永遠の夏

Temperatures should be around 8-15 degrees in the Northern Hemisphere by now…

but back home…

no matter when or where…

it will always be a constant 24-32 degrees…

in other words….

HOT! HUMID! GLARINGLY SUNNY!

the sun rises in the East from 7:00 in the morning and sets in the West at 7:00 in the evening…

if I were to draw a graph, wouldn’t it be linear?

scientists and geologists wrote about the ever moving earth’s tectonic plates and i’m wondering after 100 years, will the plates moved far enough that trees will shed their leaves and turn golden from November-January? or white fluffy water crystals form when temperature drops below 4 degrees?

when you’ve gone through the change of 4 season, the equator has become your worst nightmare

it was BLAZING HOT! at around 10:00 in the morning in my university…

clear azure blue sky with fluffy candy-floss-like-clouds

you might not be able to feel the “hotness” from these pictures but i can assure you that it was burning…

and within 5 minutes of getting out of my room, beads of sweat start to form and soon, i’ll have sweaty palms and be sticky all over…

*sigh and plans to jump into the shower the first thing after got back*

onto other news…

Arashi’s 5 members new Fuji TV Special Drama Project! slated to be released next year’s spring entitled 最後の約束 The Last Promise, a human suspense themed drama.  It has been 10 years since all 5 members acted together in a drama since 1999’s [Vの嵐] but didn’t they also starred together in [ピカ☆ンチLife is HardだけどHappy] in 2002 and the sequel [ピカ☆ンチLife is HardだからHappy] in 2004 and the latest 2007’s [黄色い涙 The Yellow Tears]

I didn’t really watch any of these movies from the beginning till the end (only a part here and there) but I lol-ed at 大野’s weird salaryman’s hairstyle in Pikanchi, amazed at both 翔くん♥ and 松本’s Kyoto and Akita dialects in Kiroii Namida, surprised at 相葉’s singing abilities in Kiroii Namida, 涙の流れ星 and finally, ニノ…erm I don’t really have any strong impressions of him in any of the movies…*scratches head and thinks hard*…AH! his punk hairstyle and his first appearance in Pikanchi? the one where he appeared in the first scene of the first episode dressed up in some kind of spaceman suit (silver in color!) riding a skateboard and crashed into 大野 in a park…LOL

now, if only K8 is allowed to have their own special drama too~ *looking forward to this* the last time i watched すばるand 村上 in [ありがとうおかん Thank You Mother] a special drama for Kansai TV in conjunction with the TV Station’s 50th Anniversary, they were quite good and impressive and would really love to watch all of them acting in a drama, in a typical Kansai household setting with everyone speaking in Kansai dialect! ♥♥♥

okay fangirling time’s up so sweeping that aside…

just saw this article in the today’s news column, Chinese Cinderellas Going To A Ball where 1,500 young ladies in Guangzhou submitted their applications to attend this one-of-a-lifetime-ball organized by a local matchmaking agency where only 40 lucky selected girls will be able to meet some of the richest multimillionaires aboard a luxury yacht. The condition for the guys? Single and must have a value of at least 50 million yuan whereas the competitions for the girls are stricter. Guys pay around 36, 800 yuan to attend the ball but girls get in for free C= The main reason for such an extravagant meet-up? Rich guys hardly have the time to get out of work to find their “Cinderellas” thus such event helps in giving them an extra leg up in the social ladder.

This came as no surprise when a news article released a few months ago stated that at least 1/3 of the world’s richest people reside in China or come from China and when asked around the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, the businessmen shrugged their shoulders over their opinions whether the current looming world economic crisis will have an effect in their lifestyles and jobs. Many replied that although the economy is not looking good, they are still able to splurge and continue to indulge in their luxurious lifestyles. A bunch of very optimistic people, the Chinese are.

PS: I just finished watching the Arashi Around Asia (AAA) Tour 2006-2007 where the group held press conferences in 3 different venues within 24 hours on a private jet! (…the life of those born with a silver spoon, a commoner like me will never understand that…) in Bangkok, Taipei and Seoul. The group has 5 members but with only 3 places, 大野 surprised me with his almost-fluent Thai when he gave a speech at the press conference! @__@ while 翔くん showed his good educational background as a Keio graduate when he spoke eloquently in Korean in Seoul and finally,松潤’s Chinese sounded so cute (and very funny! sorry to all the fans out there!)…

I’ve asked a Korean friend of mine regarding the difficulties in learning Japanese and he said, “Surprisingly Korean and Japanese are very similar especially in the grammar and even share same vocabularies so it’s fairly easy and fast to pick up the language” Interesting…

Next! 5×10 dvd clips! *Believe Animation PV is too cute to resist!*

PSS: Oh…and the Golden versions of  秘密の嵐ちゃん, VS嵐 and 嵐の宿題くん had mellowed down quite a bit…missed those ピンクの小倉さん moments~ lol

My Sweet Hometown

Reading news like this makes me happy and thankful that I was born in such a wonderful city

China’s President, Hu Jin Tao arrived today for an official visit after a lapse of 15 years creating a new milestone in the Sino-Asean relations

And has requested for a private visit to the historical city *欢迎!欢迎!*

No matter where or how far you roam, home will always be the place where you will go back to

Home is a place where you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to

Fall of the Berlin Wall

20 years ago on a cold Monday night, 9 November 1989 the East finally opened their gates to the West

Years of separation and anxiety melted into the unbelievable reality of freedom and a future without border guards, secret police, informers and rigid communist control

On that night, the wall of separation was finally pulled down and knocked over, strangers hugging each other as celebrations continued on well into the nights and days

20 years on, parts of the wall still stand but most of them are gone, shadowed by development of the city

It was on this date that a country became whole again, a country called Germany

 

On another note, the Korean wave struck again, this time in the heart of Tokyo where for a limited time only, a special “Winter Sonata Cafe” opened its doors on the rooftop terrace of Matsuzakaya Department Store in Ginza attracting hordes of female fans of the series. The shop is based on the world of animated version of the series (there is an animated version of the series?!! *face palms*) started 17 October on Sky Perfect TV Channel

 

 

My 2nd University Part 2

Continuation from previous post…

 

A prove that the university is surrounded by wilderness! Not that I am complaining though…*smile*

 

Hirodai in winter…brr~ *cold*

 

Hirodai in autumn…beautiful! this is the walkway near the Engineering Faculty

 

Vending machines are everywhere~ tempting us with cold drinks in summer and hot drinks in winter~

 

A mixture of hot and cold drinks on sale~ My recommendation? +150ml Coca Cola for 100yen! and Fanta Grape and Zero Sprite (my first time encounter!) and Qoo! Apple Juice *delicious!*

 

Environmental Eco Friendly! ^__^ Pour away any ice cubes/water down the chute on the left and then place the cup upside-down on the right and press the red button in front and you’ll get 10 yen back

 

Main Library 中央図書館

 

2nd floor inside the Main Library…there are computer terminals on each floor (2nd and 3rd floor)

the West Library 2nd entire floor is actually a mini computer lab with dozens of computers for students to use

and the best attribute? Free printing! service on recycled papers of course!

 

Study tables and chairs and shelves upon shelves of books in various languages (I once stumbled upon books written in French, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and I think a few in Latin?) but most books are in Japanese

I am happy with my university’s library but would be super grateful if only there are more tables and chairs provided on the 2nd floor *___*

 

The West Library

 

Shortcut from the IAS (Integrated Arts and Science) Faculty to the Education Faculty…one of the first hidden pathway I found on my first few days exploring around the campus

The court on the left is the tennis court and the building behind the court is the Music Faculty

 

ATM corner (there’s another corner near the IAS building) and a cute tiny post box next to it

 

Satake Memorial Hall さたけ記念ホール where most of the major events will be held

 

Mermaid Cafe, the one and only cafe where you’ll find a lot of international students gathered together…

and also the one other place in the whole campus where you can enjoy free-refillable coffees while surfing the internet with power outlets provided besides the libraries (minus the coffee)

 

The Science Faculty and the grey building opposite is the International Center

 

And more bicycles…the campus has a lot of parking bays for bicycles and motorcycles but only a few parking bays for cars so most of the lecturers will park their cars at the designated bays and walk to their offices…

If this is implemented in my university, the first group to raise their objections would be the lecturers…

*sigh*

 

It still is a mysterious to me on how the Japanese keep the streets and premises so clean…

We don’t have 1 big rubbish bin but a lot of small bins like these with labels for empty cans, empty bottles, empty PET bottles (plastic bottles), burnables (papers and the like), recyclables plastics and not-burnables…

which till now, I am still confused on which bin I should throw my onigiri plastic wrapper into

These bins have images on them (like the picture at the bottom) to let you know what kind of rubbish goes into which bins but most of the time just like the picture at the top, there are no indicators except the labels in Japanese (and if you can’t read Japanese, you’ll be in a pinch) but worry not, just open the lid and peer inside the bin and you’ll know which is the correct bin but if there’s nothing inside, then that’s a different story…

 

PS: Someone told me that Hirodai Higashi-Hiroshima is the 2nd biggest national university campus in the whole of Japan (and I am still searching for the champion) which explains why no matter how many times I circled around the campus on my bicycle, I can’t seem to find the exact perimeter of the campus…interesting~

Oh and there are also a big track and field area behind the campus plus, a medium-sized baseball ground, a fairly large botanical garden (or is it plantation field?) and surprise! surprise! a horse track complete with stables! *amazed*

Then there are also an indoor and outdoor Olympic sized pool (it turned up on the campus map but I’ve yet to find them), a fitness training room (inside the West Gym), a Kendo practice hall (inside West Gym), basketball court…did I missed anything?

 

 

My 2nd University Part 1

お待たせしました！ Finally, on to the one place which made my dream to go to Japan come true by accepting me as an exchange student in their university…also the place where I spent most of my time (attending classes and events), made a lot of new foreign and Japanese friends, met my Japanese language lecturers…life was bliss!

My One Day in Hiroshima University Higashi-Hiroshima Campus 広島大学東広島キャンパスの一日

“Kriing!!~ Kriing!!~”

9.30am on a beautiful Tuesday morning as I got up, get dressed and get ready for my class at 10.00am C= That’s why I had a bicycle and often skipped breakfast…by the way, the earliest class begins at 8.45am, thank God!

cycle all the way from my dormitory down the hill, stop at a traffic light junction and within 2 minutes, I’ll be cycling down this path, the bicycle and pedestrian walkway leading towards the main gate of the university, the main road is just next to it…this was taken in spring, hence the pinkish sakura blossoms…

notice how wide the walkway is! definitely won’t happen in my country…

and don’t be surprised if the university does not have walls/huge archways or impressive gates as barriers…

1st class: Japanese Language Level 2/4 (autumn and spring semester respectively) class

Education Faculty building where most of my classes were held

A small classroom for Level 2 class as we’ve only had 6-8 student…this was taken in the beginning of summer, hence the open door…

there will be an umbrella stand like this found outside each classrooms/rooms where on rainy days, everyone will place their wet umbrellas into the holes so that there won’t be any dripping wet umbrellas inside the classroom as well as to avoid slippery floors…nice idea! me like!

12:00 noon – Lunch Time

Possibly one of those fun times my friends and I looked forward to everyday…there were 2 choices…

Line up together with the other students (this is the super long queue seen everyday outside the West Cafetaria)

or

Get some onigiri (rice ball) or bento (lunch box) or sandwiches from the Lawson convenience store or from the Co-op Shop

There are 5 cafetarias found all over the campus, the Main Cafetaria (next to the main library), North Cafetaria (opposite the Education Faculty building), West Cafetaria (next to the West Library near ISA Building), East Cafetaria (next to the Engineering Faculty building) and University Hall Cafetaria (next to the clubs and circles building)

These cafetarias are not always packed with students but lunch time is the peak and most cafetarias close by 8.30pm

The above picture is the North Cafetaria opposite the Education Faculty building which my friends and I often frequented as it’s the nearest to our classes and also not so crowded (as in the queue is not as long as other cafes)

This is what you’ll see at the North Cafe during lunch time

Basically, National Universities (just like mine but mine looked more like a fortress with those gates and guards more than anything) are open to everyone, a good way to promote life-long learning so sometimes you’ll meet the local aunties and uncles walking around the campus or nearby schoolchildren in their uniforms having lunches at the cafetarias

This was taken in front of the North Cafe in autumn…

Regular students will normally have their lunches (and sometimes dinners) at the school’s cafetarias as the university has a meal plan (something like prepaid cards) so this helps the students to save up on meals

And tadaa~ free lunch time entertainment! ^__^ Performances by students of various clubs

Surprisingly lunch time is kind of short (in my opinion) as the next class starts at 12.45 noon! That explains why the lunch time queues are always so long…

Next class! 2:45pm – What Is Peace? (I am still puzzled on why we had to take this class…)

Bicycles! the main transport of almost all the students (and some lecturers)

What is Peace class is one of the compulsory subject (Peace Studies) for all exchange students and is also offered to other Japanese students (we were separated into groups of 4-5 students with 1 group having at least 1 international student) My group had 3 Japanese students, 1 Korean guy and me…I am glad that we got along quite well and I really enjoyed their companionship during those few months C=

The class ends at around 4:00pm and during Fall Semester, day was short, night was long so sunset occurred earlier…

By the time I’ve cycled out to the main road leading towards my dormitory, this was what I saw

Beautiful sunset!

Comparatively to the other regular students, we exchange students were quite free (since we were free to choose the subjects we wanted to take)  so most of the time, I will have at least 1 class  and at most 3 classes per day, from Monday-Friday

雨

きょう午後から雨が降リ始まる

今も雨が降っている

いつまで降るかでしょうね

寒気が感じながら暖かいお茶を飲んで

お茶をゆっくり飲むながらベッドとかソファーで好きな本を読んで時間を潰すのは

私自分自身の中で一番理想だな

最高リラックスの方法と思う

人見知りであまり出ることが好きなので

これは休みの日一日できたら嬉しいよ

私変な人でしょう　*笑*

今村上春樹さんの１Ｑ８４の本を読んでるが

使った言葉は難しいし何か話すなのかよく分からないで

他の本よりペースは遅いよ～　Ｔ＿＿Ｔ

でも村上春樹さんの作品が好きだから

がんばります！

窓際座ってる私は今

雨は見えないが

音は聞こえる

シャシャシャで

良い音です

 

Pearl Mount Fuji

Credits: 読売新聞

According to the newspaper, this is an image of the full moon rising from the summit of Mount Fuji dubbed “Pearl” due to the shape, color and overall visual of the scenery. Chances of seeing such visuals are quite high especially during the autumn-winter period where the night is longer, day shorter and sunrise doesn’t occur till later in the day.

This was taken from the city of Gotemba in Shizuoka Prefecture

Beautiful! I didn’t get the chance to see Mount Fuji covered in snow or snow peak (fell asleep on my way to Tokyo during winter break the last time…my life’s most tiring 18 hours train ride!) before so a little disappointed here…but can’t be help since my university was located far, far away from this area…one of the cons of staying far away from Tokyo

Would I go back just to see the mountain with my own eyes? Definitely!

 

EDIT

Oh and I found this picture in this morning’s news section

 

Credits: 読売新聞

This was taken at the peak of the Mount Taisen 大船山 one of the mountains found along the Kyushu Mountain Range in Oita Prefecture. According to the news, this autumn season’s strongest cold winds struck the whole nation leaving many places with the lowest temperature recorded in November and in this particular area, the temperature recorded was 4.1 degrees, a fall of 3.6 degrees from the previous year. Snow started falling heavily on the night of 2nd November and dusted the mountain peaks with white powder by the next day. One of the rare opportunities to be able to enjoy both the colors of autumn and winter at the same time.

Happiness

nope, not the song by Arashi but more like…my emotion right now

^___^

I just got back from a very short meeting (15-20 minutes…wanted more time! T__T) with 堀田先生 Hotta-sensei! and the President of Hirodai and 2 assistants

They were attending a 3 days conference held in a hotel very far from my university but they took the time to come all the way here to have a talk with me, I felt so touched by that! Apparently I was the 1st student from my university who went over to Hirodai for exchange and the President wanted my feedback about the life I had in Hirodai.

Oh by the way, the whole conversation was in Japanese, that’s why my hands and feet were trembling so much and I think I’ve mistakenly used wrong grammars >____<”

But I am so happy and glad that we’ve met and had a proper conversation! I had a chance to chat with Hotta-sensei and from our conversation, memories of my stay in Hirodai suddenly resurfaced and I felt so nostalgic…somewhere deep down inside my heart, I really wanted to return…

But…there’s always a but

*sigh*

I’ll have to finish my studies, graduate with a degree and then…FLY~

*looks beyond the horizon*

I’ve completed one of my childhood dream and maybe now it’s time to make another dream come true…

 

On another note,

Beautiful Autumn in Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture!

My friends and I were there during autumn too but the journey took such a long time that by the time we arrived at the foothills, it was already dark (sunset is earlier) and we didn’t really get to see much of the autumn colors in full splendor *sad*

*wishes that her country has 4 seasons too but of course that’s impossible…*

Then there’s the latest news regarding a Japanese woman who was caught on suspicion with drugs at KLIA and will be sentenced to death if found convicted. The amount of methyl-amphetamine found in her luggage was 4.7kg (certainly quite a huge amount) but that was not what I found weird but if you follow the link and scroll down to the last comment made…

 

Here in Switzerland, she will be captured and released…

 

I was like @__@ Really? Then I did some research online and found out that Cannabis is classified as illegal narcotic is punishable by monetary or imprisonment punishments but on the contrary, in 1998, 250 hectares of land were used in cannabis cultivation yielding more than 100 tons of narcotics per year!

So basically if you are caught smuggling drugs in Switzerland, you’ll be caught (of course) and if you can afford it, pay up the fines and you’re free. Interesting facts for drug dealers this is…

 

PS: Listening to Hero by 嵐 the main theme of 24 Hours TV 2004

Arashi Challenge Week

Finally, the long awaited Arashi’s Challenge Week Special broadcast programs from 25 October to 1 November closes its curtains yesterday with the highly anticipated 驚きの嵐世紀の大実験学者も予測不可能ＳＰ＆奇跡呼ぶ実験的生ライブ

*sigh*

too many to d/l and watch…with the current internet connection I have now, it’ll probably takes me days…

but at least I’ve watched a few

^__^

and the complete Believe PV – Animation Version is so cute! I felt as if I was watching a real anime…that goes to say how good the quality of the music video is…

翔くん was covering a live news report on an apartment on fire and manages to save a boy trapped inside the building at the same time while 大野くん was sleeping while fishing in a nearby park and ニノちゃん was reluctantly helping out granpa and grandma in the rose garden while playing his favorite video games on his DS, on the other hand, 松潤 was drinking alone in a bar and manages to help a damsel in distress while the animal-loving 相葉ちゃん has his hands full on bringing a few dogs for a walk in the park…the storyline fits each members’ personalities perfectly!

Sho-kun’s voice is so nice~ would be nice to hear his voice waking me up in the morning….*blushes*

I’ve also tried watching the 1st episode of Samurai High School (co-staring 三浦春馬 and 城田優) but 3 minutes into the main story, I couldn’t stop laughing…I missed the 三浦くん I’ve watched in Bloody Monday, a very highly recommended drama by the way

So now I am concentrating on My Girl (yet to watch episode 4  T__T) and the weird in a fun way ０号室の客 (co-staring 嵐の大野智 and K8’s 横山裕) I am slowly getting addicted to this drama’s OP/ED theme…

PS: I took the campus’s bus to the IO today and after getting on it, I realized that the windows are heavily tinted (which is good since the sun was shining brightly outside) and throughout the whole journey, I was watching the scenery outside the window through time-travel lens as everything was in orange-yellow shades, the same situation when one watches 80-90’s videos or flips through old photo albums…then it hit me…is this how the university looks like in the eyes of my children 20 years down the road? Interesting…

Dormitory Above the Lake?

If you translate literally the dormitory which I’ve been staying in from Japanese to English, you’ll get the title of this post

Ikenoue Dormitory 池ノ上学生宿舎 is located very near the university and cycling downhill was lots of fun but going back to the dorm after classes was a tiring uphill ride

Building No. 5, female’s dormitory..one of the other only 2 female dormitories in the whole campus

The dorm which all the female exchange students stay together with the other Japanese students

The bicycle shed in front of the dormitory…every dorm has one since cycling is the main transport for most of the students here

And if you look up behind the bicycle shed is the building no. 10, the boys’ dormitory

So after parking and securing the bicycle, let’s go inside…

The main entrance which is locked from outside, only residents of this building can use their own room keys to unlock this front door…the white notice pasted at the front is the warning for no guys are allowed inside this building

I like the porch lights movement sensor which lights up whenever someone walks up the stairs at night as it not only saves electricity but also provides good source of lighting especially for those who stayed up late at the library/part-time work and comes back to the dorm late at night

After entering the front door, this small living cum gathering room is on the right with sofas and a small television

My friends and I sometimes gather to do our homework together and if not mistaken, this photo was taken sometime in November/December where we were watching some Japanese comedy variety program while completing our Japanese grammar homework…Listie was “drawing rice fields” as she practiced writing Kanji (Chinese characters)

I’m sure you’ll come across this warning “土足禁止” which means NO SHOES ARE ALLOWED!

and this is where all these small shoes cubicles come in place…

You are supposed to take off your shoes, put them inside the cubicle and wear your room slippers when walking along the corridors

For about 300-500 yen, you can get one of the above cute fluffy room slippers at Youme Town and they are very very convenient and comfortable during winter especially during those cold nights when you have to walk back to your room from the bathroom/kitchen…

Can you guess which slippers was mine? Hint: Super Mario

The very long corridors…

You’ll have to walk the entire length of this corridor to get to my room from the kitchen as they are both located at the extreme ends of the building

One of my favorite place in the dorm (besides my room) is this Japanese style study room

Every floor has 1 study room but only on the 2nd and 5th floors, the rooms are Japanese styled

I like the idea of sitting down on the floor on the tatami-mats with the low table…unfortunately the door and the windows are not the traditional shoji (paper) screened sliding doors and windows or else it’ll be perfect!

The quite big shared-kitchen for everyone who lives on the same floor

Nen and Yam and sometimes Kristin and I used to bump into each other in this kitchen during meals time

I particularly like the stove as it has an attached tray underneath the stove where you can grill fish and chicken wings! Yummy!~

The 2 big shared-refrigerator…the papers stuck at front are warnings not to take (or mistakenly take) other people’s food, label your own food properly and keep the fridge clean

Top level is the freezer, middle is for ordinary stuffs and the bottom part is for storing vegetables/fruits

Microwave and toaster ovens! I wouldn’t have had breakfast every morning or dinner during those cold wintery nights  if these 2 items did not exist…for me, they were my life’s essential items.

I will always toast my bread for breakfast/brunch during weekends/holidays and the microwave oven helps to warm up yesterday’s left-over dinner/rice or my bento (lunch box) for that day…I always cooked extra rice so that I would have a supply of rice for at least 2 days and especially during the spring semester, I made my own onigiri (rice balls) bento for lunch

And whenever I was too lazy to cook, I’ll just tear open one of the many frozen food packages (takoyaki, pizza, Dorias etc), pop them inside the microwave oven, wait for several minutes and a piping hot dinner was served. So convenient! Wish my hostel has them but of course, that will be utterly impossible….*sigh*

My friends and I used to gather together in October-November whenever we were free to cook dinner together with simple dishes such as fried rice and spaghetti as the menu and sometimes just rice with vegetables and meat

Those were really fun times as we’ll have a lively chat while preparing the ingredients and got to know each other better…food really does bring people together! Unfortunately as the weather gets colder and colder in December, it was impossible to stay in the kitchen for such a long time as we’ll be shivering in the cold

And finally back to my small but cozy room

It’s that SMALL! and a little tight but I loved it! ^__^

There’s an air-conditioning cum heater unit where you can turn on the heater in winter and air-cond in summer but I seldom use it

The blue “mattress” on the bed frame is actually part of the futon set that I’ve bought from the International Center…a little pricey but it has served me well during my stay, keeping me warm and comfy during cold winter months…oh, there was a big fluffy blanket that comes together but didn’t make it into the picture…

My very messy study table…the 2 grey units on the top left are the internal phone and internet modem

The internet connection is one of the thing that I missed most ever since I got back…500MB file in 20 minutes! and for the whole time I’ve used it, never once was I disconnected…NOT ONCE! and the price was super cheap compared to back home…can you imagine having all the above mentioned benefits for only RM60 per month?!

Telekom seriously have a long, long way to go before I can agree with the services provided…

Next up, a tour around Hirodai! Matta-ne~