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!!!!