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Yes, I'm back in Singapore! At this point in time, I don't miss Japan that much, because the time spent at my grandparents' place felt like a transition period that prepared me for the return to Singapore. I'm just relieved that I managed to send and/or lug all my luggage home. To trim my check-in suitcase to 20kg, I stuffed so many things into my carry-on luggage, and the sum of the weight of both bags was about 20kgs! The 14kg hand-carry was the worse of two devils, I had to stop numerous times from the customs counter to the boarding gate because it hurt my hand so much. I was pretty worried about how I'd be able to stuff that bag into the overhead compartment because I couldn't exactly heft that over my head, but thank goodness for good samaritans! The guy in front heard the efforts of my friend and I to stuff it overhead, so he gallantly got up and asked, "Do you need help?" So he put it in for me, and when we landed, took it out as well. He was probably thinking, "My goodness, what did this girl stuff into the bag?!" Labels: Japan
I HAVE INTERNET! Labels: Japan
I had such a fun-filled, packed day!
I had quite some thoughts when the plane was taking off and all that, but now that I'm back all thoughts have flown out of my head, and I'm just happy to be home! My parents picked me up at the airport, and my dad, upon seeing me for the first time in about 10-11 months, said, "you so fat I couldn't recognise you!" -.-" Gee, thanks dad. But it's true, I feel pretty meaty (hell, I AM pretty meaty), and it's high time I do something about it.
Home... Well, it's home. There's the little fatty lounging on my parents' bed, and I immediately yanked him up and into my arms to give the big hug I'd been longing to give. I love that little ball of fats so much! <3 It still feels a little surreal though, doing the things I used to do, like opening the fridge to drink my beloved heaven and earth green tea, showering, wearing my cute cartoon pyjamas (which smell a bit musky from being unused in almost a year), hanging my towel, using my desktop (the monitor suddenly looks huge, because I'd gotten used to my laptop)... Simply being in my room! I mean, not too long ago I was hanging out with my friends in Shibuya. Hell, not that many hours ago I was still in Japan! But as I face the loads of photos that await me on my desk, I am looking forward to getting down to sticking them into new albums (after I buy the albums, of course) after I unpack my bags tomorrow. Ooh! That means a trip to Junction 8! I wonder if anything has changed.
It's good to be home. Somehow or other my mom and I spent a lot of time chatting before and after I showered, and before we knew it it's 5am. Although we'd chatted lots when she called me in Japan, it's still better to chat face to face! :) Anyhow, before I get overtaken by my euphoria of being home and rush onwards with my plans of meeting up with my friends and all that, I want to blog about some backdated stuff! More to come, later in the day!
... But only for a while because I came to Yoon Jeong's place to play and to use her internet to check on my CORS stuff and facebook. Life's been good, but swelteringly hot. I'd thought that nothing could compare to Singapore's constant heat, but Japan's summer is horrible. Even if the temperature is comparable to Japan's it's so much more humid here and as soon as I step out I start perspiring and get sticky. So I've started following the Japanese trend of bringing a little handtowel out to wipe sweat, and a parasol to block the heat, and a fan to fan myself, and sunblock to prevent sunburn! I can't imagine using so much protection in Singapore, that will be too weird.
Hehe anyway I'm really free at my grandparents' place so I'll be typing quite a few entries and uploading them when I get back home! Be prepared for a verbal diarrhoea then! :D Take care everyone, I'll be home soon. :)
Speaking of ship, today I boarded one! Yes, instead of staying in to pack my room I went out to play again~ We boarded the 納涼船 that makes a round of the Tokyo waters in two hours or so, with free flow drinks (alcohol included) and performances. [ Insert: My friend's leaving the dorm now, and when I popped into her empty room with all the bare shelves and clean table, it made me feel a little sad. And a little stressed because that's what my room is supposed to look like, and at the moment it still looks lived-in, which is bad!!!]
Anyway, about the little cruise, it was a whole lot of fun. Somehow all of us didn't eat before boarding, so from the first cup of alcohol I already felt light-headed. However, I went on to drink a few more cups of beer, which made me feel pleasantly high. It's a nice feeling being a little intoxicated without losing all your senses. Enough talk, let's see some pictures.
concentrating on food
daydreaming. or collecting my senses
the lucky guy
the fan stuck in the back is sexy, says he
the yukata dancers 
with the ship we took. salvia maru, which i first saw as saliva maru
titanic! neaaar, faaar, whereeeever you are~~
i like the ghostly transluscent effect
"there she goes!" this picture made me laugh! 
choo-choo slide
sense my satisfaction?
demureness befits a yukata
but we like to deviate :)
I really like the yukata! It's simple enough to wear by myself, and when worn at night it's not too hot either. There's just something really feminine about the outfit that makes us feel really pretty. About two more weeks in Japan. Maybe I'll be able to wear it once or twice more!
With that, I'd better go. 4 more hours to the stay-awake-for-24-hours mark. But that's not my intention, so I'm going to sleep for 3 hours or so and resume my packing. Considering how often I use the internet, I'm going to feel really lonely without it the next two weeks! I'll still have my phone till at least the end of the month, so please mail me at kaori33@docomo.ne.jp, it will be very much appreciated :D
big bang :)
colourful spots!
many little flowers in the sky
diu diu diu!
i can't deny it. gold is grand
explosion of colours
on the street closed to traffic
colourful ferris wheels make good backdrops!
the updo i did, and the obi i tied myself :D
fans to ease the heat, floats to quench the thirst
the yukata pair :)
minato mirai backdrop
night time is lovely, isn't it?
ultra man wannabes!
Frankly, I should spend some time throwing some stuff out tonight, but the all-nighter karaoke and fireworks frenzy has worn me out. I shall leave my room in its current state and go to bed, waking up early later on and trusting that I will complete the bulk of my packing by the time I go to take the little cruise at night. I hope I will have pictures for that (ie I hope my camera doesn't vibrate tomorrow!) Although I borrowed a camera from my grandfather that did me a great service tonight, I very stupidly forgot to get the charger. Now the battery's flat and I don't know how else I can charge it. It is not easy to find a friend here who lives nearby who owns a Nikon camera. :(
In any case, that's not going to stop me from accumulating all the experience I can while I'm still here. I really envy the Japanese for having the opportunities to wear their kimonos and yukatas. For this period, I have the chance to as well. Slotting myself right into the Japanese culture, I am. :)
We met at an auditorium at 9.45am, in preparation for our graduation ceremony of sorts, an indication that we are done with our year at Waseda. Although it was supposed to be formal, it was interesting seeing the varying degrees of formality that people presented. Some had pretty poor behaviour up on stage (we had to go up individually to collect our certificates), but all in all it was good!
kinda reminds me of NUS
a little cheering before the school song
we have graduated!
fooling around with a classmate's hat
yay to friendship!
snuck a shot while he was chatting in my room
the video. i loved the captions throughout the video
the cake he got for us all
the ladies waiting for me while i was on the phone
we four girls :)
bye bye waseda :(
L-O-V-E! <3
fooling around with the street lamp. haduuuuugen!
kelly t and i
busy singing, busy choosing songs
it was FIVE am!
Who says that goodbyes have to be sad?
(Okay actually... for now it's still fun. But I'm pretty sure I'll end up tearing/crying at the airport when it comes down to the final goodbye.) There's so much I love about my experience in Japan!
1) Japanese class
We watched L: Save The World as our last movie, and since it's such a recent and modern show, it was extremely fascinating and entertaining. After which, the whole class went for lunch. It was the best attendance I'd ever seen at a class outing! After all, during most out-of-class lessons to the museums and what not, attendance is usually rather dismal. It was rather nice to see the room packed with students, gaily eating and chatting. Although it was meant to be a farewell party, it didn't really feel like goodbye. The way some people left earlier, it was almost as though we would be meeting again come Monday. However, the fact is that we won't. In any case, the three of us gave the teachers the gifts we got them, and I was really happy to see that they were very pleased with the gifts! No matter what age, women are still women, and are perked up by receiving gifts as accessories. They were so cute. I like my teachers so much. And one of them will be stopping in Singapore for a transit flight in August, and asked for recommendations of places to go. Who knows, if possible I'd like to bring her around! :)
2) Dinner with language exchange partner
Today was also the last meeting with my language exchange partner. As she is really busy with preparations for her exchange, as well as preparations for her exams, we ended up meeting only in the evening for dinner. Today was by far the best meeting, because it just felt so natural and friendly, sitting close side by side at the restaurant grilling our meat, sharing our desserts... I was happy to hear her saying that she will definitely come to Singapore, that it's just a matter of time. When she makes her way there, she'll contact me! I can't wait to have her around so I can host her. Surprisingly, she got me a gift (when we were together at the shop, no less!) and I thought that was so sweet of her! I got a handkerchief with glass prints, as well as a handphone strap with a picture of the Japanese equivalent of ice kachang. Apparently she thinks it fits me, since "Kaori" is associated with food. =p Having her as a partner made me feel really glad that I signed up for language exchange, and that instead of being mere conversation partners, we became friends. I wonder if she got along so well with her previous partners, but that's besides the point. While a part of me dreaded the Mandarin-speaking sessions sometimes, all in all it was good fun, and very good practice for me to brush up my mother tongue. :)
3) My cousin contacted me!
Now that was the biggest surprise of the day. Half a year ago, my cousin got my mobile email and number, but he never got around to contacting me, and I totally gave up on that idea. While I was browsing through the JLPT books in the coop today, suddenly I felt my handphone vibrate (it's rare that I feel it when it's in my bag) and there was an unfamiliar number calling me. I picked up, it sounded like another male friend, until he identified himself. I was so surprised, but at the same time very pleased! So we chatted, I said that I want to go to their house to use the internet (to which he said I can go anytime), and I got him to mail his email address to me. So all's good! After dinner, I received another call from him, and it appears that he's going to come down to Tokyo to meet me tomorrow! Wow, it really makes me wonder what's up with him. Why the sudden friendliness? Not that I'm complaining, of course. He thinks it's not embarrassing to finally contact me after so long, and I think it's better late than never. I wonder what we're going to do tomorrow. =D
4) Supper
Not too long after my dinner, I met the friend who'll be going to Singapore for exchange for supper. It was meant to be a snack for me, and dinner for him, but I ended up eating more than him, because he got full pretty quickly! And he ordered so much, it was a waste to not finish the food. I stuffed my face with lots of food, but he likes girls who eat a lot, so it was all good. We'd met up quite a few times, but like with my exchange partner, today was by far the best catching up session. Conversation flowed readily, and this time I got to use much more English because he wanted to get used to listening to English - or more specifically, Singaporean English. After I told him the story of how I got so scared that I'll fall off the side of the mountain while skiing, he got really hooked on the way I said, "oh shit!" He made me repeat it, and at sporadic moments, he'd suddenly blurt out "oh shit!" and grin mischievously at me. Towards the end he even wanted me to repeat the ski story just so he could hear the way I said that! Well, I'm glad I'm entertaining. -.- It was good fun. The next time we meet each other, we'll probably both be in Singapore. I can't wait! I can practise my Japanese with him, while he can have company in the interim while he waits to start school and make new friends. Win-win situation!
Tomorrow we'll be having our graduation ceremony of sorts, an official indication that we have ended our year at Waseda University. Will that farewell feel more final? There will also be a Feel Japan farewell party tomorrow evening. So many goodbyes to be said, so many times. Instead of saying goodbye, it will be better to say "see you again". After all, when there's a will, there's a way... Right? I'm just really thankful for all the friendships I've formed here. I will work to ensure that they remain intact throughout the years and the distance.
Because we have people in our lives, our lives become that much more colourful.
1) Playing with my hair
Basically experimenting with updos, testing the strength of the pins and how long the updo will last etc. All these because I don't want to wear a yukata with my hair in a ponytail! >.<
simple french twist with pins
get-up for dinner with relatives: french twist with big clip
company for the night: jeff
company for the night ii: aileen
This last week seems to be for the purpose of tying up loose ends. Doing the necessary procedures like closing bank accounts and cancelling health insurance, going places we've been wanting to go but kept putting off, showing appreciation to our teachers, meeting up with the people who've made our stay in Japan an enjoyable one... I hope I don't leave anything out, only to realise when I'm in Totsuka, or even worse, in Singapore, that shoot! I forgot to do something! That would really be the pits.
