http://mizu-kioku.net/ en-us Copyright 2010 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:36:10 +0900 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Just came back to Saijo after a short stay in Singapore and Malaysia for Chinese New Year~

One bad thing about coming back to my dorm after a short break is that I've nothing left in my fridge and I'm too lazy to go out and buy considering it's cold and the supermarket's far. The only thing I've left to eat is seriously instant noodles and kimchi...I only have kimchi, tom yum cubes and teabags left in my fridge...wtf.


And on the other side of my fridge, I've expired kaya, half a lemon that has been there for ages(not in picture), mango sweets that suck, tea and for some reason, a 500ml can of beer...wtf. I need food...


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/02/my-kang-kang-fridge.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/02/my-kang-kang-fridge.html MEXT in Japan Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:36:10 +0900 I was chatting with my friend online the other night when he suddenly said that he wanted to go to Sanzoku, a restaurant located in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was 11pm when we had the conversation and I was like wtf because it takes like 1.5hours to travel to Iwakuni from here by train. Dilly- dallied a bit and decided to go in the end and left at like 12 midnight.
I wanted to sleep on the way there but I figured it wouldnt be nice so I ended up talking throughout the whole journey, to and fro. Anyways, it was so worth it though!!!


The portions there are like damn big!!! Had this bigass riceball(483yen) and chicken-on-a- stick(609yen). These two items are like the must-have items when you go there.


Trying very hard to eat my way through the riceball. It was like around 2am when I ate...no wonder I'm getting fatter by the day...how?!


It's the exam period here and I had my first two papers on Thursday. Everyone else started revision like days before the actual paper and I only started my on Wednesday night. I should really put more effort into studying. So anyway, I got back from Iwakuni at 4am on Tuesday night so I was damn sleepy on Wednesday and basically took a nap from 5~9pm. Tried studying for a while but PPTV and youtube were more attractive to me.
Total hours put into studying: 30minutes~
By the way, if you've never heard of PPTV, go freaking download it!!! Coolest thing ever!

The exam went well and I basically finished the paper in 10minutes, like everyone else. So we spent the rest of the period playing games in the canteen. We were the noisiest bunch of people there and I think those Japanese students probably hate us...=(. Second paper was composition so couldnt study for it.
After the exams, we went for karaoke because it was only 10yen per hour during that time. Seriously, how do they earn money?!!! 10yen per hour is like fucking cheap can! Since all of us come from different countries(Singapore, China, New Zealand, Korea), it was quite fun because you get to hear lots of different songs. Then again, it's like karaoke in Singapore all over again. And, Koreans can really sing...it's not fair man!


Had a late New Year's Party at the Korean guy's dorm that night. The other Korean guy brought soju that has an alcohol content of 25%!!! The last time I had soju in Korea, it was only 20% and I hated the taste so much. This time round however, I kinda liked the taste of this soju though. Is my alcohol tolerance getting better or are my tastebuds dying by the day?


Tiffany, Me, Alice.
Alice doesnt drink alcohol so she had juice that day.
Tiffany had some alcohol but she drank at her own pace.
I, on the other hand, competed with the Korean guy...wtf...as if I'll win like that. I seriously think that the guys think I'm a guy too or something. I was the only girl who had to do pushups and arm-wrestling lor!!! Then again, maybe I suck at playing games.


Played this card game and I drew the number "6" like four times in a row! And we only played the game five times -____-. The forfeit was to drink a cocktail made by the "king" of the game. The first drink was soju, beer and for some reason, strawberry yoghurt. Apparently it tasted like medicine and I'm so happy I didnt lose.


Next drink was like beer, milk and soy sauce. Yes, soy sauce!!! Glad that I didnt lose this time round too!


Third drink was soju+gochujang. So Korean can the drink!


Guess who was the lucky fellow who had to drink it?


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/02/food-drinks-and-exams.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/02/food-drinks-and-exams.html MEXT in Japan Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:40:24 +0900 I have no idea why but LOTS of people here have their birthdays in January...like seriously ALOT. Then again, it's not a bad thing because it's a good excuse to go out and play!!! Whee~(Shit, I better start studying for the finals and writing my reports.)

Last Wednesday was Peony, Helen and Alex's birthdays. I'm not even kidding. All three of them share the same birthday!!! Went to eat my first ever sushi(on a revolving belt somemore!) in Saijo. I dont really go out and eat in Saijo because it's so countryside, as compared to Singapore. It's difficult to get around if you dont own a bicycle. I do have one but I havent been using it ever since I fell off it.
Anyways, there werent many choices of sushi but so what, it was delicious~! One thing that was wtf to me was the sausage sushi...seriously...wtf?


Had Matcha ice-cream after dinner~ I love shiratama!!! I want to marry someone who knows how to make shiratama...wtf.


Bowling was next!!! There were like almost 20 people there that day and 90% of them were HUSA(different course from mine) students. No Japanese at all.


With Peony, the birthday girl~She's like one of the nicest person I know here!


Since I'm really bad at bowling, people were giving me pointers on how to bowl...the wrong way though. While trying to bowl this way, I kind of tripped and fell a little, but I think no one else noticed it...phew! Or else damn paiseh can!


It started raining a little heavier when we left and I didnt have an umbrealla so I wrapped my scarf around my head. Damn useful can! My hair wasnt even wet when I reached home. The bowling alley's really far from my dorm and I think I walked for a grand total of THREE hours that day, to and fro. I think by the time I go back to Singapore, I can walk from Bukit Batok all the way to Clementi and I wont feel tired at all! Can save $$$ on transportation somemore!


Sunday was Anastasia's birthday party and the theme was James Bond but hor, not many people dressed up lor! I was expecting more guys in suits that day!!!
With the birthday girl!


Hengao(Funny faces) time!


Was supposed to do this cute pose but somehow, I really look like a chimpanzee in this photo! Why like that?!!! Everyone else is so cute here and I look like a primate...wtf.


I have no idea how this happened but there's this Try-to-block-Jiahui-out-in-photos thing going on recently. My face is not visible in any of these four photos lor! Somemore I tried damn hard to smile can! Shinichi even said that I look damn pretty in the bottom right photo...-__________________-


With Gui, who basically has the same hand size, same shoe size and same height as me. Okay, not totally the same but close!


Gui and Sozza. Cutest photo ever!


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/the-birthday-month.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/the-birthday-month.html MEXT in Japan Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:37:37 +0900 The only kind of food I have in my dorm right now is instant noodles so I've been basically living off instant noodles for the past 3.5months(wtf? I've only been here for such a short time?!). My teacher started laughing when he heard that all I can cook is instant noodles and the other people were amazed and kinda shocked when they found out that I only have instant noodles...lol.
However, I've been trying to eat healthier because all that salt from instant noodles is not good for me...or anyone else. I used to just add an egg into the noodles then I slowly added mushrooms and kimchi. Now, I've stopped putting in the packet of flavouring and added spinach and tuna on top of the previous ingredients I've been putting in. Yummilicious!!! And I dont feel thirsty after every meal now that I dont put the flavouring in.

For a change, I decided to make spaghetti today because I do get sick when I have to eat instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And it's a Saturday so I dont think the school canteen's open and I'm too cold and lazy to walk half an hour to the nearest eatery. (And no money anyway...wtf) So spaghetti is really easy to make because all you have to do is to boil the noodles, add the sauce and eat but still, it's a great improvement for my non-existent culinary skills! I only own a frying pan so I was worried that I might not be able to boil the noodles properly but somehow, I managed to do it! Made Carbonara~ Going to try out other sauces now that I'm sure that I can make this at home!


Got invited over to Alice's place yesterday to have a little cookout! Since I can only cook noodles, I ended up chopping some vegetables and basically sat back and relaxed while Alice and Tiffany cooked. The meal was damn delicious and healthy at the same time because it's all vegetarian! Watched two movies after that before I retreated back to my room.(I stay 2 doors away from Alice...wtf)


Had a pizza party last week and it's so fun making your own pizza!!! Not to mention that it's cheaper as well. Ate, drank and talked till like 4am or so before going to karaoke where we practised para-para dance again! Lol, it's actually quite fun dancing at karaoke! I still suck at dancing though.


Tuesday was Erik's birthday so we celebrated his birthday at Hachibei. He's must be like damn popular or something because so many people showed up. Seriously, if I had a birthday party, only 2 people will show up...somemore one of them would be me...wtf.


Tiffany, Alice and me with the birthday boy!


It started snowing during the birthday party and a few of us went out to play in the snow~ First time seeing accumulated snow on the ground! So pretty!!!


So ever since Tuesday, it has been snowing quite a lot(enough to make the ground white) every night till like yesterday.
What I saw on Thursday morning!


On my way to school~


The snow pretty much melts away in the noon so it's not like I can go out and make a big snowman or something.


I can however, make a small snowman using the snow on balcony~ Looks damn fugly but it was my first attempt at making snowman 'kay!


After making the above snowman, I showed the picture to my friend and he was like "That's not a snowman! Snowman's only supposed to have two balls of snow, not three!" I was pretty sure that there's supposed to be three balls of snow so after some checking on the internet, we realised that some countries use two and some use three! So interesting!
My improved snowman. Drew his face using a calligraphy brush(yeah, wtf) and tried to draw arms and legs for him but failed so I used pencil lead instead.


Papa and baby snowmen I saw in school!


I wanna do snowball fights but there's no snow on the ground now...damn! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/snow-snow-snow.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/snow-snow-snow.html MEXT in Japan Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:16:44 +0900 A little late but Happy 2010 everyone! (by everyone, I mean the only 2 people who read my blog...lol)

I didnt have internet access till today so I wasnt able to write happy birthday to Koichi :( So anyway...

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KOICHI!

I really wanted to go watch the KinKi Kids countdown but I was kind of stuck on the night bus that day. Okay, moving on, let's see if I kept any of my 2009 resolutions.

1. Get a boyfriend : Didnt happen AGAIN! wtf.
2. Save money to go Europe or somewhere else : Didnt save money nor did I go to Europe.
3. Learn how to say "No" and make it obvious to people I dislike that I dont like them : Still having difficulties in saying no and I'm still smiling at people whom I dislike.
4. Try to at least study for exams : Erm, I studied for like an hour before a test, does that count?

I dont even know why I bother making resolutions when I'm unable to keep them at all : (

2009 was a pretty good year for me and here are the things that I did for the first time last year!

1. Slept over at my friend's house because it was too late to go home.(Yes, I've never done sleepovers before, cannot ar?!) While we were at her house, the guys got way too drunk and we had lots of fun painting their faces. :D


2. Went on the USJ rollercoaster, Hollywood Dream, against my own wishes. I seriously thought that I was going to fall off the seat, smash my head against the ground and die throughout the whole ride.


3. Took a day-trip to Wakayama with Kevin, Meiyo and Hyosun. Although there was seriously NOTHING there, we managed to amuse ourselves by taking tons of silly photos.


4. Visited Nagasaki and Fukuoka with Trevor and Neil! Ate different kinds of burgers every single day for the whole week I was there.


5. Travelled to Hong Kong with my mum! Havent been on a trip with my mum since 2004 when we went to Korea :D Realised that my mum's worse than me in reading maps.


6. My first ever Wax Museum experience! Met Bae Yong Jun there!!! wtf...


7. No idea what I was thinking but I went to get bangs! Hated it so much.


8. My host sister came all the way from Japan to watch the Fahrenheit concert with me in Malaysia!


9. Tried flying with Tiger Airways and both my flights kena delayed! WTF?!

10. Kanami came to Singapore to visit me! First time I let anyone stay over at my house.


11. Saw the Mifune Matsuri in Kyoto with Takaaki, Hiroki and Pek Sia.


12. Ate Matcha Parfait at Tsujiri. Fucking expensive but it was so worth it.


13. Had a combined birthday party with Robyn in Umeda.


14. Braved the rain to go eat Turkish food. Saw a belly dance there too!


15. Disneysea~!


16. Watched 3 Johnny's concerts in a week. KAT-TUN in Kyocera Dome, Domoto Tsuyoshi in Yokohama Arena and Kanjani 8 in Tokyo Dome!


17. One-month study trip to Yonsei University, Korea. Had my first taste of dorm life there too! Tried out Samgyeopsal, Bibim Naengmyeon, Bossam and chicken(Korean-style)!


18. Thought that I was down with H1N1 while in Korea and went to Severance Hospital and got totally disappointed with Korea.


19. Karaoke-d in Korea where you get free flow of ice-cream.


20. Travelled all the way to Ilsan to visit DBSK's Xiah's father's pizza shop. So fangirl- ish and Xiah is not even my favourite member lor!


21. Said Sawadeka to Thailand with Trevor, Neil and Jessica!


22. Had the real Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel with Trevor when he came to visit. So fucking expensive and so dirty can(the bar)?!


23. Witnessed people saying the national pledge in Macdonalds on National Day 2009.


24. Celebrated Teacher's Day in NUS with Park Mihi seonsaengnim and my fellow LAK classmates.

25. Tried out Zouk.


26. Went to the seedy alleys of Geylang and walked around the Hari Raya Bazaar after that. Had my first Ramly Burger there.


27. Came to Saijo in October on the Monbukagakusho Scholarship. One whole year of dorm life, in an ulu place.


28. Used the Pee Pole during the health checkup.


29. Watched a classical guitar performance.


30. Made my own cup noodles with Kanami!


31. Got too drunk for the first time in my life to the extent where I couldnt even remember what happened.


32. Did Parapara at Karaoke.


33. Ate Fugu!


34. Saw Miura Haruma fliming something(I think it's Bloody Monday 2) while I was in Shin- Ookubo.


35. Went to a maid cafe in Akihabara~ Damn expensive but it's an experience.


I know there's more first things that I did in 2009 but I cant remember it now...wtf. Not going to bother with New Year resolutions because I never keep them anyway so once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/happy-belated-birthday-koichi.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2010/01/happy-belated-birthday-koichi.html New Year Resolutions Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:10:50 +0900 I'm finally on holiday!!! Whee~
Okay, actually, I'm not officially on holiday yet because the school here has classes all the way till freaking Xmas day! Seriously, classes on Xmas?! This is the first school I've come across that does this kind of thing lor! So anyway, I've decided to pon classes on Thursday and Friday so I'm on holiday now!

The day before, Sou-chan went fishing and he caught like lots of puffer fish so he brought over puffer fish sashimi~! My first time eating puffer fish, whee~ I missed out on a chance to eat puffer fish the last time I was studying in Japan and I regretted so much but now, I'm happy and contented. Unlike salmon sashimi, puffer fish sashimi is kinda hard, or should I say chewy? My host family was telling me last year that they dont like it because of it's texture but it actually tasted really good to me. And somemore it was free so =D (Why am I so like that?!...lol)


Yesterday, we had Steamboat 7 at Toku's house. The steamboat this time was different because it was an all-veggie one! Really healthy and delicious!


Sake that Sou-chan brought over! I used to think that there was only one kind of sake but after coming to Hiroshima, I realised that I was wrong all along. There are like so many freaking different kinds of sake and all of them taste different! I cant even tell pork from chicken nor beef but even I can tell that there's a difference in the taste of different sakes. Kind of interesting to taste-test the different sakes.


Had takoyaki next! Havent made takoyaki since the last time we had a takoyaki party at Kana's house! Didnt have eggs nor a measuring cup so we basically just mixed the batter until it looked right to us. It turned out pretty chewy the first time but it was fine for me because I love chewy stuff!


I know the filling inside a takoyaki is supposed to be octopus but it doesnt hurt to try new ingredients! I mean, we have the delicious ham & cheese and prawn versions in Singapore, dont we? So it's always good to experiment with different ingredients. You never know when you'll get a right concoction.
Added octopus, tenkasu, chocolate(with nuts somemore), cheese, habanero-flavoured chips and tabasco sauce! The chocolate and cheese ones were really delicious!!!


Alice feeding Toku more takoyaki!


Stopped eating/chit-chatting at around 4am and someone suggested that we go for karaoke so yup, ended up going for karaoke. As we stepped into the room, Sou-chan immediately chose some parapara dance tutorials so we did parapara practice for like 30minutes or so...wtf. First time doing other things than singing at a karaoke place but it was kind of hilarious and once again, I was reminded of how much I suck at dancing.


Parapara!
Did karaoke for like 3 hours before leaving at like 7.45am. I seriously thought that it was only 5am when we left the karaoke place and was wondering why so many people were going to work/school already...wtf. Went back to Toku's place to get some sleep because we had a class at 10.35am but nobody could get up in time. Today was supposed to be my last day of class for this year but I guess it just wasnt meant to be. I think the teacher was probably quite wtf-ed with today's attendance because I know 4 students who didnt show up today.


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/steamboatagain-and-takoyaki-pa.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/steamboatagain-and-takoyaki-pa.html MEXT in Japan Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:04:23 +0900 More pool pictures from the other day!

Names of people who were there. I get really happy when people spell my name correctly because for some weird reason, many people cant seem to spell my name. Is my name that difficult?! And, I totally HATE it when people tell me to get an English name because "it's much easier to remember that way"(I dont mind if they're joking though). Seriously, if you cant be bothered to memorise my name, please stop talking to me.


With Eriko and Caity, who won because I wasn't in their group to slow them down...wtf.


Started taking pictures even before I started playing. Almost fell off the high chair while trying to get off it because my legs were too short to reach the ground. I need longer legs!!!


I know this picture seems wrong but trust me!!! I did not stick the pool cue into his ass! I was hitting his ass but somehow, the picture turned out wrong.


Battle between Sozza and me. It was my first time that I got dangled UPSIDE DOWN. Fucking scary can! I seriously thought that I would fall and hit my head on the ground, thus breaking my head in the process lor!


I am not short...I am not short...I am not short...


Best thing to do on a snowy night...eat ice-cream! I really like the brand of ice-cream I was eating because it comes in a pretty big cup, so I get to eat more...wtf, typical Singaporean. Only thing I dont like about it is that they dont sell the Matcha version in convenience stores here =( I need my Matcha fix!


I really want a cap!


Finally, someone who's willing to take this kind of pictures with me! Lol.


Crazy wild animals in Japan...wtf.


School holidays' coming soon and I'm going to Tokyo and Osaka with my sister!!! Cant wait~~!! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/playing-pool.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/playing-pool.html MEXT in Japan Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:13:52 +0900 Was supposed to go see some ancient tombs yesterday for a school excursion but it got cancelled because it was too cold outside to do so. Instead, we got to do a little tour of the Archaeology Department. Very surprisingly, it was kinda interesting and the professor actually allowed us to touch some of the artefacts! Really cool!!!


It started to snow the day before and it was so pretty!!! It actually snowed for a while, like around 10~15minutes and all of us stopped right in the middle of the road to take pictures. I've seen snow falling from the sky before but it only lasted like 1~2minutes each time so it's kind of my first time seeing snow for such a long time! *感動！


Tried so many freaking times to take a nice jump shot but I dont think that there was a single picture in which everyone was off the ground at the same time...wtf. The reason why I chose this picture is because I'm the only one so far above the ground! Lol, haolian!


Played pool the night before and it was my second time at it!!! The first time was a few years ago at Leonard's house and I remember that instead of using the pool cue, I kind of used my hands to roll the balls into the holes. Heh! This time round, I stuck to using the pool cue and hit my thumb like twice, on the same spot! It still hurts now but pool was really fun! Nobody wanted to pair up with me because pairing up with me meant that they were going to lose...wtf.


I am really envious of people who have caps/hats/etc because it's just so warm wearing them! I do have ear muffs but I look like a siao za bor with my hair all over the place every time the wind blows. However, if I had a cap/hat/etc, my hair would stay in place and I'll look normal...at least up to the point before I take the cap/hat/etc off and show the world my hat/cap/etc hair.
And that's an ice-cream stick in my mouth by the way. I have no idea why I was eating ice-cream on a snowy day...And the devil on the cap is supposed to represent me...wtf.


Went to the city yesterday to do some shopping and see the Christmas/New Year lights! Was trying on various caps/hats/etc in Loft and I really really really like this fluffy white one but it was like freaking 3700yen so no, you're not coming home with me. :(


Lights on the building!


In front of the huge-ass Xmas tree outside this shopping mall called Pacela. It started to snow as soon as we stepped out of the mall and we were like "HOLY! IT'S SNOWING!!!" and got all excited until we realised that we were the only ones being so noisy...lol. The Japanese people just continued doing to their own stuff as though the snow was invisible to them...wtf.


Lights along the Peace Boulevard! It's called Dreamination and it will be on till like January 3rd or something. Didnt manage to view all of the lights because 1)we didnt have that much time, 2)our legs were starting to ache and 3)it was fucking cold outside and so, I'm definitely going back again to view all of them!


Chio!


Where's Cinderella?!


Took neoprints at Purikura-kan and you can borrow costumes FOR FREE there!!! Peony got a cute Stitch kigurumi, Caity got a Rilakkuma one and I got a erm...sailor uniform...*はずっ! The sailor uniform was fucking small, or rather, I'm fucking fat so I thought I was going to die by the time I stuffed my fats into the costume. Luckily the 2nd floor was empty or else I would have had die of embarrassment if a stranger saw me in that.


Us with our Paspys! Somemore all different colours! Paspy is the Hiroshima equivalent of our ez-link cards. I went to get one yesterday and there's like 8 colours to choose from! Guess which one's mine?!


Were so tired by the time we got back to Saijo(at around 1230am) that we couldnt even walk to Hakkenden to join the other people drinking. Almost froze to death while walking up the little hill to my dorm and it's only a 5minutes walk lor! Heard that last night was like minus 2 degrees Celsius or something and my room was 9 degrees Celsius. Brrrrr! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/dreamination-2009.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/dreamination-2009.html MEXT in Japan Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:16:46 +0900 Havent been updating here for almost a month! It was really sunny when I was getting ready for school so I just put on a normal long-sleeved shirt and another top on because I thought it was going to be warm, just like the past two days. BUT, it was like fucking cold when I walked out of the building. Although the sun was shining, the wind was also kinda strong so it was really cold today. According to my teacher, it's going to get like horribly cold after Friday, cold as in like minus 5 degrees Celsius and it might even snow. WTF?! I thought that today was cold already! Anyway, it would be nice to see snow though~

Since the weather's been getting cold lately, I've been having lots of steamboats recently. I really like steamboat because you get to eat lots of food, talk with people and basically just warm up your body in winter~Had my first steamboat at Yu and Nao's house when I went to visit them last month. Ingredients were provided by Nao! Thanks! :D


It was really nice meeting up with them after such a long time! The sad thing is that they're both going to start work next year so they wont be in Hiroshima. :(


Steamboat 2 occurred at my tutor, Ayako's house. Her house is like seriously spacious for a Japanese apartment. And she has a freaking LCD TV!!! The TV was originally switched on when we started having steamboat but the power tripped when we switched on the heater...wtf. Had ice-cream for dessert~
And if you can the air-con in the picture, Sozza, the only guy in the picture, placed my wallet, money and camera ON TOP of the freaking air-con and obviously I couldnt reach it because I'm vertically-challenged. In fact, I think that nobody else in the room was tall enough to reach the top of the air-con...Tall people are evil!!!


Steamboat 3 happened like 2 days after Steamboat 2. Lol, too much steamboat in a week! So anyway, it was at Sou-chan's house and unlike the previous 2 occasions, there was alcohol this time round. There's seriously like a alcohol corner in his house and he even has a shaker, or whatever you call that thing to mix cocktails. Alice did a little cosplay show and it was kinda funny because the guys were taking way too many photos.
So anyway, Toku got really drunk and he went out to get some fresh air at one point but the rest of us just stayed in the room and continued drinking for like an hour(exaggerated) before Sou-chan went looking for him. Toku basically slept through the rest of the night and he was so passed out so Sou-chan started drawing on him, using INK! And I did not draw on Toku hor! This picture is just for photographic purposes.


Drank till like 6am or something before we finally went to sleep and woke up at like 11am. Reached home at about 12noon and I had to shower, paint my face, dry my hair, change and walk to school in like an hour because I had classes. I seriously have no idea how I managed to do that in such a short period of time. I usually take an hour to only paint my face and dry my hair lor!

Had a resting period of 5 days before Steamboat 4. Offered to go grocery shopping because that day was the supermarket's x5 points day and I could use more points...so auntie wtf. Bought like seriously lots of food and the bill came up to like $100 which I guess is pretty okay if you divide it by 10people.


That's me trying to be a psycho while cutting up the ingredients for the steamboat. Don't mess with me!!! Grrr...wtf. Somehow, everyone gets so surprised when I offer to do the preparations for steamboat. Why?!! I cant cook but I like cooking lor~And although I hate washing plates, I'll wash them if I'm at people's house, because I'm such a nice person...Nah, I do that because I know I'll hate it if I had to wash that many plates if the party was at my house.


Had to fit 10 people in this place. There were 5 guys of which 4 of them were tall white people so it was kinda squeezy but fun anyways! Played card games after the steamboat and I love it when people end up doing forfeits!!!..as long as I'm not the one who has to do it. XD.


Steamboat 5 was at Tomo's house and the bill this time came up to like $187 for 6 people because the guys bought SO much alcohol. Can even afford to stack them up lor!


The aftermath. The pot was actually borrowed from the convenience store! I was like "Har?" when they said that they had to stop by Family Mart to get a pot. This's the first time I've heard of pot rental services!


Tomo's room looks more like a gym because of all the gym equipment in there. Like seriously, it's filled with bench presses and all the stuff you see in the gym. Slept on one of the bench presses because there were already 4 people on the bed. People were kinda amazed by how I managed to balance myself but very difficult meh!? Left the next morning at 9am and wanted to sleep so bad but somehow ended up going to get breakfast, go grocery shopping and still had the energy to eat dessert. And we won the top prize in the YouMe Town draw!!! Top prize was like $16 worth of vouchers but still, it's a prize can!


Went back to my room and slept for like 6 hours before going for a all-you-can-drink thing at Hachibei. This is like seriously way too much alcohol in two days! I usually drink chu-hi all the way because it's sweet and the alcohol content isnt that high but I have no idea why but I like drinking beer more than chu-hi recently. Like all the girls got chu-hi the night before and I was the only girl who got a beer. Am I turning into a guy?!


So anyway, I drank alot that day...like way too much for my standard. I had a mug of beer, three chu-his, one umeshu, one small cup of sake, few gulps of whisky(I got cheated into drinking this and whisky sucks!!! I hate it) and some shochu. Except for the shochu, I drank the rest in like an hour-and-a-half, which is like way too fast for me so I got reaaaalllly high while at Hachibei. I was like laughing for no reason and playing chasing...yes, in the place...wtf. Luckily they didnt chase me out. Went to my friend's house after that for yet another steamboat session but I was too sleepy by then to eat. So my friend stays on the 6th floor and I have no idea how I managed to get to his house. I dont even remember taking the elevator lor!


I went straight for the bed as soon as I entered my friend's house and laid there till I felt a little sick and my friend was scared that I'll puke on the bed so I went to the toilet....And sat there for like a whole 15minutes, or so I heard. All I remember was that I was sleeping in the toilet and people outside were like asking if I was okay or not...wtf...seriously drank too much. Got out of the toilet, played some drinking games while still being half-asleep and had to drink more because I lost...wtf. I remember going to the toilet a few times later and hitting my head on the bedside shelf and nothing else till I woke up the next morning. Felt kinda bad though...because I basically occupied the bed and other people had to sleep on the floor.


Pretty crazy weekend. Note to self: Do not drink so much ever again. ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/steamboat-season.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/12/steamboat-season.html MEXT in Japan Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:49:39 +0900 No school today because it's a national holiday in Japan~ Whee!! One thing I really like about Japan is the abundance of holidays they have. Best thing that could ever happen is that there's no school tomorrow either because my teacher's on leave! Whoopie...two days for me to slack and rest! I've been really busy the past week and sleeping at like wee hours in the morning so I really am appreciating this holiday :D.

Went for a school trip to Hijiyama Park and we ate at this tofu place called Tosho. I never had so much tofu in one meal before! Although every dish was made from tofu, I couldnt tell at all and didnt get sick of tofu after the meal. Best thing was that the view from the restaurant was really pretty too!


The tofu feast!


Part 2! My stomach was seriously bursting by the time they served rice and I couldnt finish everything :( Felt a little apologetic because my teacher paid for lunch.


After lunch, we went to the art museum and basically walked around Hijiyama for a while. We even went to the cemetry for soldiers can! wtf.


Had a school festival last weekend and very surprisingly, I went for both days! I usually dont give a damn when NUS holds such stuff though... Anyway, since I woke up pretty late the first day, I didnt get to do much at the festival but just accompanied my friends who decided to wear kigurumi and give out free hugs. Later that day, while walking by the Faculty of Education, we chanced upon this Mr. Education contest so we stopped to watch. It was helluva interesting because it's not like your normal hunk contest but rather, every contestant did something funny so it was rather entertaining.


Outside the Faculty of Education.


Went to Youme Town for grocery shopping and bought an ice-cream each after the festival because there was a sale on ice-cream. People must have had thought that we were crazy or something because it was a little chilly for ice-cream that day...but so what?! Matcha ice-cream is always delicious, no matter how cold the weather is!


2nd day of the school festival. Bought tempura ice-cream which was pretty good but a little too oily for my liking. It made me miss the first tempura ice-cream I had near Clarke Quay so much though!!!


Flea market...or should I say "Free" Market. Stuff there were pretty cheap but nothing interested me.


In the West Library where you could take photos and photoshop them into a calendar...for free! There was a typing game too which I really wanted to try out but didnt have time because the Ungirls performance was about to start when we finished making our calendar.


Ungirls! They were really entertaining but seriously, their conte is not funny =D. I liked how some people from the audience shouted out "kimoi" whenever Tanaka tried to do something...haha.


Lots of interesting characters at the school festival.


Japanese guys are really game when it comes to cross-dressing and posing for pictures. They seriously pose for people they dont know and not go all "Nah..I'm shy" shit like Singaporean guys. Wait, Singaporean guys dont even really cross -dress lor!


I was like "I want a photo of them!" when I spotted these guys and they heard me so they came running over. It was a little scary though...haha. They even offered us their cardboard and took pictures for us while we posed with it...lol. Ended up buying food from their store because they were pretty nice.


Cute little girl trying to destroy the arch.


What's a school festival without funny faces?!


Watched a fashion show and dance performance too! The fashion show was pretty blah but it was funny to see how the guys went crazy whenever a "model" walked passed them. The dance performance on the other hand was really good!


Fireworks~.


Me with Jeff's cap and on my way to Youme Town AGAIN because there's seriously nothing else here in Saijo.


And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIAMIN!!!! Whee~ ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/11/hiroshima-university-gakusai.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/11/hiroshima-university-gakusai.html MEXT in Japan Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:28:31 +0900 Havent been updating because 1)I went to Kansai for a short holiday and didnt have access to the net and 2)I was lazy. Going to Kansai really brought back lots of good memories and I really miss the time when I was in Kansai. Everytime I walk pass a certain place, I will be like "I came here with who-and-who and did this-and-that". =(
Before I start on my Kansai trip, I celebrated Halloween for the second time this year in Saijo. Unlike the first time, I actually bothered to dress up this time round. Actually, it wasnt much of a hassle to wear my costume because all I had to do was to get into it and button up. Simple as ABC~ I'm seriously going to wear and re-wear this costume until it starts to fall apart. Anyway, I was kind of glad that I wore my costume because it was a little chilly that night.


Ever since I moved to Hiroshima, my main source of food is instant noodles. I know it's not healthy but that's all I seriously know how to cook. And, I think the reason why my height shrunk was because I've been eating too much instant noodles of late. Hello, I need to grow taller not shorter!!!
I seriously ate alot during my trip to Kansai because it was so much easier to buy food there and my host-family cooked so yup, I think I gained back all the weight I lost here there. I was only there for 5 days but this was what I ate:
(Day 1 Dinner) Teppanyaki
(Day 2) 3-course Spaghetti meal, Teppanyaki AGAIN
(Day 3) Udon and Tempura, Sushi
(Day 4) Curry~, Cake
(Day 5) Katsudon + Zaru-soba, Ebimayo, Chapchae...etc
I felt really pregnant during my stay there and I'm back to eating instant noodles everyday now. :(

(Top left) Kanami brought me to the restaurant that she works for, mangiare Kureha, for lunch. My image of a salad is chopped vegetables topped with dressing but here, the salad was really interesting and delicious~
(Top right) Sakura ebi and Matsutake Peperoncino. Really really good. They gave us bread to dip into the sauce too.
(Bottom left) Pumpkin cake. I've never really thought of pumpkin as a dessert before coming to Japan but now I'm so in love in pumpkin!!!
(Bottom right) Torotama Udon and tempura! You can seriously tempura anything!!! I had ika tempura and chikuwa tempura that day~


(Top left) Had a craving for spicy food so Chieko brought me to this Indian curry place in Nishinomiya. I've been to Nishinomiya so many times but I've never seen this place before. The first thing I thought of when I entered the restaurant was "Hmm, at least the smell's authentic". However, the curry wasnt spicy AT ALL! In fact, it was like Japanese curry but at least the tandoori chicken that came with it was really good.
(Top right) Met Mariko in Kobe and we went to this cool cafe called Le Ba-Ta-Clan located in Mint. The interior design of the cafe was really pretty!!! Had pumpkin cake again!!!
(Bottom left) I miss breakfast at my host-family's house so much!!!
(Bottom right) Katsudon and soba set in Takarazuka.


Passion mix juice that I had in Le Ba-Ta-Clan. I really liked this drink because it wasnt too sweet and it went really well with the pumpkin cake that I had. Not cheap though...=(


Kanami was telling me that she wanted to bring me to this Instant Ramen Museum and I was like "ok!" Then, when I reached the museum, I realised that I've been eating instant noodles of the same brand since I came here. Haha.


One main attraction of the museum is that you can actually design your own cup noodles! I made one with curry base and I think I put in vegetables, meat, shrimp and hiyoko naruto~ I still cant bear to eat the cup noodles I made but I will have to eat it soon as it expires in like 3 weeks or something.


Tried to copy and draw the picture but FAIL!!! I am really bad at art...


The new udon shop near my host-family's house. It suddenly got really cold when I arrived in Kansai but I wasnt prepared for it so my host-family gave me some clothes to wear. Also, it became an excuse for me to buy stuff in Kansai~ Since it was cold that day and nobody wanted to walk, we went to the udon shop in a Mercedes-Benz!!! So freaking cool can! We finished eating at around 2pm but there was still a queue when we left!


At Kura-zushi. I think I saw meat sushi for the first time in my life there. Had lots of really delicious sushi there! I like how the fish used in Japan sushi places are really fresh, unlike the obviously frozen ones they use in Singapore. Somemore it's now cheaper to eat sushi here since Sakae Sushi increased their prices.


Dipped my Naan into my curry and when I took it out, it looked like a fox! Lol.


Chieko and me outside the Indian Curry place.


Christmas decorations are already up in Kobe! I was like "That's really fast" when I saw this and Mariko reminded me that Christmas's only a month away. :D


With Mariko in Kobe!


Re-visted Kangaku and met up with Riko there. The feeling was definitely different now that I dont really know anybody there now. I miss my Kangaku days!!!


With my host-family and Nancy, the new host-student! She's really nice and I actually stayed up till 3am one night because we just couldnt stop chit-chatting. I usually dont talk to people I've just met for so long but it was cool how we managed to hit it off :D


Bought lots of stuff in Kansai but I dont really want to count how much I used. Haha...but at least I truely enjoyed myself!!! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/11/one-week-in-kansai.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/11/one-week-in-kansai.html Family Friends MEXT in Japan Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:18:47 +0900 So, since I got internet in my room, I've basically morphed into a hermit and I usually only go out of my room to go for classes. Any other time, there's a high possibility that you'll find me in my room, either surfing the net or watching rented DVDs. Speaking of rented DVDs, I had better return those that I borrowed before I get late charges. Went for a reeaaallly early Halloween party that was held last Saturday at this bar called Rodeo. Proof of how countryside this place is: The bar was situated right next to rice fields!!! Like seriously wtf?! Anyway, I didnt bother dressing up because for some weird reason, I wasnt in the mood to do so. Met this Malaysian and Singaporean at the party. =D


Arguably the scariest outfit that night.


Anthony, Lukas, Sou-chan whose face you cant see at all, Me.
I didnt really meet new people at the party because 1) I'm not a very friendly/sociable person, 2)I dont have the guts to go up to a stranger and introduce myself and 3)I talked to people I knew beforehand. And anyway, people are more likely to forget who you are if you meet them at a bar, under the influence of alcohol and I dont really need hi-bye friends.


Me, Kyle, Alice.
In case if you're wondering why my face is so distorted, it's because of what's written on Kyle's shirt.


I've seen this poster pasted on the toilet doors of the only two bars I've went to. Like wtf?! It just makes it more difficult for me to use the toilet without thinking that there might be a pinhole camera hidden somewhere. This poster's not even cool lor!


Underwent a mandatory health checkup today. I must be freaking healthy because in the past 2 years, I've done 3 health checkups. This is a picture of a test-tube-like thing to collect urine and it's called a "Pee Pole"...lol. It easy for guys to use because they can just aim at the hole but it's helluva difficult for girls to use can!!! How the fuck are we supposed to aim directly at the hole!?! Anyway, I somehow managed to do it and the lady tested my urine and guess what? The first time she tested it, she got an error message...wtf?! I was the only person who got my urine tested twice lor -___-.


"Prepare to have your chest checked. Stay calm in order etc etc" Seriously, does anyone hyperventilate when they get their heartbeat checked?! The male doctor actually said "Gomennasai" before he listened to my heartbeat...Hahahaha. That's the first time I've ever heard a doctor say that. Singapore doctors usually just place the stethoscope straight away on people's chests without saying anything.
So anyway, I've shrunk 2cm since I got here...wtf!? The height machine was automatic and my head hurt a little when the board came "crashing" down on my head. And I cant believe it but I lost like 5kg. That, is impossible because I've only been here for a month and if that's true, it's not a healthy weight loss. So, I conclude that the machine went crazy after it knocked into my head.


Canteen food. I dont really eat in the canteen...wait, I ate there 3 times last week so I DO eat there frequently...wtf. Anyway, the canteen's one of the places that I get to eat white rice because the only kind of food I have at home is instant noodles. I've never known how delicious white rice tasted before but now I think that I can appreciate it. However, I dont really fancy eating in the canteen because it's kinda expensive to do so...but heck, I dont have to cook nor clean up after I eat so I guess it's pretty worthwhile.


Anyway, I've been craving for chocolates since last night so I went to buy some after my health checkup and I'm going to stuff my face now...bye bye! ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/halloween-party-health-checkup.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/halloween-party-health-checkup.html MEXT in Japan Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:42:07 +0900 Something really wonderful happened to me yesterday.

I finally got INTERNET hooked up in my room!!!! Woooooohooooo~ I was so elated yesterday and I used the internet from 3pm all the way till midnight or so, although I was supposed to be doing my homework. God, I've been waiting so long for the internet people to come down, 3 weeks to be precise. Now, I dont have to share the internet in the common room and hear people skyping in different tongues when I try to chat with my friends. Best thing is that I can now lie on my bed, be a lazy person and surf the net. One thing I hate most is using the computer at the table. It's just so tiring!

So anyway, two internet people came down to fix the internet for me yesterday. One came at around 2+ to connect the modem and the other came at around 7+ to set up my email. I connected the internet myself by following the manual they gave me. But seriously, TWO people to connect to the internet?! I was kind of wtf-ed when the lady at NTT told me that I had call Nifty and set up another time for them to come down because I thought that one person would suffice. Come to think of it, Singtel kinda rocks. The guy who picked up the phone at Nifty wasnt really nice too. I asked him if he could speak English and he said really harshly, "Can you call a Japanese person to the phone?". Like wtf, if you cant speak English just say so, and say it in a nicer tone...wtf. Hooking up to the internet here is so not foreigner-friendly.

I was surprised when I saw how young the internet people were because we usually get older people coming down back in Singapore. And because I use my computer on my bed, the guy who set up my email had to squat on the floor the whole time he was here because there was no other appropriate places for him to sit down and use the computer. I seriously felt kinda sorry because I had to squat down next to him and my legs were almost numb by the time he finished setting up the email. Anyway, I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!! Bye bye common room!!!!


Last Saturday, we had this compulsory fire drill in my dorm. I really wanted to avoid it by telling the guard that I wouldnt be in during that time but I decided not to and participated in the end. It was surprisingly interesting and I never knew that the stuff that comes out from the fire extinguisher's pink! Nice colour! I'm actually glad that I did attend the fire drill.


Then on Saturday night, I went for this event called Lake Party which is basically a drinking session that occurs next to a lake, near one of the dormitories. It started out weird because I didnt really know anyone there but I ended up meeting a few nice people, so that's good. The party got a little crazy at the end and guys had to take off their shirts/pants whenever they lost the game. So there were quite a few topless people that night although it was freezing cold. I left at about 1:30am and people were still singing at the top of their lungs...and apparently, they could be heard by people living in the dormitories next to the lake. I'm so happy that I dont stay there...lol.


Yup, really short entry because nothing much happened to me. My life's boring. :(

*Update
This's how crazy the party got at the end...wtf.


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/yay-for-internet.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/yay-for-internet.html MEXT in Japan Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:33:16 +0900 I've just finished resizing and adding captions to my photos to email my parents. I dont really want to rewrite everything again so this is going to be a picture post on what I've been doing recently~

Food.


Makeshift television.


Sake Festival in school.


Me volunteering at the Sake Festival.


I felt so bad for getting this bento for free.


Me at the actual Sake Festival. Saw many drunkards that day...it was kinda interesting.


Food stalls at the festival.


Me and my student tutor who is totally nice.


Weird brand name.


Compulsory tour for my programme.


In Hiroshima~.


]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/sake-festival-and-hiroshima-ci.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/sake-festival-and-hiroshima-ci.html MEXT in Japan Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:22:25 +0900 So I've finally arrived in Higashi Hiroshima last week. I'm currently staying in the university dormitory and it's really inconvenient. There's practically nothing around my place!!! The nearest building next to my place is the school and it takes me around half-an-hour to get to my classroom. Next, the nearest convenience store(Lawsons) is actually IN school near my classroom so it takes me yup, 30mins to walk there. Now, I dont really mind the 30mins walk to get food (I do actually, wtf), but since Lawsons' in school, it means that it's not open 24/7 but only during school hours. So, if I really need food on days that school's not open, I have to walk like 35minutes to the next nearest convenience store, 7-11. There's Family Mart too but that's even further...wtf.

However, since I can only get processed food at convenience stores, I have to go to this supermarket called Youme Town when I need groceries and that's 40mins away. Walking there isnt much of a problem for me but walking back is since I need to lug bags of stuff with me. I could always buy a bicycle but I cant really ride one, especially downhill...I hate myself. One good thing about this supermarket is that it has everything in it, well almost, and next to it is an electronics store.

My room is a pretty small one but it has quite alot of stuff in it. This is the entrance to my room where a little shoe rack is provided and above it is a telephone that can only be used to call the office or something. Picked it up once and it started dialing automatically and I frantically slammed down the phone. Opposite the shoe rack is a piece of furniture unknown to me and I've yet to open it up. I just use it as a little storage place for toilet paper and stuff like that.


Next to the shoe rack is the bathroom. I love my pink foot mat~whee~


My bathroom. Pretty small and I cant even walk around when I shower...not that I walk around when I shower though...wtf. One thing I dislike about the bathroom is the shallow sink. The bathroom floor always gets wet after I'm done with washing my face at the sink.


The 100-yen Stitch washcloth that I bought. It sucks so bad because it cant produce foam at all!!! Also, I swear that it eats up soap because no matter how many pumps of soap I put onto it, it just wont become soapy! It pretty much just shrinks into a little ball and that's it. So now, I just use it as a decoration for my bathroom. =D


My little kitchen. I've only used the gas stove once since I've came here because I'm just too lazy to cook and wash the dishes. Usually I just make cup noodles or buy some rice balls on my way home from school. The only utensils I currently have are a pan, a plate, chopsticks, knife, chopping board and a plastic spoon that I got for free when I bought ice-cream. I really need a cup to drink water but I'm just too cheapo to buy one and have been using my tumbler as a replacement for it.


My study table...that I've yet to use for doing homework. It's not so tidy usually and is always filled with tons of stuff but I cleared it for photographic purposes. =D


View of my room, balcony, chair and kitchen. The balcony's quite cool but I can basically climb over to my neighbour's via it so it's not exactly safe. Not that I dont trust my neighbours but I dont even know them to build trust.


The little shelf on my bed. This is seriously my favourite part of my room because I can put everything I frequently use here and hence, do not have to walk about to get stuff. I have my hair dryer, hair products, medicated oil, lotion, book, blah blah blah here. Damn convenient.


The cupboard at the foot of my bed and the little chair in front of it that I use to put my bags, in this photo. I usually chuck my bags on my study table and put clothes that I've worn onto this chair but like I said earlier on, everything in the photos are placed where they are for photographic purposes.


My Stitch balcony slippers which I also wear when I go down to the common room to use the internet. Yes, I DO NOT have internet in my room...yet. They are actually a little too small for me but I bought it anyway since it's Stitch~


The little chick hanging off the rope-switch of my light. The previous tenant must have had left it here but since it's cute, I'm not going to remove it. I had difficulties finding the switch for the light because it never occurred to me that the rope was the switch...wtf. I only realised it when my supervisor told me that. Yay, I'm so clever~~


Yup, end of room tour~ ]]> http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/japan-room-tour.html http://mizu-kioku.net/2009/10/japan-room-tour.html MEXT in Japan Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:27:00 +0900