Last night we said goodbye to two Swedes moving back to Sweden. One of them is done with school and isn't coming back, he was scheduled to go home in 2 weeks anyways, and the other one might be coming back in a month. It was really sad, and it feels empty here. Many people who lived in the guest house have gone to Korea or Sweden, and today one guy moved south to Osaka. The guest house company, J&F, have fixed so that you can move to southern guest houses, transferring your rent over there, so it doesn't cost anything.
Isak, who moved back for good (at least this time) to Sweden last night got the last Mitsuya Cider från the Jidouhanbaiki (自動販売機), and I got the last Boku Bento (僕弁当) from 7/11 today.
Another friend, Marcus, who's also going to Korea, used his skill of expert timing, and broke a patched tooth this morning (on bread that I baked... It feels pretty bad), so he's gonna check up a dentist in Korea when we get there.
But at least we made a good fruit sallad today :) And my laundry is almost completely dry from last night!
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tisdag 15 mars 2011
måndag 14 mars 2011
Bill in Korea
For some time this blog will change to "Bill in Korea". I'm going there with some friends for a few weeks and see how the events turn out. Our tickets (which aren't 'verified by visa' yet) are for thursday night, 17/3, 7pm, and I'll be there until 5/4, the day before school starts again if everything's safe and okay again.
We were out shopping yesterday, not giving up our plans on baking bread and making meatballs for dinner. It was hard finding some ingredients, like yeast, and bread and pasta was pretty much sold out everywhere. Apparently just hours after we bought our flour it got twice as expensive.
The bread and the dinner turned out great, and we tried to enjoy our meal, while having the TV on in the background, listening to horrible news reports (we live in a shared kitchen).
Today we went to get re-entry visa for going out of Japan and be allowed to get back in, which went surprisingly fast. We were pretty much in and out in 30-40 minutes. I guess it's because we live in Saitama and not Tokyo. After that we went to the school building to tell them we were going out of country and that we're alright.
I'm looking forward to meeting my weird and funny Korean friends in their home town, and to see what it's like there :)
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
We were out shopping yesterday, not giving up our plans on baking bread and making meatballs for dinner. It was hard finding some ingredients, like yeast, and bread and pasta was pretty much sold out everywhere. Apparently just hours after we bought our flour it got twice as expensive.
The bread and the dinner turned out great, and we tried to enjoy our meal, while having the TV on in the background, listening to horrible news reports (we live in a shared kitchen).
Today we went to get re-entry visa for going out of Japan and be allowed to get back in, which went surprisingly fast. We were pretty much in and out in 30-40 minutes. I guess it's because we live in Saitama and not Tokyo. After that we went to the school building to tell them we were going out of country and that we're alright.
I'm looking forward to meeting my weird and funny Korean friends in their home town, and to see what it's like there :)
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
lördag 12 mars 2011
The huge bad earthquake!
Hey!
Yesterday there was a big fat earthquake in Japan, northeast of Tokyo and Saitama, where I currently live. The quake caused a tsunamis and cities on the northern east coast were flooded and exposed to them. Also there are some problems with two nuclear reactors 240 km away from Tokyo, but from what I've heard, the radioactive stuff is blowing east, and according to Japanese news it's not going to cause much of a problem, but you never know.
I've heard rumors today that there'll be another quake much closer to Tokyo within a month, about 7+ on the earthquake scale (don't know how to spell the name of it).
There was another bigger earthquake today which we could feel when we were sitting in my friend's apartment in Iogi, close to Tokyo. There are smaller quakes pretty much all the time, and you can feel many of them, or maybe it's just my balance that is freaking out.
I was sitting in school at the time the first shake occurred. Our teacher was really calm and first he just said "Don't worry, just sit and laugh a bit, it'll probably pass soon", but then it escalated and he said "hmm... it seems to get a bit dangerous, right?", he went out to the corridor and spoke to another teacher, returned back to the classroom and told us we're getting outside. The earthquake escalated as we moved down the stairs, but the teachers were really nice and very calming so I didn't worry much. We all gathered outside and waited for it to calm down, and then we went back in to continue our classes, when another big quake occurred. We stayed inside that time though, since the building is pretty new and safe (hey, it's Tokyo) and our teacher was telling us funny stories and told us information about earthquakes and typhoons and what we should do if another quake happened on our way home.
After the quake was mostly over, all the students gathered on a nearby school's soccer field. People who lived nearby could go home, and others were recommended to stay close to get information about trains and the earthquake. We wen't to eat at burger king.
After that we returned to the soccer field, but it was empty, so we went to the train station (Takadanobaba, 高田馬場) and started to wait for the trains to start going again, but lots of people were waiting, and the trains didn't seem to be get going anytime soon, and after an hour of wait, me reeding a book and my friends doing their homework, they announced that maybe another big quake was coming, so we moved out of the station and started moving to the next town, Ikebukuro (池袋), where we would've changed to our next train. It was a flood of people walking between the towns, but it wasn't as crowded as we'd imagined.
We arrived in Ikebukuro after some time, and holy crap, our plans of taking a cab or train of bus home was obliterated by the sight of the lines of people. They were hundreds of meters with 5 people in width, waiting for taxis. Same for busses, and the trains didn't work. We asked a police about the way to the busstop for busses going towards Akabane (赤羽), and the line was the same as the others, so we started walking.
We came to a busstop later, and we'd passed a bus on the way there, so we waited a bit, but agreed that it'd be a waste of time and that we'd probably be better off walking, when two Chinese friends passed us by, so we joined up with them and walked a bit. Then a bus stopped nearby, so we jumped on it, and a usually 20-30min bus ride took about 2.5h, but it was pretty fun, and the bus driver kept joking, whenever someone asked, that'd we'd probably be there by 7.30 in the morning. We got off at Akabane, but for some reason there weren't many busses, so we started walking towards our homes, Nishikawaguchi (西川口), and Warabi(蕨(btw, many Japanese people don't even know this Kanji, that's pretty cool)). All in all, when we arrived in Warabi, it'd been about 6.5 hours since we left from Takadanobaba. And I was worried because I hadn't done my exercise in the morning when I was on my way to school that day, heh!
People were waiting for us at the guest house and were happy and relieved when we got back, and some people gathered in the kitchen to watch scary movies and wait for a Korean girl who hadn't arrived yet. I almost fell asleep at the table, so I went to my room, fell in my bed, and didn't care about the shakes I could still feel from time to time, I was too tired.
Of course it's horrible the thing that happened, but damnit it! It was pretty darn exciting, and it was a great trip back home from the school. I was in good company, and I met some nice people along the way home.
Today the trains worked pretty well with some minor delays, and me and a friend went to a Chinese friend's house to eat and hang out. It was really nice, and we felt some shakes, but it felt good and calming to be amongst friends.
People are mostly hanging out in the kitchen here in the guest house, watching the news and talking and eating. Even though people are worried about the exposed cities and the nuclear plants, the mood isn't that bad, and we're still having a pretty good time here.
Now I'm tired from writing such a long post, but now we're okay here at least!
Until next time!
Yesterday there was a big fat earthquake in Japan, northeast of Tokyo and Saitama, where I currently live. The quake caused a tsunamis and cities on the northern east coast were flooded and exposed to them. Also there are some problems with two nuclear reactors 240 km away from Tokyo, but from what I've heard, the radioactive stuff is blowing east, and according to Japanese news it's not going to cause much of a problem, but you never know.
I've heard rumors today that there'll be another quake much closer to Tokyo within a month, about 7+ on the earthquake scale (don't know how to spell the name of it).
There was another bigger earthquake today which we could feel when we were sitting in my friend's apartment in Iogi, close to Tokyo. There are smaller quakes pretty much all the time, and you can feel many of them, or maybe it's just my balance that is freaking out.
I was sitting in school at the time the first shake occurred. Our teacher was really calm and first he just said "Don't worry, just sit and laugh a bit, it'll probably pass soon", but then it escalated and he said "hmm... it seems to get a bit dangerous, right?", he went out to the corridor and spoke to another teacher, returned back to the classroom and told us we're getting outside. The earthquake escalated as we moved down the stairs, but the teachers were really nice and very calming so I didn't worry much. We all gathered outside and waited for it to calm down, and then we went back in to continue our classes, when another big quake occurred. We stayed inside that time though, since the building is pretty new and safe (hey, it's Tokyo) and our teacher was telling us funny stories and told us information about earthquakes and typhoons and what we should do if another quake happened on our way home.
After the quake was mostly over, all the students gathered on a nearby school's soccer field. People who lived nearby could go home, and others were recommended to stay close to get information about trains and the earthquake. We wen't to eat at burger king.
After that we returned to the soccer field, but it was empty, so we went to the train station (Takadanobaba, 高田馬場) and started to wait for the trains to start going again, but lots of people were waiting, and the trains didn't seem to be get going anytime soon, and after an hour of wait, me reeding a book and my friends doing their homework, they announced that maybe another big quake was coming, so we moved out of the station and started moving to the next town, Ikebukuro (池袋), where we would've changed to our next train. It was a flood of people walking between the towns, but it wasn't as crowded as we'd imagined.
We arrived in Ikebukuro after some time, and holy crap, our plans of taking a cab or train of bus home was obliterated by the sight of the lines of people. They were hundreds of meters with 5 people in width, waiting for taxis. Same for busses, and the trains didn't work. We asked a police about the way to the busstop for busses going towards Akabane (赤羽), and the line was the same as the others, so we started walking.
We came to a busstop later, and we'd passed a bus on the way there, so we waited a bit, but agreed that it'd be a waste of time and that we'd probably be better off walking, when two Chinese friends passed us by, so we joined up with them and walked a bit. Then a bus stopped nearby, so we jumped on it, and a usually 20-30min bus ride took about 2.5h, but it was pretty fun, and the bus driver kept joking, whenever someone asked, that'd we'd probably be there by 7.30 in the morning. We got off at Akabane, but for some reason there weren't many busses, so we started walking towards our homes, Nishikawaguchi (西川口), and Warabi(蕨(btw, many Japanese people don't even know this Kanji, that's pretty cool)). All in all, when we arrived in Warabi, it'd been about 6.5 hours since we left from Takadanobaba. And I was worried because I hadn't done my exercise in the morning when I was on my way to school that day, heh!
People were waiting for us at the guest house and were happy and relieved when we got back, and some people gathered in the kitchen to watch scary movies and wait for a Korean girl who hadn't arrived yet. I almost fell asleep at the table, so I went to my room, fell in my bed, and didn't care about the shakes I could still feel from time to time, I was too tired.
Of course it's horrible the thing that happened, but damnit it! It was pretty darn exciting, and it was a great trip back home from the school. I was in good company, and I met some nice people along the way home.
Today the trains worked pretty well with some minor delays, and me and a friend went to a Chinese friend's house to eat and hang out. It was really nice, and we felt some shakes, but it felt good and calming to be amongst friends.
People are mostly hanging out in the kitchen here in the guest house, watching the news and talking and eating. Even though people are worried about the exposed cities and the nuclear plants, the mood isn't that bad, and we're still having a pretty good time here.
Now I'm tired from writing such a long post, but now we're okay here at least!
Until next time!
onsdag 2 mars 2011
A bit lonely
Now when the pace in school has finally been speeded up a bit, I instead find myself feeling lonely in my class because I don't really talk to anyone in it anymore. I had two Korean friends earlier, and before they became friends with each other they were talkative and nice. But now that they've gotten closer, they don't even say good bye to me when they leave the classroom at the end of the day.
So, the friends I had started just hanging out with each other, and everyone else basically just speaks Chinese all the time.
Well, at least I'll probably start the morning class in a month, after spring holiday, which I'm really looking forward to.
Check out my other blog as well!
So, the friends I had started just hanging out with each other, and everyone else basically just speaks Chinese all the time.
Well, at least I'll probably start the morning class in a month, after spring holiday, which I'm really looking forward to.
Check out my other blog as well!
fredag 25 februari 2011
T-shirt in February!?
Around 11.30 I stepped outside the door today. I had put on a sweater and a jacket, as the weather is usually a bit to cold to have just a sweater at moment, but what the hell? It was 20+ outside, and I could walk in T-shirt, even in the shadowy places! I was shocked, it happened so fast! Last week we built a snowman...
Me and my friend Marcus decided to get off at the station before our destination to take a walk instead, and it was awesome. I really love the spring and the autumn in Japan, the temperature is so good!
Another thing is that I've successfully adjusted my daily rhythm by 30 minutes every day this week, so I'm back to getting up at 6.30 (tomorrow), instead of 9, the time I went up last monday. It feels great to have reclaimed the mornings, and I'm planning on putting it back just a little more, and find the time that fits best at the moment! : )
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Me and my friend Marcus decided to get off at the station before our destination to take a walk instead, and it was awesome. I really love the spring and the autumn in Japan, the temperature is so good!
Another thing is that I've successfully adjusted my daily rhythm by 30 minutes every day this week, so I'm back to getting up at 6.30 (tomorrow), instead of 9, the time I went up last monday. It feels great to have reclaimed the mornings, and I'm planning on putting it back just a little more, and find the time that fits best at the moment! : )
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
lördag 19 februari 2011
Snow and stuff!
Last monday it snowed about 1dm in an hour. I was sitting in my room playing Starcraft 2, and my friend knocked on my door and asked if I was gonna join in, building a snowman outside. I gave him a weird look and opened the window, and gosh, I tell you, snow had fallen.
After about one hour of snowing we could have a snowball fight without the slightest trouble of finding snow to make snowballs of, and we build a huge snowman (which I'll maybe post pictures on if I find them).
School is alright, but I'm getting tired of a few things about it:
- WAY too much Chinese speaking in the classroom.
- The teachers are too nice to people that aren't following the rules in the classroom (that is, they don't say anything, ever)
- The tests suck, they're corrected the same way as a math test, not as a language test. For example if you try to give an answer to a question about a text in the test, and explain it with your own words, you mostly get points off. Reason? You're supposed to just copy the sentence answering the question, from the text.
- The class' speed is sooo slow. The easiest grammar and the hardest grammar is studied in the same pace, and I have a hard time focusing on the class because it's so boring when it's so slow.
- The school environment. The air in the school is horrid. Everyday I get to school energized and happy, I've been sleeping and eating well and I really want to learn some new stuff, but then I step into the classroom and a few minutes later I just want to fall asleep. The air circulation is somewhere around 0, the windows are rarely opened, and the AC is on minimum power because else people complain that it's too cold. It's' usually around 26-28° in the classroom.
The good thing is the funny people that are in the school, and that you meet people to practice Japanese with, even though the most common spoken language in the school is everyone's mother's tongue. The Chinese speak Chinese, the Koreans speak Korean, the Swedes speak Swedish. I try my best to speak as much Japanese as possible and not speak Swedish in school, and it's working pretty well, and there are students that're actually trying.
I'm thinking of what I should do when this trip is over, or if it's even gonna be over. I haven't got many plans for the time after June this year, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. One thing I can tell you is that I'm not getting back in an office for any longer periods of time again.
See ya next time!
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
After about one hour of snowing we could have a snowball fight without the slightest trouble of finding snow to make snowballs of, and we build a huge snowman (which I'll maybe post pictures on if I find them).
School is alright, but I'm getting tired of a few things about it:
- WAY too much Chinese speaking in the classroom.
- The teachers are too nice to people that aren't following the rules in the classroom (that is, they don't say anything, ever)
- The tests suck, they're corrected the same way as a math test, not as a language test. For example if you try to give an answer to a question about a text in the test, and explain it with your own words, you mostly get points off. Reason? You're supposed to just copy the sentence answering the question, from the text.
- The class' speed is sooo slow. The easiest grammar and the hardest grammar is studied in the same pace, and I have a hard time focusing on the class because it's so boring when it's so slow.
- The school environment. The air in the school is horrid. Everyday I get to school energized and happy, I've been sleeping and eating well and I really want to learn some new stuff, but then I step into the classroom and a few minutes later I just want to fall asleep. The air circulation is somewhere around 0, the windows are rarely opened, and the AC is on minimum power because else people complain that it's too cold. It's' usually around 26-28° in the classroom.
The good thing is the funny people that are in the school, and that you meet people to practice Japanese with, even though the most common spoken language in the school is everyone's mother's tongue. The Chinese speak Chinese, the Koreans speak Korean, the Swedes speak Swedish. I try my best to speak as much Japanese as possible and not speak Swedish in school, and it's working pretty well, and there are students that're actually trying.
I'm thinking of what I should do when this trip is over, or if it's even gonna be over. I haven't got many plans for the time after June this year, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. One thing I can tell you is that I'm not getting back in an office for any longer periods of time again.
See ya next time!
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
tisdag 8 februari 2011
Bill-sensei
Guess who was spoken of as a teacher today at the train? Well, I was standing and talking Japanese with a Korean friend, and my other friend overheard some Japanese girls nearby speaking and they thought I was working as a teacher at a university or something. It put a big smile on my face, and it gave some boost to my confidence in Japanese conversation. :)
I had a great weekend, including meeting my friend for food and drinks in Shinjuku, playing pingis and eating ice cream at the same place (ice cream buffét!), and playing both badminton and soccer!
And yesterday I went with a Korean classmate to the restaurant she worked at to eat dinner. We were there for about four and a half hour, and then we walked about 35 minutes to the train station. Anyways it was a horrifically nice evening and also really good practice for Japanese conversation.
I bought the book "The Language Hacking Guide" and I really took some of the advice to me. I haven't finished it yet, it's about 1/4 of it left to read, but the main point has already been made clear enough: SPEAK THE LANGUAGE AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN! And I really believe in that way of learning, so even though I already had the idea and probably have applied it without thinking about it, I've really started making more efforts to start and keep up conversations lately. The motivation is on top and I can feel it's really helpful already :)
Anyways, have a great day!
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
I had a great weekend, including meeting my friend for food and drinks in Shinjuku, playing pingis and eating ice cream at the same place (ice cream buffét!), and playing both badminton and soccer!
And yesterday I went with a Korean classmate to the restaurant she worked at to eat dinner. We were there for about four and a half hour, and then we walked about 35 minutes to the train station. Anyways it was a horrifically nice evening and also really good practice for Japanese conversation.
I bought the book "The Language Hacking Guide" and I really took some of the advice to me. I haven't finished it yet, it's about 1/4 of it left to read, but the main point has already been made clear enough: SPEAK THE LANGUAGE AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN! And I really believe in that way of learning, so even though I already had the idea and probably have applied it without thinking about it, I've really started making more efforts to start and keep up conversations lately. The motivation is on top and I can feel it's really helpful already :)
Anyways, have a great day!
If you liked this post, feel free to subscribe, and visit my other blog as well!
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