From 5.30am till 7.45am

What a weird title... but so apt. I woke up this morning at an unearthly 5.30am to go to the toilet, and the sun has already risen... And I couldn't get back to sleep, much as my logical senses tell me to.

As of now, my brain simply can't reconcile the fact that "very bright and sunny, the sun has risen = you can still sleep some more". I tried to snuggle back into my bed and even attempted to cover my entire head under the quilt, but it didn't really help much. Sooooo, I decided to get up and give thanks for this wonderful and beautiful day ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahah, I called my mum... No one picked up the phone... Then I tried calling Steve... and a sleepy, groggy voice greeted me from across many lands.... "Why you call me....." hahahhaha.

Yeah, I decided to do soji!!!! So i cleaned the house again, sorted my trash, folded my clothes... well, din manage to complete a lot, but felt quite happy to be able to just mull around the house, and of course the TV was switched on, and it still is on now... And then now I decide to eat breakfast and take a break!

Here's a pict of my super-healthy breakfast - Soya Milk and Bran Fruit Granola!

Recently, I have developed a liking for genmai, wheat and bran products, especially for breakfast. The nutritious value and health benefits of these breakfast cereals, biscuits and bread are widely touted today and they are so delicious too. :)

Oh yes, and today, or actually last Friday, marks the beginning of a long 9-day break for many employees. This is known as the Golden Week here in Japan and employees need to only take 2 days' leave to enjoy an uninterrupted 9-day break. Yesterday was Showa Day, a day to commemorate the birthday of former Emperor Showa, and since it was Sunday yesterday, today is marked as a public holiday. Then, on Wed, it's Constitution Day, on thurs - Greenery Day, on Friday - Children's Day... Then it's the weekend... Japan really baffles me in surprising ways sometimes! So many holidays!

Anyway, I am happy. Ain't complaining about not having to report to work.. and later, Yuiko and Lily will be coming over to my house cos I will be cooking laksa for them! Yay... ahhaha... so happy lar. I really want to have a good fellowship with them!


Beautiful Flowers!

Doing household chores can be so tiring...

I am so tired now. Spent the entire morning just meddling around my house, trying to clean it up, and I am far from being done. And I feel exhausted!!!! I had to stop halfway just to drink some soya bean milk to recharge myself and finally, after a four-hour session, I have decided to give up (for the time being) and just rest a little.

Did laundry and then had breakfast while waiting for it. :) I wanted to blog while having breakfast cos I felt rather happy! I had genmai bread with cheese, and also made some pizza bread. It's so easy to make and I washed it down with soya milk. Then, I was watching a "Good morning" variety show and they were showing some grapefruit breakfast, and that piqued my interest in reaching out for the last citrus fruit I had in my fridge - an orange from Matsuyama where I went cycling.

Laundry was easy. What was most challenging this morning was trying to get my lamp up and going again. 2 nights ago, the bulb fused. Thank goodness I have another lamp in my living room, else the place would be rather dark. I have never replaced any bulbs before (not here nor in Singapore). It was always my dad who would do the job and today, I had to do it... and the result? Yay! It is really very easy and fool-proof! What was baffling though was trying to figure how to fix the lamp back into the socket again. Still, it was really not difficult.

I was tired cos I guess I also cleaned and wiped away the dust. Also cleaned my microwave oven, the kitchen area... Sunned my bedding and futons too... I thought I could accomplish lots more, but the sad truth... I haven't even vaccuumed the floor or ironed my clothes. Ganbatte!!

Well, it's tiring but I definitely feel happier knowing my house is cleaner.

Yeah, and just have to say a huge "Thank You" to my mum. Thank you for doing the housework day in day out. When I go home, I will definitely help out more. :)


Clean, fresh laundry

Learning Ying Wen is easy

Hahhaha... I received this from dear fenfen and laughed myself silly.... Steve said it was so lame but he laughed too... I really found it quite amusing, especially the last sentence! Enjoy!!! Learning Ying Wen is really not so hard afterall!

F-I-G-H-T-O, OC2!!!

This academic year, there's a new Oral Communication elective class for students who wish to take English Oral Communication for another year at a higher level. This means that they must have taken the OC1 class before, and I am so happy to be able to teach this OC2 class.

They are a bunch of eager and enthusiastic learners and I can sense that they really want to improve in their English ability, whether spoken or written. Haha, I guess it was quite a shock for the 8 of them during the first lesson when they realised that OC2 is really vastly different from OC1! Nevertheless, these students are a determined group and after about 2 weeks of lessons, they have more or less grown used to the faster pace and the heavier workload.
F-I-G-H-T-O!!!!!

Last week, Nakai sensei, my co-teacher, brought his guitar to the class and there was a sing-along session at the end of a gruelling 2-hour lesson. It was great fun! We sang the first verse of "Wonderful World", a song by Sam Cooke, one of the most famous and influential R&B singers in the 1960s.

Wonderful World
Don't know much about History
Don't know much about Biology
Don't know much about a Science book
Don't know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be

Of course, Nakai sensei and I took this chance to teach them about rhyme and rhythm and also introduced many various school subjects. It was good fun! And and and Nakai sensei plays the guitar very well! Incorporating music during lessons really changes the atmosphere of the class; learning becomes much more enjoyable!


My OC2 class!

And below is a sample of a piece of their work. Like I had previously mentioned in another entry, whenever the Japanese students write a diary entry, most of them never fail to add in their own cutesy drawings. Japanese students CAN draw. Almost everyone of them can draw quite well and it's always such a joy to look at their creative drawings!























F-I-G-H-T-O, OC2!!!

最近について

いつの間にか　時間が速く経ちました。

今週は本当に速かったね。私は今から三時まで日本語を一生懸命に勉強するつもりです。最初は今週の日記を書こう！

今週の中旬はとても疲れていた。覚えるほど水曜日かな私はジームから帰った後こたつで寝てしまった。多分最近はいろいろなイベントとや観光などをして　興奮しすぎっただから　疲れてきた。

新学期が始まると私も忙しくなってきた。新しい生徒の顔を見ると少しい緊張したけど楽しかった。学校に活気が戻ると本当にいい感じです！仕事をよく働いている人は幸せと思う。：）

昨日は甲北の遠足会でした。シンガポールに生まて育てた私にとって　遠足会はとてもいい考えです！日本の方は四つの季節があるから違う季節としていろんな活動を行ってできる。日本の自然な所も多いし　この自然は季節にとって変わっていてから　皆の気持ちも従いに変わってきて溢れれ。今は春です。春はとてもきれいと思う。寒い冬がしんどかったから。春は命の溢れる時です。始めに昼間は段々ながくなって　桜も順々に咲いてきた。：）

やすさんから教えた「はかない」という単語は面白いです。桜はとてもきれいけど命が短い。一般の桜は二週間ぐらいの命しかない。人生も同じような短いと思う！私の生活はせいぜい八十歳と思ってから短いからもっと充実した人生を送りたい。：）人生は桜のようなはかないからもっと頑張らなくてはいけない！

ふふふ。いろいろな考えが溢れたけど　実は何を書きたい？

昨日の遠足は楽しかった！九時半ぐらい出発して　歩くことは二時間ぐらいがかかって　十一時十一時半ぐらいその一つのバベキュウ場に着いた。：）私はくろかみ先生の生徒の集団に割り当てられたから　くろかみ先生と一緒に歩きながらいろいろなことを喋った。私は本当に嬉しかった！くろかみ先生はとても優しくて　この遠足のおかげで　もっともっと仲良くなってきた。
























くろかみ先生

ちょっと信じられなかったけどこの遠足は全学校が参加したから人数は多分七百人ぐらい！：）



生徒たちは協力して皆一日一緒に楽しんで暮らした。この遠足会の目指しは二年生と三年生は新入生の歓迎のためです。こういう状況ので　一年生は本当に幸せです！皆は実はぜんぜん知らなかったけど最後まで友達になる。先輩は一年生の為にバベキュウを準備して料理を作ってあげた。：）一年生の皆は最初はにかんだけど段々元気になった。：）


私と割り当たられたの生徒と一緒に

くろかみ先生のグルプはたくさん食べ物を準備して持ってきた。焼肉を始め　野菜や焼そばやドリンクやおやつやパンケーキもありました。美味しかった！日本のバベキュウはシンガポールより健康と思う！シンガポールの方はとても油ぽいと思う！日本の方は野菜を中心して　油を使うけど油量は少ない。：）私とトームは自分のグループ以外他のグループにちょっと訪問していて　いろんな食べ物をもらった！楽しかった！

私ね一番大好きなバベキュウの食べ物は焼肉じゃなくて　野菜です。玉葱とシイタケとトウモロコシが大好きです！：）日本のバベキュウの食べ方は材料を焼いた後ソースをかけて食べる。新鮮な野菜とソースと一緒に美味しいです！：）


焼そばを作り中


おいしいいいいいいいい。。。。。

このブーログの書く時間は長いです。もうすぐ一時間ぐらいがかかるね。私もちょっと疲れてきた。。。書きながら新しい単語も勉強した。例えば「割り当てる」と「充実した人生を送る」です。今ちょっと休憩したい！：）

今日の天気は晴れですけど風が強い！

Let's enjoy bike riding

I have just returned from what I believe will be one of the most unforgettable highlights of my JET experience. Last Saturday, together with a group of 18 mainly Gifu prefecture JETs, we set off to cycle from Honshu to Shikoku via the Shimanami Kaido for a good cause - to raise funds to help rebuild an Indian village that was devastated by the 2004 Tsunami.

There is just too much to say... and recollecting every single bit will take ages... yet once again, just like the Ski camp at Nagano, I am really glad and so happy that I decided to take part in this project.

It was really strange... I receive many many emails daily from AJET, HAJET, from several JET volunteer groups or committees... there are all sorts of different activities and events, but none jumped at me like this particular project did. I remember being so excited when I read Rosa's email and I just wanted to volunteer and go! Turning to Tom straightaway, we both decided we would make the trip. And also, Anpo sensei decided to join us and his son came along too. And then, Abel decided to go too! Haha... that's half of the Suzu group already!

Yeah, so fund-raising began. Only had less than one week to prepare and solicit funds, and in the end, the total amount from the Kouhoku teachers and staff came to about 34771yen, which is about $450. On the whole, the entire team collected more than 4000 USD I think... and this amount will greatly benefit the Dalit communities of Andhra Pradesh in the southern Indian state.
























What I prepared for the teachers in the school, and dear Fujiike sensei kindly helped me translate everything into Japanese too!

And then, the bike expedition began on Saturday. This entire route from Onomichi to Imabari is about 77km and there are 6 bridges in all that we have to cross. Shimanami Kaido is quite reputable as a cycling route in Japan and the tracks are marked; it's virtually impossible to lose your way... so that was really a relief to me. :) It was so so so so nice... The entire cycling trip, if I have to recapture the entire expe, it will take me the entire night. I could just write on and on... cos while cycling, so many so many thoughts filled my mind, and everything really indeed came together so well to make the whole trip so unforgettable for me.
























The whole route
Shimanamikaido = 島波街道 and the name simply means island-waves-road. It's a very easy name to remember for me because I will cross many islands and ride over the waves via the bridges! Cool name!

Outside, a storm is brewing. My windows and doors are starting to rattle again.

And this is another great testimony too.. cos before setting off, according to the weather forecast, it would rain on Saturday. However, the weather was really fine. Beautiful, sunny day! And Sunday was terrific too. It was only today that it started to rain. :)
























Me and my lovely Mama Charlie
Haha... it's really incredible. I never ever thought I would ride this. For many Japanese, this is their trusty mode of transport. Heez, I was imagining how it would turn out if I bring this back home to Singapore and cycle to work. These days, in Tokyo, there's also this trend of business men in their suits and briefcases cycling on their Charlies to work. I saw it in the news just 3 days ago... The revenge of the Charlies... ahhahaha.




Olenju in Orange Country
Guess what... Onomichi and Imbari, well, basically this area is famous for its ORANGES!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so so so pleasantly surprised! What could be more apt. Miss Olenju going on a trip to Olenju World. And look at the Orange train (Yes, the train is on the road) and the Orange shopping mall in Matsuyama.

I had absolutely no idea whatsoever that this place is so famous for its oranges. :) No wonder this certain JET project jumped at me.

And here are some beautiful pictures of the bridges and the scenery. Cycling up the bridges were pretty tiring, but whizzing down was great fun! Why must bridges be built at such a height? Hmmmm...



















And the Happy Gaijins

休憩 by the coast - Taking a break


We did it!!!!
























And this marks the end of our cycling expe as we got ready for the night - In the road train to Dogo onsen and Matsuyama hostel where we spent the night.


Sleepyzzzz now... write again another time... Enjoy the picts! :)

Thursday noon and Thursday night

Thursday noon
This week's flown by really fast and it's already Thursday!!! Well, here's another super super quick update. I have less than 20 minutes, then I have a meeting to attend. Hmm, so here goes!

Lessons began on Wednesday and I have had 3 different classes so far, and the lessons were really enjoyable and good. Yay.. so happy! Guess right now, nothing beats the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction knowing that I have tried my best to teach and that the students are absorbing and learning. :-D I really enjoy seeing the kids try to speak English and the atmosphere in the 3 different classes are all very good! Eager and enthusiastic faces... lovely! I am looking forward to meeting all the rest of my classes.

And this weekend, I will be cycling to Shikoku from Hiroshima via the Shimanami Kaido as part of a fund-raising project for one Indian village that was struck by the 2004 Tsunami. I am looking forward to this expedition and have been raising funds in school. My colleagues have been generous! One teacher actually donated 5000￥. Wow!

Check out these links if you are interested in making a donation!
http://www.firstgiving.com/BC-India-ShikokuBikers
http://www.building-communities.blogspot.com/
http://www.firstgiving.com/BC-India

And and and I made another friend recently. Got to know her at the gym and her name is Yuiko. Lovely lovely lady, and she's tall too, nearly 1.8m! We hit it off instantly and cos she had stayed in Malaysia for about 2 years, she could speak English really quite well... so yeah, it was really good for both of us. I could practise Japanese and her, English. And we went to this very quaint and cosy Indian restaurant for dinner last Saturday and the food was good!! The cheese naan was so nice... hahaa... my mind is running as time runs short... I guess I may have to complete this post tonight! And maybe then, I will be much calmer. Haha!

And sakuras are beautiful.. BEEAUUUUTIFUUUUL... no wonder the Japanese rave about it. SAKURA SAKURA... lalala lalala... suddenly remember the 'Sakura Sakura' song that I was taught to sing in Primary school!

And take a look at the 2 picts. What does it remind you of? I chanced upon this place 2 days ago trying to find a short cut to get to the main road.















This place is tucked right in one neighbourhood and unless you decide to venture right into this housing area, you'd probably never see it. In the area where I stay, flats are grouped together and they form one community, sharing the same waste disposal area. (In Japan, there are designated days to bring out your rubbish and waste... and you have to separate your waste into burnables and non-burnables and bulky items, etc.. Next time, I will write a post on this.) There are fences and bridges and pathways that mark each neighbourhood's boundary and you can actually walk into one housing area or pass through it.

I stopped for a moment really and it was a nice, slightly cloudy Tuesday morning, and memories of me being a little girl, living in the ulu ulu small estate in Jalan Tentarang (not sure if I got the spelling right) near Whampoa, came flooding back to me. It was a really nostalgic moment. Then, I remembered mornings when I woke up, with Daddy bringing me to the market.. walking through blocks of flats, some of them low-rise like the picture above. You would also see the big, sandy playground, with swings, sea-saws, dragon-shaped slides and I remembered playing catching... I remembered the provision shops, i remembered the morning awakening, sunlight filtering into our rented 2-room flat... (used to stay on the ground floor)... also remembered the mama store near my apartment, where I bought lotsa kakas...hahahah... n those 20cents per packet surprise black goodie bag... I was lost for a moment deep in thought ... u know, like deja-vu too, except that it's deja-vu in an opposite way... whaha. Man, even as I write now, I can remember so many so many more details of my childhood... of those wonderful days back in the 1980s growing up. :D
ARGH... i must run now. Will complete this again.

Thursday night
And I am home now and just had dinner... salmon, some veges and rice and soya milk. :)

Ok, yeah, I will just leave the above entry as it is and put more picts now!


Entrance of Sapna Restaurant
Yuiko knows the restaurant owner as this restaurant used to be in Suzurandai where I am staying now. Aiyoh.. wat a pity they have relocated... else I will surely visit them whenever I have curry cravings!


With the restaurant owner and the Nepalese chef!




Interior deco


The food!! It was really delicious and we ate to our fill... The mutton curry was fabulous!


And finally, 2 happy and satisfied customers at the end of the meal. :)
Olenju and Yuiko! And she's tall, right? Hahha, or maybe I am short lar... :)

And now I am so tired... wahahha.. I am pretty excited about Saturday's cycling expedition. Let there be no rain dear God...
NO RAIN!!!!

プリクラ Time!!! (Purikura = Neo Print)




















Let's enjoying beautiful flowers time!!!

High

I couldn't sleep last night and I think I was high on sheep and sakura... Went to bed only at 3.30am and woke up around 7. And what greeted me when I looked out of my balcony was an amazing sight of a single cherry blossom tree.... It's not in full bloom, but nonetheless, I felt so happy.

I want to write lots here but I have to go soon. Tonight I will be meeting a new friend I met at the gym. :) Gonna eat Indian food... Yummy yummy and school is starting on Monday. I am so excited.

From an elatedly-calm Olenju

感謝の日記

今日早く帰ってきて良かった。：）本当に懐かしい。。。以前　即ち去年私はKICCに会話の授業を参加したから大低十時か十時半ぐらい帰った。最近学校を終わったらジームへ行くので八時半か九時ぐらい帰る。今日安保先生のおかげで車に乗せて帰って　私もすぐ帰った。やっぱり車が便利なあああ。ありがとうね安保先生。：）

今日の天気は　私にとってもちょっと可笑しいと思う。起きた時ちょっと寒かったけど晴れでした。学校へ着いていつの間にかもっと寒くなってきた。風もちょっと大きくなった。一番びくっりのは一時半ぐらい昼ごはんを食べる時　雪が降りました！信じられないね。その時私は　'可笑しい天気’のイメルを書いて　スチブに送った。。送ったら　多分十分後雪が止めって　太陽も出って来た！ふふふ。一日中　いろいろな天気状態を体験すると面白いわああああ。さっき　天気予報によるとも一回寒さが戻すみたい。一番寒い時は今夜です。

とても早いね。。今も四月です。実は　本当に冬の寒さがきつい　全然慣れてないと思った私は　最近少しい慣れて来た。春の兆しだからと思う。日本は本当にきれい。。。自然なところもいっぱい。花と木の種類といろいろな色はめっちゃめっちゃきれい。そんなきれいな景色を見ると　神様の偉大さと栄光と神様は常に真実であることをいっぱい思い出す。日本に半年の生活の感謝気持ちもあふれる。。。





ネヘミヤ記９：６
ただ、あなただけが主です。あなたは天と、天の天と、その万象、地とその上のすべてのもの、海とその中のすべてのものを造り、そのすべてを生かしておられます。そして、天の軍勢はあなたを伏し拝んでおります。

Neh 9:6
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to eveything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.