pre-flight jitters.

Tokyo to Delhi Ticket - check.

Visa to enter India - check.

Reading material - check.

Excited to see parents after 1 and a 1/4 years - check

Train ride beginning 5.15am to catch 9am flight - groan.

Delhi-bound in 6 days...and counting.

Nervous! Excited!

Nervously excited!!

No Better Way...

...to beat the blues than by venturing out to a sunny park filled with Sumo wrestlers making mochi (pounded rice paste).
Was suffering from lack of sunshine having spent too much time indoors (having classes in the afternoon means its already dark when I leave my house).
So got off my arse and walked out to the university garden/park space where they had a bunch of sumo san pounding mochi. I had seen this happen last year, but there are somethings you can never get used to!
These are mostly the sumo san that are in-training...the real ones are much much er...larger.

They also gave out free mochi (one with red beans, one with soysaucey breadcrumby coating and another wrapped in dry nori...seaweed...all of which i was so busy eating that i forgot to photograph!)

and there was another line giving out a hearty hearty soup with carrots, radish, konyakku (jelly thing made from some rootcrop) and other things that I can never identify.

and a bloody good reminder that I am indeed...in japan.

How do I title this?

Perhaps "awesomely cute awesomeness of this awesomely cute kid playing one of my awesomest favourite songs" would have been too long?

oh, and while you are there...check out the other stuff he's done...ah! cute! :)

The Loft Chronicles

Slowly adding little tidbits to the not-so-new-anymore flat.

Got a metal-shelf thing so I could stack up my few knicknacks, hang jewellery from etc and it also made the perfect thing to drape my colourful Cambodian lights over (compliments of Neto who went over there for a week)
Thoroughly enjoying my little spot of cosy :)

Equal wavelengths at 7 and 3

Sarika san, please come and play together with us again. Signed, N and little sis U.

This is from my two darling little playmates that I visit every other Sunday.

The elder one wrote the note and sent it through his mum who is in a community class at my old dorm where some of us volunteered.

This is the same boy who drew the train for me a few months back. Yes, I am still in love :)

But then again I don't remember you...

Stay hurtable. Stay human. Stay open. It's always worth it.

Tripping all over and out on John Mayer today. Found out about his new album 'Battle Studies' by chance, chance because I have recently become 'last-to-know' as far as new music is concerned. So yeah, sweet sweet chance.

Who says I can't get stoned
Plan a trip to Japan alone
Doesn't matter if I even go
Who says I can't get stoned

It's been a long night in New York City
It's been a long time since 22
I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you

Traditional vs the not.

My university is having its annual festival this weekend, always a big affair which students (mainly younger undergrads) organise painstakingly for months. A lot of preparation goes into the smallest details from the signs at the gates, to the dancing, the food stalls, etc etc. Last year's experience was quite shocking as I could hardly breathe,let alone move, because of the crowds.

This time around the Dane and I decided to risk our lives and give it another try but luckily we went late in the afternoon so were actually able to walk around and enjoy a bit of the festivities. There were performances galore, here are two that seemed worlds apart and yet were being performed within 20 steps of each other.

The one: (being performed to some American hip-hop song)


And the other:






Greatly impressed by their amazing ability to dance so well...in those shoes!

Brain.cannot.process.

The new abode

So I changed address for the 13th time in my 25 year life by moving into a loft last month! (As a civil servant Dad got a lot of transfers and the family always moved with him...the habit kind stuck when I grew up and moved out of home :P )

Slowly trying to turn the new place into a home and so far have been able to outfit it with a futon,a used fridge and a clothes rail. The absence of cupboards/drawers (or storage space of any kind) is proving to be a slight challenge but luckily the Japanese have invented enough space saving knick-knacks to tackle the problem! But this will also help me maintain a minimalist existence. :)

No proper pics yet as there are still belongings stacked up in the middle of the room waiting to be sorted. But here are some tid bits.
A bit of the ocean at my window...
My newly acquired funky toothbrush holder thingy and my awesome blue shower curtains (both picked up at the ¥100 store!!!)
My two sulus (sarong/lavalava/laplap) that are acting as makeshift curtains till I can afford proper ones and adding to the already long list of 'Things you can do with a sulu'...will have to dedicate an entire post to that one!
The ladder that leadeth to the top :)

Bye Bye Room A501

Moving across the first batch of stuff to the new flat today.

Realised how attached I had become to my room when I started packing it up. Will miss my wall!


Yes, the new place has walls too...but am not allowed to poke toothpicks into it ><

Will also miss the 5th floor view.


But taking all the fond (fond fond fond) memories across with me.

Pics of the new place later. Picked up keys yesterday after typhoon cleared up in Tokyo.

Très excited! (especially after having to pay ¥340,000 to be able to move in...yes, I am too broke to exist right now.)

In other news, going for a Fiji Day dinner celebration thingo with the rest of the Fiji peoples in Tokyo...yay! Some lovo food and Fiji Bitter would have made the event perfect...but the sushi and Asahi will have to do for now ><

Happy Fiji Day!

Homeward bound...no more

So the decision to move out...

if executed (if the xenophobes don't take over)...

will mean...

that I probably can't go home for the holidays next Feb as planned.

:-/

C'est la vie

Shoganai

I am a foreigner. Foreigners are evil. Therefore I am evil too. Apparently.

The summer holidays are definitely over.

Classes hath begun.

Brain is too exhausted from the week (which isn't even over yet!)

Too many possibly life-altering decisions to make this week...and I thought choosing what classes to take this semester was tough!

have (sort of) made a decision to move out of the dorm I currently live in...because thoroughly exhausted by the >1hr commute every day. And new timetable has me finishing class at 8 almost every day of the week. /argh.

it is a decision to pay close to 4 months rent up front (of which only 2 will be treated as actual rent, one being key money aka gift for landlord and the other commission for real estate agent) and each is twice the amount I pay now. >< this is going to be an interesting few months.

and then to conduct the search in Japanese...flat hunting is tiring enough in English!

AND THEN...to sit across (i have to say two of the nicest and most patient real estate agents I have come across) while they try to arrange a time with the landlord to go take a look at a reasonably priced, decent sized loft (rare find) only to hear the guy on my side pause during the call...

'ah! so desu ka' (is that so?)

fast forward...

I can't even go have a look at the flat, let alone move in, because the landlord has a strict policy against ....

foreigners.

The real estate guys were actually quite embarrassed and even tried to give a good pitch for me...She'll stay for two years, she has a Japanese guarantor...nada. In retrospect, I am glad I didn't have to meet this er...person.

Was told later by Thunder that our guy even told the xenophobe in Japanese that "times are changing"

apparently not everywhere.

Self-idulgence

Putting everything else in life on pause this week and enjoying the pleasures of sweet serendipity.

A Polish in transit.

And boundless 'me time' filled with naps, reading, several must-sees crossed off the list, walks, bike rides, swims and bubble tea.

Grateful for having the luxury to do so.

Life will resume as normal tomorrow.

And yet this anomaly seems so much more appropriate.

Yes. I am head-sprung.

Northbound

Leaving for Hokkaido in an hour.

3 hours train ride to the Port in Oarai.

Overnight ferry to Tomakomai = 19hours.

Shuffle charged and 3 books on standby.

Another 1 hour train ride to the Northern capital Sapporo and an overnight bus up East and I will finally reach my WWOOF Host!

Can't wait to get out of Tokyo!!!

Also, got an Atlas as omiyage for my Host so I can show them EXACTLY where Fiji is. Had to spend some time looking for one where Fiji wasn't lost in the centerfold. Oh yeah, and I reckon that would make a great title for a book on Fiji...Lost in the Centerfold. No?

Also, I discovered that I find the simple task of removing old luggage tags from previous travels when packing my bags for a new destination...quite exciting.

:)

I cannot think of a title for this post...

I just realised that I sometimes spend more time thinking of a bloomin title for my post, than writing up the post itself. ><

So its supposedly autumn...but the cicadas outside my window are still at their orchestra...so not quite yet then.

The first of this month was also the anniversary of my ONE YEAR (!!!!) away from home...and oh! what a year it has been! Here I thank the kindness of strangers, of the friends I have made here and those back home that made this year memorable, and at times bearable.

To the lady that showed me to the river in Chitosekarasuyama so I could follow it back to the dorm...when I didn't even know how to say 'Where is the river' in Japanese.

To the man who walked across the street and gave me an umbrella when I was caught in a downpour on the way home. I only knew how to say Thank you.

To the backpacker at the guesthouse in Ayyuthuya, Thailand, for the 2am rescue and the vacant room that helped save my tired arse that had just gotten off an extremely late train.

For the safe journey through Thailand alone.

To surviving...and immensely enjoying Japan.

To Ears, Max, Thunder and Netto, who are my lifesavers, my translators and my family here. For help with smallest of things and the biggest of problems. Ordering food, catching the train, letting me talk till their ears bled!

And most especially to those back home; friends and family...for putting up with the requests for updates, for writing back, for the care packages, for the love. Keeps me going at the worst and best of times.

To healing.

To miracles, man-made or otherwise.

To the universe in general.

Au gust of wind...please

WARNING: Due to the long absence, this post is...as long as the absence.

Sayonara...mata ne:
1st - Ears left for Spain and Max left for an internship in Cambodia a few days earlier, both to return in a month and 3 months respectively, Tokyo without my two confidantes/tour-guides/translators/rock/sanity hubs will be interesting indeed.

Several good friends who began their Japan adventure with me left this month (most very reluctantly) having been on a one-year-only exchange programme... Good times, good people...and now several couches to crash on all over the world.

3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12, 14th - Painstakingly spent dragging my either exhausted or hungover (or both!) arse to an otherwise awesome summer class. If only the 'off-days' were not filled with farewell parties and just random summer fiestas at the dorm...where the rest of the party DIDN'T have class the next day >< But the class itself turned out to be well worth it...giving me a taste of the 'article writing' blood yet again...reiterating...that I really need to get back into that.

And how about when...
Spent several days reminiscing life in the islands with another fellow islander (also due to leave at the end of the month) crashing on my spare futon. We even had a 'tea-break' one afternoon ...sitting on the floor of my cramped little dorm room, having tea (ofcourse!) and FMF breakfast crackers with lots of butter (alas, Hokkaido butter and not Rewa) and had many a laughs over how many times we got asked whether people in our country still wore grass-skirts. Yes, ignorance is bliss...but only for the ignorant.

SUMMER HOLIDAYS!!!!
It hath begun! Shorter than normal because of the summer classes but still quite long...one and a half months of bliss! I have a stack of books, a folder full of movies, places to visit, people to meet/email, naps to take, and an ever growing list of things to do...Yes, with this much excitement, I am afraid of spontaneously combusting each waking hour!

Toilet training
Well...in a way...yeah. Had a trial lesson today teaching business conversation in English to a bunch of guys from the toilet company TOTO...number one manufacturers of the coolest toilets in Japan and half way around the world. And I got the job! One lesson a week, pretty good pay and a bunch of delightful students, and even some eye candy in the form of a young gentleman with a sense of humour and 40 countries crossed off his backpacking list. Yes, this is strictly professional, but a girl can look!

WWOOFing...woohoo!
Membership got activated today and now looking through possible places to visit in Hokkaido...difficult when every option seems so inviting!! /happy dance! Can't wait to head off 1st week of September after signing for my monthly allowance. Whoever came up with the whole WWOOF system needs several grateful hugs from me.

Polishing my non-existent editing skills
Got a job editing a thesis paper for a Japanese girl for a small fee and quite liked getting back into the groove of things...which then led to me imposing my meager editing skills on proofreading the already perfect first few chapters of the novel of Joni. I am actually doing it as a favor to myself as I have random panic attacks from time to time when I (don't?) hear my diminishing vocabulary and realise that I might actually harm my English in the pursuit of this new language where advance is pronounced adbansu and journalism = jaanaarizumu.

ok, perhaps I shall save a bit for another post instead of putting both the reader and writer to sleep.

oh yeah, the au gust of wind is dedicated to the hot Japanese concrete summer...if it weren't for the parks my brains would be splattered on some pavement somewhere. Speaking of which, results just in...17,076 people killed themselves in Japan in the first half of this year..an average of 100 people a day...1 every 15 minutes, yup...one person died while you were reading this long goddamn post.

moral of the story: you should stop reading.

Nostalgic much?

Artist: Albie

Got this off a third party today...was quite serendipitous indeed! (Thanks Alberto for not sending me a copy too!!) Have the actual card pasted on the wall in front of me. Virtual hugs and kisses to all of you.

(n.b. guitars are missing and Ronna is wearing a kind of...pink. /gasp...glad you changed it to black in the final one.)

楽しみ!!!

Looking forward to:

- Solar eclipse on Wednesday (that is also supposed to spark major disasters, one in the form of a tsunami created by some tectonic shifts south of Japan...we shall see.)

- WHIP IT...Ellen Page is back in the house people.

- a possible trip to the beach on Saturday...helloooo Summer!!!

- end of this semester...guilt-free leisure time ("guilt-free" being the operative word as I bum around during the semester too ><)

- er...beginning of Summer class (yes, so the end of this semester is actually two days before the beginning of the "summer class" semester..masochistic much?!)

Background: Enrolled for a three week summer class in Science Journalism being taken by an environmental journo Debra Schwartz whose being brought in from the States. I reckon its a good deal...interesting looking class, interesting sounding lecturer, same credits in shorter time span... plus still have 1 and a half months of the summer holidays once the class is over so will not miss out on TOO much! (Yes, I am trying to convince myself...i believe i am convinced.)

- possible WWOOFing stint in Hokkaido if all goes according to plan...and if planning goes according to plan!

- ummmm...oh yeah...and most of all....looking forward to LIFE in general....although, there is nothing general about life...tres excited!

R.i.P

...Frank McCourt.

Can still remember when I read Angela's Ashes as a teen...and then scored 'Tis really cheap at a garage sale. By far, probably, the most depressing literature I had read as a kid...Angela's Ashes is after all referred to as the "epic of woe". But I remember that reading 'Tis kinda put things into perspective, thankfully.

Would be nice to have my copies with me here to have a look at...to pay respect in a way, to refresh my memory. I miss my books. As much as I try to keep my material possessions at a minimum, books are one thing that I a) cannot stop myself from purchasing, and b) cannot bring myself to part from...no matter how many times I have read my favourite ones.

I reckon, because a book is a book, is a book...they should allow you to carry books through immigration without having to pay for the extra weight...afterall, how can one put monetary value to the worth of a book?

hmmm...wonder if this argument will work with the officers at the gate....

And speaking of books, can't wait for the semester to end (in two days) so I can start on the small stack of books waiting to be devoured that I bought from the only used English bookstore near the university...Blue Parrot...yes, Casablanca reference perhaps, either way, its a life saver...and I have enough points collected to get ¥1000 off the next purchase...yay!

And yes, that IS Alice in Wonderland...I have an inexplicable liking for childrens books and am forever trying to build my collection of favorites...I scored this copy of A.I.W from a tiny Japanese bookstore (!!) for ¥150!!!

There were are few others that I bought and would have liked to have kept but were weighing down my luggage so they had to be left behind at random backpacker hostels in Thailand...well at least I can rest assured that they will be enjoyed just as much!



And just to reiterate my point:

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. ~James Bryce

Flattered...more than ever.

Had the most delightful evening.

Slaved over BBQ prep with Ilaria from Itaria (Italy in Japanese) for this 'Chikyuu Circle' thingo we have going at the dorm where the foreign students have a sort of conversation class with a bunch of Japanese people from the neighbourhood every Sunday where we discuss topics ranging from ODA to mixed marriages.

Anyway, finally got down to the mingling, drinking, eating etc and met the most charming young man. EVER.

Over the course of the night he talked to me about what he currently does, how he is intending to visit Guam over the Summer, has been to Hawaii through a very lucky lottery draw and thoroughly enjoys swimming. He sought me out from a crowd of people that were actually mid conversation with me and led me to the 'Bar' table and poured me a drink of the local soda.

Later on in the evening he commented on my very recently painted toenails...'They're black, very cool...why/when did you get them done'?

He drew me a picture of a train (with explanations galore)that I will upload later when I am not too lethargically tired to operate the camera.

The time came for us to bid adieu...he leaned in close to my ear and commented on my earrings...there are two on one ear? They are very cool.

I waved goodbye...sigh, the sweetest a man has been to me in a very very long time.

His mom bowed and said thank you for entertaining her son, he seems to like you a lot.

I bowed and said, no, it was my pleasure.

He was SEVEN.

yes, and by far the sweetest young man I have ever met.

ahh...here is the drawing.

tis official!

As of next semester, I will be a 1st year Master's student at the Waseda University Journalism School.

And so it begins...

!!!!!!!!!!

Home Run

Lying down on the damp grass... in the middle of an empty baseball field...in Tokyo...at night

...and looking up at sky, is one of the most liberating experiences I have had in this country.

And I wasn't even drunk or stoned.

That sense of euphoria no drug can induce

I also never realized exactly HOW claustrophobic this concrete jungle makes one feel...until I walked into (read: sneaked into) the empty open field. Its like being able to breathe again, properly...without any inhibitions.

Thank you wide-open spaces...and the people who lead you there.

I have a secret...

"There are two kinds of secrets:
those we keep from others,
and the ones we hide from ourselves."
Frank Warren, PostSecret

I will eternally be grateful to Kaos for introducing this site to me.

Initially when I started reading it I thought it was masochistic to follow because every Sunday (or Monday when I would go back to work after the weekend) I would wait for the site to be updated, read the secrets and then feel very down for a while. Some of the secrets are funny, some are sad, some inspiring and most are just downright depressing.

But since then I have come to enjoy reading it, learned to revel in the pleasure these people get from sharing their secrets and quite fascinated by how the guilt of each secret is somehow reduced when shared with complete strangers. It must be quite liberating.

And to have the opportunity to do that must definitely save lives and rejuvenate souls, for secrets are such that, you can either take them to your grave...or they take you to your grave.

Geographically Challenged. Part 2 (Episode 1054)

SO apparently there is never any assurance of what may or may not be asked at a Master's Entrance interview.

These questions will definitely be asked:

Why do you want to study at blahblahblah university/faculty?

What is your Master's research plan?

What do you plan to do after completing said Master's course?

And, as I found out, there is also a possibility of THESE questions being asked:

I don't know where Fiji is...Where is Fiji? Can you explain in Japanese?

What is the difference between Tahiti and Fiji?

In retrospect, it was quite amusing indeed.

Duration of Interview: less than 10minutes.

FINAL FINAL Results announcement: 9th July.

I will then know for sure if I get two more years of cheap, authentic....sushi. :)

Ribbit...omg I'm going to die...ribbit

Had a near-death experience involving me and a toad yesterday.

Ko-chan, his knee and I were taking a walk through Tokyo's "Govt Offices" district (I'm sure there is a more official term for it, I just can't remember it right now) and walking through a park that borders the Imperial palace grounds (but is separated by a huge fort like thing and a great volume of water lest someone try to cross over...BUT I'll save that story for another day!)

SO yeah, walking through park, commenting on how the area (and so many other places in Tokyo) grow a different personality at night and then Ko-chan very nonchalantly mentions "oh look! a toad (or frog or something)" I look down and inches (YES INCHES!!!!!) away from my foot sat the BIGGEST toad I have every seen in my entire effing life. EEEEEEEEK!!!

Luckily I (apparently) work very well under pressure and my brain stopped screaming for a second and reminded itself that toads (or frogs or whatever that giant monster was).....JUMP!....double EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK........

And that brilliant reminder initiated my own jump....I am sure I broke some kinda long-jump record because within seconds I was 5meters away....yelling all the while. Yes, very smooth. I know.

/shudder. ewgh! ugh! yewgh!

And if I weren't so shit scared of said creature, I would actually feel sorry for it because Ko-chan and his knee then proceeded to use their new iphone to take photos of its monstrosity.

hmpf.

oh, and I have my interview for the Master's entrance in a few hours and am almost as scared!

/deep breath.
/exhale.

Nervous Anticipation

Thursday 25th June=
1 Presentation for International Relations class
1 Kanji Test and several sheets of (pending) homework
1 Announcement on whether I made it into the Master's Programme

><

splish! splash! splosh!

The rainy season hath begun in Tokyo and I am hereby embracing it! :)

Over the course of the last two weeks I have discovered that I absolutely love riding my bike back home in the rain!!!

Its like a speedy rain bath where you are not outside long enough to get hypothermia (well actually its quite humid so very little chance of that happening!) or get mud splattered all over the back of your legs/jeans etc.

Yet you can still enjoy the rain drops on your head, face...you get the idea. splish! splash! splosh!...nice to be enjoying the rain instead of bitching about it!

although, damp school bags are not as much fun, neither is day old wet laundry on the clothesline. But hey, small price to pay!

Also, very amusing to see little Japanese kids running around fully decked in their colorful raincoats, ponchos, boots, hats, umbrella's etc. Like someone splashed several rainbows all over little elves! cute!


'borrowed from flickr'

Restless...

Have a foreboding sense of restlessness hovering over me for the last few days. Haven't touched the pile of homework, dirty laundry or clothes that need ironing...I will get to it...in due time. sigh.


I did manage to fish out the reading for next week's grad school class...where I have a presentation...it now sits on my bed waiting to be read. Soon. soon.

Last week I had my arbaito (part time job) so had a few killer days and then ended the week by getting greatly disturbed after watching the trailer for The Cove. Googled the matter and found even more disturbing info. The last time I felt so sick to my stomach was at the Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum. After such a long time I really wanted to be home, away from the horrors of the world.

On the way home on Friday I stopped by the sushi shop in Sengawa, make it a point to go there at least once a week. It was after lunch so the place was pretty empty and perfect for striking up a convo with the chefs and practicing my almost non-existent Japanese. Added a new word to my vocabulary. Lady at sushi place commented on how Fiji was 'rakuen'

me: rakuen?

lady: hai....mmmm...utopia!

consulted my denshi jisho (electronic dict.) and sure enough...

rakuen 楽園： a paradise

:)

Sidewalk wonders

On the way home today I stopped to watch a guy performing right outside Shinjuku station exit.



I am always amazed by the raw talent in this country, and the enthusiasm they perform with. Several stations have similar sights with random artists setting up and performing on the sidewalk. Yay! for music, its appreciation and these awesome performers!


there's some hiss in the vid and I DID accidentally cut the song off at a good part...but I like it anyway!

Sound of Music

Made a trip to the electronic store Bic Camera today to pick up some pending items on the 'luxurious necessities' list.

1. Electric Kettle
2. Earphones

The earphones especially were much needed as the ones I currently have are indeed a disgrace to music, but having gotten used to their inferior quality, I had forgotten what I was missing out on.

But after having browsed the shelves for several months now, trying to convince myself that I buying a new pair would be succumbing to consumerism, I finally made a purchase.

Street II Sennheiser earplugs. And boy am I glad I did. Couldn't wait till I got home so opened it up on the train and plugged them in...ahhh...bliss. I am sorry music, for not listening to you as you were intended to.



oh yeah, and got the electric kettle as well although that was a no brainer, cheapest one off the shelf. Also finally found a certain undergarment in my size (not in the electronic shop though hehe) and it was quite painful paying for it as it cost twice the price of the earphones and the electric kettle put together. >< But then, breast cancer would hurt much more.

Elementary, My dear Watson.

Just saw preview for upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie! Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Sherlock Holmes, can you think of a more alluring mix?!

Geographically Challenged

Snippet from a conversation between me and a Phd student from the University where the workshop in Nagasaki was hosted. The student was an observer during one of the sessions and this conversation eventuated during the break.

Formalities, blah blah blah
Her: So you are all from the Pacific (reps from most of the islands were present at the workshop)
Me: Yes, we are!
Her: Oh wow! So I was wondering...how come you all look so...different?
Me: {smile,giving a low humouring giggle} That's because we are all from different countries, the Pacific is a region, not a country.
/take girl to a map on the wall and point out Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia while giving examples of participants from the different countries present in the room.
Her: And so you all speak different languages?
Me: /facepalm

Shifting gears...

The last two weeks have sort of whizzed past with my re-emergence into the world of 8-5 work for a week while in Nagasaki and then the entry back into the world of scholarly pursuits after.

Nagasaki was bliss. EVERY Japanese person you meet in Tokyo keeps reminding you that Tokyo is NOT Japan and that one needs to get out of Tokyo to see Japan in its entirety. How so very true.

The trip started with a sighting of Mount Fuji from above. Fuji san is so iconic here with locals and foreigners alike that just a sliver of a sighting draws screams of joy...and then to finally be able to see it...all of it...well its a good thing the seat belt sign was still lit or I would have been jumping up and down on that plane!!

Nagasaki itself...rice fields, mountains (correction: hills) green all around, slightly bigger houses, people more smiley and strangers saying good-morning, prices were lower, transportation was cheaper, need I go on. Was put up in a place outside the main city center so would wake up to this view from my window each morning.

Hotel was also right next to the Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum...got to pay a visit just before closing time on my first day there and it was quite a humbling experience. The artifacts, stories, pictures and even remains of bombed buildings, bridges and remnants of scorched clothes were arranged in a way that makes you stick to the stomach just thinking back to what people in that area went through, during and years after the bombing.

What was beyond me was how Nagasaki and Hiroshima were the first places in the world to be bombed as such, the destruction caused was absolutely freaking clear...and yet, several places suffered the same fate since. Were the perpetrators so..thick? The next morning I took a walk through the peace park which has the epicenter of where the bomb landed and several monuments donated by countries as a prayer of peace and comfort to Nagasaki. You get goosebumps just approaching the place even though it has concrete all over it now and...yeah. well.

Here are some paper cranes from outside the museum (heaps of them all over the Peace Park making shrines at the foot of monuments)...Ancient Japanese legend has it that if you string a thousand of these together you will be granted one wish. These are all...wishing for peace.

The workshop itself was a success, was nice mingling with Islanders again after yonks, the crew from home brought over some stuff from Mum...BBC Dhal mix, vegemite, FMF Breakfast crackers and Pure Fiji Lotion. :)

Oh and this trip report concludes with...Obama Onsen (hotspring bath thingo) souvenir sighting at the airport on the way out. In disbelief, I actually asked the girl...is there really an 'Obama Onsen' in Nagasaki? She, of course, went to the trouble of explaining where exactly it was located mistaking my amusement...for interest.

...jaded chicken

In a Woody Allen phase so downloaded Annie Hall and Manhattan. Digested Annie Hall through some spare time this week and still cracking up over the wit. Was stuck on the closing quotes though while doing some soul spring cleaning.

Alvy Singer: this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, uh, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken." And, uh, the doctor says, "Well, why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "I would, but I need the eggs." Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships; y'know, they're totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd, and... but, uh, I guess we keep goin' through it because, uh, most of us... need the eggs.

I haven't had a single boyfriend (in the truest sense of the word) in the last TWO years...and the best thing (or worst depending on how you look at it) about it is that it doesn't really bother me. I have become incredibly comfortable in my own skin.

So is my chicken jaded, cynical and sceptical to the point of non-existence?

Yeah, I'll just push this down to the bottom of the 'things to mull over' list and deal with it another time.

In other news, am off to Nagasaki shortly, my first major trip out of Tokyo...and off Honshu (well, i did go to Nagano in Winter but that was still on the same island!) So yeah, its going to be da bomb! to see that side of Japan (pun intended...bad joke, i know, but bad jokes are my trademark)

Working Monday to Friday but trying to squeeze some exploration time into the trip so flying out of Haneda at 6am!

tres excited!

Sarika's Travels

Feel like I am on Lilliput Island some days.

Went around looking for shoes, shorts and other basic necessities today but was greeted by the same problem every.bloody.where. They didn't have the item in my size.

I need to start binding my feet (amongst other things) to reduce size and restrict any further growth.

Otherwise, still on holiday and absolutely loving it!

Went for a hike up (down, around and about) Mt Takao on Saturday and ended up walking even further to a nearby town called Sagami-ono...was nice to be out of the city!

Then went back to civilization with a blast...dinner at a cheap and awesome yakiniku (fried meat) place in Kichijoji, several rounds of several different drinking games (the japanese ones ranged from cow tongue to ninja!) then some karaoke, a few more drinks at Hub (a chain of 'british' pubs in Tokyo) and then a final dash for the last train....good times, good times.

pic taken on the way to the dam in Sagami

...dessert anyone?

This one is self-explanatory :)

The Colour of Laundry

Bought a pack of clothes pegs my first month in Japan from the trusty Hyaku Yen (¥100) store. Of course, the pack was worth much more than the 100 yen I paid for it...


Colorful Laundry

It has been fine well today. It is just the wash weather. Since it is the colorful pinch, the arrival at the bottom, trousers, a shirt, socks, etc. can be dried a lot. My strong ally. Wash becomes still much more pleasant.

:) I should have let you guess what the pack contained.

Also, was met with some colorful laundry myself last weekend when I washed my new pair of reddish Thai pants. All my socks and another pair of pants came out...PINK. not just pink but PINK pink. As a rule I spend my life avoiding that colour as much as possible. But when I saw my laundry...I laughed. For days.

Have a colorful weekend...I am officially on holiday (again) till May 6th!!

Next week is 'Golden Week' in Japan where a bunch of national holidays are stacked into one week...and my university further adjusted the academic calender to forgo today's national holiday and give us an extended Golden Week.

So I stocked up on my reading material, my viewing material and of course the lecturers stocked up the assignments...Golden Week, here I come!!!!

As if I wasnt doing enough of that already...

May the eastern sun rise and heat the temple on your head that you may think Japanese all day...

-Kaos. 1.48am Fiji Time
(and Kaos, before you ask, that's 10.48pm Japan Time)

First Kanji test of the year tomorrow...here we go again. The holidays are most definitely OVER. Luckily this semester I am required to wake up at the crack of dawn only 3 days a week (as opposed to the 5 days last year)...AND I don't have any classes on Friday..yippeee!!!

Its not the waking up early that I mind the most, its the having to commute during rush hour that gets to me at times...something that takes a bit of getting used to for everyone...and is more of a shocker when you come from a country where the only trains we have are the ones carrying sugarcane. And then you are thrown into the other extreme end where the trains are sushi zumi (packed like sushi). So much so that you can't move till the next stop (never mind taking a photo to post with your story).

Also, recent discoveries!!!

- cheap pool place near the train station at uni...
- for the Japanese class I had to go out and buy myself a denshi jisho...aka electronic dictionary (pics later)...the world makes so much more sense now...!!! O_O
- procrastination is my greatest vice right now...but wait, that's not a recent discovery...I already knew that.

And on that note I am going to go multi-task that Kanji cramming and Grad class presentation preparation...more updates in the long weekend (I reiterate: every weekend is a LONG weekend!!!)

:)

Awesome Read of the Day

http://www.vagabondish.com/growing-up-immature-traveler/

Spring has ...sprung! Part 3

Line of Cherry blossoms on the way to my dorm.

But alas! The beauty of the sakura lies in its transient nature...and so within a week or so the blossoms were falling off!

and falling...



sigh! until next year then..and anyway, I don't think the livers of the public at large could have taken any more um...flower watching. :)

Spring has ...sprung! Part 2

And then the sakura (cherry blossom) was finally in full bloom!
...with even more people out and about!

And the view from my window was yet again...(beautifully) different!

Spring has ...sprung! Part 1

First sign of spring from my window taken about two weeks ago! Temperatures were still quite chilly so I didn't get what all the excitement was about.. " oooh! cherry blossoms!" hmpf. its still freezing, bite me!


It didn't seem to bother the eager-beaver Hanami goers (at Yoyogi Park) though. Hanami means to 'watch flowers', more specifically the cherry blossoms, which I have to come to understand is just an excuse to have an awesome picnic under the trees...and get drunk!


Of course, given the population of Tokyo that brings with it the wonderful lines outside the toilets at the park. If you have to 'go', you have to predict your urge 'to go' an hour prior to when you 'really have to go'.


and some more...

especially doesn't help when you are consuming large amounts of alcohol. ><

Here's one from my first hanami, next to Kandagawa River which is near my university...I was quite taken aback, there were some people who had been there with mats, food and alcohol since 9am so when I got to my hanami'ing friends at 6 in the evening...things were quite upbeat! A very refreshing change from the usual stern faces I have become accustomed to on the train every morning! I like hanami already!