~Last week~

It has been a week when I finally have the time to blog.Just want to blog about events last week.


Last Friday



We had the annual Foreign Students party.This year Kamarull was in charge of the Malaysian food and he made a good job teaching the canteen people how to make 'mee hun soup', it tasted really good.Really remind me of Malaysia.Haibi introduced 'Bastera' from Morocco,it didn't taste bad but it was really hard to bite.Made me wonder how the real thing would be..


Tang Yii and Saikhanna

Fareeza and Najwa




Wakebe,me and Rie




Soran of Suzuka

Last Saturday


Tang Yii and I went to Tokyo with Kawaguchi sensei and 5 Chinese teachers(1woman and 4men) who were guest to our college.Tang Yii and my job was to be translators when Kawaguchi sensei take them around in Japan.But boy,we were not only translators but mostly 'caretakers' I would say.We took the Shinkansen to Tokyo and went to take pictures around Nagoya before that.Tried our first 'eki-ben' or 'Japanese take-away' for lunch.Once we reach Tokyo we visited Ginza.It was my first time walking at the streets of Ginza in broad daylight.I didn't know there was a pedestrian street for shopping at Ginza.It was there where the horror begin.The lady teacher (a professor somemore)was really persistent in everything and kept on asking me and TY to ask for discounts and asked a million times if the cosmetics could have the tax exempted when we and the sales girls told her another million times that there are no discounts in Ginza.Gosh,she even asked us to go ask people the way to Akihabara saying that the sensei doesn't know his way just because he was reading a map(ask is a softer word,she actually grabbed my hand and push me to a Japanese young couple asking me to ask them for directions)GAHH!!We're at GINZA not AKIHABARA lar!!!!!Akihabara is the next stop ler...You never read the itinerary Kawaguchi Sensei prepared so hard mer!!!!!!!!!



Ahem,and so,finding the stuff at Ginza was way too expensive,they quickly insisted that we go Akihabara.So once we reached Akihabara,we went to Yodobashi where they done their shopping with their hearts content.So much so that we said to finish shopping in one hours time,they ended up with 2 and a half..Kept on asking about discounts by showing their passports and whether there's warranty for each item they buy,whether there's gift along with what they bought etc..The male teachers were still alright as they weren't so fussy,but the lady..OMG!!Can vomit blood ar...Even Tang Yii,who was ever so patient trying to explain and translate for her,finally gave up at the end of the day..






Next was Asakusa and finally Roppongi for nightview.Then we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant which was pretty good.The gyoza or dumplings were very crispy and juicy.We took the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka and call it a day at Chisun Hotel.


Last Sunday


We had buffet breakfast at the hotel and then head for Kyoto.The 'aunty'(as TY and I now call the lady professor) tried all the food available and each coffee available on the coffee machine,and then left lots of food on the tray..Gosh..First stop in Kyoto was Kiyomizudera.Next was buffet lunch near Kinkakuji.The buffet was realllly good.After Kinkakuji was Nijyojyo before we head to Osaka for shopping.This is where I showed them the shops where they want to buy non-made-in-china goods,cosmetics and bags etc.It was a different plan from Kawaguchi sensei's plan but knowing the 'aunty' by now,who prefer to buy cheaper things then go to big department stores like Hankyu,I gained permission from Sensei to take them around Namba.



From there,I took the guys to buy cosmetics for their wives and bags for extra luggage while poor TY somehow was dragged by the 'aunty' to buy discounted cosmetics.At the cashier,the aunty,realising she bought more than she could afford told the guy at the cashier that she wouldn't want to buy the 2 lotions out of the 7cosmetics she chose.And then kept on asking us to double check the price,see whether they have been discounted or not,and when the price was shown to her,she even asked the cashier could have more discount or not!!Gosh,even the Japanese,well-known for their politeness rolled their eyes in front of her and asked her to move along after she has paid because there was a long line behind her....TY nearly fainted because this 'aunty' was really 'interesting'..


After shopping we had another buffet dinner at the hotel(yes,3 buffets in one day!!) and we were served with their best Chinese alcohol which was really strong..Only had a few sips but didn't really like it.They told us this alcohol is very expensive and is used to serve only important people like the Prime Minister etc..(Pic:the alcohol mentioned白酒)



Monday

Sent them off at Kansai airport and then head back to Suzuka tired out..And interesting trip but not really enjoyable,truth to be said.The only thing I really enjoyed was the food and seeing how impressive Kawaguchi Sensei was in making sure everything was well done,in terms of getting everyone on and off the right train,running ahead of us to get the train tickets,changing the itinerary every now and then when the Chinese guests have places they want to go,trying to explain everything in the best possible English he could although he fail to realise in the end TY and I still have to explain to them in Chinese because only one out of the 5 could understand little English.He was really enthusiastic in making sure that the guests were comfortable.Respect him..It was because of him,I tried my best to keep my patience around 'aunty' and tried my best to make conversations with the Chinese teachers.A good lesson,I would say,to learn how to face and tackle different types of people..



This week,I've been working on my research til 9 or 9.30pm everyday starting at 1pm.Have to work harder cuz I need to have better results on my research else it would be hard for me to give a complete thesis..I need to graduate!