Jenny @ Kago

This marks the end of a chapter...

2009-09-07T22:39:00.000+09:00

KagoJen is no longer in Kago

so now I'm just plain ol' GaijinJen

Yep, that's why from now on,

I will be blogging on GaijinJen instead

My student exchange report (in English and Japanese)

2009-09-03T18:04:00.001+09:00

Japan hadn’t been my first choice when I first signed up for the international exchange program at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) two years ago. Back then, I applied and was selected to go to a university in the US. However, things didn’t go as planned, and I ended up with a rejected visa application and deflated hopes. Originally, I had planned to go to the US for one year and Japan the next. However, Plan A failed and I was left with only Plan B and a fear of getting rejected again. Still, I was determined to try my best to make it work the second time. I completed the application forms and prepared the required documents early and worked hard on improving my Japanese. I took Japanese classes three times a week, three hours each time. This went on for a year.

My efforts finally paid off and I passed the international exchange interview and got a visa without a hitch. Still, I couldn’t help but feel nervous, somehow expecting customs to stop me and tell me I’m not allowed to go through. Imagine my relief when I finally set foot on Fukuoka safe and sound.

It’s only human nature to notice what is different when one arrives at a new environment. I immediately took notice of the serenity and rurality of Kagoshima but marveled at the same time at how clean and organized everything was. It was also my first time to have my own apartment so I basked in the moment while worrying about the expensive rent. When classes officially started about a week after we arrived, I took in the differences between the classes I have been to in the past and the ones here in particular. Compared to the fast-paced flurry of life in Taipei, everything seemed to be laidback and relaxed in Kagoshima.

In an effort to chronicle my yearlong adventures in my new and exciting life and share my experiences to my friends and family back home, I started a blog (http://kagojen.blogspot.com/) and recorded everything interesting that crossed my path during my stay. And my stay was nothing short of interesting and memorable. Short as one year is, I had the chance to become part of numerous meaningful activities. I took part in numerous Canada Project activities, wrote research papers, articles, and reviews, hosted events, made presentations, and met a lot of important people. I also took part in many local events and met a lot of people and made lots of friends. I experienced local festivities and got a clearer glimpse of society by taking part in numerous volunteering activities. I also worked at a house-moving company for a day and learned a lot about the working culture of Japan. I also taught a total of 10 regular and non-regular students English. All my students were professionals, thus giving me more chances at getting acquainted with the local culture. Most of all, I made a lot of friends, both at school and outside, and enjoyed my downtime doing various activities and visiting several places with them.

This year, I experienced snow for the first time, climbed my first mountain, hitched my first ride, learned how to cook, developed a liking for karaoke, improved my bowling skills, published several articles, worked as a volunteer for the first time, and immensely improved my Japanese. All these and more changed me for the better, and I now have friends and experiences that I will cherish for life.

I would not exchange this experience for anything in the world!

　　二年前、国立台湾師範大学の交換留学プログラムに申し込んだとき、選んだ国は日本ではなくアメリカだった。結局、ビザは発給されず行けなかった。最初の計画は、一年間アメリカに行って、次の年は日本に行くということであった。しかし、アメリカのことがうまく行けなかったから、日本への留学もうまくいくかどうか心配になり始めた。心配しながらも、頑張って申し込みの準備をした。早めに申し込みに必要な書類を準備したり日本語学校に通ったりした。日本語のクラスは週に３回、毎回３時間、一年間続けた。

　　今回は、インタビューもビサを申し込むこともうまく行った。しかし、税関を通れるかどうかまだ心配していたが、福岡に到着した時、やっと安心できた。

　　人は新しい環境に入ると以前とは違ったところ気づくことは当然なことだ。鹿児島は静かだし、田舎だし、きれいだ。初めてマンションに住んだので、楽しんではいるが、高い家賃が心配でもあった。着いてから一週間して授業が始まった。台北の生活と比べたら、鹿児島はよりのんびりでより落ち着いていたと思った。

　　この一年間のことを忘れないように、他の国に住んでる家族と友達にここの生活が分かるように、ブログを書き始めた（ http://kagojen.blogspot.com/ ）。面白い物事に関していろいろ書いた。一年間はそんなに長くはなかったが、色んな面白くて忘られないことを体験した。カナダプロジェクトのイベントに何回も参加した。イベントのための論文も、記事も、評論も書き、司会と演説者としてイベントに参加し、色んな人々と出会った。市内での色んなイベントにも普通の参加者として、またボランティアとしてたくさん参加することで、日本の文化がより理解できるようになった。一日引っ越し会社でバイトして日本の職場環境が経験できた。先生として全部で１０人の生徒さんに英語を教えることができた。色んな人に会って、だんだん日本のことに詳しくなってきた。たくさんの友達ができて、暇な時は一緒に遊んで、色んな場所にも旅行した。

　　この一年間に、初めての雪を見て、初めての山登りをして、初めてのヒッチハイクをして、料理ができるようになってきて、カラオケが好きになって、ボウリングができるようになってきて、色んな論文を出版して、初めてボランティアをして、しかも、日本語を話せるようになってきた。こんなにたくさんの経験をし、人間としてもっと立派になって、しかも一生忘られない友達や思い出をたくさん作ることができた。

　　もう一回選ぶとしても、ぜひもう一度鹿児島に行きたい、素敵なみんなと会いたい。

Final glimpses

2009-09-02T18:12:00.003+09:00

Frankly, I thought that there would only be around 5 people coming to see me off.
The turnout was so surprising (around 15 people) that I was too moved and happy to shed any tears (I had been expecting myself to start bawling during the sendoff for days...)

It was the best gift I could ever hope for :D
I love Kagoshima, I love you guys, and I will surely go back <3

Thanks for everything, you guys
I especially loved your cards and messages
See you again in the future!
(Come visit me also!)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=309958&id=850320496&l=4002f7ee85

My last day at Leo Palace

2009-09-02T17:46:00.003+09:00

I spent my last day at Leo Palace packing, socializing with friends, and taking pictures!
It was pretty emotionally therapeutic, I think :D
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=309950&id=850320496&l=ca8dbc030c

Anybody need a model?

2009-09-02T17:36:00.003+09:00

Somebody hire him!

"Jenny Party"

2009-09-02T17:11:00.003+09:00

My farewell party was held on a cruise ship (納涼船, Nouryou Sen)
We had to name the event, so we called it the "Jenny Party"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=309943&id=850320496&l=546ff2559d

PS. Special thanks to Izumi and Shinobu for making the event possible! Love you guys! <3

More print club!

2009-08-15T22:26:00.003+09:00

Trisha is back in town!
I guess that calls for another round of photo stickers... :P

Full circle

2009-08-15T14:12:00.001+09:00

In some ways, I feel like I'm coming back full circle.

I'm leaving at pretty much the same timeof year I arrived last year, so the weather and the scenes from all around me kept reminding me of when I first came here.

Has it been a year already?
Though there are things I wish I could've done differently, I'm grateful for the learning experience I acquired just by being here and meeting all the people I met.

I'm coming back full circle, but I'm different from what I used to be.

Think of me as the new improved Jenny. Thank you everyone for making it possible. 〓

Camping!

2009-08-13T00:20:00.002+09:00

Just came back from my first camping trip in Japan!
It was loads of fun.
I'm so glad I did it because it gave me two days to hang out with some of my closest friends here :)

More on the trip on later posts... but first, here are the pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=298753&id=850320496&l=c12303c951

Random shots around Kagoshima

2009-07-29T00:49:00.002+09:00

Found these shots while rummaging through my camera's memory card
Kagoshima sure is very photogenic!

Usuki

Near IUK

Only in Japan...

2009-07-09T22:14:00.002+09:00

No, it's not a recreation of "The Creation of Adam"

In Japan, you can send your contact details, pictures, and files through infrared or Bluetooth (infrared is much more common though, as you can see ^)
It looks kinda funny at times (especially at times like these) but it's all over the place, really

Lessons Shida should learn from IUK

2009-07-09T21:34:00.007+09:00

Throughout my stay at IUK, I noticed many things that are different and at times nonexistent at Shida.

Here are some of the things that Shida should "copy" from IUK:

1. Grad school lab: so this is specifically for the English department at Shida. We're the biggest department in the entire school (if I'm not mistaken) and yet our "lab room" has barely enough room to swing two cats by their tails. Think about that, a tiny room with ancient furniture for around 100 graduate school students! And guess what, they lock the door and you've have to make your own copy of the key if (if!) you want to use this room... no, thank you!

As you can see from these pictures, this is way more spacious than what we have at Shida (maybe about 10 times more...). And here we have our own lockers (forgot to tell you that we had to share our ancient (I'm thinking at least 20 years) lockers with another student), our own space, three computers to share between us, and (!) unlimited access to the printer (I'll probably miss this the most...)

2. On the same vein, graduate school students at IUK get a Xerox card worth 1000 copies free!

3. This one doesn't really make too much sense, but it's cool to have a travel agency inside the university, lol

And this one... I could do without...

4. This outdoor cafe makes really good mocha drinks! It's nice to have lunch surrounded by trees once in a while though the bugs do get pretty annoying...

5. Student hall
The student hall is a place for students to hang out, eat, talk, do homework, whatever. This is a really nice alternative to the library for me, since I find the library air too stiff. Unfortunately, we don't have such a place at Shida. That's why I'm busting my brains trying to think of a place where I can write my thesis when I get back...

6. Bookstore!
Yep, we have a bookstore in the university. And yep, it's tiny but still.

I'm sure there's a lot more I forgot to mention but you get the picture. The main complaint I have for Shida is that for a good school it should provide students a good environment conducive to learning (which I really think it lacks!)

Google is going...

2009-07-06T14:42:00.000+09:00

Just a random fun thingy my brother sent me... try it out!

Here is something fun.. you know the type ahead feature of google where you type in a few keywords and some suggestions come up?

Try typing

"Google is going"

Then wait for what will come out

I got my hair done!

2009-07-04T22:33:00.002+09:00

Me and Miyoung (the new exchange student from Korea) had our hair done today and Marie came along to make sure we do not misunderstand the hair stylists and vice versa.

I don't think I've done something so different with my hair in quite a while so... :P

Kinda cool...

2009-06-29T22:35:00.002+09:00

Here's kind of like a tie-in to the previous post.

Apparently, a prison in the Philippines has been coordinating dance programs including all of their inmates for some time now.

Here's the news report on CNN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTFBy_71U1s&feature=related

And here's their rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LkqAb5Eu9g&feature=related

I think it was pretty cool, although I can't imagine something like this happening outside of the Philippines, lol...

Michael Jackson is dead?!

2009-06-26T12:01:00.001+09:00

I'm just watching the news right now... and they're saying that Michael Jackson is dead?!
Wow! That's pretty sudden... 0_Oa

Earnings - expenses = savings

2009-06-24T15:33:00.007+09:00

For some time now, I have been 'evaluating' which of the places I've lived in offers the best deal when it comes to monthly savings. I base my evaluation on savings instead of earnings because the cost of living also differs from one place to another.

For the purpose of comparison, I will present everything in Japanese yen (JPY). Here are the rough estimates between different currencies for your reference:

1 Philippine peso (PHP) = 2 JPY

1 US dollar (USD) = 100 JPY

1 Taiwan dollar (TWD) = 3 JPY

The average monthly pay for college graduates (rough estimates) in

the Philippines is JPY 16,000

Taiwan is JPY 54,000

Japan is JPY 180,000

The price of a coke in can (350 ml) in

the Philippines is JPY 25 (0.16% of earnings)
Taiwan is JPY 45 (0.08% of earnings)
Japan is JPY 100 (0.06% of earnings)

The price of a Big Mac meal (at McDonald's) in
the Philippines is JPY 124 (0.78% of earnings)

Taiwan is JPY 315 (0.58% of earnings)

Japan is JPY 620 (0.34% of earnings)

Anyway, the list could go on and on...

It's clear from the figures, though, that by the end of the month, people can save more money if they work and live in Japan, as opposed to living in Taiwan, and much less (or almost nothing) if they live in the Philippines.

And that's where things stand right about now, and it says a lot about the country's economy.

Apparently I'm an apartment building...

2009-06-16T22:53:00.002+09:00

So I was googling my own name like many of us do when we have time to kill (I'm sure there are many of us out there :P). I've already tried my English name (too many results) and Chinese name (again, too many results) in the past, but this is the first time I tried googling my Japanese name (ルージェニー).

Guess what? Apparently my name is used as a name for an apartment building.

Gee, should I be flattered?

Studying abroad versus studying at one's home country

2009-06-14T22:43:00.002+09:00

I just came back from a big event where over 400 people from many different countries came together and mingled for two days. It was interesting to find that most of the kids from non-Japanese families are fluent in both Japanese and their mother language. Many of the kids also converse in Japanese to one another and also with their parents.

Loosely related to this is the fact that I used Japanese throughout the past two days because my friends were from different countries and our common language was Japanese. That got me thinking about the debate between studying a language in the country where the language is spoken and studying it at one's home country.

Two of the most important arguments (that I can think of) supporting the study of language in the country where it is spoken is that it allows people to use/practice the language with people at the same level, for instance in the circumstance I mentioned above, wherein the only way we can communicate is by using Japanese. This is directly related to the second argument, which is the fact that there is a real need to communicate.

I really do think that such exposure is helpful for people learning a language.

Another random entry, lol

Alternative lodging

2009-06-06T02:49:00.003+09:00

In Japan, there are several alternative options for lodging that are most probably unheard of in other countries. Here are a few that I know of:

Daily Mansion
These are fully furnished apartment type hotels. They cost almost the same as a hotel room as far as I know

Internet Cafe
Yep, you read right. Japan's Internet cafes offer individual booths, which are sometimes furnished with reclining chairs (I don't know about beds) and shared shower rooms (in addition to computers, of course, and comic books)

Capsule Hotel
These so-called "capsules" are kind of eerie. Basically you sleep in a rectangular box (with a TV!) and you clean yourself up in a shared bathroom. However, because of the lack of privacy (the "door" is made of glass), women don't usually stay in this type of... um, hotel?

I've never tried any of these though :D

Blackle

2009-06-04T21:46:00.004+09:00

Apparently, there is a new (?) search engine out called Blackle. It is said to be more energy efficient because it is mostly black.

I'm thinking that Blackle is probably Google's retort to Microsoft's Bing, which by the way has not given me any reason to pay attention to.

Which reminds me, I worked as TA for Mathematical Programming today and my partner did not show up... O_O
That was totally scary (cuz like I mentioned, I couldn't quite follow what the teacher was teaching). Luckily, though, no one asked any questions today. Yay!

I know... totally random, haha

You know you've been in Japan too long...

2009-05-29T21:16:00.003+09:00

Here's a fun book that captured my attention during my last visit to the bookstore.
Although some of the entries were kind of hard to relate to, there were a couple or so that were hilarious :D

View here for more!

You can't read the whole book online but there was one entry that was particularly hilarious (sadly, missing from the link above), but this should give you a little taste of it:
"How to speak fluent Japanese without saying a word"

Comments please!

Back to the Philippines

2009-05-22T15:26:00.004+09:00

Seeing relatives I haven't seen for years under the circumstance of my grandmother's passing away was a bitter-sweet experience. Although the gathering may seem to be a joyous affair from the outside looking in, it still cannot hide the fact that the reason we were gathered together was one of sorrow. Regardless, few days we spent together during the wake was, at least to me, emotionally comforting.

During those few days, we mostly survived on fast food takeout

My cousin Jocelyn and her daughter, Georgette

My brother, James, and my mom

It has been so long since we last sat down together for dinenr

Kitties! @ IUK

2009-05-22T14:02:00.003+09:00

So, a number of newborn kitties (5, I think) can be seen on campus these days. Actually, that was last week. This week, I'm pretty sure there're only two left. I guess people took the other three home...

Teaching assistant

2009-05-20T13:53:00.002+09:00

One of the things that causing me both grief and joy these days is my latest parttime job: a teaching assistant position at the university. I am TA to three courses in the Economics department: Programming I (Java), Programming I (Visual C#), and Mathematical Programming.

The first two I can get by with, because I used to study programming in my junior college years, but the Mathematical Programming class? I am probably more clueless than the students. So I always dread being asked questions by the students because I have no idea how to answer them. I tried to weasel my way out by telling the teacher that I have no knowledge whatsoever in the subject, but instead he said that I can learn along with the students. No way out, then. Let the stress continue.

By the way, I forgot to mention that all these classes are conducted in Japanese. This was actually one of the most important reasons why I chose to take the job. I thought it would serve as a great experience and good practice also (oh, and it pays pretty well, too). Well, I'm getting both of that, but that doesn't stop the stress... lol

Thoughts

2009-05-12T22:54:00.003+09:00

Going back to the Philippines, attending my grandmother's funeral, seeing long-lost family, talking to my friends here in Japan has got me, and having too much time in my hands during my two-week trip has got me thinking a lot.

First off, it has gotten me thinking about what I want in life and how I am living it. My brother mentioned that once, someone asked him why our family isn't living together (I live in Kagoshima now; my mom is in Taipei; my brother is in Manila; and my dad is in Baguio, Philippines) and that he didn't had an answer to that question. I told my brother then that it was all because of work and money. But then I thought: if I were to win the lottery and no longer have to worry about finances, what would I do? In that case, I probably would still not settle in the Philippines, but would instead try to convince my family to relocate to another country with me. The reason being that I cannot put up with the heat, pollution, corruption, and overall chaos that has worsen through the years.

On that note, while talking to Tienchi today, it also dawned on me that I don't really feel like I truly belong anywhere, that I don't truly call anyplace home. I feel like a foreigner in all three places I've lived in: the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. (And it doesn't help that I hold alien registration cards for all three countries)

Any thoughts?

I'm in Hong Kong again

2009-05-10T13:35:00.002+09:00

I'm on my trip back to Japan today.

I'm currently on a four-hour stopover in Hong Kong (within the airport only) and I'm pretty sure I visited every nook and cranny of the airport already so right now I'm just posting a blog entry and basically waiting for boarding, then it's Taipei - Fukuoka - Kagoshima from here on.

Later!

In the Philippines now

2009-05-08T15:05:00.002+09:00

Hiya!

Just wanted leave a quick hi and to let you know that I will be back in Kagoshima on Monday, May 11, and that I haven't had a chance to go online in the past week or so.

It's good to be connected again... :)

Will post more updates when I get back to my routine!

Hong Kong

2009-04-27T16:22:00.003+09:00

Hiya peeps.
It's your favorite neighborhood otaku (computer geek) signing in from Hong Kong.
It's the last leg of today's journey and I'm glad it's almost over.

By the way, I'm starting to feel the heat.
It was 14 degrees this morning in Fukuoka and last time I checked, it's 34 degrees in Manila.

I'm in Taiwan at the moment... @@

2009-04-27T13:35:00.002+09:00

Yep, that's right.

I'm in Terminal I of Taoyuan airport. I'm here cuz I have to take three transit flights to get to the Philippines (cheaper that way). So that's Fukuoka-Taipei-Hong Kong-Manila. So I'm just gonna be in the airport for an hour.

Nevertheless, it feels surreal to be back here after six months, and most of all, just passing through! Anyhow, just wanna share what I feel.

Next stop: Hong Kong.

I hope they have wireless Internet connection cuz my Japanese phone doesn't work overseas.

Fukuoka

2009-04-27T05:43:00.001+09:00

I took the night bus and have just arrived in Fukuoka, where I will be catching my flight in a couple of hours.

I'm writing this entry from my cellphone.

Guama

2009-04-25T13:08:00.001+09:00

I will be away for two weeks starting Monday to attend my grandmother's funeral.

I have been making the necessary arrangements for the past few days (tickets, reentry permits, etc.)

I guess the reality of the situation hasn't hit me yet cuz I am so far away.

Overall, however, I am at peace because my grandmother lived a full life (she was about 90 years old) and I feel relieved knowing that she doesn't have to continue suffering as the cancer has been causing her much pain towards the end.

I will always carry her in my memory as the person who taught me the value of saving money, who peeled oranges for me when I was little, who gave me my first chance to walk on the streetr without an adult companion, who speaks English and Filipino with a cute accent, and many more. 〓

Miniatur Wunderland

2009-04-16T21:45:00.002+09:00

I realize that this has nothing to do with Japan, but I just wanted to share this video about the impressive Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany

Funny

2009-04-13T16:53:00.003+09:00

Was browsing through books at the local bookstore yesterday when I came across this.

The two pages following the cover page was so funny I had to share this with you!

As an added bonus, the book's helpful for learning Japanese, too!

Give a holler if you're interested in reading the book!

...and tell me what you think!

Pork chops

2009-04-09T18:58:00.004+09:00

For dinner I made pork chops the way my dad makes them.
It was my first try but I think I came really close to the real thing, around 90% I would say.
I'm just so proud of myself I called my mom and my dad to brag.
Hehe.

Reading material

2009-04-09T16:40:00.002+09:00

I woke up at around noon today and was trying to force myself to wake up so I lied down on my carpet and that brought my attention to the pile of reading materials waiting to be read (see picture). I categorized them into three classifications: (left to right) pleasure reading (mostly in English), Japanese, and research-related.

I counted down the remaining months I have left in Kagoshima (around four months... sob) and was filled with a determination to plow through the three piles of reading materials before the end of my stay. That way I can bring back with me those that I still need and discard those that I don't need.

That surge of energy got me through three hours of reading various materials. Lol, I haven't gone this long without going online for quite some time now.

I'm proud of myself :P

Potential thesis topic?

2009-04-08T00:00:00.002+09:00

After two and a half years of being a master's student, I finally came up with a potential topic that could potentially become my thesis topic.

I was watching Ghostbusters (the movie) the other day and was surprised to find that I still remember parts of the song. That led me to reflect on how I learn and use English. I usually refer back to lyrics that I have in my head instead of regurgitating grammar rules when I get stuck constructing sentences.

So I thought, could memorizing songs be the best way to learn a language? I hypothesize that through this method, one can not only learn vocabulary words, grammar constructions, and pronunciation, but also retain it for a longer period of time!

So, now I'm ready to test this hypothesis and I want to do a pilot study on this. I will do it with Japanese and if anyone else wants to do this with me with any language, do tell me. My plan is to memorize one song per week, learn vocabulary words by looking up their meanings on the dictionary, learning grammatical constructions through the forms presented in the lyrics, and practice pronunciation by repeatedly singing along with the song. At the same time, I will be keeping a journal to write down any thoughts and ideas (about the learning process, frustrations, small victories, etc.) during the process.

Any feedback and suggestions are most welcome.

Spring and cherry blossoms at IUK

2009-04-06T01:04:00.004+09:00

The cherry blossoms (sakura) in Kagoshima is in full bloom, and IUK is no exception.
I took some really good pictures, too!

Look at the petals on the grass. They look like snow, don't you think?

This is building no. 6, where the graduate school labs and classrooms are located.

This is the view from the deck by the outdoor cafe.

From left: Souzen, me, Hiroshi (new guy from Taiwan), and Hayashi.

The path that leads to the main entrance.

The cherry blossoms looks really pretty especially with the blue sky as the backdrop... :P

March 15: Makurazaki + Yamakawa trip

2009-04-06T00:44:00.005+09:00

I wanted to post this although the trip was from last month.
I got a message from Hiromitsu one day saying that they're going out for soba noodles and to the hot springs after and asked whether I would want to join them. I happen to be craving for some zarusoba, soba noodles served cold with a dip.

So here it is:

Here's what the soba place looked like from the outside. Very Japanese.

The dips came first. The one on the left is for the soba noodles, while the one on the right is for the tempura.

Nice interior.

Me and Hiromitsu.

Ryousuke.
The zarusoba and tempura set cost around 1000 yen and was very filling.

I love the clouds above the soba place!

This is what I love most about living in Kagoshima... :)

Hiromitsu and Ryousuke started working this month so this was probably our last trip in a while, though... :(

Volunteer weekend at Hakkenmura

2009-04-02T21:54:00.004+09:00

Last weekend, I took part in a volunteer event with Hakkenmura, which is an organization that is dedicated to providing assistance and shelter to homeless people in Japan.

I didn't really understood what I was in for when I told my friend Ayumi that I will be joining her for the volunteer event. It was only later that I understood that we will be asking for donations for the homeless at Tenmonkan, which is located downtown. Two hours later, we collected 65,606 yen for the homeless. It was pretty interesting that most of those who donated money were young males. Who would've thought?

The pictures are, again, out of sequence, so I'll comment on each picture in turn:

This picture was take at the press conference signaling the official establishment of the Kagoshima branch of Hakkenmura. Suffice to say, I was not able to understand most of what was being said... :P

After the donation event and before the press conference, we had dinner at a nearby pasta place. I learned how to make a chick with a wet towel (see below)

Here, we're sorting the money we collected in the afternoon

After the press conference, the volunteers were divided into teams. Each team went to a different area in Kagoshima City to find homeless people, give them information about the organization, and give them some food. My team went to Taniyama and consisted of me, Ayumi, Prof. Batoh, a professor of Economics at IUK, and three other males whose names I forgot (@@)... Two of those males used to live on the streets themselves so they knew where the homeless spend the night. I was surprised that we were able to find 4 in Taniyama alone. According to the official statistics they presented at the press conference, there are at least 100 homeless people in Kagoshima City alone.

This next picture was taken at Chuo Park. The volunteers, people from Hakkenmura, and even some of the former and current homeless people helped out in making lunch and snacks for hanami (flower watching).

I remember thinking to myself that day that I wasn't able to differentiate between the homeless and the volunteers at times because everyone helped out in cooking the food and cleaning afterwards. It was also interesting to see that starving as they were, the homeless sat quietly in front of the food offered to them and waited until they were told that it was okay to start eating. I don't think the same thing could happen in many other countries.

The man in the checkered shirt at the leftmost corner in the last picture is called Wada. He cooked for nearly three hours that day and probably did not eat much. I still don't know whether he's homeless or not, but I do know that I am immensely impressed by his cooking skills and his willingness to do things without asking for anything in return.

Zhao's best shots?

2009-04-01T16:02:00.003+09:00

In a previous post, I posted a photo that me and Trisha both agree is probably the best shot we have of Faiz to date here.

So, today I was going through my pictures and saw a couple of shots I have of Zhao that may be his best yet (at least in my camera). See if you agree! :)

Fun ways to kill time in Kagoshima

2009-03-31T17:56:00.005+09:00

Here's a little piece I did for Kinko Bay Tidings, an English language publication in Kagoshima that is mostly (9o percent or more?) written by Donican:

Short as my stay has been here so far (six months and counting), me and my friends have found some places that keep us entertained and going back for more.

MUSE CLUB (Frespo Yojiro)

Most foreign citizens only stay in Japan for a couple of years or so, so it would be safe to assume that, like me, you also get around by public transportation, and thus have to watch the time every time you go somewhere. It gets pretty boring after a while to go back home really early and do nothing in particular.

This is the place to go to if you have a group of people, not much cash in your pockets, and plenty of time to kill. Depending on what time you go there, you can spend between 1000 and 2000 yen per person for a decent number of hours belting songs and downing drinks (yes, it's all you can drink, but no, they're nonalcoholic). If you come in during the evening (after 9:00 pm if I'm not mistaken), you can stay until 5:00 am the next day. This should be good news for people with sleeping problems!

What's really cool about karaoke places in Japan is that they have songs in many different languages. They have songs in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, and even Tagalog (Filipino)! I browsed a bit through their song directory (they have a remote control device from which you can browse and order songs from) and songs in other languages in addition to what were already mentioned above can also be found in it (I found a couple of Spanish songs).

The rooms here are also worth some article space. At the MUSE CLUB, they have two types of rooms, smoking and non-smoking, and several different themed rooms. The smoking rooms are not so special. They're basically two long couches set against the walls and a long table in between. But their non-smoking rooms are a different story. One of the rooms we went to was cushioned all over (think mental hospital room). The good thing about this is that it is comfy enough that people would just lie down and feel right at home and really have fun. And, as one of my friends jokingly suggested, you can always come here when you don't have a place to spend a night because it's way cheaper than a hotel room, plus you get to sing when you can't sleep!

Photo Stickers

Okay, this is not exactly a location but a machine that can be found in many places. It may not have crossed your mind, but taking photos at photo sticker booths (what they call 'print club' or 'purikura' in Japan) actually takes a lot of time! So here's an option for you if you and your friends are at a loss for something to do.

Here's the reason why it takes a lot of time. The actual picture taking process doesn't really take any more than a couple of minutes, but the part where you design the photos - adding a few touches here, putting little hearts there - surprisingly takes a lot of time! (That is, unless you choose not to be creative and only add a couple of perfunctory touches)

One thing I learned from my many trips to the photo sticker booth (and yes, I do have a life away from the photo sticker booth) is that it is best to opt for a machine that provides infrared transmission if you have that choice. These days, most machines provide you with the option to download a photo or two off of their website (from your phone, of course) for free. But if you happen to be using a prepaid phone, you won't be able to download that photo because your phone does not have an Internet connection. Bummer. Another thing is that, you may have taken six photos, but the online download option will only give you a couple of digital files for free, whereas the infrared transmission will allow you to download all the digital files to your phone, right outside the machine itself.

So round your friends up and start posing away!

Round 1 (Usuki)

Round 1 is arguably one of the most preferred bowling alleys in Kagoshima. There are definitely less expensive places (like JJ), but people usually opt for Round 1 because it is better lit and better maintained.

The best deal to opt for is the bowl-all-you-can package. For less than 2000 yen per person, you can enjoy six games each!

There is a fun regular event that they call "Moon Light Strike Game." Basically, they turn down the lights, explain the rules to the game, and everyone bowls at the same time. The rules indicate that females and children should knock down 9 pins and males should bowl a strike in order to win this challenge. Victors and their friends get a group shot (where one of them wears a bowling pin costume) and a souvenir. So far they've changed the souvenir from a bowling alley photo stand to a bowling ball-shaped digital clock.

If you come here on your birth month and make reservations a day or two beforehand, you will also get a group picture and a huge inflated bowling pin which stands at about 5 feet!
Round 1 Spo-cha (Usuki)On the upper floors of the bowling alley in the Round 1 entertainment complex is Spo-cha. For a set fee per hour, you can play arcade games, sing karaoke, or engage in a wide variety of sports.

Their indoor sports include a shooting range, billiards, table tennis, skating, and a wide range of other sports. They also have an outdoor-sport option on the rooftop where you can play tennis, badminton, archery, and several others.

Surely, there are many other ways to kill time when you're with a bunch of friends. These are the places that we found so far. Try them out and hope you have as much fun as we did!

Aso Volcano in Kumamoto

2009-03-16T17:49:00.005+09:00

This is about another one of our day trips in February.
This time we went to Kumamoto, a not-so-near prefecture in Kyushu.
(I think it took us around 6 hours each way, so we had to depart at around 5am...
poor Shinobu had to drive the whole way cuz he was the only person with a valid driver's license)

This is the cable car station (they call it 'ropeway' here) to the mouth of the volcano

Behind these guys are shelters for when the volcano erupts

Doesn't this look like an album cover or something? A pretty cheesy one though... :P

Tired but happy...

Somebody please explain why the liquid is greenish...

Baseball game in Miyazaki

2009-03-16T15:08:00.004+09:00

Last month, we went on a day trip to Miyazaki to watch a practice game in a 'baseball camp' there.
It was the Giants versus 'Samurai Japan,' which were the best players in Japan (including those who were recruited overseas) put together.
They were training for the WBC (World Baseball Classics)

I don't really know much about baseball except for what I learned from playing video games and Nintendo Wii, but the game was pretty entertaining.

Ichiro Suzuki, who is now with the New York Yankees (I believe) was also present that day, which explains the large crowd despite the bad weather (see first picture) and the incessant picture taking (as can be seen on the video) whenever he's on the field.

Marie

2009-03-16T00:14:00.002+09:00

Was sorting through my pictures and came across some really nice shots of Marie.
She had hair extensions put in for her graduation performances. :)

Interesting maps

2009-03-15T00:03:00.004+09:00

This was from a while back, but it's really funny so I thought I should post it here.

A couple of months ago, Faiz and I were invited to Anis' place for some authentic Pakistani fare.
We'd never been to his place so Anis was kind enough to draw us a map to his place (from the train station)

Seemed fairly straightforward, right?
Turned out the path wasn't as clear cut as Anis' map seemed to be (above)
Lol.

That's not all.
The other group of people who were invited were given a different kind of map by Anis' brother, Hafiz.
Check out the map below.

IMO, neither of us had it easy.
Both maps were pretty hard to navigate with, lol.

'White Day' in Japan!

2009-03-14T21:46:00.004+09:00

It's "White Day" today in Japan.

In Japan, on February 14th, Valentine's Day, females give chocolates to males.
The type of chocolate that are given can be divided into several types:
(I'm recalling this from memory, so there may be some discrepancy...)
homemade choco for people that are truly special to you
tomo choco for friends
and
giri choco for people you are obligated to be nice to

March 14th, on the other hand, is known as White Day.
Simply put, this is the day when males reciprocate and give females (who gave them chocolate on Valentine's Day) sweets or pastries in return.

So, this morning I suddenly remembered that today was White Day and half-jokingly sent a message to a handful of guys I know asking for White Day chocolate.

I didn't expect anyone to actually oblige.

Less than an hour ago, I was surprised by the persistent ringing of my doorbell.
Guess who it was?
Ryoutaro came to give me a box of pastries from both him and Youichi

What a pleasant surprise!
Thanks again you guys!
That definitely made my day! :P

Additional reading: Wiki

I hate people who talk behind other people's backs...

2009-03-14T00:19:00.002+09:00

I don't want to name names because I'm not 100% sure of the validity of my hunch but I have to get this off my chest.

A certain someone is quite a character.
Let me start with two recent examples that directly affects me:

A couple of weeks ago, I sent this certain someone an email inviting him for a bowling night with our friends
(I invited him out of kindness, since I didn't want him to feel left out)
Guess what? I didn't receive a reply at all.
It's common courtesy to reply to direct questions, isn't it?
Geez...

Then, a couple of days ago, I accidentally let slip that he's working part time over the break
It turned out he didn't apply for a permit, which is required for us to work
(Who would've thought that he was keeping his work secret?
And, how could you keep such work secret?
And, who would've thought that he would be stupid enough not to apply for a permit?)

By the way, I sent him another email that time informing him of a certain piece of good news and warning him that he should apply for a permit soon.
Guess what? No reply again.
But! Big BUT! He wrote a blog entry *hinting* that me letting slip that he had no permit would probably cause him to lose his job and what not...

Geez, can you just say it directly?
Stop being a hypocrite!
We accidentally ran across one another last week at school and he pretended that nothing was going on (hello? what about your replies to my emails?!) and made plenty of small talk.

Geez, what a faker...

Announcements!

2009-03-12T22:04:00.004+09:00

Two pieces of good news!

First, we found out on March 9, which happens to be Shiori's birthday, that she is 6 weeks pregnant! The baby is due October 30 this year.

Congratulations, Shiori and Youichi!

The second piece of news is...
I no longer have to pay rent! Yay!!!!!
A huge thanks to Prof McMurray and the international exchange office at NTNU for making this possible!!!

With the four months of rent (from April to July) that I get to save, I can...
...buy 1 and a half macbooks
...buy five good quality electronic dictionaries
...live comfortably without any income for four months in Taipei

...you get the idea :D

After finding out, a group of us went out to a ramen place for a 'celebratory' dinner :P

よ〜ふ

2009-03-11T00:06:00.002+09:00

Here's Yuna's rendition of "yofu," which means "hello" in Tienchinese :)

A little souvenir from Faiz

2009-03-09T01:54:00.002+09:00

In Japan, customers can buy whole bottles of Shochu wine in izakayas and leave the bottle at the establishment were they unable to finish the wine in one sitting. It's called "keep" in Japanese.

A couple of weeks ago (I keep forgetting to post these pictures before today, so...), we made another trip to the izakaya we frequented. I knew that Faiz left an unfinished bottle before he left Kagoshima but I was surprised to find my name written on the bottle (lol)
(Tienchi wrote 'Shaquille O' Neal' btw)

I thought only 007 (the Chinese guy who used to live in apt. no. 107) and Zhao owned the bottle :P

A day in the life of...

2009-03-06T00:32:00.002+09:00

I woke up today at 6:30am
not because I had a nightmare
but because I'm working at the movers today!

Ryoutaro came to pick me up at about 6:50am
(thanks for sacrificing your precious sleep time to help me on my first day!)
and we arrived around 7:00am at the company

I changed into overalls (will try to take a picture next time!)
and the day began with us moving empty boxes, bubble wrap, and supplies into the van
staff members are divided into teams each day and you never know who and where you'll end up with
turns out males and females do not work with one another

What's special about the moving business in Japan is that females (usually) go to the client's house and pack up the client's belongings into boxes (nice huh?) and then stack them up at a certain area in the apartment/house
then the males take over and move the boxes from the old residence to the new residence
then the females take over again and unload the boxes (get this ->) and restore them in their original positions!
Talk about customer service!

So today I went out with four other females and spent around ten hours packing a couple's belongings into a mountain made up of more than 30 boxes
...and we're not done yet...
I'm surprised at the strength of the other females, two are middle-aged and two just graduated from high school
I feel weak... Orz

But anyway, today (oops, it's past midnight now) yesterday was a great experience
a unique peek into a slice of Japanese life if you will
I'm tired and sleepy but I haven't really done any exercise these days
so I look at this also a workout
and a way to make sure I don't go broke (hehe)

I'm not on duty tomorrow
I guess they'll call me again when I'm needed
(Please call me~!)

Anyway, tomorrow I'll take it slow and let my muscles rest a bit
and do some studying!
:D

February 11: Shiori and Youichi's wedding

2009-03-04T22:38:00.004+09:00

Although I'm a bit late in posting, this is one entry I do not want to leave out from my blog.
This is the first time I attended a friend's wedding (actually, we only went to the afterparty, but anyway...)
What makes it extra special is that I'm in another country and I know both the bride and the groom :)

Below are pictures from the "feather shower" and the bouquet throwing after the wedding banquet

Here's the bride in her pretty pink flowing wedding dress :D

Group shot! (Ryoutaro is drunk here)

The bride threw three bouquets and here are the three people who caught them

Here's the sign that announces that Shiori and Youichi's wedding was in session and that guests can leave their belongings here (or something... sorry, my Japanese isn't that good yet :P)

The adorable couple :D

Shiori's siblings: (L-R) Rino, Kazu, and Nana (this is the first time I met her in person because she's living somewhere near Tokyo with her husband)

Shiori's mom and dad all glammed up

me on the quasi red carpet

The sign announces that Shiori and Youichi's wedding banquet is in session and offers candy (in the basket) to those who see the sign (basically)

More about the afterparty in the next post!

Productive day

2009-03-04T18:32:00.004+09:00

Although it wasn't very long, I finally sat down and read a research paper today.
My goal for the two-month long (which is halfway over) vacation is to read plenty of research papers and decide on a topic for my master's thesis and if I'm lucky, to get the literature review portion of the thesis over and done with.

Today was just a tiny, tiny step.

I'm going to start writing comments about the research papers I've read on a separate blog (http://jenzthesis.blogspot.com/) because it is not something everyone will be interested in. The reason why I'm starting this blog is so that I can put my comments down into words before I forget them, to help me think up more ideas revolving around the topic, and to potentially generate comments from other people who may read the blog.

One other thing that's happened today is that I received a call from Youichi saying that I can go work with them at the movers tomorrow. Yay! Money! I'm seriously strapped for cash, so this will definitely help some.

Youichi called me a couple of times today to make sure my first day goes well. Shiori sent me several emails teaching me some of the basics of the job and assuring me that all will be well. Ryoutaro has offered to pick me up at 6:45 in the morning tomorrow to make sure that I get to work on time and to help me with the transition.

Thanks a lot, you guys! You're the best!

Reunion

2009-03-03T14:16:00.003+09:00

About a month ago, Marie, Trisha, and I came up with this idea that we should hold regular (say, annual) trips with the friends that we made in Japan at a different location each time

Sounds tempting
Even though it sounds like hard work, I hope that we can follow through with this

The last last print club with Tienchi in Kagoshima

2009-03-02T14:04:00.002+09:00

Me and my big mouth again...
The previous print club stickers weren't the last ones with Tienchi
These ones are.
I can say for sure this time around because Tienchi should be in Taiwan now (her flight was two hours ago)

We took these photo stickers before we went for another all-nighter at our favorite karaoke place (MUSE CLUB)
Tienchi chose to do an all-nighter at the karaoke so she won't miss her train which departed at 6:30 this morning

Clockwise from bottom left:
Zhao, Hiroki, Erina, Tienchi, me, and Shinobu

Culture bubble

2009-03-01T16:57:00.002+09:00

I was on the train the other day and started thinking about what I have been noticing all throughout my stay here: people keep their distance from other passengers when they're taking the local transportation

Case in point: there are two types of trains where I live (in Sakanoue).
One type of train come in two-seater benches while the other type has long benches (cushioned, of course) on both sides of the train.
In both types, passengers tend to sit a bit apart from other passengers
It is especially evident in the trains with two-seater benches (I don't know how else to call it)
Although each bench can seat two people, not many strangers share the same bench in the train
I remember one time I was sitting in one of these benches and the seat next to mine and the two seats in front of me were unoccupied. Still, the high school student who boarded the train after me chose to sit on the floor instead of occupying any of the empty seats.

Ever heard of the term "culture bubble?"
I'm not sure if I got the term right, but the term essentially describes the distance a certain culture of people feel comfortable with when they deal with other people
For instance, if it were the same train in Taiwan, all the seats will be filled
If it were the same train in the Philippines, the two-seater benches would seat three to four people. LOL

I'm not exaggerating.
One time I went back to the Philippines, I was waiting in line at the airport and the person behind me was practically leaning on me!
I took a few steps forward and again she came closer to me like bees on honey!

I guess I have a way bigger bubble than most Filipinos after living outside the Philippines for so long...

いいです

2009-03-01T14:57:00.002+09:00

Here's a funny little story from Zhao...

He was in the professor's office one day and a Japanese student was pouring drinks around.
When it was Zhao's turn, he said "いいです"
(which literally means "yes")
But the guy didn't give him anything to drink and left
LOL

Okay, here's some explanation
You know how it is the norm to be indirect in Japanese?
Well, this is the perfect example
When people say "いいです" (iidesu)
it can either mean yes or no depending on the context, the intonation, and I don't know what else

Quite tricky, huh?

Whenever I offer Shinobu something and he replies with an "いいです" (iidesu) or an "いいよ" (iiyo)
I recheck to make sure he's saying no
and that's usually the case

When he's saying yes, he says "いいの？" (iino)
which literally translates to "Oh, can I really?"

Japanese sure is a difficult language to master.

Nice quote

2009-02-27T02:57:00.000+09:00

思いは言葉にしなければ分からない

It literally means that if you don't put your thoughts into words, people will not know what you think
This phrase was uttered in a Japanese drama I watched a few weeks ago called 蛍の光 (Hotaru no Hikaru)

I think it makes a lot of sense
And I'm writing it down now to remind myself of this fact

Last print club with Tienchi in Kagoshima?

2009-02-27T02:23:00.000+09:00

That day, me and Tienchi were supposed to go out with Marie and Marie's mom for lunch
but I missed the train (lol)

So, I caught up with them after lunch for some coffee at Starbucks

Guess what we did after?
Yep, you got it. We went to Round 1 for bowling
Yeah, me and big mouth...
I wrote in a previous post that I thought we weren't gonna go bowling for while
...my bad

Anyway, this gathering was kind of a mini sendoff party for Tienchi cuz she's leaving next Monday and Marie and mom probably won't see her again before then.

Poor monkey...

2009-02-27T02:14:00.000+09:00

Here's what Zhao and Tienchi did to my stuffed monkey when I wasn't looking...

Samurai Sam?

Mamma Mia!

2009-02-27T01:38:00.001+09:00

Watched the movie musical Mamma Mia last night
As expected, it was a crazy fun movie with not much of a plot (lol)
Nevertheless, it was really pretty entertaining
I was also (pleasantly) surprised to find that I know most of the songs

Right now I'm reviewing parts of the movie
I'm keeping the movie file on my computer cuz the parts with the songs on the movie are heaps of fun :P

If you haven't watched it already, go watch it!

Bug alert

2009-02-25T00:54:00.000+09:00

Uh oh
A mosquito just flew past

It's the first mosquito to appear in my room since I came here
but it's a mosquito nevertheless

Uh oh
I hope this doesn't mean I'll be seeing more bugs from now on

Huh?!

2009-02-24T22:14:00.000+09:00

You know how you respond to something you don't understand or fail to catch with a "huh?"
Turns out it's an unconventional way of reacting in Japan.

I guess people respond with a 何 (nani, meaning 'what') or an ん (un, just a nasal sound detecting uncertainty) instead. "Huh" is reserved for situations when you're looking to start a fight.

People do a double take when I say 'huh' and suggest that I stop saying 'huh' to them.

I guess old habits die hard, though.
I'm still working on not sounding like a street thug. :)

Bowling (part 3): Could this be our last trip to the bowling alley in a while?!

2009-02-24T16:41:00.000+09:00

February 23
So, we went bowling again.

First off, picture time!

Me and Babanisan
(His last name is Baba and nisan is an endearment that means older brother; he's funny in a weird way, or weird in a funny way... whichever works :P)

Me and Tienchi
(Tienchi's going back to Taiwan next week... and she's pretty much perfected her pouty face for photo ops :P)
Tienchi scored her highest at 220 points that day, btw

Zhao does not want to break his streak of having zero experience at playing bowling.
Instead, he took charge of the bowling bingo sheet we got.

Me and Ryoutaro
(Ryoutaro's the youngest in the group, but he's really nice and very mature... okay, sometimes :P)

Me and Youichi
(Youichi rarely smiles when taking pictures, so I guess I'm luck I got this one on film! ... or on memory, rather)

Me and Zhao
(Zhao is starting to loosen up these days, but some days he goes over and get too wacky... lol)

Me and Shiori
(Shiori just had her hair cut that day, which made her look a lot like Rino (her sister))

Another strike!

the "after" picture...

before all the bullying started :P

Everybody's getting a bit theatrical here...
We won the bags Tienchi is holding from bowling bingo, btw...

Nice stolen shot...
although Tienchi's radar picked up on the camera pointing at her...

Bowling (part 2)

2009-02-24T16:06:00.000+09:00

This was our third trip to Round 1 in February. This was on the 14th. We went to the bowling alley after making cake and having dinner at Shiori's. (more on later posts)

The screen shows my highest score in bowling thus far: 117
I'm the second player from the top. I played under Trisha's name, though.

Another "Moon Light Strike Game" success story :)

The newlyweds: Shiori and Youichi

The girls!
(Shiori did me and Trisha's hair and makeup that day, by the way)

I like the multicolored balls...

That's Youichi in the pin suit, in case you were wondering :)

...and moi~

random shot...
pretty nice shot, though :)

Here's what a "Moon Light Strike Game" looks like

Trisha did not find out until too late that I was taking a video instead of a picture

Here's a funny video of Babanisan :P

More thoughts

2009-02-24T15:57:00.000+09:00

Amidst the flurry of activity all throughout the month, I was left with little time to think. It was seriously one event after another to the point that I started losing track of dates and going to sleep when people are ready to get up.

But at the end of the day I realized that I've formed relationships with people, something I didn't think would happen before I came here. This blog serves as a chronicle to capture this year in my memory.

Sometimes I'm wondering if this year is just like an "alternative reality." I hope the dream lasts even after my trip ends.
(Yeah, it's half a year away but the first half of my stay is gone in a split second so I'm starting to freak out...)

Bowling (part 1)

2009-02-24T15:02:00.000+09:00

For one reason or another, we're frequenting the bowling alley this month.
We usually go to this nice place called Round 1 where they charge around 2000 yen for 6 games.

Our first trip to the bowling alley in February was on the 7th. Trisha didn't come because she was either sick or running low on money, I forgot which. That day I went with Hiroki (top left, clockwise), Shinobu, Tienchi, and Hiroya (in the bowling pin suit)

FYI: You get to take a group picture in a bowling pin suit if you score a strike (or bowl down at least nine pins if you're either female or a child) during the hourly "Moon Light Strike Game" the establishment holds.

Our second trip to the same establishment was on the 11th. I got an inflatable bowling pin because I booked the reservation as a February birthday celebrant :P

By the way, Zhao just wouldn't go near the bowling balls. He insists on being a mere member of the audience.

I guess the giant pin looks kinda silly in public :P

February...

2009-02-23T00:05:00.000+09:00

Yet another friend has finished her exchange in Kagoshima and packed up her bags and left.
We sent Trisha off at 5.40am on February 21.

I do not yet know what to think and feel as I watch our number grow smaller; actually I did not really have time to sit down and think as we have been making the most of the time we have left together in Kagoshima to go out on trips and gatherings.

Which is perfect, actually.

I thought January was wild enough. February bags the prize.

More on February on future posts.

More print club!

2009-02-15T23:37:00.000+09:00

Here's our first print club photo stickers with Shiori and the gang!

More about the day's events in upcoming posts!

Monkey business

2009-02-14T01:49:00.000+09:00

101 ways to play with a monkey plush toy with stretchable arms:

1. stretch the arms (duh!)

2. put it on top of your head (hmm...)

3. put it on top of an inflatable bowling pin :D

4. strap it to the bowling pin (ouch)

5. hold on to it while you bowl (this bags the prize... lol)

6. strap it to your arms and kiss it

7. strap it to your water bottle

8, 9, 10... we're open to your suggestions! o(｀▽´)o

Press "play" for instructions on how to play with the monkey (that Marie gave for my birthday)

Hehe

Birthday presents!

2009-02-13T16:18:00.000+09:00

I had a really great time yesterday!
This has to be the most memorable birthday I've ever had cause I don't usually celebrate my birthday in the past and I don't really have this many people to celebrate it with!

Thanks to every single person who contributed to making this day special!

Here are the presents I received:

A monkey plush toy with stretchable arms from Marie
(The reason why she got me this is because we have this joke about her clapping her hands like a chimpanzee whenever she laughs at a joke :P)

A "Kago Jen" strap from Trisha
(This is so cool... I love this so much :D)

A kewpie cellphone strap from Toshio
(I'm still thinking of whether or not to attach this to my phone cause it's kinda big :P
Okay... I'll just do it)

Got a deck of karuta cards from Zhao
(As he said, if it's from him, it's gotta be educational :P)

Got a box of eraseable color pens and a notebook from Donican
(She said she got me a notebook because she and Tienchi doodled on my old notebook :P)

A pair of earrings from Tomomi
(I only have one ear pierced so I'm now thinking of having my other ear pierced for this :))

A pink heart-shaped throw pillow from Tienchi
(very Tienchi, eh?)

Two boxes of Kraft Mac n Cheese from Shinobu
(Kind of a long story but the short version is that Shinobu was addicted to this stuff during his stay in Canada)

Thanks a lot for the presents!

Thanks also for the birthday messages:
Robert and Grace, Mama, Dada, Jay, Atsi Christine, Jeric, Florian, Candice, Denmark, Faiz, Souzen, Mike, Hiroki, and Sayaka :)

Takoyaki, Mario Bros., and Yakiniku

2009-02-11T00:42:00.000+09:00

The other day we went to Marie's (again) for takoyaki

It's evident that we're amateurs :P

Here's Marie's mom to the rescue

That day's dessert was banana cake

...and pumpkin flan

Yum! as usual...

After lunch sweets

Some after lunch piano

Some after lunch Mario Bros.

Went to Aeon after and had coffee at Starbucks

I had Java Chip Frappuccino as usual

After Aeon, we went to a yakiniku place for dinner

Yet another full day of fun :)

Hahaha

2009-02-11T00:28:00.000+09:00

We were at the local mall, Amu Plaza, the other day and saw an interesting sight...

...three guys nodding off by the escalator! LOL

presumably waiting for their respective girlfriends to get done with their shopping? :P

January highlights: January 29 - Faiz packing and departure from Kagoshima

2009-02-10T20:04:00.000+09:00

Faiz's four-month stay in Kagoshima came to an end on January 29.
Time really flies. It made me realize that the six to seven months I have left could also go by in a blink of an eye.

Although I spent a lot of time with Faiz during his stay, it wasn't nearly enough.
Although this may sound like a cliche, I can still remember the time when we first me him as if it were yesterday.

Parting sure sucks.
Still, I'm glad to have known you, Faiz.
Thanks for the memories and the changes you brought about in me.
I think I've said this before, but I believe that every single person we meet in life help shape the person we become.
So thanks for your contribution :)

The night before departure day, I went to Faiz's place to give him some photos and helped 'supervise' his packing cuz he was clueless as to how to proceed at one point (see photo above for visual support)

It took him almost all night to sort out the small items here and there

He almost forgot to throw away the trash he has been 'keeping' for so long in his freezer
The kimchi expired on September 23, 2008. Right, Faiz? :P

His luggage weighed over 45 kilograms in the end, if I remember correctly

The room was now back to its original state - clean and bare

Lots of people came to see him off: (from right)
Zhao, me, Tienchi, Shinobu, and Emi
Mr. Imamura drove Faiz to the airport as part of his duties

Hiroki made it at the very last minute

Parting words between comrades

Bye Faiz!

Hiroki and Zhao couldn't come with to the airport cuz they had classes.

2009-02-10T14:07:00.000+09:00

Volume 4 of the Canada Project in Kyushu Colloquium is out!

The volume includes proceedings from the November 8 event, as well as articles related to Canada.

Of course I wouldn't talk about this if I don't have an article in it, hehe.
Both me and Faiz published articles in this volume.

Click on this link to download the pdf version.
In case you're looking for something long to read :)

January highlights: January 28 - dinner at Joyfull

2009-02-09T12:18:00.000+09:00

On the eve of Faiz's departure from Kagoshima, a few of us gathered together for a simple lunch at (guess where) Joyfull, this time at Chuo station (like it makes a difference, lol)

Zhao was exceptionally quiet that night...

Faiz is in one of his playful moods :)

Hiroki arrived a few minutes earlier than the appointed time that night
...and this is worth mentioning because he is almost always fashionably late :)

Trisha had to go home early that night because she had to study for an important exam the next day

Tienchi and Shinobu

Erina and Emi came just as we finished our dinner

It was a relatively quiet gathering compared to what we had previously. Nevertheless, we had a nice time, short as it was. :)

Again with the "print club" photo stickers

2009-02-08T02:52:00.000+09:00

Went to take purikura (プリクラ, "print club") photo stickers again today

There were four of us this time:

me
Tienchi
Trisha
Hiroya

Sorry about the first few stickers
Couldn't get them to rotate to the right position...

January highlights: January 28 - lunch at Marie's

2009-02-06T18:57:00.000+09:00

We've been going to Marie's house quite often these days and getting fed. I've thought of bringing doughnuts or whatever but just remembering that Marie's mom can make anything would make me think twice.

Anybody have any ideas on what I should bring next time we get invited to their place?

This time Marie's mom made us pizza!

Here's Marie setting the table

They have two dining rooms, one western and one Japanese style

Marie puts in hours of piano practice everyday :)

The salad was really good
Even Tienchi, who shies away from salads, had seconds

Marie's mom made us two flavors of pizza...

I'm not very good at description, but eating all these goodies always reminds me of how lucky Marie is :D

That day's dessert was banana cake

...and milk tea mousse!
Loved it so much :D

Marie's mom is a genius
and I have an insatiable sweet tooth :)

I'm not a big tea drinker, but I love the tea Marie's mom gives us

Here's Trisha clicking away
...as always :P

Marie entertaining us with some music :)

Found this funny looking Winnie the Pooh under the piano :P

Thanks again to Marie and Marie's mom welcoming us to your home!

January highlights: January 27 - Shiori and company at Faiz's

2009-02-06T14:55:00.000+09:00

Shiori, Emi, Youichi, and Ryoutaro drove to Sakanoue (our neighborhood) that night to hand out nijikai (二次会, afterparty) invitations to everyone for Shiori and Youichi's upcoming wedding on February 11.

In Japan, it is customary to hold nijikais for a variety of occasions such as weddings.
From what I understand, it is customary to invite superiors and important acquaintances to the wedding reception and the wedding party, so it can be quite stiff and formal. On the other hand, close friends of both the bride and groom are invited to the afterparty so it is more informal and festive.

Shiori also told me that they will be playing videos of the wedding reception and the party and slideshows of the bride's and the groom's childhood pictures.

Emi and Shiori
...turns out Emi also graduated from IUK, the school we're in right now :D

Shiori and Youichi

Ryoutaro was really quiet that night cuz he was still feeling kinda shy
One of the few words he spoke was, "no!"

as always, group pic!

and here's the afterparty invitation!

January highlights: January 26 - Dinner at Faiz's (part 2)

2009-02-05T18:44:00.000+09:00

First came the paper airplanes...

this was when the guys started using rubber bands to propel the paper airplanes

tired looking people

who would've thunk :P

who knew clothespins could be so much fun?

nitey nite

So after dinner, we just sat around chatting and chilling. Then at some point, we started playing with paper airplanes, had a tickling fest, and played around with clothespins (don't remember the sequence).

The evening started at 8.30 pm and ended at 4 am.
The neighbors complained to the school authorities about the noise (LOL)

I don't have pictures of the tickling fest, but every single person in the room was pulled into the middle of the circle at some point and was collectively tickled by everyone.

Shinobu was our favorite target :P

January highlights: January 26 - Dinner at Faiz's (part 1)

2009-02-05T18:17:00.000+09:00

Faiz made us dinner!
That's Faiz's famous beef dish in the middle :P

Emi brought muffins :D

photo op session?
photographer #1

photographer #2

photographers #3 & 4

halftime :)
time for some intellectual stimulation...

Faiz found time to inquire about his application to York University

the bully and the victim?

What started out as a simple dinner at Faiz's progressed into a circus (?) as the night (and the wee hours of the morning) went on.

We went in as adults and came out as toddlers (LOL)

In other words, we played a lot of stupid and meaningless games.
And we had a lot of fun :P

January highlights: January 25 - dinner at Anis'

2009-02-04T03:20:00.000+09:00

Anis (right) invited me and Faiz to his and his brother Hafiz's house for some authentic Pakistani fare.
I've known Anis for a couple of months but he's only met Faiz a couple of days before this dinner. But he's been meaning to meet him since he found out that Faiz was of Pakistani origin.

There were a few other guests, too.
Some were from Kadai and I think one (Miyuki, right) belongs with KICS (Kagoshima International Citizens’ Society)

I don't know the names to the dishes but they were very good and kind of reminded me of Filipino cuisine :P

Hafiz and Anis should open their own restaurant.

group pic!
That's Hannah behind me. She's Filipina and does research on Mayon Volcano, an active volcano in the Philippines

Here's Anis and Faiz doing some male bonding after the other guests have left

January highlights: January 25 - Outdoor hot springs at Sakurajima Furusato Hotel

2009-02-04T03:08:00.000+09:00

The weather was comparatively pleasant on our second trip to Sakurajima.
This time we went for the rotenburo onsen (露天風呂, outdoor hot springs) at the Sakurajima Furusato Hotel.

This is the view from the ferry on our way there.

This time Sakurajima was visible :P

In most indoor hot springs in Japan, you have to strip naked to bathe in them, and of course males and females go in separate rooms. But for such as outdoor hot spring as this, both males and females go in the same hot spring pool (?), so a robe is provided.

Here are the guys with a couple of international students from Kadai (鹿大, short for 鹿児島大学 - Kagoshima University)

It's got a mini shrine on one side :P

Here's Emi and Tienchi

So, that was my first and only trip to a hot spring in Japan so far.
It was really interesting and I look forward to the day I go to the common indoor hot spring.
Although it would probably be weird at first.

On a separate note, the hotel serves a dish called kamameshi (釜飯, kettle rice), which had been my favorite Japanese food in (surprise, surprise) the Philippines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamameshi
I haven't had it in about 6 years and I'm getting all nostalgic about it.
Funny thing was, I have never seen it in Taiwan.
And up until the hot spring trip, I haven't seen it in Japan, either.
Weird.

Oh, in case you were wondering, I haven't had my kamameshi fix cuz they only serve it during lunch and we missed it.
But I'll definitely have it before the end of my stay.

January highlights: January 24 - Faiz's sendoff

2009-02-04T01:24:00.000+09:00

With Faiz leaving Kagoshima on January 29, we decided to hold a sendoff party for him at a local izakaya (居酒屋, Japanese tavern) called Taiwan Ichiba (台湾市場) in Tenmonkan. The place offers both drinks (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic) and finger food.

We enjoyed two alcoholic filled hours before they kicked us out :P

In what seems to be an unconventional fashion in Japan, we invited both students and faculty members to the party. I was told that Japanese students don't usually party with faculty members.

We invited all of our friends and we eventually ended up with 31 people at the party. The two-hour limit put a damper to the festive mood, but we enjoyed a really good night nevertheless.

Here's David reading out a haiku he wrote for Faiz

It took three tables to fit everyone :)

Here's Prof. Itou, Kaoru (from the International Affairs Center (IAC) at IUK) and Faiz at the corner table

Me, Prof. Sokei (Intercultural Studies), and Prof. Onishi (Archaeology)

Prof. Sakamoto (Kagoshima University), Marie, and Faiz

clockwise from me: me (duh), Donican (you still look drunk no matter how you deny it :P), Mandy, Trisha, Izumi, and Marie

Marie, me, Shinobu, and Cealia (China)

clockwise from me: me (hehe), Faiz, Trisha, Marie, Trisha, and Mr. Nakamura (head of the IAC)

Trisha rushed out to capture the snow on film.
Yep, it snowed again that night.

clockwise from the top: Hiroki, Mako, Shinobu, and Tienchi

January highlights: January 24 - ICE Breaking party

2009-02-03T23:33:00.000+09:00

On January 24, IUK's ICE and Ryushikai, two international exchange related clubs co-organized an international exchange party they called "Let's ICE Breaking." The aim was to provide a setting where international residents of Kagoshima can get to meet the local residents and vice versa. More than 60 people signed up and everyone enjoyed a great afternoon.

Here is Hayashi before the party, trying to squeeze out some English to write on Faiz's farewell scrap book

Erina was in charge of the reception desk, where name plates were waiting to be handed out to the participants

Here are the multinational snacks prepared by the organizers for the party guests

Here's Souzen doing the final run-through with the staff and volunteers before the real thing

Guess who were the first to arrive :D
Yuna, Ai, and Shiori

The emcees for the day: Sayaka and me
(the Mickey ears were to make it easy for people to pick us out from the crowd)

socializing...

quite a crowd, huh?

a few words from the departing exchange students...
that's Tienchi with the mic

Group picture, everyone!
Thanks for a fun afternoon!

January highlights: January 22 - Sakurajima (part 2), Joyfull Ijuin, Kishikino, Eguchi Beach

2009-02-01T12:44:00.000+09:00

Sakurajima, I think, is supposed to show up in the background on a clear day...

On another note, it's pretty interesting how Faiz and Shinobu got to meet each other, and more so, get to hang out with one another. Faiz came to IUK on a four-month exchange from UPEI (University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Canada) and during the same period, Shinobu went to UPEI from IUK, so essentially, they weren't supposed to meet each other.

But here they are :D

After Sakurajima, we went to Ijuin (伊集院), Shinobu and Hiroki's hometown, and went to the local Joyfull for dinner. It was an interesting experience. The two of them have been living in that town all their lives and they knew a lot of people coming in and going out of the restaurant. It was interesting how people would come up to our table and drop in the conversation from time to time.

After dinner, we went to Kushikino (串木野) and enjoyed the night view from a shed. It was freezing cold but we enjoyed the conversation and the peaceful scenery below nevertheless.

It's too dark to see anything in the background, though :P

After Kushikino, we went to Eguchihama beach (江口浜) but it was too dark to see so it was pointless to even try taking a picture there :P

January highlights: January 22 - Sakurajima (part 1)

2009-02-01T12:41:00.001+09:00

Zhao and Shinobu joined us for David's class that day
It was supposed to be just me, Faiz, and Hiroki but Hiroki missed class again (as usual, LOL)
We spent a couple of hours planning for the next Canada Project event in May, which will be a debate around the issue of diversity:
http://www.eltcalendar.com/events/details/4343

After class (and lunch), Shinobu was kind enough to offer to drive me and Faiz around Kagoshima since Faiz was leaving in a couple of weeks

We eventually decided to go to Sakurajima (the island where Kagoshima's very own active volcano sits) because me and Faiz are probably the only two people who haven't been there, LOL

So, finally!

This was shot onboard the ferry.
It was raining that day so we weren't really able to see Sakurajima, but it was a fun trip nevertheless.

Especially since we've been eyeing the volcano from afar for the past four months :P

January highlights: Shinnenkai (New Year's Party) at Marie's (part 2)

2009-01-31T02:06:00.001+09:00

Mandy brought some Taiwanese pastries for us to munch on after dinner

The wine Zhao brought was impossible to uncork. It took the three of us nearly 5 minutes and a lot of struggling to achieve the feat.

Marie's mom is just amazing. She made three different flavors of cakes - chocolate, chocolate and banana, and cheese - all from scratch! We even got to take the leftover cake slices back home in a cake box. Everything looked store bought! I'm seriously missing the cakes now... :P

Atsushi and Marie :D

Thanks for the wonderful meal and the pleasant company!

January highlights: January 20 - Shinnenkai (New Year's Party) at Marie's (part 1)

2009-01-31T02:00:00.000+09:00

In Japan, people go to yearend parties (忘年会, bonenkai) at the end of the year, and New Year parties (新年会, shinnnenkai) at the beginning of the year. The common Japanese is said to go to a number of bonenkais and shinnenkais every year; but as non-Japanese, we don't really get a chance to take part in such gatherings.

So, I'm lucky enough to score

bonenkai: 1

shinnenkai: 1

This post is about our shinnenkai at Marie's house

We met at Starbucks near Chuo station because none of us knew where Marie's house was

We started off with hot pot. It was seriously so delicious that it was hard to stop eating. Marie's mom (standing up) is a genius (find out why later)

This was when we were playing a game where we whisper phrases in people's ears and see whether the last person would be able to recognize what the original phrase was supposed to be. Since the nine of us (Marie, Atsushi, Mandy, Trisha, Faiz, Donican, Tienchi, Zhao, and me) didn't share a common lingua franca, the game turned out to be really interesting. We tried passing around phrases in English, Chinese, and Japanese, but the funniest was when

温故知新 (onkochishin, learning from the past) became onkukushin
and
normative shift became no man in shore

If laughing could burn calories, we probably burned some serious calories that day :D

Here's a shot of Donican (you're in the shot anyway so you should've just joined in :P), Mandy (Trisha's friend who's visiting from Taiwan), and Trisha (I forgot why you're holding your cellphone under your chin...)

Here, we are unwinding after dinner and preparing to fill our 別バラ (betsubara, literally "separate stomach") with sweets

January highlights: January 17 - Mini sendoff at Shiori's (group pics)

2009-01-30T18:01:00.001+09:00

Here's Minnie Trisha and Mickey Faiz and their baby piggy

This is Ryoutaro, he's really shy and barely spoke two words during the gathering

Here's Faiz and Youichi doing some serious bonding :P

Group pic!

the sisters

We enjoyed a nice quiet evening that day. The goal wasn't to create a lot of noise and funfare but to sit down with friends and just enjoy a pleasant night together amongst cheerful conversation.

It was definitely a night to remember. The food was really good and the company pleasant.

January highlights: January 17 - Mini sendoff at Shiori's (the food)

2009-01-30T17:51:00.000+09:00

Shiori wasn't able to make it to Faiz's farewell party so she hosted a mini sendoff at her place.
As usual, we enjoyed her awesome cooking and Faiz also contributed his creation (the beef dish in the first picture)

January highlights: January 10 - Speech contest and Faiz's birthday bash

2009-01-30T16:18:00.000+09:00

I woke up this day to a message telling me that it is snowing right that very moment. It was all that I needed to get me out of bed.

The picture above shows the small farm I always pass through covered in snow.

Here's me and Gan Lin (from China) getting ready for our turn at the podium for the speech contest.

Thanks Trisha, Mike, Faiz, Zhao, and Tienchi for coming to support me!

After the speech contest we went to a pasta restaurant at Amu to celebrate Faiz's birthday, which was actually the day after. He ran a marathon on his birthday so we moved the birthday lunch a day earlier.

(I got some of these pictures from Trisha's blog, so thanks Trisha!)

We had a blast talking and eating. Donican at one point forgot which language she should speak in, and we were asking for pizza (it was all you can eat) so frequently from the wait staff that they were dumping heaps into our plates just to keep up quiet in the end.

LOL... it was a lot of fun. :)

January highlights

2009-01-30T15:52:00.000+09:00

January has been really busy, what with the semester coming to an end and many of my friends either graduating or finishing up their stay in Kagoshima. It's been one event after another, leaving little room to think and making it seem like the month just zapped by in a second.

In the following posts, I will revisit these gatherings and look back at the great time that we shared. Sad as parting is, I'm really glad I got to know everyone and had such a grand time with all of you!

More print club...

2009-01-30T02:25:00.000+09:00

Here's another batch of print club photo stickers we took after lunch at Marie's

This time it's all girls :)

Interesting find at the local store...

2009-01-23T11:23:00.000+09:00

Went to a store called Kaldi, a store that sells products imported from other countries, a few days ago and saw this on the shelf:

Baguio Oil

(lol) funny how Baguio Oil would pop up in Japan :D

Baguio is the place where I was born btw :)

Nice shot

2009-01-21T12:27:00.000+09:00

I was sifting through my photos last night and came across this picture. I took it during a parade for the Asian Kagoshima event last October.
http://kagojen.blogspot.com/2008/10/3rd-kagoshima-asian-youth-arts-festival.html
http://kagojen.blogspot.com/2008/10/3rd-kagoshima-asian-youth-arts-festival_20.html

I particularly liked this shot because:
1. the shot out came out very nicely
2. there's a Philippine flag in the background (hehe)
3. instead of the usual pictures focusing on the events (in this case, the parade), this shot focuses on the spectators instead
4. it captures a moment in the life of the everyday Japanese: the ordinary salaryman after a day of work :D

Four months

2009-01-19T22:25:00.000+09:00

Four months in Kagoshima and...

- I can no longer smell the distinct smell of Kagoshima I used to sense when I first arrived (don't worry, it's a good smell)
- I can find my way around Tenmonkan (downtown) by instinct (okay, just sometimes)
- I no longer find the prices ridiculously expensive (now that's scary)
- some of my friends are coming towards the end of their stay (sniff)
- I now have four students!
- I can now understand announcements (on trains, etc.)... although not completely
- I've finally seen snow!
- I still don't understand why the father (Otosan) in the Softbank commercial is a dog
- I'm starting to write more about what I feel instead of what I see (things don't stand out like they used to)
- the email inbox on my phone has reached capacity several times and I had to delete some of the older emails (I sent the emails to my gmail for backup before I deleted them)
- I am starting to dread leaving Japan (which is about six months away)
- I am starting to dread having to go back to a life without email on my phone :P
- I still can't pluck up the courage to apply for a Japanese-speaking job
- I'm starting to slurp my noodles (hehe)
- I've tried natto (fermented beans) and don't like it
- I'm starting to miss food in Taiwan and the Philippines :(
- I now drink alcohol (don't worry, I'm not becoming an alcoholic)
- I now have a favorite drink: Kahlua and milk!
- I'm missing Crunchyroll (a site where one can watch free movies and TV shows) cuz the site is blocked in Japan... T_T
- I now know that "Kagoshima is warm" is a myth
- I now cook my meals instead of eating out (most of the time)
- I'm starting to think that the food I cook is pretty tasty
- pulling all-nighters no longer feel impossible (either for Karaoke or work)
- I have several more publications under my belt
- I have a better understanding of what a haiku is
- I've been to izakayas (Japanese taverns) several times
- I now have countless print club photo stickers
- I have ran out of poses when taking pictures at the print club (photo sticker booth)
- I have stopped keeping tabs on how much money I spend each day (sad but true)
- I still forget sometimes that cars drive on the left
- I think Canada should grant me a citizenship because I'm now a permanent fixture with the Canada Project (just kidding, hehe)
- I now wear skirts!
- I now have around 50 names in my address book (on my phone)
- paying for the rent doesn't hurt as much as it did when I first arrived
- this is the most socially active I've been in all my life
- we are now finishing up the semester at IUK
- I no longer feel that the classes here are slow-paced
- I'm getting used to 1.5-hour class periods (instead of the 3-hour class periods we have at NTNU)
- Sorting the trash is no longer such a stressful chore
- my Leo Palace apartment is starting to feel like home
- I'm getting used to living alone in such a spacious setting
- I've met the Kagoshima city mayor face to face twice
- I still haven't been to Sakurajima (Kagoshima's very own active volcano)
- I now understand the fun of going out in large groups
- having three children no longer look so scary
- the clouds and the night sky in Kagoshima continue to look really beautiful
- I no longer yearn so much for city life
- my Japanese is still just halfway ok
- I wanna be as well-rounded as many of the Japanese friends I met :D
- I now have over 100 entries on my blog
- I joined my first Japanese speech contest (and lost...)
- I've done my first volunteer work and enjoyed it!

I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff, but there you go, a sum of the four months I've been here.
I'm looking forward to the rest of my stay and hope that time would stop passing by so quickly.

Japanese jury system

2009-01-18T00:55:00.000+09:00

As many of you know, I am teaching private English lessons to adult Japanese in Kagoshima.

Recently, I started teaching a new student with a very impressive background. He graduated from the University of Tokyo School of Law and is now working as an associate judge at the Kagoshima District Court. Although I'm the one teaching him English, I too learned a lot about Japan from him.

For instance, today we were talking about the Japanese legal system and the upcoming introduction of the jury system in the country in June.

Here's how the system works:
Nationals over 20 will be summoned for jury duty (and will be paid at most 10,000 yen per day for their service). Six individuals for every case. In Japan, there are three judges in every court, and along with the six jury members, the group will decide on the type and length of punishment that will be given to the offender. Each individual's vote carries equal weight.

Cool. I learned something today :P

Snow! In Kagoshima!

2009-01-10T23:31:00.001+09:00

So I woke up today at 8 and got a message on my phone saying that it was snowing.
First thing I did was took my camera and took photos (lol)
It was seriously freezing but now I've got pictures and videos to record my snow experience!