Sheve Yine

仕事

2006-10-28T00:06:00.000+09:00

あっという間に、今日会社で四ヶ月目になったがこの間、全然上達していない様な気がします。なかなか難しいわ。ストレスを大変受けていて、にきびがいっぱい出てきた。悲しいわ。

元々は仕事を通じて、日本語能力を磨きたいと思いますがこの世の中、いつも思った通りにはなれないよね。。。。日本語も下手になったし、仕事は辛い。

本当に辛さを辛抱すれば、きっと成長できるなの？？どこまでいけるなのか、分からない。それだから、努力しかないかなあ。。。

学生さんは本当に社会人より遥かに幸せだと感心した。。。はははは

また学生になるのかなあ。？？だけど山のような借金が貯まってて，しようにもできない。。。。残念！！！

Start working as Quality Assurance Engineer

2006-06-28T01:01:00.000+09:00

Today is my first working day in an engineering corporate world. I work as a Quality Assurance Engineer. Tomorrow onwards is on-job-trainings. Ever since I came back to Singapore, I was busy looking for jobs and therefore I hardly meet up with those Japanese friends whom I made friends with in Singapore. so pai seh...

I feel that the spelling of some Japanese vocabularies have been forgotten. I am so worried. I must pick up my Japanese skill through work and enhance it.

Work for a better and bright future!!

Back to Singapore

2006-06-10T02:11:00.000+09:00

I have just reached Singapore. Now I am at my sister house. My ex schoolmate told me that when she was back to Taiwan after two years, she felt very touched but today I totally did not have such feelings. Just now my sister stopped her car at the taxi stand as I waited for her at the wrong place. We were scolded by those group of taxi drivers. Their service was terribly bad. I feel awful......

日本へ行って来ます

2006-06-07T12:11:00.000+09:00

Time flies. I have come to Japan for about 15 months. 　I am going back to Singapore on this coming friday so perhaps today is my last time to online in Japan. I really hope that I can get a job which will send me to Japan for overseas training or frequent business trips to japan. I am worried that I may forget what I have learnt here after going back to Singapore as my japanese ability is not firmed yet.

These two and a half month stay in Tokyo is very fruitful to me. I have been enjoying myself. Although no income and no job, it is fun in Tokyo. I have more opportunities to talk to japanese after i came to tokyo. I also had a chance to wear Kimono and got to know many friends from other countries.

Last Tuesday I went to Ikebukuro to watch Da Vinci Code alone. I was so stupid that I did not choose the Japanese version but the English version with Japanese subtitle. Tonight I will meet up with a group of Korean friends at Shinjuku. I suggested to them that we go to the disco or the pub here as I have never been to these kind of places after I came to Japan. Hope to go once.

I ever told those volunteers that I strongly feel that the foreign students in Tokyo are very blessed as down here got so many voluntary clubs where they can have chances to talk to Japanese people. Definitely studying japanese in tokyo will improve faster but I still feel grateful to my teachers and the Hiroshima singapore association as without them perhaps I dont even have the chance to go to Mihara.　　

Thank you very much to those people who have helped me along!!! All the best to all of us!!

Badminton

2006-05-24T18:46:00.000+09:00

Today I played badminton with a group of Japanese aunties. Although I am the youngest among them, yet they played better than me and they were more energetic than me.

Recently I travel to quite a few places to join the voluntary clubs. At the voluntary clubs there, I can talk to japanese volunteers. I feel what a pity that I was not studying Japanese at Tokyo as down here there are many japanese volunteers to talk to. If I were here, I think my Japanese can be better. Anyway, I still feel grateful to my teachers as without them, I can never come to Japan to study.

I hope I can find a job in Singapore which requires frequent travel to Japan or the most ideal case is a job which will send me to Japan for overseas training. I really hope that I can speak Japanese as fluently as native speaker.

International Party

2006-05-06T21:25:00.000+09:00

Now I am having party at a Chinese friend house. there are friends coming from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. We all went to YWCA　ｖｏｌｕｎｔａｒｙ　ｃｌｕｂ　ａｎｄ　ｇｏｔ　ｔｏ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｅａｃｈ　ｏｔｈｅｒ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅｒｅ．ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｆｕｎ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｙ　ａｒｅ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｌｙ．

Job Interview at Tokyo

2006-04-25T16:29:00.000+09:00

i went for a job interview at tokyo but due to my poor performance, I think I was not shortlisted for the second interview. Sigh... I was asked a lot of technical questions which I did not know how to answer. The interview was conducted in English.

Hope I can brush up my Japanese and technical knowledge soon. I sleep until twelve noon everyday...sigh..so slack now.

Job

2006-03-27T14:14:00.000+09:00

The job salary was even lower than what I have expected. After much calculations , I have turned down the job offer. Now I am back to Tokyo again after spending so much money....sigh!!

Hopefully I can get a job here...:)

My Job Interview

2006-03-22T16:20:00.000+09:00

I went for the job interview last Friday.The company's website is
http://www.ishiihyoki.co.jp/.It is located at Kannabe,Fukuyama.
No bus can access to the company and therefore if I wanna work there,
I have to buy a car. Prior to that, I also need to attend the driving
lessons and get the driving license.

I have told the company that I cannot afford so much money. They said
the company can fork out the money first and then I pay back to the
company from my monthly salary.

After buying a car, there are still a lot of expenses.The petrol is
so expensive in Japan. On top of that, I still need to pay for car
insurance and maintenance fees.If during winter, perhaps I still need
to change the car tyres. So much cost yet the salary is so low.

I did the personality test that day as well. I think I did it badly.Actually
after the interview, I hope they won't employ me!!!:) I thought perhaps
they based on the result of the test, they might feel that in fact,
I was not suitable for that job.Yet, I think they are really in need of such a person now,
so they called me on Monday saying that they have decided to employ me.

I am in a dilemma now.Anyway, I feel very heartpained for the money
spent and feel remourseful for my own impulsiveness and stupidity.This
experience really cost me a lot.My sister said that she did not see the
need for me to go back to Mihara all the way from Tokyo just for this job.
I made the decision too hastily.

If they employ me, I will be working as a jimuin. They need someone
who can speak Mandarin, English and Japanese.

Just now my teacher suggested to me that perhaps I can buy a bike
intead of a car.Hence, it won't be that costly to me. However, I think
to work overtime in Japan is very normal. If I go back at night by bike
from an isolated place, I think it is too dangerous for a lady. The only
choice is to get a car. Alas!!

They have decided to employ me but the details will only be explained
to me on this coming Friday. My sister's friend advised me to wait until
that time and see what the company can offer to me since I am now in Mihara.
From there I decide if I should work there or not.

Sometimes I wonder if I should consider this is an opportunity to force
myself to learn driving.:)

Back to Mihara!!!

2006-03-16T16:17:00.000+09:00

I have never expected that I will come back to Mihara so fast, which was one week later.

Yesterday I received call from my vice principal saying that there was a job opportunity in Hiroshima. I decided to come for interview although my vice principal said that I have slim chance. As I think if I dont come for this interview, then definitely I have zero chance.

It was so rush as the person-in-charge hoped to meet up with me tomorrow afternoon. Hence, today I took the bullet train to come back to Mihara again. This round trip of shinkansen will cost me about 500 sing dollars. So heartpained..

When I reached Mihara just now, it was raining. I had no choice but to take a taxi from the station to school as I was carrying luggage. The distance was so near (just like NTU hall 5 to hall 11) yet it cost me 11 dollars.

The company is located at a very isolated place. I think no bus can access to the place so tomorrow I have to take a taxi for about 15 minutes. I wonder how much it will become!!

As I don't have three-year working experience, I may be rejected when apply for working visa. My vice principal advised me that just treat this as a learning lesson. I think I had better think in this way.

I managed to extend my visa until 13th June. I spent 6000 yen on this application. However, under this visa status, I am not eligible to apply for working visa. Hence, I have unintentionally created another problem for myself. My vice principal was quite unhappy when she heard about this as she asked me why I did not inform the school prior to the application.

If I can pass the interview , I think I have to go back to Singapore once and then re-enter Japan to get the visa. Also, I have to spend money to deliver all my luggage from Tokyo back to Mihara.So funny!!!! Whichever the result is, I have to spend a lot of money. Sigh.......

Besides, the job requirements are so demanding. They require the candidate to be able to speak English, Mandarin and Japanese (graduate) yet they are only willing to pay 16,000 yen per month. This is before deduction of MANY taxes in Japan. Very mean....Yet, if I can pass the interview, I think most likely I will accept lah..as I hope to further enhance my Japanese. now is too broken..(I wonder with this kind of standard will they accept me?) haha..

By the way, my coming back to Mihara made me strongly feel that life is so strange. Can't predict what will happen in the future. The world is so small and really will meet up easily...so better be kind and good!! haha...

Arrival at Tokyo

2006-03-09T21:43:00.000+09:00

Now I am staying with my second sister at a hotel in Tokyo. Yesterday when I said 'thanks' to all my teachers, my tears came out. My teachers were surprised, I guess. As to them, perhaps they think I am quite a strong character person. I feel very grateful to their kindness to me, honestly.

Now I think back, although there were some Japanese who will look down on foreigners, I also encountered many kind people who have helped me along. I feel very touched. I think I will never forget about them. I am not sure what I will become in the future but surely without them, I can never be what I am today.

Really 'THANKS A LOT" from the bottom of my heart!!

Last Stay at Mihara

2006-03-08T10:58:00.000+09:00

This afternoon I am leaving for Tokyo. I will be meeting my sister there. Time flies. I felt that I just came to Mihara yesterday but now I am leaving this place. I feel se bu de lor..Don't know when I will be visiting this place again and whether I will be meeting those classmates again. What a pity that I have not visited most of the places in Mihara as I was quite rush. Sigh....

Yesterday although was my first birthday in Japan, I did not celebrate it. I was busy packing up my luggage. My friends invited me for the farewell party but I turned them down. I felt that I was quite bad too...

4th March was my graduation ceremony. I was selected to represent all the graduate students to deliver a thank speech to the principal. Besides that, I was awarded as 'the most outstanding student'.Also, I ranked second in the internal school speech contest.However, I feel so embarrassed that I scored well but I am not as good as my result shown in the real life. So ironic...

I spent so much money in delivering my luggage. So heartpained but this kind of money is unavoidable, I think....

I was not managed to extend my visa for three months in Hiroshima Immigresen office. I dont know if I will be successful to get it in Tokyo. Let thing take its natural course...

Hope I have a bright future ahead from today onwards!!

Thank you very much to all the kind people that I have met in Mihara!! Sayonara!!

Internal School Speech Contest

2006-02-22T11:52:00.000+09:00

Today was our internal school speech contest. I was nervous when I was standing in front of my schoolmates. Very shy...:)

Tomorrow is my last schooling day. Graduation ceremony is on 4th March. Time flies. I have come here for almost one year. Before I came to Japan, I was so naive thinking that one-year studies of Japanese was quite enough to speak Japanese fluently. Actually it is wrong unless it is an exchange programme with the Japanese University. As no Japanese will be studying at Japanese Language School, so it is quite difficult to talk to native speakers besides teachers.....

Anyway, presently I just hope that I am able to extend the visa successfully.

JLPT 1 result

2006-02-15T15:18:00.000+09:00

I have received my JLPT 1 result. I scored 320/400. My score is much worse than my usual score in school. As I expected, I fared badly in my listening part. Sigh...My teachers and classmates all were so surprised that I only managed to get 60/100 in listening part.

When other people congratulated me, I could only say 'thank you'. In fact, I am disappointed with myself. I don't know how I can overcome this problem,ie, I always do badly in the real exams.

My classmate, she failed in the real JLPT 1 exam although she managed to pass in the previous trial exams. Alas, perhaps I should be grateful already...

Now, I think most important thing to me is to successfully get a job...

Chinese New Year Eve

2006-01-28T19:28:00.000+09:00

Today is chinese new year eve. This afternoon a chinese girl,Wang Miao, invited me to eat 'jiao zhi' with her....she cooked many dishes...later perhaps we will watch the China new year programme together...this is our new year eve here..:) and I went to buy a brown coat for myself..at least I have one new clothe to wear tomorrow...if totally did not wear new clothes, I am afraid that my luck will be very bad this year...haha!!

Wish everyone have prosperous and wonderful years ahead!!

Happy Chinese New Year

2006-01-27T13:08:00.000+09:00

This coming Saturday is Chinese New Year Eve. The very first time in my life that I will be having my chinese new year in Japan. Here I really cant feel the festive joy especially recently is examination period. My roommate asked me if I have planned on how to celebrate it or not, I told her no. I did not even buy new clothes...quite poor things ... sigh....

Job Hunting

2006-01-25T17:52:00.000+09:00

Previously there was a japanese recruitment agency told me that as I am holding student visa so they are unable to introduce jobs to me. Furthermore, to work in Japan, they require the applicants to speak Japanese like native speakers. Very demanding....a bit frustrated ...After I browsed through those job search engines, even if they are looking for a english cum mandarin speakers, they also require the person to be able to speak japanese like native. Afterall is working in Japan, I think.

This is the first email which I write in this new year. Perhaps I should write sth better instead of those bad news.

I have just done the phone interview with a Singapore Agency. I told them that I am looking for Japanese Speaking related jobs. I dont mind the job scope. They said they will update me from end of February. Perhaps I will have to change my schedule again....as I told her that I will be going back in March....

There is a saying that plans can never be able to catch up with changes...quite true.

大晦日

2005-12-31T18:06:00.000+09:00

Today is the last day of year 2005.It is called 大晦日(oomisoka) in Japan and is also new year eve. Normally the Japanese will eat Soba noodles today so as to wash away all the unhappiness in year 2005. The dream we have tonight is called 初夢(hatsuyume). The very first dream in year 2006. According to the legend, if we dream of Fuji mountain, then we will have a smooth year 2006.... hereby, wish everyone dream of Fuji mountain tonight!! :)

I think many of my classmates have gone to Hiroshima city for the countdown party. I did not join them because I am not familiar with that gang of people and presently I dont have so much money in my wallet....haha.. Basically I have had very boring MERRY CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR EVE here.... :)

After graduation, I will immediately go to Tokyo to try to look for a job there. Many people told me that it is very very tough and has slim chance. Especially now the unemployment rate in Japan is high as well. Furthermore, merely one-year study of Japanese is surely insufficient.On top of that, I still have to compete with the Japanese university graduates as they also graduate at the same time.However, I treat this as another chance to myself to be able to continue staying here...As I do understand one-year study of Japanese is not enough. I think I wont mind the salary as long as it is at least enough to cover my expenses for staying here. ......Somehow, I am at a loss as well.... just hope that 'May our dreams come true!!! '

今は岐路に立っています。。。。。

Winter Holidays

2005-12-19T17:36:00.000+09:00

I am now enjoying my winter holidays from 18th dec 2005 until 9th january 2006. Yet, I am not enjoying the weather here. Very cold now. According to the teachers, this year is extraordinary cold than before. they cracked a joke with me saying that my luck was very bad!! haha !!

I will be very soon graduating from the japanese language school. I think I will go back to Singapore after completing the course. Now i am not working any part- time anymore, want to make good use of the remaining time in Japan. Really hope that I can master the Japanese in no time......

these holidays, i guess i will stay in Mihara lah...as it is too cold...very unwilling to go out now...:)

Japanese Language Proficiency test level 1

2005-12-04T19:31:00.000+09:00

today finally i sat for the JLPT level 1. I totally did not feel relieved now. Instead I am very very upset and disappointed with myself.

I did very well in the school trial exams and those past year papers.it is so meaningless as I always cannot perform in the actual exam .and it is always the listening part that drags my points down. I am very discouraged because today I am the only person that felt the listening test was tough.so the problem lie on me.Those who normally were worse than me one totally did not feel so. This time round I think I am done for!!

At first I still aimed to get 350 out of 400 ( the passing mark is 280). now i still pray for miracles although i think maybe at most around the passing marks. Sigh.......so drastic !

Very Stressed!!!!

2005-10-19T17:00:00.000+09:00

Recently, I am very stressed. The new waitressing job gives me so much pressure. On top of that, besides Sunday I have to work everyday so I have no time to prepare for my examinations. Everyday I am so tired and as a result, I cannot concentrate during lessons. I feel that now my efficiency in studying has dropped. Exam is around the corner, it makes me become much more nervous. Also, I think I become impatient especially when I talk to my classmates who require me to explain in details.........:(

At the workplace, I am always being 'suan' that although my result is good in school, my performance at the workplace is the opposite of it. Of course I am very upset and feel that result is meaningless. However, I think I will be more upset if now I can't even perform in the school.....

This Saturday I am going to Osaka with my roommate..Hope that I can enjoy, relax, recharge and perform well after coming back from there....Have to go to work soon..Very bothering...Very 'fan'...

new part time -waitressing

2005-10-10T19:16:00.000+09:00

Recently I am feeling very down again. Very unsmooth in my working places. I got a new part time from my classmate. As she is busy preparing for her university entrance exam, so she requested me to replace her for the time being. Her part time is working as a waitress in a small restaurant. Actually this restaurant is quite good because normally restaurant wont employ foreigner to work as waitress, only employ to wash dishes or do cleaning jobs.

However, this job gives me much pressures. I feel very stressed and nervous whenever i have to go to work. I have many sleepless nights ever since i started working. As this restaurant is small in scale, so they can only afford to employ one waitress. Hence, I have to take orders, prepare beverages, prepare side dishes,deliver to customers and also do the clear-ups. I am very scared that I will spill over the food, so I become very slow. I feel that I am as slow as snail.

Besides, whenever the boss speaks very fast to me especially during hectic hours then I wont be able to catch what he means. He is very angry but this is understandable. Different customers have their ways of placing orders. Sometimes I feel quite tough to figure out what they actually mean.

Since day one, I felt like to tell my friend that it was better that she looked for other girls. Yet, I think if I still do so, I will never be able to overcome difficulties. As whenever I encounter it, I will just give it up so that I wont suffer. Therefore, I force myself to persist until I get fired...haha..of course I will do my best to cope with the job as I think in any line requires efficiency.

But one thing I feel very sad is because I think no matter how good grade a person can score in the school, if cannot perform in the working place, it seems useless and meaningless. Theoretical and practical wise are just so different. Good grade is just so ironic.Definitely practice makes perfect yet it takes much time to become perfect. I wonder if the shop owners can wait until I am fast enough to complete my tasks or not. Learning from the mistakes yet mistakes incur loss on the other party.......will any businessman be that patient?Since they are not doing charity.

Wicked people....I hate them!!!

2005-09-16T14:57:00.000+09:00

I have not updated my blog for quite a long time.Recently, my mood is very bad. Always encounter a lot of unhappinesses.I really hate those China people. After I came to Japan, the people surrounding me are mostly from China. I think they are the not so qualitative group of people. I really see the difference between educated and uneducated people. Most impressive is the selfishness. I think they are invincible and unbeatable in term of this.

After I came back from Tokyo, I find that their attitude towards me has changed. Very unfriendly and sarcastic. I am always bullied at my workplace now. Of course I can only endure endure endure. Yet,I dont know when I will be burst. They always complain to me that Japanese are racist and bully them. In fact, they also do the same to me. I think this is very bad human nature. Maybe due to these unhappy encounters, lately I really feel like to go back to my own country, so that I dont need to acquaint with these type of lousy people anymore. I strongly realise that you all are so cultured and not barbaric at all.

My roommate keeps consoling me that they are jealous or envious of me. They are unbalanced. As they work like hell, 24 hours round the clock yet they cant afford to go Tokyo. (I am the first student that went to tokyo in my school, so unbelievable,right??) Besides, my results are better than them. I think I am too off guard. From now onwards, I must beware of them. As I dont know what they will do on me next step. Really HATE these skin deep people. I think besides simple greetings when we meet, I dont intend to talk to them anymore. They are very meddlesome, like to dig my information yet theirs are very secretive. Perhaps I am the only Malaysian here, so easily become 'topic of the days'. I agree with my roommate that the cause of these problems is because I can understand Mandarin. If I were my roommate, I doubt I have these problems as I totally dont understand what they are gossiping.

I dont know I can endure this ''life experience'' to what extent. I am thinking of quiting the part time job and concentrate on preparing for JLPT level 1 which will be conducted soon in December. They affect my emotion badly at the workplace.In school, still got teachers around so not that bad.

How come the people here are so narrow minded and wicked? they just like to see others fare worse than them. I guess this is also human nature,just my luck to encounter a group of these kind of people here.

Ever since I came back from Tokyo, I have been looking for new part time job but to no avail. Very discouraged and frustrated. If I quit my present part time, I have no income to sustain my daily life expenses. this is very bothering me. Life is really like roller-coaster, ups and downs!!

Tokyo

2005-08-05T19:32:00.000+09:00

I have been in tokyo since 2nd August. I am quite bored here and I think I will go back to Mihara earlier , maybe next week.haha... So far I have only been to Shinjuku and Shibuya only. There are the central of Tokyo according to Kok Chyuan. To me, Shinjuku is like Shenton way, everywhere is high rise buildings. At Shibuya, there are many shopping centres, a lot of people.It is always very crowded.I think I will go there once again.

I feel that the people in Tokyo look down on people coming from countryside. Maybe this is common among metropolitans. But to me, I think it is easier to live at Hiroshima because the living expenses is not as high as Tokyo. I took Mrt from Shinjuku to Shibuya, it is just a less than 10 mins trip but it cost me $10 for round trip. So expensive!!!

My friends here are all busy except me. I am the only one who is too free. I think I will try to walk around by myself to make my transport fees worthy.....

summer vacations.

2005-07-25T16:16:00.000+09:00

From this saturday onwards, my summer vacation starts and until 28th August. I will be going to Tokyo from 1st August and plan to stay there until 26th august. If I cannot put up with the extremely hot weather in tokyo, maybe I will come back earlier. so maybe the next message will be posted in tokyo or maybe there is no place for me to access internet. haha!!

it is said that whether we can sit for JLPT level 1 or 2 by this year end is determined by how we make use of this summer vacations. Hopefully it will be fruitful. :)

by the way, there are many summer festivals in japan. last saturday i just went to a summer festival at a small town called Hongo. It is the village in Japan,i think. during these summer festivals, there will be fireworks. but last saturday one, the firewords were not impressive. very little. haha..vice principal asked me how i felt about the fair, i told her honestly.haha..

i wonder it is because here is countryside,so there are many people doing voluntary works. maybe they have retired and got money. so i guess the people here will be friendlier than Tokyo's.

japanese home visit

2005-07-19T15:34:00.000+09:00

last saturday i went to Miss Emi's house. she is the girl that i got to know from my part time and is going to marry to a Malaysian, Malay guy. her parents treated me to eat Tempura and they were very friendly to me. I feel what a pity that Emi is going to Malaysia in September otherwise she can really teach me a lot of things. Her parents asked me to visit them even if their daughter is not at home anymore. However, i feel weird if i go there without her daughter's presence.

her mum told me that ten years ago, they had a home stay high school student from America. she stayed at their house for about two months. The mother told me that the experience was awful as the girl was very selfish and had no manners. she did not talk to them at all, just keen on looking for bfs. haha...the mother told me that she did not get any money out of this but the bad experience only.

after Emi goes to Malaysia, the house only left her parents. I can feel that her mum is sad that her daughter is going to marry to such a far place. Actually I hope she rents a room to me as i think this is one of the most efficient way to improve my conversational skill. Yet i dare not bring it up. Firstly, she has such a bad experience before. Secondly, Japanese hardly rents a room out to an outsider. So i am just day dreaming.....sigh :(

part time

2005-07-07T15:53:00.000+09:00

i have started working part time on 28 June at a ramen factory. this job is introduced by school. all the students are eligible to apply for it and for sure can get in .basically my job is like a production operator....haha...it is quite tiring as has to stand till the end. but the working hours is very flexible as we can go anytime and leave anytime as we like.

Now is very busy, not much time to study. my work place is for sure not allowed to talk one,so it wont help in japanese learning at all..Hope that my Japanese studies wont be affected as this is my primary purpose of coming to Japan.

but from this job, i get to know a japanese girl who is about to marry to Malaysia this year. Marry to a Malay guy.Perhaps because of this reason, she is closer to me lor, she always invites to go to her house ... wat a pity that she is going to malaysia at the end of August, so the chances that i can talk to her is limited. Otherwise, i think i can learn a lot of japanese from her. she is very friendly to me also.

such a lucky day!! :)

2005-07-03T23:35:00.000+09:00

today finally i met up with the japanese teacher. out of my expectations, her entire family was so friendly.they invited me to their house and brought me to some trourist attraction places. They knew that I missed Chinese Food, so they treated me meals at the most expensive and famous chinese restaurant in Mihara.

She was so nice, she even bought souvenir for me when we went to those trourist attraction places. Whereever we went, she will tell the person-in-charge that I was foreign student and just to let me expose to Japanese cultures.........,so the entrance fees was sometimes waived and even the shop was close,they will open for us. today, I really met up a lot of friendly Japanese. But what a pity that i did not bring along my digital camera as I did not know she and her husband planned to bring me around.

This aunty was actually the head of the community centre at Sunami. She invited me to join her community centre's activities but unfortunately, her C.C is too far from my dormitory.

She offered me to teach english to those kindergarten kids during summer holidays but unfortunately, i have planned to go Tokyo during that time. SO UPSET. Miss an opportunity to earn money!! :(

her daughter used to study in Moscow for 6 years. she studied piano. I think Japanese are very lucky in the sense that they can go overseas to pursue tertiary education easily. As for them living expenses is for sure cheaper than in Japan. heard that my vice principal also used to study in France. Another Japanese's daughter is studying in Brazil now.

today they spent a lot of money. They said when the rainy season is over then will bring me around again. So pai seh....if she did not contact me again, i dare not ask them out either.

Level 3 test

2005-06-24T16:11:00.000+09:00

Just now I sat for Japanese level 3 examination. I think my listening ,again, was done badly.....my classmate asked me how come it will be like that as i practise so often....make me more sad...sigh..i just replied him that it is because i am stupid...

just now i told teacher that i guess my listening was done terribly.Of course I did not say what my classmate said about me. But in my teacher's opinion, to master listening takes the longest time,so he asked me to persistently practise.

tml actually i am going to visit a japanese piano teacher. She said she will pick me up from the train station as i dont know how to go to her house. Later I will call her to confirm again. maybe ultimately cannot go either as she has sth on.

somehow i feel scared about japanese . as i feel that they are quite extreme. High EQ one is super high EQ, can conceal their real emotions/feelings effectively. so in other words, I dont know if they really feel as what they said or not. yet, those low EQ one are super low EQ, they will just anyhow throw their tantrums at you. low EQ japanese will be encountered easily during part time. I am going to start working part time next tuesday,so going to experience this soon.:(

友好交流会

2005-06-16T17:01:00.000+09:00

Yesterday night, again there was another gathering but this time round was internal one. During that BBQ, I met my so called 'my Mihara guardian'. He is also the chairman of this voluntary group.

I was arranged to sit with my principal and of course the chairman and some other students. My principal was very friendly and always cracked jokes with us. The chairman was also friendly but I did not know what to say. :( I think yesterday night, when I talked to Principal that time, my conversation has made much mistakes. so malu...... really hope that my Japanese speaking and listening abilities can improve in no time!!

May all my hopes come true!!

Singapore Mihara/ Hiroshima Exchange Programme 10th Anniversary

2005-06-09T16:15:00.000+09:00

Last Saturday, 4th June, I was invited to turn up for the Singapore Mihara Exchange Programme 10th Anniversary Ceremony ( at Mihara city). During the ceremony, video conferencing was conducted between the Mihara Secondary Schools' students and Singapore Balestier Hill Secondary School students. This year there were about 15 singapore students came to Mihara and Mihara students will be going to Singapore in August. I was invited to share my experiences here both in English and Japanese with the students and encourage them to study hard esp to come to Japan , I think :). They all thought I used to be Balestier Hill School student and that was why I was there! but then later on, of course they knew the reasons.

At night, the dinner was hold at Mihara hotel and I was arranged to sit with the secondary school teachers and principals. Principals were stern. I dare not talk to them and they did not talk to anyone either.However, it was quite funny as the teachers were trying to speak English with me yet I wanted to learn Japanese from them. Hence, they asked me in English but I tried to reply in Japanese. What a pity that I did not grab the opportunity to get the contacts of those teachers as I think they were friendly to me. I think if I wanna improve my japanese speaking ability, the effective way is to always talk to Japanese. Sigh... :(

The students that came from Singapore were very active and fun-loving. I think they were very enjoyable for the homestay.Besides that,during the dinner, they even performed the comedy version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Their performance was amazing and impressive!! So the chances of them coming to Japan in the future is very high, I guess so..

Last Tuesday 7th June, I was invited to turn up for another reception at Hiroshima city .ie. Hiroshima Singapore Exchange Programme 10th Anniversary. The association has about 200+ members.All are Japaneses. Again, Vice principal and I were invited to give a short speech to these audiences before the party began. Vice Principal asked me if I had stage fright, I told her that "no as I know none of them. ". The association presented me 25000 yen book vouchers. Vice principal said that maybe their implication was to ask me to study hard. haha!! The association was very thoughtful, they even reimbursed my shinkansen fare.

Besides that, there were about 7-8 NUS students also turing up for the party. They were at Hiroshima city for the three weeks internship only. Today they have set off for Singapore. It was quite strange as the audiences were almost all males but the students were all females only. I was arranged to be at VIP area,so all the persons that I have met were either CEO, Director, Professor, or managers etc. The AISATSU (greeting) was a bit tiring ....but i think it is very important as it is part of Japanese culture so I have borrowed some books related to it from the library. There will be another party in December, hopefully by then I can communicate with them purely in Japanese

As I was under the exchange programme,so I think I have more chances to participate in these events. Therefore, it is more fun!! really thanks a lot to Jugas for helping me to obtain this scholarship....

Singapore Mihara Exchange Programme 10th Anniversary Ceremony

2005-06-06T16:47:00.000+09:00

Last Saturday, 4th June , I was invited to turn up for the Singapore Mihara Exchange Programme 10th Anniversary Ceremony. There were about 15 students from Singapore Balestier Hill Secondary School. They had home stay at Mihara City. During the ceremony, i was told to give some messages to these 'juniors' from Singapore and Mihara, encouraging them to study hard and next time come to Japan or Singapore to study.

During the ceremony, I was sitting with all the Japanese teachers and principals. I regret for not making friends with those teachers as I think actually they are quite friendly. So tomorrow there will be another exchange programme,so i must grab the opportunity liao...

someone wanna use pc liao...i cant type further..sigh...

satsuki matsuri

2005-05-30T17:01:00.000+09:00

last saturday morning I went to the Satsuki festival with my classmates and my vice principal.Satsuki is Mihara city's flower.

the festival is like our pasar malam ..got many stalls selling japanese foods but the prices are more expensive than the usual prices and there were performances. The performers are aunties and primary school students only, hardly got youngsters.

I received a free ticket from school,so can try japanese tea for free. We went to see how japanese make tea (cha dao). It seems very ma fan. Morever, the tea set used varies according to the seasons. even my vice principal also said is difficult and the tea set is expensive.

in japan, there are a lot of different matsuri at different places. This is small one, so i feel that it has nothing extraordinary lor...haha..hopefully the upcoming one is fun

earthquake,again!!

2005-05-27T15:34:00.000+09:00

this morning arond 3am, earthquake occured at Mihara's nearby city. Mihara was affected as well.My classmate staying at second floor (I stay at first floor) told me that our hostel was shaking very much but teacher said actually that was considered 'small' earthquake in Japan. the earthquake was around level 3

i told my hostelmate next time if earthquake occured and they are running for lives, please contact me if they did not see me. In fact, I totally did not feel about the earthquake. I told my classmates that I had a sound sleep yesterday night. haha... :)

tomorrow is Mihara city's satsuki festival. satsuki is Mihara city's flower.I will go with classmates and vice principal. If got any interesting experiences will share in my blog.Hopefully there is lah!! :)

Handphone

2005-05-11T16:25:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I have applied for a handphone. The hp was free one but every month I have to pay about 2200 yen basic subscription fees.

Dear friends, feel free to contact me lah when u have extra money...or when u visit Japan...so that I can fully make use of the subscription fees....haha ... I dont need to pay for incoming calls... :)..so i am awaiting your calls !!

I have made a mistake in the email. My hp number if called from overseas, the first '0' should be omitted. Japan country code is '81'..so the number should be (81)80523xxxxx

ok..hope to hear from you all! :)

JLPT 3 trial exam

2005-05-10T14:19:00.000+09:00

It has been long time that I did not post anything here........After one-week holidays, now I am back to school...I think it is better as during the entire one-week holidays, I did not go any other places either.....

Today I have gotten my score for my JLPT 3 trial exam. I scored 269/400. The passing mark was 240/400. The highest mark in my class was perhaps 271/400. Although I passed the exam, my vice principal and I both think that the mark was too low. I am disappointed as well. She hopes that I can practise until become perfect. In fact, I also hope to master the language.

There were three sections in the paper, ie. vocabularies, grammars and listening. I fared badly in listening section and as a result, my score was pulled down a lot. I know my weaknesses are listening and conversation. I think I have to stay in the school to practise my listening skills from tomorrow onwards. During orientation, I told myself everyday after schooling, I must stay in school to practise listening but ever since term starts, I will stay in school only if I wanna access Internet..... :) I am so lazy although I have much free time.

Minasan, ashita kara watashi wa intaanetto o amari asobanai koto ni shimasu. Ganbarimasho!!

Golden Week holidays....

2005-04-28T12:52:00.000+09:00

from tomorrow onwards...it is japan golden week holidays ( consecutive public holidays for one week) ...i will be start schooling again from next friday ...but i can:t online during this one week liao..sigh....

earthquake

2005-04-21T13:03:00.000+09:00

yesterday morning, kyushu there had earthquake. If teacher did not tell us, i think none of us knew about it as we don:t feel anything here. my place is quite far away from the scene.

now i have no communication system with the world outside..i have no tv nor radio in the dormitory,so i really have no idea what is happening outside...so pathetic..

i also don know china and japan diplomatic ties are turning sour..haha..i am super outdated ...hmm...get to go for afternoon lessons liao....

public holidays ......

2005-04-20T12:55:00.000+09:00

yesterday i just browsed through my schooling schedule from april 2005 to march 2006...i realised that japan has a lot of public holidays.on top of that ,still has summer,autumn and winter school holidays........it is too fantastic!!!!

down here the public holidays are unique as well..such as adult day,childen day,senior citizen days (i think this is fair to all age groups ya....:), sea day, environmental day,sports day,all citizen's off-day,spring day,autumn day.....etc...very good hor...singapore there,holidays are so few only...no good.....

summer school holidays is one month long(August)...hope i can have extra $$$ to travel around in jpn lah...dont just confine myself in Mihara...so pathetic!!!

Sakura

2005-04-19T14:44:00.000+09:00

today i went to take photoes of Sakura....I was so stupid...wait until sakura was withered then just took...Alas!!

i feel that cooking is very boring. the first time i made sunny side up, i felt that cooking was quite interesting. however,from second time onwards,i feel that is so boring if need to cook everyday..so sometimes,i still go to buy bian1 tang1

here is really like Kluang...got nothing...so my lifestyle here is as dull as in Singapore and Kluang...haha...maybe I , myself is a boring person...:)

in Japan, bicycle is a very common transportation. as here is unlike Malaysia nor Singapore, here got no mamak stalls and grocery stores,kopitiam at residential area. departmental store is quite a distance from residential area.If you are hungry in the middle of night, got nothing available outside besides 7-11 shop.7-11 shop is also quite far away de!!

I think i may buy a second hand one then can go to more nearby places. Now my roommate has bought the bicycle. Everyday, she rides on bicycle and yet I walk. She has to wait for me...so pai seh...

attn:one cent,i got no pc here leh..so i don know where to download the photoes as the public pc can't install the software...sigh....so i can't even upload to the online webshot.

very cold !!! :(

2005-04-12T15:36:00.000+09:00

yesterday night and today, the weather becomes very cold again...sigh, now it is spring. I dont know if i am able to endure the winter weather or not!!!

today i saw an advertisement from 100 yen plaza (like our $1.99 shop) looking for part timer. the wage is relatively higher than other part time jobs. it pays about 900 yen per hour. others is 700 yen/hr. Yet, I can only start working after three months. By then, hope it still has job vacancies.

my roommate told me that the hp subscription fees is 2000 yen per month.I am thinking if i should subscribe to it or not. as each phone card will cost me 1000 yen and can call to malaysia for about 17 minutes only during day time.So i think it is quite worthy to buy the hp, (some plans,Hp is free and just pay subscription fees)then many friends can call me liao....:)

first day of schooling in Japan

2005-04-11T18:20:00.000+09:00

today is my first day of schooling..my class is small, only has total of 9 students.one from Manila,1 from thailand,1 guy from auckland (wu ke lan)..he is the youngest, coming 17 years old.he is very shy maybe because he is alone.he talks softly as well....when other classmates can:t hear him,they always laugh,make him more shy...sigh..the rest of my classmates are from china....

today we learnt grammar and practise listening skills. grammar is ok but listening wise is really jialat. i must brush up in this liao

my lesson starts from 9am until 12.20 noon . but monday and thursday will have afternoon lesson from 1-3pm. luckily is half day,so not so tiring.

my roommate is from thailand.she has been learning japanese since senior high school.her degree also was major in japanese. but thai there no environment to speak jap,so listening wise and conversation is not that good yet lor...but she knows a lot of words..i can learn a lot from her...overall,she is quite nice lah...

i am getting used to the weather here , not as cold as the time when i reached. but sometimes, it is still very cold.haha..can:t tahan it too...

school is closing soon, here is 5.20pm liao...hope i can update my blog again...

school orientations

2005-04-08T15:49:00.000+09:00

today is my school orientation for new students and also at the same time, we will know our placement test results.

there are three levels here,i.e beginner (JLPT3), beginner-intermediate(JLPT2) and intermediate(JLPT1).i was enrolled into beginner-intermediate course. I was quite upset although I knew that my standard is not up to intermediate level yet.I have expected that I can only enter beginner-intermediate course. but my target is to achieve JLPT 1 by this year end so now I can only sit for JLPT 2 this year end liao! Vice principal knew that I am quite upset. She said that in this coming September, they will rearrange the courses. So if I study hard enough, there is still possibility to sit for JLPT 1 this year end. Hopefully I still can realise my target.

Since I can start working part-time only after 3 months,so I must really make full use of these three months to learn japanese. After I start working part time, then I will be very busy and tired liao !! :(

p/s: JLPT stands for Japanese Language Proficiency Test

Arrival in Mihara,Japan

2005-04-02T16:03:00.000+09:00

finally i reached my destinations liao!!! From Fukuoka to Mihara, I can hardly see tall buildings. the houses here are small yet look cute. it is like chinese idioms, ma que shui xiao, wu zhang ju quan!!..normally,they are detached house,but garden compound is very small,gate is very short,thief can easily jump in...haha

the guy sitting besides me in the flight told me that he was coming to Fukuoka to look for his gf. He told me he has learnt japanese since college and his gf has been together with him for 1 year.so his japanese improved tremendously..he advised me that to master a foreign language, the most effective way is to find a native speaker as bf/gf....haha

my luggage was really heavy...but from Fukuoka airport to my destination, Mihara.the journey was quite smooth lah. Although the bullet train ticket that i bought was for non-reserved seat, a gentleman gave up his seat for me when he saw me carrying so much items.Such a nice guy but I haven:t said thanks to him yet then he was no way to be seen already. haha..

in order to avoid travelling to wrong station as my luggage was truly very heavy, i missed a train. I think it was better to make sure first rather than i anyhow board on.anyway,the time interval was not long either,so it was fine.

My dormitory is so much better than i have expected. it is an apartment with two rooms,dining hall,laundry,toilet and shower room.i am staying with two thai.one is my roommate,another one is housemate,she takes single room. they always communicate in thai,so i dont know what they are talking about..haha.....my room is slightly bigger than my room in AMK but now is twin sharing.....I have been staying in single room for about 4 years already...hopefully I can still adapt to twin sharing room...:)

leaving for Mihara, Japan

2005-04-01T16:37:00.000+09:00

tonight i am flying off to japan to study japanese for one year...now still in the midst of packing...alamak...i am so tired now....tml don know got energy to carry all these luggages or not...haha..hope i won't lost my way there as no one can pick me up from there...

the next message will be written in japan liao .........haha...so qi miao....!!! :)

i don know when i can post another blog here...as i did not have pc there...hope school has enough pc to let us use ...

hee..this journey makes me strongly realise my friends are so kind...haha...thanks a lot for you all treats and gifts. most importantly is the best wishes from you all..hope WE ALL THE BEST in the days ahead!! :)

See you all again ya....don know will many people think is April's fool joke or not? ! :)

Tired...sleepy....

2005-03-31T19:59:00.000+09:00

Yesterday morning I went back to the office to tender my resignation letter and also at the same time heard a lot of nonsence from the manager..sigh....but luckily I don't need to entertain her anymore.. haha........Congratulations to myself...:)

At night, I went to Liquid Bar with my going-to-be ex-colleagues until 3am in the morning...sort of like farewell lor.......so today I am very tired and sleepy...so I did not go back to Kluang tonight liao...

tml night i am going to leave for japan from changi airport....but now I look at the room...it is still so messy..a lot of small little things have to cleared..so sien.... lack of sleep really caused my brain cannot respond faster...haha...and easily get impatient & peck che...

No matter how,tonight must tidy up the room liao,otherwise ah hong can't move in to replace me...Alamak..my luggage are so heavy...really xia shi wo le....haha....hope April's fool is not a crying day for me..!!!

testing

2005-03-29T17:00:00.000+09:00

today i have just created my blog.i tried to post sth on it but always in vain......hope this time can work lah...