I'm posting now while I'm waiting for the rice to be cooked because I won't have time to post tomorrow.

Finally, I'm leaving for Singapore tomorrow night. My flight's at 7pm but I'll be leaving Mitaka at 1:30. Bought a ticket for the Odakyu Limousine Bus which goes straight from Kichijoji to Narita Airport. Cost 3,000yen but that okay compared to the number of transfers I need to do if I take the train. Not to mention I'm lugging a stroller half my size + my laptop. 楽だもん。

Why leave at 1:30 when the appointed time for check-in still at 5pm? You see, I have this tendency to get lost easily. Or do something wrong in the process so I have go back to a place or whatever. Either way, I need lots of time to go around Narita Airport. I remember the day of my departure for Japan, the lady at JAL's check-in counter didn't give me an embarkation card so after queueing up for more than ten minutes in the Immigration part, I had to go back and get an embarkation card and fill it out and queue up again.o(>_<)o So yeah, I can't remember who told me this, but I think it's Ali, "you need plenty of time to get lost."

Yesterday, went around Tokyo to buy stuff for friends. I stopped by the post office on the way to the station to send Mothers' Day (May 11) cards. I went to Shinjuku first for Ate Mia's artbook, but unfortunately, Books Kinokuniya ran out of stock. So I just decided to look for Gift Gate to buy Pam's Keroppi something. I wasn't able to find a pencil, but I hope she'll like what I bought for her. Next stop was Ikebukuro, to buy stuff for Ann, Triccie and Ate Mia. I was able to buy a Namame (Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden) stuffed toy!:3 I love that character to bits so I bought it.XD Went back to Mitaka and bought 2000yen worth of chocolates for Terry's aunt and some snacks for our trip. Last on the list was 100yen shop to buy those rough bath towels for my mother.:P 私はけっちで～す。XD

Now I'm supposed to finish packing. And I'm supposed to tidy up my room because people are going to remove the old air-conditioning unit and replace it with a new one.(*u*)/ They're doing the renovation on the 7th so I'm not here. I. NEED. TO. TIDY. UP. MY. MESSY. ROOM. *dies*

So everyone, I'll be gone for a week.( ^o^)/~ Will take lots of pictures in Singapore and Malaysia.:DDD

is you get to watch a shooting for an ongoing drama.

( I live 20 minutes away from where they shoot Last Friends )

...is what I lack extremely.

Today was the start of my Nihongo tutorial sessions with a volunteer from Mishop. Sure, I'm taking Nihongo classes at school, but I feel they're not enough to really improve my Japanese. I kind of feel sympathy for students of Gaba, since in a class of three (or in my case, ten) you really don't get a lot of chance to speak up. Hence, I signed up for the Nihongo private lessons.

We just talked for one hour and a half, and what my tutor said to me was I should be have more confidence in myself, and I shouldn't be too afraid of making mistakes, because if I always let myself be impeded by such things, I won't be able to communicate.

I remember myself saying the exact same words to my Algerian student, who always thinks that his English is not good, and that he can only talk in English to Japanese people. He thinks that he cannot strike a conversation with native speakers because his English is still elementary.

Self-confidence is something that I've always lacked, in whatever I do. People say I give myself too little credit. As for me, I don't want to be confident because I'm afraid of failure. Failure had, has and will always have a big impact on me. I always give my best in everything I do, but I can't say I am confident of the results. For me, if I don't carry too much confidence, then if I fail, I won't be too disappointed. I hate expecting, because if I expect too much, and things do not go as I please, then there's disappointment, which is an understatement, really. It's more of like, depression.

Why don't I just go out with Japanese friends, you ask? Why go all the trouble of signing up for private lessons when you can have "lessons" when you're out talking with friends? That just means you don't know me very well. Going out is not my thing. Sure, I go out sometimes, but that is to take a breather. I don't want to pressure myself thinking about school and serious stuff when I'm with them. Second, they're all busy. They may look oshare and everything, but they are still students of the Tokyo University. They take their studies seriously, and would spend hours in the library studying. They would even sacrifice days that would've been ideal for going out somewhere, just to study. Lastly, students who are always going out are those who love drinking. And most of you know that I DON'T DRINK. So there.

Okay, that would be enough rambling. Right now, all I want to do in my remaining months here in Japan is to improve my conversation skills, and I will just do my best to do just that, without expecting anything. My friends said that I have improved during the past few months, but I don't think it's enough. I have a goal I badly want to reach, and I must do everything I can just to be suitable for that kind of job. Oooh~ Pressure.XD

And so have classes.

Classes for the new semester started yesterday. It wasn't a very good start, since it was raining the whole day. I had to wake up early to finish rewriting my essay for Japanese IV. I started writing it the day before yesterday (yes, I'm still a UP student at heart) and and I finished with 3 pages and half of the 20x20 原稿用紙 (genkouyoushi), that is, 1400 characters on my experiences during the spring vacation. But I'm afraid it's too long again. Last semester, I sort of overdid my presentation for Japanese III, and instead of giving a 15-minute presentation, I ended up giving a 20-30-minute one. My classmates found it interesting, though.^^;

I thought (because the schedule from J3 said so) that we were supposed to have a Kanji review test, too, but it turns out, it's not until next month. Yatta! I wasn't able to study at all so I was worried.^^;;

After our Japanese class, we had to rush to Building 8 for the Summer Semester Orientation. We only had ten minutes in between the J3 class and the orientation so we didn't have enough time for lunch. They gave us the AIKOM Summer Semester booklet, as well as the Todai book and pamphlet for classes, and then Kibata-sensei talked to the ten students taking the Independent Study course, and those include me. They gave us the contact details of our advisers, so that we can talk to them asap about our topics, and then told us about the monthly meetings aka progress report dates.

As soon as the orientation finished, third period started. I went to the second floor (we were on the third) to check the class under Prof. Carter, a visiting professor from Australia. The course was titled Cultures of English-speaking Nations in the AIKOM pamphlet so I was thinking of trying it since it may be related to my degree program, but as it turned out, it was about Multicultural Australia, meaning, the professor will talk about Australia, Australia, Australia, and yes, you guessed it right, Australia. So I decided to go back to the third floor and take the class about Japan's Modernization and its Issues. It's Takada-sensei again, but I guess he's more bearable since I will be learning about Japan, not Australia.;P

Fourth period was literature (again) but this time, our professor's kind of an "otaku." She kept on talking about works that have anything to do with manga, even mentioning Ikebukuro West Gate Park. Well, the course is about contemporary literature, after all, so I guess it can't be helped? But before you go thinking that I will also be jumping on the bandwagon that is IWGP, I am thinking of taking a regular course in English, which is Introduction to Sociolinguistics. This will help me in my undergraduate thesis after all, so I guess I will bid farewell to Otomo-sensei's class. I'm still not sure yet, though, since the course description's written in Japanese, so I will consult with Ellis-sensei first on Monday. It's time to get serious with my studies here. I did come here with the intention of gathering data for my undergrad thesis so I hope I can take at least one subject here in Todai that can help me finish that last requirement. Last semester should be enough goofing around with subjects that aren't related to my major at all.^^;;

These just made me go ROFLing! But I kind of look like My Neighbor Totoro's Mei. Only with braids.;P

Next post's my report on TAF 2008. :D

Hello everyone. I'm back to Tokyo from our Kansai trip. Again, thanks so much to Micchan (who's currently on the Seishun 18 Kippu journey to Tokyo from Osaka right now) for letting me stay in her room for four days. ♥

I was supposed to go on the 17th but things happened so I had to go on the 18th. Anyway, changes in plans were made by Terry and me, so we've decided to meet in Singapore instead. We'll be staying there from the 4th until the early morning of the 12th. Well, I'll be arriving on the 5th, actually, since my flight's at 7 in the evening, and I'll be arriving in Singapore at 1:45 am. Geh. I'm just glad I have money for this trip, since I'll be getting my first *true* salary on the 25th of April.:D February's BS here in Gaba since I started on the last week and got only 2 lessons: one lesson, one cancelled but paid.

Speaking of money, I think I spent too much on my Kansai trip, I've got nothing but 300yen left in my wallet. My bank fund's all used up, and hurrah, my next allowance is not until the 15th of April.D: I'm glad I have other baitos to back me up financially, otherwise I'd be a binbou chibi now.o(T-T)o

Nothing much happened in my Kansai trip. I went around Osaka, Nara and Kobe alone during the last two days. But there are interesting stuff that happened to me. The first day I went around alone (21st), my mobile phone died on me, so I couldn't contact Micchan when I arrived at their dormitory. The door was locked, I needed to go to the toilet badly, It was so farkin' cold and windy. I didn't know how to contact her. I could turn on my phone and copy her number during the time it's still on so I thought of calling her. I saw a payphone booth nearby, but yay I only had 50yen coins with me. The payphone only receives 100 and 10 yen coins. I was on the verge of tears, going back and forth the street in front of their building. Fortunately, a guy from the first floor went out of his room to smoke, and he opened the door for me. Whew~

The second day was funny. I went to Nara first and then Kobe. I fell asleep during the train ride from Nara to Osaka, where I should change trains to Kobe. The moment I woke up, the train was about to leave Osaka station. The door was closing when I rushed out; it's a good thing it was just the signal that they're closing the doors, so the doors opened again. Then groggily I ran to the platform where I was supposed to take the train to Kobe. Uguu.

Seishun 18 Kippu is really convenient for students who want to travel around Japan, since for example, the local train ride from Tokyo to Osaka would've cost me 8,000+ yen but since I had the ticket with me, I only spent 2,500. The downside is that you have to take local/rapid trains only, and the trip takes 9hours or more, with more than 5 transfers. I was lucky I had to transfer only 5 times on my way back to Tokyo, so it wasn't that exhausting. The way to Osaka was so tiring. I had to transfer seven times, carry my luggage going up a flight of stairs, and I didn't have a decent sleep because I went straight to karaoke box, where Micchan and Klao were.

Anyway, in the meantime, I'm back here in Tokyo, back to working in Gaba, and trying my best to keep myself alive by doing part-time jobs. Tokyo International Anime Fair's on the weekend, but I won't be spending much on anime goods.

Oh and yeah, sakura are blooming now!o(*o*)o The first time I saw a sakura tree (from the train) I had goosebumps. They're so beautiful. And yay~ We're going hanami on Tuesday! ♥♥♥

Ohisashiburi desu.

All I've been doing since the start of March was work in Gaba. I started work last March 1 and since then I've been working from 10am till 5pm. I'd always get up two and a half hours earlier to prepare my lunchbox and commute to the Tachikawa Learning Studio, where I was placed. I had preferred teaching in Kichijoji since it's only a twenty-minute bicycle ride away from my dormitory, but looking at the number of instructors there, I was glad to be placed in Tachikawa. That school's almost as busy as the one in Shinjuku, with at least thirty-five Instructors working everyday.



I won't be here in Tokyo from the 17th to the 23rd since we will be going to Kansai. We'll be staying in Micchan's place in Osaka. But we haven't got an itinerary yet. We can do that when we're there. I've scheduled this week only for this trip, so I have to make the best out of it. I just wish people'd stick to the schedule when one's been agreed on. I've been getting it since winter break and frankly, I'm getting tired of fitting my busy schedule for other people.x_x;;

After the Kansai trip, I'll have a one-day break, then I'm off to work again. Hopefully, my lesson slots get filled up, so I don't get that much idle time at work. Although, I'm not complaining much since I get to catch up with manga titles I haven't read for a while.:P

After that week, there's the Tokyo International Anime Fair on the 29th and 30th!



In other news, relief goods have arrived! I received yet another package from my mother last Saturday containing: 10 packs of Lucky Me! Pancit Canton, 10 packs of Lucky Me! Beef Noodles, 1 dozen Head and Shoulders Shampoo, 1 dozen Pantene Conditioner, 1 bottle of Hot Oil Cream, 2 packs of Hany and Spicy Dilis (yay!) and read this: 10 packs of sanitary napkins.DDD: I probably won't need to buy napkins for the rest of my stay here in Japan.

3 packs of spicy dilis from FaMusu also arrived yesterday, in a battered long brown envelope:


Notice the note taped at the left? It says something like the package broke (in this case, the scotch tape Mikai used to seal the envelope didn't do its job) on the way to the post office, so they had to repair it (reinforcing it by adding another layer of masking tape). No wonder your letters/packages to Yanagi do not arrive, Mikai. The contents get lost on the way.:D Peace! Thanks for the Valentine's Gift, anyway.<3

That would be all for this update. I can't think of anything else to add anymore. Oh yeah, congratulations to Kate Janagap for becoming the nominee for being next year's AIKOM Prorgram participant! She's going to be my kouhai, haha! Too bad for her, me and my senpai's both small so our winter clothes aren't not going to fit her.^^;; But we've got a lot of appliances here so lucky Keto.:D

Ijyou desu!