On Friday, I waved goodbye to a group of new friends from Japan as they literally sailed into the sunset. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, but I felt quite upset when they were yelling to me and waving goodbye from a distance, maybe because I didn't manage to catch any of them before they boarded the ship. I so wanted to be on the ship with them! But since that's impossible, and they're now on their way to China, I shall just comfort myself with the thought that I will go to Kobe to look for them one day.

If you're wondering why I got to meet students from universities in Kobe, this is how it started:

We then flew to Vietnam, and four of us took off to take in some sights of Ho Chi Minh City. We made our way to Ben Thanh Market which seems to be pretty well-known.

One thing I have to say about Ho Chi Minh City is that it seemed so chaotic! Horns were blaring incessantly, bikes were zooming everywhere, and it was an absolute horror to cross the road. In the picture above, see the road we had to traverse to get to the market? To cross the road, we had to pluck up our courage, and walk into the stream of traffic. No matter how much our hearts pounded and our palms turned clammy, the only way was to continue walking steadily, and watch as the traffic diverged around us. Either that, or stay on our side of the room forever. Extremely frightening, really!

Chao aside, there was a certain quaintness to Vietnam, probably as a result of it still being a developing country, and having sights and sounds that aren't available in Singapore anymore. These little mobile roadside stalls that the women carry around seem like something out of our time!

After half a day of sightseeing, we boarded the bus and made our way to the jetty, and came to the Fuji Maru ship which was to be our home for the next three days.

There were three of us in my cabin, but it wasn't cramped. I was a little surprised by how spacious our room was, and of course, happy! My first time on a cruise, so everything was a wonder!

I'd mentioned this before, but as a reminder, I'd signed up for the Hyogo Summer Session at Sea 2008 trip, and we basically boarded the ship akin to a floating university and had interaction with the Kobe students on board.

We were supposed to attend lessons with the Japanese students, but they ended up making alternative arrangements for us, and we attended lessons that taught us a little more about the Japanese culture, while the Japanese studied about Singaporean culture.

We were essentially very free with loads of time to admire the scenery, which was gorgeous! I saw sunsets with no buildings on the horizon to mar the beauty, and everything simply looked so peaceful and serene.

During one of the few times when a bunch of us Singaporeans hung out together, we went photo-taking on one of the decks while the Japanese students sat for exams (which were very simple, I heard).

One of the perks was that we got to enter the radio room! The control room of the ship was way cool, and I think it's not someplace one can easily enter. So one of the officers explained what they did there, and I happened to be standing beside one of the machines he was describing, so I got to push some buttons upon his instruction! :D

We were supposed to have a formal full-course dinner, but that was postponed due to some reason or other. Still, we were expected to dress up for a normal dinner, and dress up we did!

All too soon it was a goodbye as we left the ship... only to return that night for the final reception. I was quite appalled by the attire of some of the students from NUS japanese studies department and japanese society. It kind of made me realise that the Singaporean idea of smart-casual is vastly different from the Japanese idea. [ Wait, I think not just the Japanese idea! Singaporeans' attire don't fit into most cultures' definition of smart casual >.< ] Maybe they didn't know it, but they definitely looked lacking beside the spiffy/beautifully coiffed Japanese students.

After a round of speeches (the most boring and lengthy ones were from the NUS personnel -.-), there was this act of breaking the wine case to kick off the event. It was pretty interesting because I'd never seen anything like that before.

Shuying and I didn't have time to dress up our hair in any way, but her group leader came to look for us and wielded her magic on us and within a few minutes, she had our hair up in amazing hairstyles! I was really impressed by her skills, and I think by most Japanese girls in general. Somehow they just pick up such skills on their own and they're so adept at it.

I think the food at the reception was good, but I hardly ate anything because I was mingling. Good for my waist, maybe. Hur hur. It was quite a pity that my group wasn't present at the reception because they attended the reception for the Vietnamese students, so for me there was a lack of people whom I knew.

I'd heard from several people that my group was made up of rather quiet people, and in general weren't very enthusiastic or outstanding. Surprisingly, they do goodbyes well. After the reception, gan-chan ushered me up the stairs to the third floor, where I found the whole class waiting for me. After I got this board with messages from them written on it, we proceeded to take our first and last group photo. Then I took photos with various individuals whom I was closer to during the course of my stay. At the very end, they paired up, stood in a row, linked arms over their heads and formed a bridge of sorts (think London Bridge), under which I was supposed to pass before I could leave. Then as I was going back down the stairs to leave the ship, they lined up at the railings and I was hi-fiving and shaking their hands as I descended. Of course, given that I'm not very tall, after a few steps down I couldn't reach their hands anymore, haha.

So that was basically the last time I saw them, since they all returned to the ship early the next day and I missed them all. I was sorely disappointed, but I managed to pass the food I got for them to the overall group leader. Still, it was depressing watching all the Singaporeans mixing with their group mates, taking pictures... Sometimes when people try to comfort you, they end up making you feel like crying more. Anyhow, we eventually made our way to the bus bay/car park, which was the closest we could get to the ship to wave them off. Watching as the number of students standing on the decks watching us increase over time, then hearing my group shouting to me, then hearing the engine come to life and the boat pull away from the dock... Those, and the regret that I couldn't meet them for a proper goodbye... It was the absolute combination to tug at my heartstrings and turn on the taps.

But I'm half-Japanese, I have relatives in Japan, I have friends in Japan... I will go back to Japan again. So this isn't a goodbye forever, it's only a goodbye for now. Till we meet again.

Loves. :)