Last week was random in many ways.
My grandmother passed away Tuesday 7th after many years of cancer. It was expected though, she was becoming worse. I felt sad that I couldn´t do anything to comfort my family, but dad went to LA so daijobu.
I met Tae Hoon oppa a lot. He made plans everyday and it was fun, a change in my life.
I had an exam in Political Economy; and I was very nervous about it. But I got my exam back and it was a B ! Very proud of myself, I was 2 points away from an A.
On the 8th I watched My Sassy Girl with Tae Hoon; it´s a very popular Korean movie about a girl who shows off a stronge image of herself to a boy who wants to be by her side to discover what is hiding under that strong act of hers.
I also sent in an application for internship in Korea; hopefully I will get it! Wish me luck ;)
9th I went to Kyoto with Takkun, for some second hand shopping in Hanjiro. Hanjiro in Kyoto has a very cool design. When you walk through the wooden gate entrance you enter a hall in white wooden paint, and there are two old white bathtubs on the right side, filled with green water and goldfish. Then you walk up chandelier stairs with birdcages and you find tons of shopping ! Both second hand and new ones. I bought a supercool red leather bag, a bordeaux coloured hat, a dress, cardie and much more. May I mention that the bag only cost me 2000 yen :P
Takkun showed me another funky place; Chicago which specializes in 70´s and 80´s second hand shopping. I found a wicked 70´s dress for about 200 sek!
After some gyudon we headed off to buy Takkun a bag he had been wanting to buy, looked really cool on him!
Coming back to Hirakata I went to izakaya with Tae Hoon and his two friends Mike and Kenji. Since they spoke in Kansai Ben boys´s slang I felt kinda left out. Afterwards me and Tae Hoon saw the Dark knight, latest Batman movie that was really good.
Sunday 10th, I woke up at 9, showered and biked to Hirakata station with Maki to visit her hairsalon. Aiko, the hairstylist, had been to London to study so she spoke English.
I was there from 11 until 4pm for a straightperm, dye and cut treatment. I got beverages, cookies and massage, and I had 4 people who circulated working on my hair. The colour was lighter that I thought it would be but now I love it, and my hair is still straight even after showering; awesome ! The process was so long that I fell asleep at times.
1. Put 1st straightening treatment in, wait. Wash off
2. Straight hair out with iron
3. 2nd treatment put in. Wait, wash off.
4. Blowdry hair that is now superstraight.
5. Put dying treatment in, wait, wash off. Put treatment in, wait, wash off.
6. Dry hair and cut.
7.FINISHED !
Everybody who saw my hair loved it, so that felt good !
After the hairsalon I went to a shopping mall near Osaka with Tomokun, Masayo and Madoka. We found boots for Tomokun and some cool green pants at Uniqlo and I finally purchased a pair of black kneehigh boots for myself.
Dinner and head back home !
Last week was pretty intense, I had to study but I felt kind off depressed over some things, so I was very distray. But I decided to work hard to solve the situation.
Friday 17th I met up with Miki and Yusuke in Kyoto for dinner. Came back home and went to sleep, very sleepy.
Saturday 18th a group of us went to Kyoto to cheer for Maki´s playoff lacrosse game. Jonas, Mischa, Luke and Bill taped M A K I on their chests but some parents made them put their shirts back on :S booo..
Kansai Gaidai girls led by 2-0 but ended up loosing by 4-3, so unfortunate. Maki was crying afterwards, but she really did a great job !
Dinner at a nabe restaurant, I had Kimchi nabe (Nabe is a hot pot with meat and vegetables, eaten during colder seasons).
Saw the movie The Prestige, very good movie about two competing illusionists. Bill has so many movies in his cd case so people are always having movie nights in the dining hall.
Sunday 19th was brunch day at Sandoro, awesome food as always. After that me Chikako and Masayo went to Kuzuha mall to buy Bill slippers from Uniqlo.
It was my brother´s birthday as well, but he wasn´t around when I called so :
AIDIN baka HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Yesterday was Bill´s birthday, me and Aika made him a cake and bought him a card with a beer bottle on it that makes the sound of beer being poured up ;)
The cake was really good I might add !
I talked to Tae Hoon about the future, he is applying for jobs in Korea and Japan, and is heading for a job interview in Seoul this upcoming weekend.
I got a lot wiser after the talk.
Today I had my oral exam, extremely nervous because I wanted to do good. I have been learning so much grammar lately that it is getting confusing.
It´s MIDTERMS this week so everybody is studying, we have about 4 exams in reading, speaking and writing Japanese so people are busy.
Im studying some Korean on the side, Joel taught me some, he has studied it in the States:
Jeo neun Aida imnida ! [Chou noon Aida eemunida]
This weekend is Aika´s birthday, Tomo kun´s "friend" Ayano is coming for dinner ( practising what to cook for her), and Im off to have a green tea ceremony on Saturday with Takami.
And I have a cold ! But the weather is warm here, still which makes me happy.
I felt really happy and relieved today, I can do anything !!!!
Naega baram pyeodo neoneun jeoldae pijima BABY...
naneun neoreul ijeodo neon nareul itjima LADY......
gakkeum naega yeollagi eopgo, sureul masyeodo...
hoksi naega dareun eotteon yeojawajamsi, nuneul matchwodo neon naman barabwa.
Even if I forget you, don´t you forget me... Look only at me..
friendship does not cover up for lost love.. I had to break free, emptiness has it´s price and sometimes roads part, deciding which path to go is all about strength that one has to obtain to be able to mature.
I understand you have to do this, but I don´t have to wait for you because I have to be happy. No more tears.
Neon naman barabwa ...
tisdag 14 oktober 2008
måndag 6 oktober 2008
Big Bang concert anyone ?
6th October
There is a Korean living in my dorm, he is kind of a mystery boy, because he is never around. He pops up occasionally at night. Name: Tae Hoon. He is majoring in Japanese; has studied the language for 7 years which makes him insanely good at it!
I had a conversation with him 2 days ago and when I told him I listen to Korean songs, he took out his Ipod and was very impressed with my knowledge ^^ We had a new song session again yesterday and I could sing along in most songs on my mp3 player which made him puzzled and he promised to teach me Korean. We sat up talking this and that until 6 in the morning and I went to sleep and slept in the next day. I had sushi dinner with Tae Hoon, Chikako and Tae Hoon oppa´s friend Kenji (oppa is Korean for big brother).
4th of October, I went to Kyoto with Tomo kun and Wes. We went to the manga museum and after that we had some lunch at a cool café that had yakiniku and steak. After that we strolled around Kyoto´s Sanjo area and then Wes headed back home to have dinner with his home stay family. There are talks of him moving back to Seminar house 4, because he is bored at times at his home stay in Kyobashi, Osaka.
Anyways, me and Tomo kun were on a mission; getting Tomo kun a makeover. A couple of days ago me and Aika were surprised that Tomo kun never had any cologne before; we had Michele spray some Aqua di Gió on him. The reason for this makeover is that my dear otooto kun (little brother) has found a cutie pie ;) .
So, we headed to find him a cologne, which was easier said than done. We found more girl´s perfume and makeup shops and we almost gave up, when we found a skin care shop that had small samples of their cologne for sale. So we bought one for Tomo kun. After that we headed to Uniqlo for shopping ! Uniqlo has cheap and awesome clothes. Shirts, skirts, black pants, business gear, casual wear etc. I bought a purple dress hoodie, and then I helped Tomo pick out his new style. He choose a bordeaux red parka and I found black pants for him, he choose a pair with pockets on the side and they made him look very tall and slim. And then I ran and got him a grey cardigan which combined with a scarf looked very chic ! The guys in the other dressing rooms where looking at me with amazement while I ran back and forth between racks and the dressing room.
So after content shopping we found a restaurant and had a set dinner of ramen, fried rice, gyoza and then we headed back home, exhausted. We went to Starbucks for some coffee, I had matcha frappucino, and the cute barista was working again, the one who might have a girlfriend who is Madoka´s friend. He ran out of cream so while he excused himself with a cute smile, I was all "Oh no problem whatsoever, please take your time!" :) Tomo kun just laughed at me and went "baka" (idiot). He gave me extra amount of cream and then we headed home.
I was supposed to go to a flea market yesterday, but it was cancelled due to rain so me and Chikako headed back to bed, since it was 9 in the morning. We heard that a couple of people had fallen of their bikes which they have been riding drunk of course. They were taken to the hospital for treatment. Everyone had gone the park; a park which apparentely is very beautiful and a perfect spot for drinking. We even have a Facebook group for it.
These past days have been sunny and warm but now it´s back to rain, but it´s still warm, 25-26 degrees and rain this week. Lars is coming from Sweden so it´s gonna be nice seeing him.
30th of September I had dinner with Jonas and Miki and Miki´s friend in Osaka, we went to karaoke in Namba and to a izakaya after that. I had a stressful moment when I arrived there, because I ran out of battery on my keitai (cellphone). Yup I finally bought one, about 700 SEK for a prepaid one, with a 3 month card and free emailing for 70 SEK per month. I have already sent about 100 emails since I got it. In Japan one sends emails instead of sms, so you can contact someone from your computer if you want to.
My keitai is black, from Softbank and I have decorated it with rhine stones, AIDA of course and lots of purikura stickers.
Anyways, there I was in Namba station with no clue of where Miki could be, so I ran to a phone booth to call her, but I couldn´t get a tone, so I turned and looked around and there she stood with Jonas. Thank God !
The karaoke place was brought to us by a bouncer who took us there. It looked like something from the future with floors similar to ones in a shower with white tiles and the rooms where red and grey; with red furniture. The bathroom was even cooler, the sink was a see through one !
Anyways the izakaya was cool as well, we took off our shoes and sat down in a sunken down booth on the floor. The food was good as usual, but Jonas made the mistake of ordering a Bloody Mary and the taste of tomato was too weird for him to finish it.
I met Jonas on the 26th alongside Team Kansai Gaidai; Azusa, Sachiko, Miki, Yuko, Saori and Tomomi, we had fika and it was very fun. Jonas had been surfing and stuff for 2 weeks in Kyoto and alongside the coast. He loved Japan of course !
After the fika I met up with my speaking partner, Takami to have dinner, I made yakitori and rice and miso soup for her, she liked it ^^.
I have been to yakiniku as well, it is actually a Korean dish. It´s meat barbecued on the table and eaten with rice, very good ! I had it with Koshin and Madoka. We had an all-you-can-eat meal and left the place very contented.
Yesterday when I woke up, I biked with Jonas, Mischa and Luke (US one) to Royal Host, a diner opposite KFC to have lunch. We had a set lunch which was bruschetta or soup, a sallad, and pizza or spaghetti and dessert of choice included, about 120 SEK ! When me and Jonas told the others that it would probably cost twice as much in Sweden, their jaws where wide open.
After lunch, the guys bought some KFC to go and we headed back in immense rain! I hate rain !!
I got cleaned up and took the bus to go meet Tomo kun and Takumi down in Hirakata shi to find new shoes for them. We didn´t manage to find anything nice; they wanted pointy boots and we only found dark sneakers and business shoes. There are about 10 girls´ shoe shops but it´s a bit harder on the guy department. I managed to find a 1200 yen dress at second hand so it wasn´t a total waste of time anyways ;) .
Tomo kun joked about us going to Starbucks and me being all shy and dumb to Takumi so Takumi had us go there again. But cutie boy wasn´t working unfortunately hehe.
Tomo kun wanted to find a way to talk to his favorite girl, so I offered to help; as in having him email her about me wanting to have Japanese friends so why don´t we have lunch together. It took him about 15 minutes to write it but it turned out good, she is up for it !
I bought a set of Shiseido skincare products by the way. Shiseido is the world´s oldest skincare brand and it´s Japanese. The lady who helped us gave each of us a foundation gift and a mascara gift as thanks for my generous shopping. There was even a lottery; in which I got 2 free scarfs :)
I have been feeling lately that Im back in highschool. Because I have classes everyday and lunch in the cafeteria. After lunch, time is spent browsing people from the staircase between McDonalds and the cafeteria (If I didn´t mention this, we have a Mc on campus, you pick out your burgers yourself and pay by the counter).
One day when Mischa and I were browsing the campus, 2 girls came up to him to take pictures with him and after that another pair of random girls started talking to him while we sat on the stairs. I am not that fortunate on the guy department; Japanese guys just stare! And sometimes you can be as lucky as to have a group of guys staring at you together.
Whoever said Japanese people are shy should reconsider the word shy. They can be found staring at you so much that you put your head down almost in shame. Usually someone who stares at you turns away their head when caught staring but not Japanese people :).
This week I have an exam on Thursday and the weekend probably includes IKEA with Takami, Chikako and others, Kyoto second hand exploration with Takkun, maybe Osaka with Tomo kun and Takumi and maybe some other sight seeings. We have Monday off again; this time it´s Health and Sports Day.
I might meet Lars and the others for izakaya or something. They are gonna go out for dinner tomorrow at a nabe restaurant. Nabe is a hotpot dish which I adore but I can´t because of the exam.
I am planning a trip to Tokyo soon, probably around the 7-9 of November, and Korea around the 20-24th of November. Im gonna stay at Haruka´s place and meet Masashi, Yuki, Nozomi, Eiko and Daiki.
Halloween is coming up as well, so there is a planning of a party at SH4. Me and Bill had this idea of having Tomo kun be Michael Jackson since he can do the moonwalk, and then we are gonna practice the Thriller. Ii desu ne?
Im gonna meet Miki and Yusuke for dinner soon as well, maybe even Kento.
I haven´t meet Asumi or Ayane or Mio yet. Neither have I been able to meet Keiko and Yu. And I have promised Masako to go to Fukouka. Lots to do. Im also busy this week with my applications for my upcoming internship, Ganbaru yo !
I haven´t been homesick yet, however a couple of days ago I was really craving Swedish candy, especially licorice and that made me really homesick. But I really find Japan interesting and hope to stay here more. Or anywhere in Asia in spring.
DBSK have released a new album, with head song Mirotic spinning in my head. And Big Bang have a new English album for release in Japan on the 22nd and a upcoming concert in Osaka on the 28th. If I get tickets I will drag Tae Hoon with me, he likes Big Bang but dislikes DBSK (even though he admitted some songs to be good). Im hoping to go to Home Made Kazoku´s concert on 19 December in Osaka with Eddie, if we get tickets that is.
OYASUMI !
There is a Korean living in my dorm, he is kind of a mystery boy, because he is never around. He pops up occasionally at night. Name: Tae Hoon. He is majoring in Japanese; has studied the language for 7 years which makes him insanely good at it!
I had a conversation with him 2 days ago and when I told him I listen to Korean songs, he took out his Ipod and was very impressed with my knowledge ^^ We had a new song session again yesterday and I could sing along in most songs on my mp3 player which made him puzzled and he promised to teach me Korean. We sat up talking this and that until 6 in the morning and I went to sleep and slept in the next day. I had sushi dinner with Tae Hoon, Chikako and Tae Hoon oppa´s friend Kenji (oppa is Korean for big brother).
4th of October, I went to Kyoto with Tomo kun and Wes. We went to the manga museum and after that we had some lunch at a cool café that had yakiniku and steak. After that we strolled around Kyoto´s Sanjo area and then Wes headed back home to have dinner with his home stay family. There are talks of him moving back to Seminar house 4, because he is bored at times at his home stay in Kyobashi, Osaka.
Anyways, me and Tomo kun were on a mission; getting Tomo kun a makeover. A couple of days ago me and Aika were surprised that Tomo kun never had any cologne before; we had Michele spray some Aqua di Gió on him. The reason for this makeover is that my dear otooto kun (little brother) has found a cutie pie ;) .
So, we headed to find him a cologne, which was easier said than done. We found more girl´s perfume and makeup shops and we almost gave up, when we found a skin care shop that had small samples of their cologne for sale. So we bought one for Tomo kun. After that we headed to Uniqlo for shopping ! Uniqlo has cheap and awesome clothes. Shirts, skirts, black pants, business gear, casual wear etc. I bought a purple dress hoodie, and then I helped Tomo pick out his new style. He choose a bordeaux red parka and I found black pants for him, he choose a pair with pockets on the side and they made him look very tall and slim. And then I ran and got him a grey cardigan which combined with a scarf looked very chic ! The guys in the other dressing rooms where looking at me with amazement while I ran back and forth between racks and the dressing room.
So after content shopping we found a restaurant and had a set dinner of ramen, fried rice, gyoza and then we headed back home, exhausted. We went to Starbucks for some coffee, I had matcha frappucino, and the cute barista was working again, the one who might have a girlfriend who is Madoka´s friend. He ran out of cream so while he excused himself with a cute smile, I was all "Oh no problem whatsoever, please take your time!" :) Tomo kun just laughed at me and went "baka" (idiot). He gave me extra amount of cream and then we headed home.
I was supposed to go to a flea market yesterday, but it was cancelled due to rain so me and Chikako headed back to bed, since it was 9 in the morning. We heard that a couple of people had fallen of their bikes which they have been riding drunk of course. They were taken to the hospital for treatment. Everyone had gone the park; a park which apparentely is very beautiful and a perfect spot for drinking. We even have a Facebook group for it.
These past days have been sunny and warm but now it´s back to rain, but it´s still warm, 25-26 degrees and rain this week. Lars is coming from Sweden so it´s gonna be nice seeing him.
30th of September I had dinner with Jonas and Miki and Miki´s friend in Osaka, we went to karaoke in Namba and to a izakaya after that. I had a stressful moment when I arrived there, because I ran out of battery on my keitai (cellphone). Yup I finally bought one, about 700 SEK for a prepaid one, with a 3 month card and free emailing for 70 SEK per month. I have already sent about 100 emails since I got it. In Japan one sends emails instead of sms, so you can contact someone from your computer if you want to.
My keitai is black, from Softbank and I have decorated it with rhine stones, AIDA of course and lots of purikura stickers.
Anyways, there I was in Namba station with no clue of where Miki could be, so I ran to a phone booth to call her, but I couldn´t get a tone, so I turned and looked around and there she stood with Jonas. Thank God !
The karaoke place was brought to us by a bouncer who took us there. It looked like something from the future with floors similar to ones in a shower with white tiles and the rooms where red and grey; with red furniture. The bathroom was even cooler, the sink was a see through one !
Anyways the izakaya was cool as well, we took off our shoes and sat down in a sunken down booth on the floor. The food was good as usual, but Jonas made the mistake of ordering a Bloody Mary and the taste of tomato was too weird for him to finish it.
I met Jonas on the 26th alongside Team Kansai Gaidai; Azusa, Sachiko, Miki, Yuko, Saori and Tomomi, we had fika and it was very fun. Jonas had been surfing and stuff for 2 weeks in Kyoto and alongside the coast. He loved Japan of course !
After the fika I met up with my speaking partner, Takami to have dinner, I made yakitori and rice and miso soup for her, she liked it ^^.
I have been to yakiniku as well, it is actually a Korean dish. It´s meat barbecued on the table and eaten with rice, very good ! I had it with Koshin and Madoka. We had an all-you-can-eat meal and left the place very contented.
Yesterday when I woke up, I biked with Jonas, Mischa and Luke (US one) to Royal Host, a diner opposite KFC to have lunch. We had a set lunch which was bruschetta or soup, a sallad, and pizza or spaghetti and dessert of choice included, about 120 SEK ! When me and Jonas told the others that it would probably cost twice as much in Sweden, their jaws where wide open.
After lunch, the guys bought some KFC to go and we headed back in immense rain! I hate rain !!
I got cleaned up and took the bus to go meet Tomo kun and Takumi down in Hirakata shi to find new shoes for them. We didn´t manage to find anything nice; they wanted pointy boots and we only found dark sneakers and business shoes. There are about 10 girls´ shoe shops but it´s a bit harder on the guy department. I managed to find a 1200 yen dress at second hand so it wasn´t a total waste of time anyways ;) .
Tomo kun joked about us going to Starbucks and me being all shy and dumb to Takumi so Takumi had us go there again. But cutie boy wasn´t working unfortunately hehe.
Tomo kun wanted to find a way to talk to his favorite girl, so I offered to help; as in having him email her about me wanting to have Japanese friends so why don´t we have lunch together. It took him about 15 minutes to write it but it turned out good, she is up for it !
I bought a set of Shiseido skincare products by the way. Shiseido is the world´s oldest skincare brand and it´s Japanese. The lady who helped us gave each of us a foundation gift and a mascara gift as thanks for my generous shopping. There was even a lottery; in which I got 2 free scarfs :)
I have been feeling lately that Im back in highschool. Because I have classes everyday and lunch in the cafeteria. After lunch, time is spent browsing people from the staircase between McDonalds and the cafeteria (If I didn´t mention this, we have a Mc on campus, you pick out your burgers yourself and pay by the counter).
One day when Mischa and I were browsing the campus, 2 girls came up to him to take pictures with him and after that another pair of random girls started talking to him while we sat on the stairs. I am not that fortunate on the guy department; Japanese guys just stare! And sometimes you can be as lucky as to have a group of guys staring at you together.
Whoever said Japanese people are shy should reconsider the word shy. They can be found staring at you so much that you put your head down almost in shame. Usually someone who stares at you turns away their head when caught staring but not Japanese people :).
This week I have an exam on Thursday and the weekend probably includes IKEA with Takami, Chikako and others, Kyoto second hand exploration with Takkun, maybe Osaka with Tomo kun and Takumi and maybe some other sight seeings. We have Monday off again; this time it´s Health and Sports Day.
I might meet Lars and the others for izakaya or something. They are gonna go out for dinner tomorrow at a nabe restaurant. Nabe is a hotpot dish which I adore but I can´t because of the exam.
I am planning a trip to Tokyo soon, probably around the 7-9 of November, and Korea around the 20-24th of November. Im gonna stay at Haruka´s place and meet Masashi, Yuki, Nozomi, Eiko and Daiki.
Halloween is coming up as well, so there is a planning of a party at SH4. Me and Bill had this idea of having Tomo kun be Michael Jackson since he can do the moonwalk, and then we are gonna practice the Thriller. Ii desu ne?
Im gonna meet Miki and Yusuke for dinner soon as well, maybe even Kento.
I haven´t meet Asumi or Ayane or Mio yet. Neither have I been able to meet Keiko and Yu. And I have promised Masako to go to Fukouka. Lots to do. Im also busy this week with my applications for my upcoming internship, Ganbaru yo !
I haven´t been homesick yet, however a couple of days ago I was really craving Swedish candy, especially licorice and that made me really homesick. But I really find Japan interesting and hope to stay here more. Or anywhere in Asia in spring.
DBSK have released a new album, with head song Mirotic spinning in my head. And Big Bang have a new English album for release in Japan on the 22nd and a upcoming concert in Osaka on the 28th. If I get tickets I will drag Tae Hoon with me, he likes Big Bang but dislikes DBSK (even though he admitted some songs to be good). Im hoping to go to Home Made Kazoku´s concert on 19 December in Osaka with Eddie, if we get tickets that is.
OYASUMI !
tisdag 23 september 2008
Osaka shopping MO !!
Last week I had 2 vocabulary quizzes which went pretty good. My speaking test went well aswell; I got up one notch, to SP2F, Writing however... Down to 2A, but it´s all good, I don´t mind at all !
What else happened last week, well busy with classes at daytime, chilling out in the evening.
We have a MO group !! It all started with Jonas learning hiragana where the example of も was do you want some mo´ ? And then it all escalated to the mo ink and Mo-fia ;)
Mo, mo, mo , mo mo mo !! /kanye west Jesus walks.
My negotiation class went well, we learn many interesting stuff, it´s just to bad that
Friday was karaoke night, and there were sooo many people there that we almost suggested Otoosan to start a club and get entrance fees from guests :p
I booked a room at Big Wave thanks to Koshin and about 50 or so people headed for karaoke ! It was lots of fun. I spoke to a Japanese guy who is interested in going to Växjö university, yaaay !
Everybody was running in between rooms and mingling, the whole thing ended up with 2 people not paying for themselves, confusion. Poor Chin san was under pressure, but when we asked the 18-year-old, he was all smiles and said it is a fun job. MAJIDE ?!
Saturday, Aika and Hiroki had their graduation. I met up with Hiroki for lunch, he was still in a sort of a shock that I was actually in Japan :P We talked a lot, and his friend Masashi joined us as well, asking weird stuff ;)
Aika was very pretty in her dress, me, Madoka and Ayako made a surprise dinner, with 3 cake rolls, it was very delicious and Aika was very happy. The evening was spent watching a movie and just relaxing.
Sunday morning I headed to Hirakata station to meet up with Masaki, my homevisit partner, he took me to Nara; which was Tokyo´s former capital. We went to Nara park, where tame deers walked around and got fed. There was a buddhist museum which depicted the pilgrimage roads of the 33 buddhist trail temples. It was very interesting. There was a lot of rain pouring down, so it was good we got inside in time :) Afterwards I did some shopping and then we had dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant; Capricciosa. We had a set dinner; which consisted of a big bowl of Caesar salad, a bowl of pasta of choice, a big pizza and drinks. Total price about 2000 yen, roughly 100 SEK. Thank you Masaki !
After that I took the train(s) back all by myself, I am very proud of that ! You have to change 3 trains to get back to Hirakata so I memorized the way back.
Monday 22nd
Classes, came home and studied a bit, then me, Masayo and Alex went to Kappa sushi ! Kappa sushi had the whole Kaiten sushi concept and we had sushi and dessert for about 40 SEK each, and I was full by that time ;)
Headed back and saw 10000BC with Aika and Tomo kun, and after the movie we goofed around with Chikako and did some roleplay ^^. What is your best seductive posture ?
Thuesday 23rd
Holiday, which meant going to OSAKA !! Me, Jonas aka Kapibara san, David aka Chichai Bear san, Aika, Ayako, Imane, Luke and Chikako went to Namba and Shinsaibashi for shopping !!
I got a 1000 SEK Zara beige golden coloured trench which I am absolutely in love with ! I found matching pumps for about 200 SEK. I also got 2 cool tshirts; one at second hand hot spot Hanjiro, and a cool Ghostbusters at I love NY.
Lunch at the Zara building, amazing Chinese restaurant with a slightly different system of buffet. You basically ordered everything by pushing the button and the staff came running with the dishes. We actually wanted to go to Dessert Paradise, but it was full ( all you can eat cake !), and Brazilian all you can eat was closed for siesta.
David bought a tshirt at Bathing Ape, yup BAPE !!! The decor was somewhat odd, it looked like a shower room, and upstairs was more lounge comfy. I wanted to snap a photo of a shirt for Aidin, but I was denied because of copyright. We even went to the Evisu store, where they were just about to paint stripes on a new pair of denims ;)
David found the CA4LA hat store, so many wonderful, expensive hats, definitely have to get one ! He bought one of course !
We even saw the Nike id Store where you can design your own custom made sneaker.
The fashion here in Japan is very special: Girls usually wear high heals as in thigh high boots or pumps with shorts or skirts, and knitcaps who are really popular here. Another thing that is popular is Indian boots, fur vests, black vests with white longsleeve on boys and overalls ! And checked knitted prints. So there you go, outlook on upcoming trends !
Me and the Japanese girls finished the night at a café for some coffee and chatting and came back on the 10pm train.
Off to bed, class tomorrow !
Oyasumi !!! and OSAKA RULES !!
What else happened last week, well busy with classes at daytime, chilling out in the evening.
We have a MO group !! It all started with Jonas learning hiragana where the example of も was do you want some mo´ ? And then it all escalated to the mo ink and Mo-fia ;)
Mo, mo, mo , mo mo mo !! /kanye west Jesus walks.
My negotiation class went well, we learn many interesting stuff, it´s just to bad that
Friday was karaoke night, and there were sooo many people there that we almost suggested Otoosan to start a club and get entrance fees from guests :p
I booked a room at Big Wave thanks to Koshin and about 50 or so people headed for karaoke ! It was lots of fun. I spoke to a Japanese guy who is interested in going to Växjö university, yaaay !
Everybody was running in between rooms and mingling, the whole thing ended up with 2 people not paying for themselves, confusion. Poor Chin san was under pressure, but when we asked the 18-year-old, he was all smiles and said it is a fun job. MAJIDE ?!
Saturday, Aika and Hiroki had their graduation. I met up with Hiroki for lunch, he was still in a sort of a shock that I was actually in Japan :P We talked a lot, and his friend Masashi joined us as well, asking weird stuff ;)
Aika was very pretty in her dress, me, Madoka and Ayako made a surprise dinner, with 3 cake rolls, it was very delicious and Aika was very happy. The evening was spent watching a movie and just relaxing.
Sunday morning I headed to Hirakata station to meet up with Masaki, my homevisit partner, he took me to Nara; which was Tokyo´s former capital. We went to Nara park, where tame deers walked around and got fed. There was a buddhist museum which depicted the pilgrimage roads of the 33 buddhist trail temples. It was very interesting. There was a lot of rain pouring down, so it was good we got inside in time :) Afterwards I did some shopping and then we had dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant; Capricciosa. We had a set dinner; which consisted of a big bowl of Caesar salad, a bowl of pasta of choice, a big pizza and drinks. Total price about 2000 yen, roughly 100 SEK. Thank you Masaki !
After that I took the train(s) back all by myself, I am very proud of that ! You have to change 3 trains to get back to Hirakata so I memorized the way back.
Monday 22nd
Classes, came home and studied a bit, then me, Masayo and Alex went to Kappa sushi ! Kappa sushi had the whole Kaiten sushi concept and we had sushi and dessert for about 40 SEK each, and I was full by that time ;)
Headed back and saw 10000BC with Aika and Tomo kun, and after the movie we goofed around with Chikako and did some roleplay ^^. What is your best seductive posture ?
Thuesday 23rd
Holiday, which meant going to OSAKA !! Me, Jonas aka Kapibara san, David aka Chichai Bear san, Aika, Ayako, Imane, Luke and Chikako went to Namba and Shinsaibashi for shopping !!
I got a 1000 SEK Zara beige golden coloured trench which I am absolutely in love with ! I found matching pumps for about 200 SEK. I also got 2 cool tshirts; one at second hand hot spot Hanjiro, and a cool Ghostbusters at I love NY.
Lunch at the Zara building, amazing Chinese restaurant with a slightly different system of buffet. You basically ordered everything by pushing the button and the staff came running with the dishes. We actually wanted to go to Dessert Paradise, but it was full ( all you can eat cake !), and Brazilian all you can eat was closed for siesta.
David bought a tshirt at Bathing Ape, yup BAPE !!! The decor was somewhat odd, it looked like a shower room, and upstairs was more lounge comfy. I wanted to snap a photo of a shirt for Aidin, but I was denied because of copyright. We even went to the Evisu store, where they were just about to paint stripes on a new pair of denims ;)
David found the CA4LA hat store, so many wonderful, expensive hats, definitely have to get one ! He bought one of course !
We even saw the Nike id Store where you can design your own custom made sneaker.
The fashion here in Japan is very special: Girls usually wear high heals as in thigh high boots or pumps with shorts or skirts, and knitcaps who are really popular here. Another thing that is popular is Indian boots, fur vests, black vests with white longsleeve on boys and overalls ! And checked knitted prints. So there you go, outlook on upcoming trends !
Me and the Japanese girls finished the night at a café for some coffee and chatting and came back on the 10pm train.
Off to bed, class tomorrow !
Oyasumi !!! and OSAKA RULES !!
tisdag 16 september 2008
Weekend over, back to schoooool
Well, no fullmoon party either.. Why ? Because after googling up some pics with Chikako, the one that started at midnight seemed sort of boring; monks in a line carrying candles and just walking.. So, me, Ryo, Tomokun, Chikako and Todd headed out to rent a movie. The place we got to was just insanely cheap : 50 YEN per movie/music cd and you keep it for 7 days !!!! Gobstruck.... They even had all Naruto seasons, and any other anime, Korean drama, American series etc that you can imagine... Unfortunately no English subs...
We got Identity and Silent Hill and I found all of Home Made Kazoku´s albums to get home and copy. We got some snacks at 7/11 and headed home for movie night !!!
I finally got my room sorted out as well, papers are in neat order at my desk, and my clothes are sorted out!
Monday 15th
Woke up at 11am, got dressed and headed out, Takkun´s parents picked me up and took me to Takkun´s tiny apato for lunch. We had meat and a delicious potatoe salad, which Tomokun´s mom had made as well, but it contained apples as well.
The potatoe salad contains boiled potatoes, ham, mayo, cucumber and hardboiled eggs! So freaking delicious !!
Takkun has a model´s wardrobe, with vintage coats and shirts, a great sense for fashion. He promised to show me some cool second hand stores that are in Kyoto ! The kid has such a thick hair, I think it´s 3 times the average person, yokatta, but he is gonna cut it to shoulder length which I think suits him more though. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Yui who lives in Tokyo, they have been dating since highschool!
Headed back home to study, took a so called powernap that lasted 3 hours, woke up at 6pm, got something to eat and then I tried to study some for my review test. Tomokun was studying for his TOEFL exam, so we ended up studying together, but instead we just started talking about Japanese history, culture etc. Todd, Eddie and Chikako joined our convo that lasted until 4am !
Off to sleep !
Thuesday 16th
Test at 10, went pretty well I think, Speaking and Writing was troublesome with the kanjis again, but Im studying hard at it!
Lunch with Viktor and Sebastian with fun topics of why Japanese girls walk with their toes pointed inwards while wearing high heels.
Political economy class was very interesting, we discussed East Timor and it´s future procedures and then me, Sabrina and Yuji prepared for our expert panel which is on Thursday, where we have to discuss Washingtong consesus and a chapter in our book for about 15-20 minutes in front of the class. It is an active discussion!
Met Masayo in the hallway and headed to the basketball/football/freesbee court where Aika, Ayako, Alex, Mischa, Tomokun and miss Pineapple san Madoka were playing freesbee, and some cool Japanese guys were attempting football in the gazing sun !
There is one very kakkoii boy among the ryuugakusei students ;). It was pure entertainment watching the football match I have to say !
After the freesbee, me and Masayo decided to finally make an attempt at making cheese cake, I had promised her for days and days ! Headed to Fresco with her, Tomokun and Ayako on her funky moped to get the ingredients.
Back to the dorms, where we started making dinner, and baking cheese cake. Everyone got curious about our cheese cake, and the only problem was that we didn´t have anything to bake it in, so I rode with Ayako to the 100yen shop to get a couple of tiny baking tins. Everyone was getting impatient about the cheese cake. Even Koshin, who came to visit. I decided to bake 4 of the cheese cakes in the oven, and put 1 in the freezer.
After dinner and many minutes of waiting, we finally had our cheesecakes ! And it was a success !! Everyone who tried them loved them, YATTA !! The one that was put directly into the freezer turned out to have a icecreamy kind of flavour. I noticed we used a bit too many biscuit crums but it was all good !!
Finally watched the Silent Hill movie with Tomokun, and it was creepy but not in the horror sense but in the "strange movie" sense....
Off to bed, I have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow, manga class and then the resultats of that freaking Friday negotiation will be revealed, yikes !
I got my computer back, finally ! So there will be pics up, probably tomorrow, be patient !!
Love from Seminar House 4 ;)
We got Identity and Silent Hill and I found all of Home Made Kazoku´s albums to get home and copy. We got some snacks at 7/11 and headed home for movie night !!!
I finally got my room sorted out as well, papers are in neat order at my desk, and my clothes are sorted out!
Monday 15th
Woke up at 11am, got dressed and headed out, Takkun´s parents picked me up and took me to Takkun´s tiny apato for lunch. We had meat and a delicious potatoe salad, which Tomokun´s mom had made as well, but it contained apples as well.
The potatoe salad contains boiled potatoes, ham, mayo, cucumber and hardboiled eggs! So freaking delicious !!
Takkun has a model´s wardrobe, with vintage coats and shirts, a great sense for fashion. He promised to show me some cool second hand stores that are in Kyoto ! The kid has such a thick hair, I think it´s 3 times the average person, yokatta, but he is gonna cut it to shoulder length which I think suits him more though. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Yui who lives in Tokyo, they have been dating since highschool!
Headed back home to study, took a so called powernap that lasted 3 hours, woke up at 6pm, got something to eat and then I tried to study some for my review test. Tomokun was studying for his TOEFL exam, so we ended up studying together, but instead we just started talking about Japanese history, culture etc. Todd, Eddie and Chikako joined our convo that lasted until 4am !
Off to sleep !
Thuesday 16th
Test at 10, went pretty well I think, Speaking and Writing was troublesome with the kanjis again, but Im studying hard at it!
Lunch with Viktor and Sebastian with fun topics of why Japanese girls walk with their toes pointed inwards while wearing high heels.
Political economy class was very interesting, we discussed East Timor and it´s future procedures and then me, Sabrina and Yuji prepared for our expert panel which is on Thursday, where we have to discuss Washingtong consesus and a chapter in our book for about 15-20 minutes in front of the class. It is an active discussion!
Met Masayo in the hallway and headed to the basketball/football/freesbee court where Aika, Ayako, Alex, Mischa, Tomokun and miss Pineapple san Madoka were playing freesbee, and some cool Japanese guys were attempting football in the gazing sun !
There is one very kakkoii boy among the ryuugakusei students ;). It was pure entertainment watching the football match I have to say !
After the freesbee, me and Masayo decided to finally make an attempt at making cheese cake, I had promised her for days and days ! Headed to Fresco with her, Tomokun and Ayako on her funky moped to get the ingredients.
Back to the dorms, where we started making dinner, and baking cheese cake. Everyone got curious about our cheese cake, and the only problem was that we didn´t have anything to bake it in, so I rode with Ayako to the 100yen shop to get a couple of tiny baking tins. Everyone was getting impatient about the cheese cake. Even Koshin, who came to visit. I decided to bake 4 of the cheese cakes in the oven, and put 1 in the freezer.
After dinner and many minutes of waiting, we finally had our cheesecakes ! And it was a success !! Everyone who tried them loved them, YATTA !! The one that was put directly into the freezer turned out to have a icecreamy kind of flavour. I noticed we used a bit too many biscuit crums but it was all good !!
Finally watched the Silent Hill movie with Tomokun, and it was creepy but not in the horror sense but in the "strange movie" sense....
Off to bed, I have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow, manga class and then the resultats of that freaking Friday negotiation will be revealed, yikes !
I got my computer back, finally ! So there will be pics up, probably tomorrow, be patient !!
Love from Seminar House 4 ;)
söndag 14 september 2008
crazy days
I have been soooo busy this past week. We have classes everyday, and some start at 9am. Lunch is usually around 11 or 12 and then I have afternoon classes. And HOMEWORK ! It feels like highschool all over again.
I have been thinking of dropping one class because it is a bit too many classes. However, I like all my classes: Speaking Japanese, Reading and Writing Japanese, Japanese popular culture and media; (about anime, manga and tv drama), Political economies in East Asia (very interesting, about political and economical situations in countries such as East Timor, South Korea, China, Japan and so on), Negotiation.
My negotiation class this Friday was about us doing pair work negotiations, I was a company who sold motor vehicle pistons and my partner was a company who wanted to buy pistons. We each got our instructions and had about 25 minutes to prepare for it. Then we set up a meeting somewhere on campus for the negotiation. I had a hard time getting my cheap partner to buy the pistons for the price I wanted him to and he complained about our pistons´ quality having been bad in previous sales.
So when we finally settled, he told me wanted us switching papers and reading eachothers instructions. I GOT SCAMMED ! His company wanted to buy pistons from us at any price, and they were desperate ! I was too kind ! We handed in the paper and I decided that I have to continue this course just to improve my character integrity !!! Revenge time !
My Speaking Japanese seems good, but Im struggling with our new kanjis, I have to study harder !
People here get drunk all week long. So when I wanted to do something fun on Friday, most people were already hungover from the other night. So me and Sachiko went to a izakaya, drank cocktails and umeshu and ate delicious food. We called Koshin up who came and joined us. Later we went to the Ring, which is an entertainment complex where you pay an amount of money and then do karaoke, play pool, whatever. Free softdrinks included.
After that, I took the train to Makino Station, where Koshin met me up on his motorscooter, he followed me home, these kind Japanese :). However, the shortcut we took was in the middle of the road so maybe not the safest way home.
Yesterday aka Saturday 13th, I wanted to go clubbing. Viktor and Sebastian where leaving a bit earlier though, so I decided to give up that. There is a club called Pure in Osaka, where girls pay 2500 yen aka 150 kr, and guys pay 3500 yen aka 250kr, then you get free drinks all night, and they are open until 5am !
I hung out with Masayoh, Madoka, Chikako and Aika, we drank umeshu wine which I had bought and they got tipsy after about half a glass haha. David and Jonas were sipping beer. Then came A.J and wanted us to play Flip Cup; you stand at a table on a line, 2 teams, and pour beer into plastic cups. Then you drink them up and have to flip the cup upside down with your hand. You get pretty drunk after a while...
After a couple of rounds, it was karaoke time. I declared my love yet again for Chin, the guy at Big Wave and poor him, he blushed. Since I was a bit tipsy, I asked whether he had a girlfriend and he mumbled no, but at that time we got our room. We were about 15 people in one room, screaming and singing and drinking. I felt a bit over it so I snook home after half an hour and went to sleep and slept until 11 the next day. I managed to lock my phone because I kept dialing the wrong code, so Im trying to look for the code paper which I brought.
Today is Sunday, and I had some awesome steak, fried shrimp and rice with Taylor, Eddie, Bill and Liz at Obaachan´s. 500 yen aka 35 Sek for lots of food.
Tonight there is a Fullmoon festival in Kyoto which starts at 1am, so everybody is taking the last train from Hirakata and stay there until the festival is over and head back with the morning train at 5am. We have a Respect the Aged holiday tomorrow so Daijobu !
kisses from Seminar House 4
I have been thinking of dropping one class because it is a bit too many classes. However, I like all my classes: Speaking Japanese, Reading and Writing Japanese, Japanese popular culture and media; (about anime, manga and tv drama), Political economies in East Asia (very interesting, about political and economical situations in countries such as East Timor, South Korea, China, Japan and so on), Negotiation.
My negotiation class this Friday was about us doing pair work negotiations, I was a company who sold motor vehicle pistons and my partner was a company who wanted to buy pistons. We each got our instructions and had about 25 minutes to prepare for it. Then we set up a meeting somewhere on campus for the negotiation. I had a hard time getting my cheap partner to buy the pistons for the price I wanted him to and he complained about our pistons´ quality having been bad in previous sales.
So when we finally settled, he told me wanted us switching papers and reading eachothers instructions. I GOT SCAMMED ! His company wanted to buy pistons from us at any price, and they were desperate ! I was too kind ! We handed in the paper and I decided that I have to continue this course just to improve my character integrity !!! Revenge time !
My Speaking Japanese seems good, but Im struggling with our new kanjis, I have to study harder !
People here get drunk all week long. So when I wanted to do something fun on Friday, most people were already hungover from the other night. So me and Sachiko went to a izakaya, drank cocktails and umeshu and ate delicious food. We called Koshin up who came and joined us. Later we went to the Ring, which is an entertainment complex where you pay an amount of money and then do karaoke, play pool, whatever. Free softdrinks included.
After that, I took the train to Makino Station, where Koshin met me up on his motorscooter, he followed me home, these kind Japanese :). However, the shortcut we took was in the middle of the road so maybe not the safest way home.
Yesterday aka Saturday 13th, I wanted to go clubbing. Viktor and Sebastian where leaving a bit earlier though, so I decided to give up that. There is a club called Pure in Osaka, where girls pay 2500 yen aka 150 kr, and guys pay 3500 yen aka 250kr, then you get free drinks all night, and they are open until 5am !
I hung out with Masayoh, Madoka, Chikako and Aika, we drank umeshu wine which I had bought and they got tipsy after about half a glass haha. David and Jonas were sipping beer. Then came A.J and wanted us to play Flip Cup; you stand at a table on a line, 2 teams, and pour beer into plastic cups. Then you drink them up and have to flip the cup upside down with your hand. You get pretty drunk after a while...
After a couple of rounds, it was karaoke time. I declared my love yet again for Chin, the guy at Big Wave and poor him, he blushed. Since I was a bit tipsy, I asked whether he had a girlfriend and he mumbled no, but at that time we got our room. We were about 15 people in one room, screaming and singing and drinking. I felt a bit over it so I snook home after half an hour and went to sleep and slept until 11 the next day. I managed to lock my phone because I kept dialing the wrong code, so Im trying to look for the code paper which I brought.
Today is Sunday, and I had some awesome steak, fried shrimp and rice with Taylor, Eddie, Bill and Liz at Obaachan´s. 500 yen aka 35 Sek for lots of food.
Tonight there is a Fullmoon festival in Kyoto which starts at 1am, so everybody is taking the last train from Hirakata and stay there until the festival is over and head back with the morning train at 5am. We have a Respect the Aged holiday tomorrow so Daijobu !
kisses from Seminar House 4
måndag 8 september 2008
How about studying anime and getting credit for it ^^
Sunday 7th September
Had checkout and checkin. This meant bringing down your dirty linnen, checking your room for damage and mark them on a map of your room so that you won´t have to pay for damages when checking out. We finally got our keys to the gate so that we can enter the Seminar house after the gates close at 10pm. We even got a cabinet with a key with a cup, a spoon, a teaspoon, a fork, a knife, a plate, a soup bowl, a regular bowl and small dish, kettle and tray.
Cleaned up the room after the Seminar House residence meeting. Sachiko came at 3pm, we had some Pocky, crackers, Kex and drinks and talked for about an hour, I even showed her around. Afterwards I wanted to go buy some food, so while heading for Topworld, my eyes spot Avail, which is a clothing shop with really cheap clothes, opposite the main library, about 3 minutes from my dorm. I just wanted to check it out, but we ended up staying there for 2 hours !
I found soooo many things, including a black hat (finally!!!), a checkered top, a redcheckered shirt, a furry vest, a white longsleeved Nightmare before Christmas print, and a white plain tshirt ! All of this for about 600 SEK. I wanted to buy more but that was all the money I had on me ~
I headed back home after waving Sachiko off at the bus stop, changed my clothes and then headed out again to meet Sanzhar for dinner. Actually we were gonna have dinner the day before but he was late and there was some confusion. Anyways, we went to Hirakata station, had some dinner; I had beef with mushroom and sauce, and he had a club sandwhich, 600 yen aka 35 SEK each. Then some icecream at Baskin n Robbins, it was veeeery delicious, matcha and strawberry ! I never seem to get enough of matcha ~~
Back to the dorms, and sat in the park outside until about 2am, had some beer and cider and talked about our families which are kind of similar, Kazakstan tends to be rather similar to Iran when it comes to system and how people act. It was so peaceful and warm outside and almost nobody in the park.
Monday 8th September
Biked to campus at about 12.40 to get to my class. I chose the following courses:
1. Japanese popular media and culture
2. Political economies of East Asia
3. International negotiations: resolving the conflict and closing the deal
4. Spoken Japanese
5. Reading and Writing in Japanese
I had the popular media and culture class today. Basically; it´s about manga, anime and television dramas. I wanted a fun course to even out with the more serious ones. However, I wanted to take the history class and the Japanese society class as well, but the history class is already full, and the society class collides with negotiations class so well...
I had David and Luke with me in class so it was cool. Surprisingly there were as many girls as guys there, about 80 percent Americans, 2 people from HK, one Korean, one Taiwanese, one Thai and 5 Europeans.
There are a couple of Naruto fans, some are Cowboy Beebop fans, Gundam fans, Nausicaa fans, Ghibli fans. We will watch some anime in class and read manga extracts for each session so it seems fun ;)
I was a bit worried though that I didn´t have a course about Japanese society, so I decided to check out the Intercultural communication in Japan class. David and Rebecka were in that one. We had to do some peerwork presentations, I spoke to a guy name Yohei, who was very nervous about his English but I told him that people are nice and that he shouldn´t worry and to ganbarre!
The course seems to be interesting but we will see.. Biked back home after that and chilled in the dining room with Masayoh and Alex who just got himself a black Softbank cell. I need to get mine, probably I will try getting one tomorrow afternoon.
I had told Chikako to take me grocery shopping, so while she, Madoka, Ryo and Bill were in Osaka, me, Alex and Masayoh watched 2 eps of the OC. Masayoh liked it so yokatta!
Grocery shopping at 7pm; and well I might reconsider the whole cheap thing. 300 grams of minced meat cost me about 60 SEK, chicken breast about the same. Everything was in tiny portions, because they cook so many side dishes in Japan so maybe that makes it a bit cheaper. I have to start thinking like that.
I had the most bags; I bought chicken, minced meat, preserved tomatoes, milk, fish, rice, spaghetti, water, karage powder, kimchi.. I think it went up to about 400 SEK. It was a pain in the eye getting it all home, and Masayoh skidded with her bike and fell.
As soon as I got home, I started cooking Spaghetti Bolognese and some sallad, and it went very fast to make it, because the stove got warm really fast.
I had Koshin who was here on a visit and Ryo try it and they loved it ! Koshin and I decided to have a Naruto maraton tomorrow evening, YOOOSHI Dattebayo !!
Off to sleep, I got Speaking Japanese class at 10 tomorrow, after that I have Reading and Writing at 11, then lunch, then Political economies at 1 pm. And hopefully a phone after that !
Oyasumi
Had checkout and checkin. This meant bringing down your dirty linnen, checking your room for damage and mark them on a map of your room so that you won´t have to pay for damages when checking out. We finally got our keys to the gate so that we can enter the Seminar house after the gates close at 10pm. We even got a cabinet with a key with a cup, a spoon, a teaspoon, a fork, a knife, a plate, a soup bowl, a regular bowl and small dish, kettle and tray.
Cleaned up the room after the Seminar House residence meeting. Sachiko came at 3pm, we had some Pocky, crackers, Kex and drinks and talked for about an hour, I even showed her around. Afterwards I wanted to go buy some food, so while heading for Topworld, my eyes spot Avail, which is a clothing shop with really cheap clothes, opposite the main library, about 3 minutes from my dorm. I just wanted to check it out, but we ended up staying there for 2 hours !
I found soooo many things, including a black hat (finally!!!), a checkered top, a redcheckered shirt, a furry vest, a white longsleeved Nightmare before Christmas print, and a white plain tshirt ! All of this for about 600 SEK. I wanted to buy more but that was all the money I had on me ~
I headed back home after waving Sachiko off at the bus stop, changed my clothes and then headed out again to meet Sanzhar for dinner. Actually we were gonna have dinner the day before but he was late and there was some confusion. Anyways, we went to Hirakata station, had some dinner; I had beef with mushroom and sauce, and he had a club sandwhich, 600 yen aka 35 SEK each. Then some icecream at Baskin n Robbins, it was veeeery delicious, matcha and strawberry ! I never seem to get enough of matcha ~~
Back to the dorms, and sat in the park outside until about 2am, had some beer and cider and talked about our families which are kind of similar, Kazakstan tends to be rather similar to Iran when it comes to system and how people act. It was so peaceful and warm outside and almost nobody in the park.
Monday 8th September
Biked to campus at about 12.40 to get to my class. I chose the following courses:
1. Japanese popular media and culture
2. Political economies of East Asia
3. International negotiations: resolving the conflict and closing the deal
4. Spoken Japanese
5. Reading and Writing in Japanese
I had the popular media and culture class today. Basically; it´s about manga, anime and television dramas. I wanted a fun course to even out with the more serious ones. However, I wanted to take the history class and the Japanese society class as well, but the history class is already full, and the society class collides with negotiations class so well...
I had David and Luke with me in class so it was cool. Surprisingly there were as many girls as guys there, about 80 percent Americans, 2 people from HK, one Korean, one Taiwanese, one Thai and 5 Europeans.
There are a couple of Naruto fans, some are Cowboy Beebop fans, Gundam fans, Nausicaa fans, Ghibli fans. We will watch some anime in class and read manga extracts for each session so it seems fun ;)
I was a bit worried though that I didn´t have a course about Japanese society, so I decided to check out the Intercultural communication in Japan class. David and Rebecka were in that one. We had to do some peerwork presentations, I spoke to a guy name Yohei, who was very nervous about his English but I told him that people are nice and that he shouldn´t worry and to ganbarre!
The course seems to be interesting but we will see.. Biked back home after that and chilled in the dining room with Masayoh and Alex who just got himself a black Softbank cell. I need to get mine, probably I will try getting one tomorrow afternoon.
I had told Chikako to take me grocery shopping, so while she, Madoka, Ryo and Bill were in Osaka, me, Alex and Masayoh watched 2 eps of the OC. Masayoh liked it so yokatta!
Grocery shopping at 7pm; and well I might reconsider the whole cheap thing. 300 grams of minced meat cost me about 60 SEK, chicken breast about the same. Everything was in tiny portions, because they cook so many side dishes in Japan so maybe that makes it a bit cheaper. I have to start thinking like that.
I had the most bags; I bought chicken, minced meat, preserved tomatoes, milk, fish, rice, spaghetti, water, karage powder, kimchi.. I think it went up to about 400 SEK. It was a pain in the eye getting it all home, and Masayoh skidded with her bike and fell.
As soon as I got home, I started cooking Spaghetti Bolognese and some sallad, and it went very fast to make it, because the stove got warm really fast.
I had Koshin who was here on a visit and Ryo try it and they loved it ! Koshin and I decided to have a Naruto maraton tomorrow evening, YOOOSHI Dattebayo !!
Off to sleep, I got Speaking Japanese class at 10 tomorrow, after that I have Reading and Writing at 11, then lunch, then Political economies at 1 pm. And hopefully a phone after that !
Oyasumi
lördag 6 september 2008
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN MOVIE ROCKS !
Friday 5th
Another hot and humid sunny day. Registered my bike and then went home and slept for 3 hours, karaoke does stuff to ya man !
The day was spent chilling in the lounge, I went to Topworld for grocery shopping with Kaylee and borrowed a book from Wes, I haven´t read a book in ages, so it felt nice doing so.
Sebastian and Viktor had a fun time at the Kyoto trip that was organized during the day, since I already went there I passed.
I tried to get Tomo kun to ask his crush out on a date haha, he was like no no no, why don´t you and Wes join us. lol.
Takami chan, my buddy, came by because her friend was one of my dorm mate´s buddy. She liked the dorm a lot, and later took off for karaoke, but I was doing laundry so I couldn´t join plus I wasn´t in the mood for karaoke really.
Saturday 6th
Got up at 6 am, washed my face, and went to wake Bill up. It hit me that the gate was still locked and I was unsure of when it would open, but according to Bill it would open at 7.30.
So at 7.30 after breakfast we took our bikes and headed for Makino station to get the train for Kuzuha station and from there on take the bus from the 4th platform for Cineplex and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN KIZUNA MOVIE !!!!!!
We bought some popcorn and took a seat in an almost empty theatre, Bill tried chatting up a Japanese boy on whether he preferred Sasuke or Naruto but the boy was too shy and his parents smiled gratefully.
The movie had awesome fight scenes with Naruto and Sasuke against the enemy, loved it ! Especially Naruto´s scenes. I actually understood what the story was about and could basically follow the plot somewhat :). We even got a Naruto necklace which is 3Dimensional and has Naruto´s face plus Kizuna (Bonds) in kanji on it.
After that, shopping time !! I bought a dress, a shirt, a tunic and a top for about 430 SEK ;) . Then Bill and I bought ourselves some sunglasses because mine was broken and his had an unfortunate fate with a chewing gum involved. At the sport supply store where we bought our sunglasses, I browsed around for some prices; Le Coq Sportif sweatpants cost about 329 SEK, Converse shoes about 300 SEK and Adidas sneakers about 600 SEK.
There was a pet shop, and there where the cutest puppies in different cages, and my heart basically melted, I snapped so many pictures of them !
Lunch = RAMEN ! Gotta keep the Naruto theme going ;) It was very good and very cheap, about 700 yen which is roughly 42 SEK.
Bought alarm clocks as well, mine is red, Bill´s is black, they are on tripods and have swinging heads on springs, 1000 yen aka 60 SEK.
Tonight´s plan is dinner with Sanzhar I think, but we haven´t decided a time, so we will see when and if that happens. Wes and the Swedes are probably heading out, either to Osaka or Kyoto.
Tomorrow Sachiko is coming over for some tea, it´s gonna be really nice, she can see my dorm.
^^ xoxo from Hirakata
Another hot and humid sunny day. Registered my bike and then went home and slept for 3 hours, karaoke does stuff to ya man !
The day was spent chilling in the lounge, I went to Topworld for grocery shopping with Kaylee and borrowed a book from Wes, I haven´t read a book in ages, so it felt nice doing so.
Sebastian and Viktor had a fun time at the Kyoto trip that was organized during the day, since I already went there I passed.
I tried to get Tomo kun to ask his crush out on a date haha, he was like no no no, why don´t you and Wes join us. lol.
Takami chan, my buddy, came by because her friend was one of my dorm mate´s buddy. She liked the dorm a lot, and later took off for karaoke, but I was doing laundry so I couldn´t join plus I wasn´t in the mood for karaoke really.
Saturday 6th
Got up at 6 am, washed my face, and went to wake Bill up. It hit me that the gate was still locked and I was unsure of when it would open, but according to Bill it would open at 7.30.
So at 7.30 after breakfast we took our bikes and headed for Makino station to get the train for Kuzuha station and from there on take the bus from the 4th platform for Cineplex and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN KIZUNA MOVIE !!!!!!
We bought some popcorn and took a seat in an almost empty theatre, Bill tried chatting up a Japanese boy on whether he preferred Sasuke or Naruto but the boy was too shy and his parents smiled gratefully.
The movie had awesome fight scenes with Naruto and Sasuke against the enemy, loved it ! Especially Naruto´s scenes. I actually understood what the story was about and could basically follow the plot somewhat :). We even got a Naruto necklace which is 3Dimensional and has Naruto´s face plus Kizuna (Bonds) in kanji on it.
After that, shopping time !! I bought a dress, a shirt, a tunic and a top for about 430 SEK ;) . Then Bill and I bought ourselves some sunglasses because mine was broken and his had an unfortunate fate with a chewing gum involved. At the sport supply store where we bought our sunglasses, I browsed around for some prices; Le Coq Sportif sweatpants cost about 329 SEK, Converse shoes about 300 SEK and Adidas sneakers about 600 SEK.
There was a pet shop, and there where the cutest puppies in different cages, and my heart basically melted, I snapped so many pictures of them !
Lunch = RAMEN ! Gotta keep the Naruto theme going ;) It was very good and very cheap, about 700 yen which is roughly 42 SEK.
Bought alarm clocks as well, mine is red, Bill´s is black, they are on tripods and have swinging heads on springs, 1000 yen aka 60 SEK.
Tonight´s plan is dinner with Sanzhar I think, but we haven´t decided a time, so we will see when and if that happens. Wes and the Swedes are probably heading out, either to Osaka or Kyoto.
Tomorrow Sachiko is coming over for some tea, it´s gonna be really nice, she can see my dorm.
^^ xoxo from Hirakata
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