark to even walk properly on the pathway! Single degree outside... no road light.. we depended solely on our bicycle lighting & car lights that came from the opposite direction.

He's a hero.. he guided me thr and on the way back.. and i was touched wen he bought some tibits which he loves and gave it to me as a farewell gift =....)

Thanks Tak !


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Date: 8th March 2007
Day: Day 12, Thursday

I had breakfast, yeah! (After skipping bf for so many days)

I helped PP with the laptop setup to show the class the video i have made. Hee.. as mentioned earlier, response (I tink) was good. =#)

It was the day before i leave for Singapore. Ymei and Takiko was my lunch partners and later on the whole table was occupied by Taiwanese participants (Ymei, Eddie, Jeff, Kelly). Taiwanese were really cute & friendly people. They spoke in pure chinese (which is def rare among SIngaporean). We chatted from Taiwan politics (Hmm.. not like those serious discussion), our country to match-making for Kelly.hahaahah... They were fun to listen to. I could see they were really concerned about their country's economy & political scene.

Last Shopping trip at Jusco with Takiko. Hee.. Mr Kato (nt Tako~) was very nice to drive us to Jusco.. we had ard 1hr 15min to walk ard the supermarket and get wat we want. Phew! I managed to get Aaron & Elaine's prez.... In addition, bought goodies back for my frens & 2 small bottles of Sake. Speaking of the Sake.. it was nicely wrapped..... sobz...... but i didnt get to bring it back to Singapore at all cos it was confiscated at Japan Airport.
My fault.... cos i forgot i am not supposed to bring liquid on flight. Should have squeezed into my check-in luggage!

My last dinner in Kashima was a really grand dinner. Takiko & Tak wanted to bring PP to the restaurant we ate the other time with Linda & Jenny...... so...... keke.......... i get to eat there for the 2nd time (IM REALLY SUPER LUCKY).

The food was different from the other time. Variety of food was diff, everything was in smaller portion but............. it was still...... a lot of food. Similar to the previous dinner, we could not finish our food..


The translucent slimy item in the cup is called SoreNore (Baby conger eel). Takiko said it is rare and only available in certain season. Here is another clearer photo i obtained from the web:

It doesnt taste like eel/fish definitely... it just erm.. slimy..like jellyfish


Potato with Veggie.. not bad.. but not really one of my fav.


Those who know me well as Lingz will know this is def one of my Fav - CLAMS!


This is Takiko San.. look at the spread of food in front of us!!!!!!!


Can you imagine the no. of plates that Jap waitresses have to wash each day? Count yourself lucky if you are not working in a Jap restaurant..

What I have shown is def not all.. some of the empty plates have already been taken off by the waitress.. Food just came in continuously.. Both PP & I was flabbergasted by the no. of dishes Takiko has ordered! The door of our room was definitely opened for at least 10 times.. nt joking..

I went back to SMTC with a big fat tummy and a full stomach *BURP*
Well.. Takiko is really really nice to treat us to such a great meal and i could see that she was a bit hurt wen we could not finish the food..

I went to the student discussion room to ka jiao one of the grps.. ahhaa.. im leaving soon and nothing to do so I just hang ard, chit chat with them..

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Date: 9th March 2007
Day: Last day, Friday

Award presentation on last day of lesson...
Kelly won the most persuasive award
Mr Bear, Eddie & Emma shared the most creative award &
Toshi won the most improved award..

The Taiwanese had arranged lunch with me at the cafeteria.. my last meal with them. They were really great but due to their busy study schedule & my hectic work schedule, we didnt really have time to know each other much. Nevertheless, i was glad to know them.

Before i left, they gave me a Japanese Cd as a gift & souvenir to remember Japan & to remember them.. so sweeeeeeeeet....
Ryu gave me his box of korean biscuit the night before.... I went Japan and yet came back with a Korea gift too,hahah
Takiko & Tak.. they were great.. Takiko always buy nice tibits for us.. te di bought cakes & pudding for me on one of the nights. Before i left, she handed me a package of assorted rice crackers for my family which I wanted to buy when she brought it from Tokyo to office.
On PP's last lesson, she presented me with 'University of Michigan' T-shirt as a token of appreciation during the award presentation. (I had 2 t-shirt cos Takiko gave me one b4 PP gave me, hee..)

When i was leaving, Mr Kato & another Jap staff was there.. The Jap staff said:" 明年见。” Shocked me! Well.. i dun tink i will ever get to see them again... All the Jap staffs were so nice and hospitable towards me.

Thanks for the great Japan/Kashima experience. I will miss all of them. =)



P.S.: Tokyo-Narita Airport has a great shopping area.

2 weeks in Japan (",) - Part 1

Date: 25th Feb 2007
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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 TEaaaaaa

I 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!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 -_-"