Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba

I had dinner at JUMBO with my housemates Adaora, Rai, Naka, Megumi, Michelle, and Shige. Edwin was also there. And I also met Natalie.

Oh, and we also saw Ericka with her friend. Haha.

THE FOOD ~
IT WAS DELICIOUS. Beyond delicious.

AND...
I rode my bike to get there! Cheers!
I've started riding my bike again, but I've observed that I've been riding slower since the accident. And I have developed a slight fear for slopes (which I used to love so dearly!). I am especially scared of that slope where I had my accident. But oh well, life goes on. There are more places to visit, more food to eat, more people to meet, more things to learn, and more Japanese children to take photos of. HAHA.

Cheers!

After dinner, we went back to I-house 1 to play some videogames (which are incredibly old! HAHA) and foosball. It was fun.

Tomorrow, I'm going biking & sightseeing with Ericka, Naka, and Megumi : )

Then it's Golden Week! We might go to Osaka and Nara.

And, uh, yes, I have to study as well.
Cheers!

P.S.
I've started using my Livejournal again (for entries which are not so Japan-related haha). Here it is:
http://pretsi.livejournal.com

Hiking

We went hiking today. The trip was organized by Chris and he invited all the SKP students, but only a few went.

It was so tiring, but every step (there were a lot of steps, haha) was worth it.

Daimonji.

I was so tired, I fell asleep after taking a warm shower at I-house1.

Uh, I still have to do some schoolwork. 

Cheers

Church

We attended a mass in a Catholic church at Kawaramachi today. (We took the subway)

I went with my housemates Adaora, Rai, Naka, and Megumi. And Skylar was also there! : )

I'm so glad that there's a church here that I can go to whenever I want to.

Cheers to that!

The mass lasted for around 2 and a half hours. This was the longest mass I've been to. haha.

Then we had dinner somewhere in Kawaramachi. I forgot the name of the place, but the food was really gooooooooooood.

Tomorrow we're going on a hiking trip!

And and and and....

I'm riding my bike tomorrow. Bikey (my bike's name, yes, I know. Such a creative name), I will need your full cooperation tomorrow. Let us not hurt ourselves nor others.

Cheers!

Hirosawa Lake

Bike Practice: DAY 3

Today I went biking with Adaora. Yes, you read right. Biking.

It's official; I can ride my bike now. Weeeeeeeeeh ~ *tears* HAHA.

We went to Hirosawa Lake. It was lovely.

I still can't believe that I can now ride a bike. (I've had a very egregious relationship with bikes in the past. cough *Sophomore year* cough)

Tomorrow, we'll ride our bikes to school. And hopefully, by next week, I can bike to school on my own.

Cheers!

***
My legs are starting to look like raisin bread. Oh.

And now, I must go back to my readings.

NOTE TO SELF:
Stop writing in broken phrases. Stop. Allot more time for your blogging. And go eat weird things, it's good (?) for you.

Bike Practice: DAY 2

Adaora is the Goddess of Teaching. She is.

She made the impossible happen...

We had our first bike practice last night (for around 2 hours). And today, we also had a 2-hour bike practice session.

(I still feel high)

I can now RIDE A BIKE!

*confetti, sushi, confetti!*

After a few more sessions, I hope I could ride my bike to school.

Tomorrow, Adaora and I will ride our bikes around the neighborhood.

Ganbatte! : )

P.S.
This blog does not belong to a young kid. I am a university student. Oh yes, the world is strange. Strange indeed.

Cheers!

Babble

I miss my livejournal babbles.

Progress Report: Biking

Adaora taught me how to ride a bike today!

We started at around 6:30 pm and our bike practice ended at around 8:30 pm. It was intense! ^^ haha

Adaora is such an effective bike teacher/life coach! haha. She's so kind!!!!!!!!!!
I was able to ride for around 15 seconds. That's progress right there! haha

My legs hurt a bit right now.

And I can't really go to sleep just yet (I'm still bothered by "something" ---> these "thoughts" have been bothering me for days...I can't really talk about it here; I don't know how to...uh, say it?)

Anyway, I'll just study some readings for my Gender & Peace class (2nd favorite class so far)

Cheers!

Monday

I woke up quite late today.

I just studied today. Uh.

North-South Relations, Gender & Peace studies, International Peace Studies, Public Health & International Development.

And I also practiced riding my bike; it was depressing.

Then it rained. (saved by the rain....lalalala)

I shall study some Japanese later.

BIKEY (I will now call you bikey), let us be friends. Please.

Shukudai

Meet Chuchu ~ cover girl of my Japanese notebook

I'm almost done with my Japanese homework.

I really have to work on my vocabulary and grammar. I have a lot of studying to do!
I find it really hard to learn Japanese, but I think I will enjoy this class the most.

I'm done with the JWP readings for this week. I now want to focus on my Japanese class ^^
Good thing I don't have classes tomorrow; I could allot more time for my Nihongo practice (and my bike practice!). ^^

Cheers!

***
I also talked to my mom via Skype today. Yey

Tomodachi

Hot Pot!

It's Kaen's birthday today.
Naka, Yue, Masayoshi, and I stayed in her room for around 7 1/2 hours! HAHA

We just ate and talked all day. Good times : )

I want to write more details (today's conversation topics were beyond great; I have no words to describe it haha), but I still have to study/do homework.

Cheers!

Kamo-gawa

Yue and I went to the Kamo river today to meet some friends from KAPS (Kyoto Association of Pinoy Scholars).

We had a picnic/hanami.

It was a lovely day.

I'll write more in detail next time; I'm a bit tired. And I'm bothered by something. Oh no!!! HAHA

Cheers

Japanese class

I enjoyed my Japanese listening and speaking class today! I think this will be the highlight of my 1st semester in Rits.

I only have two classmates, Andreas and Allison. And our professor is really kind!

I really want to learn more! My preschool level speaking skills (no offense to the brilliant preschoolers out there, I know that you are even better than me, both in terms of your Nihongo and Biking skills) shall improve! I have 10 months to work on this!

I must stop using exclamation points! But I can't! There's too much excitement! I can't stop! No! Okay, enough.

Speaking of 10 months, I just remembered that I only brought 1 book with me! The Color Purple. And I cant find any English books here (or maybe I just haven't found the right stores). I hope I can still continue with my reading habits while I'm here. To make it a bit more interesting, I hope that my next book will be a Japanese one. Yes, this is very ambitious. Haha.

In other news, I might drop 1 JWP course. I think it would be best if I just take 7 sessions this semester.
(5 sessions of JWP classes and 2 sessions of Japanese class)

I might drop my International Organizations class (too bad! It seemed really interesting) just because of its late schedule.

My JWP classes probably wouldn't be credited anyway (when I return to UP, all I have left are my major subjects [media-related] and my internship. If they would allow it, 3 of my JWP classes [for the entire year] might be credited [equivalent to 2 subjects in UP]. This is because I only have two free electives left, equivalent to 6 units in UP [not related to my major]. Okay, this was a messy rigmarole. Moving on...)

So here's my tentative schedule:

M:    No class! ^^ Bike Practice, Nihongo practice, chores, Study time
T:     Peace & Gender studies, International Peace Studies
W:   Public Health & International Development, Japanese Listening & Speaking
Th:  International Public Policy, Grocery day
F:   North-South Relations, Japanese Listening & Speaking
Sat & Sun: Rest day, chores/errands, Sightseeing, Bike Practice, Study time, (insert something fun here)

I'm particularly interested in my Peace & Gender studies class --> I'm planning on doing my thesis (for when I return to UP next year) on the Philippine media's representation of the concept (as well as its manifestations) of GENDER, in relation to social, political, and economic discourse.

And I'm also interested with how the Japanese culture sees the ideas surrounding gender.

My 3rd favorite (so far, or is it too early to tell?) is my International Peace class.
As for the rest of my classes, I am yet to discover my passion for them (or the lack of) haha.

Geeky scribbles:
Today in my North-South Relations class, we discussed (very briefly) Edward Said's concept of Orientalism. I got excited a bit (haha). I used this as my framework for my final paper in my Broadcast Text Criticism class. : )

I haven't taken much courses about International Relations in UP, and so all of my courses this semester in Rits seem quite/really challenging. I hope I'll do well in all my classes.

And yes, I hope the following skills improve:
* Biking - PLEASE!
* Cooking
* Photography - I went window shopping with Yue last weekend. I want to save up for a new camera : )
* Budgeting - everything still seems SO expensive.
* Nihongo - I think it is quite obvious why this is written on the list. It is almost non-existent.
* socializing - uh, why am I so socially awkward around certain people? WHY?
--> I don't know, it seems that I can't express myself that well yet. Maybe it's just because of the "adjustment period." BUT I am not expressing my geeky self here. I don't talk as much as I used to (HAHA). Why do I sometimes feel so shy? This is not me! Noooooooo. This feels so strange. So strange.

I have a lot to say about various topics (both light and serious ones) but why do I keep on shutting up? WHY? GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

I want to talk to some of my housemates whom I haven't really gotten to know yet, but I turn into this awkward cucumber each time I try to initiate a decent, non-vegetative conversation. WHY????

However, I am very happy to type here in my humble (and incoherent) blog that I think I may have found some really good friends here in Japan. *throws some confetti, sushi, confetti*
There's Yue (not from I-house 1), Naka, Megumi, Masayoshi, and Kaen. Actually, everyone in I-House 1 are really nice. I hope I become good friends with everyone.

Oh, and my bike practice is...uh, going smoothly? But very slowly haha. I had my "best 6 seconds of my young life" moment though. For around 6 seconds I was able to ride my bike haha, then I fell. Boo.

My housemates Michelle and Mathilde helped me : )
And a week before that, Masayoshi and Kaen also taught me some tips. I am the oldest breathing creature here in Kyoto who does not know how to ride a bike. I am 98% sure.

I also met some interesting Japanese friends! ^^ Ericko, Aki, Hikari, Misaki. Okay, I'll end it here. I'm still processing their names. Hehe. This will be an interesting semester.

I did notice one thing though, when I'm talking to new Japanese friends, I am able to express myself a little better? FJsdjflskdjfskjdf. Maybe this is just part of the many livid effects of my caffeine withdrawal.

Unnecessary information which I will type anyway:
So there are videogames in the lounge. How come no one's playing? We have Metal Gear Solid 3 and Brave Fencer Musashi! O__O. Oh, and a Titanic VHS haha.

***

Tomorrow, Yue and I will go to the Kamo river (Kamo-gawa) to meet some Filipino friends for a picnic/hanami. : )

Yue, one of my lifesavers here in Japan! She's such a good friend : )

Elsa and So Jeong helped me with the directions. ^^ They're so kind!

I was able to do some laundry today. Cheers! I also had vegetables for dinner. Cheers to that! haha

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow! And I hope that we won't get lost haha.

Biking frustrations.

I had 1 class today: International Public Policy.

The professor was really funny. He dreamt of becoming a rock star [I think he should go for it! hihi].
It was interesting. I think my Comm140 (media and globalization) notes can be quite useful for this course.
I have a lot of learning to do! I haven't taken much courses directly related to International Relations back in UP. This will be a challenging semester. Ooh.

I also went grocery shopping today; I still haven't completely adjusted to the whole money system here. Everything still seems extra expensive here.

I cooked a quasi-decent dinner [emphasis on quasi] tonight. Cheers to that!

Then I watched a Japanese movie with my housemate/friend, Naka. We watched "Dare mo shiranai" (Nobody Knows). It was my 2nd time to watch this SAD movie; it still has the same effect on me! Gaaaaah.
We watched it in my room. Naka was really upset haha. She couldn't finish watching the entire movie, so we'll finish the second half next time.

Japanese class tomorrow! I better go back to studying.

Too bad I can't go to the hanami tomorrow evening!
I REALLY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO RIDE A BIKE. SERIOUSLY. My lack of biking skills will destroy my stay here; I can see it now. A sad cucumber left in the freezer while all the cucumbers are out having fun on their bikes --> I must not let this happen! (cucumbers seemed like a nice example...cucumbers on bikes, this seems like a good picture, I shall draw this soon. Random.)

I MUST LEARN SOON.

Cheers

Piano and Eggs

Tomorrow is trash day. I have to get up early! *dun dun dun - in the tune of Psycho's shower scene*

And apparently it is also Bread Day at Matsumoto (grocery store). Bread Sale! Yey! Haha

I am now used to walking 30 mins (total of 1 hour) everyday to get to school/home. It's a good exercise; very good for my body, mind, and soul. And I am making excuses to make myself feel better regarding my "biking issues" haha.

I really hope that I learn how to ride a bike SOON. All those hours spent on biking videogames back in elementary school aren't helping me. I guess all those hours spent on Metal Gear Solid 3 and Brave Fencer Musashi won't make me a good fighter either. Sad. Noted.

After my "Health & Development" class, which was very interesting, I had lunch with Yue, Naka, Kaen, and Masayoshi at the cafeteria. I had rice and I cannot identify what else I ate, but they were all delicious. Ok, moving on... haha

After lunch, I asked my friend Yue to teach me Nihongo. We went to the library for my study session : )

On my way home, I saw a man cleaning his roof. It was such a lovely scenario; I wish I took a photo.
(I was immensely fascinated. Seriously.)

I got home early today; I stayed at the I-House 1 lounge for a while to play the piano.
[unnecessary information which I will type anyway: When I first arrived, I was so happy to see that there's a piano in I-house 1! I am also happy that there is ample supply of unidentified yet delicious treats in the local grocery]

Anyway...

And then I watched a Japanese news program (or perhaps it's better to say that I watched the videos, whilst completely ignoring the reporter's voice. I really have to work on my Nihongo skills [if any])

And I also borrowed two books: The first one is a guide to life in Kyoto and the other one is about Intercultural Communication -- something I'm interested in. I was actually supposed to take this class this semester, unfortunately it's only offered during the 6th period - I don't want to go home that late.

I had dinner with Naka tonight (in our kitchen-3rd floor). We'll also watch a movie (in my laptop) tomorrow night. ^^ I wish Yue lived with us.

I've made some friends at Rits! Cheers! I met a lot of new Japanese friends; they're all so kind, I just want to pinch them! Pinch pinch pinch! --> personal expression of fondness. The people here are so warm and friendly. I blush now.

I hope I become really good friends with them.

So far, all my classes seem very interesting. The first batch of readings are quite exciting --> And I never refer to readings as something "exciting." This must be a good sign. Cheers!

This whole blog entry is so incoherent. The rubber duck I brought with me is starting to feel very lonely. Oh so very lonely. I shall make another episode of the Adventures of Ducky soon. [refer to my youtube acct for more information about the Adventures of Ducky: http://www.youtube.com/quirkyfingers]

For more incoherence: Note to self - I've been having bread and eggs for breakfast for several days now. And processed fish and rice for dinner. Some culinary diversity would be highly appreciated.

And now, I shall go back to studying my 1st set of readings. Cheers!

P.S.
Friends/Family, you can find my photos in my facebook.

Good night.

Courses

The courses I'm taking this semester seem very interesting.
I am especially interested in my "Gender & Peace" class, as well as my "International Peace Studies" class.

I am also looking forward to learning more Nihongo!

I am back to preschool. I am learning how to ride a bike (technically, preschoolers are even better bikers than me, so well...ha).

I am also learning how to cook (I started with eggs and vegetables. Yoshi!).

And then, there's my immensely/vehemently (emphasis: VERY) basic Nihongo skills. I literally speak like a preschooler.

Ganbatte!

Good thing, the people here are so kind and helpful! (housemates, new friends, buddies)

I shall update this blog more often! (I shall TRY. I have insomnia, but I've been feeling really distant from my previously (over)healthy writing habits. I must get these fingers typing again soon.)

Oh, and today, I rode a bike! Well, someone else's bike. Behind someone else's back. haha. It was a fun experience. My new friend, Aki, gave me a ride home. It was an interesting evening, interesting indeed.

I want to ride a bike so bad. No words can express the intensity of this biking desire. I shall stop talking now.

Cheers!

In other news, I hope my mom sends me the package soon. I am running out of yen (and lotion. haha!). My feet have been feeling a bit lonely without my special fuzzy socks. Please send them soon, mom.

: )

Welcome Party

It was a fun night! : )

Since I can't cook yet (I must work on this), I shared some dried mangoes. Good thing they liked it : )
My housemates cooked dishes from their home counties. They were all delicious.

Tabemono wa totemo oishii desu.

And my housemates & dorm managers are really nice.

Earlier today, I had brunch with Kaen-san & Masayoshi-san. Then we went to Book-Off (bookstore) and the supermarket. They're very kind.

I'll update more next time when I get the time. I shall write (and post pictures) soon.

Tomorrow, I'll just sign some papers regarding the scholarship at Rits (Shige-san will walk with me again. This time, I shall make a map!), then we're heading to Osaka for the opening ceremony.

I was also able to take a bath in the communal bathroom with no undergarments. Finally. It was awkward at first. haha I shall get used to this soon.
Things I have to work on:
* Learn to cook
* Learn to ride a bike
* Improve Japanese skills (speaking, reading, writing)
* Get used to the place (directions to school, supermarket, etc)
* Get used to Rits (directions, etc)
* Get to know housemates/friends
* Learn more about the culture
* Share what I can
* Accomplish paperworks

Ganbatte!
Cheers! : )

I'm finally here!

At last, I can finally say that I'M FINALLY HERE IN JAPAN!

Cheers!

It was a tiring trip. Good thing, I met some Filipinos who helped me in the airport and during my shuttle ride to the dorm.

I already met the dorm manager and my housemates; they're very kind.

Will update more tomorrow. : )