不合格わけがない！（＾０＾）

It's 0110 in the morning and I'm trying to mug for my Japanese midterm which is in 11 hours' time. I guess I've devoted about 90% of my mugging time to Japanese. (You can't roughly guess the amount of time I spent on other courses..=P) 今休憩超欲しい！I really need a break from mugging.... come to think of it, I really haven't been studying much since I came here. I guess the amount of time I spent muggin in SMU for a week is probably equivalent to the total amount of time I spent mugging in Japan for the past 2 and a half months! =P But I guess it's fine cause I'm on an exchange and I only need to past. Anyway, I got a handphone at last!!!! =) It's a pretty, sleek Sony Ericsson phone. Sad to say, I can't use it back in Singapore but I guess I wouldn't mind keeping it as a souvenir. =) I haven't exactly got used to typing in Japanese though. It took me about 15min to type a short mail in Japanese. Lol... I guess I've improved slighly now and would prob take abt 8-10min to type a mail. けとしょうがないよ！Alritey, guess I gotta get back to muggin if not I would probably fall asleep during my Japanese culture class (it's a 6th period class =( last period of the day) again.

Tue: Tea ceremony exam! (I love this cause I don't have to mug for it and get to eat okashi - Japanese snack and drink matcha - green tea!); Japanese language midterm (this is the one that's killing me and taking up all my time.... i don't know y but I will never get bored of muggin Japanese )

Wed: Japanese culture final exam (I started mugging for the midterm just 2-3 hrs before the paper so I guess u guys can roughly guess how much i've studied for it...=P)

Thur: Multiculturalism final exam (my last paper! hopefully i will still have the stamina to sit thru it... considering tt im leaving for quarter break trip right aftr e exam...)

I've got 2 other reports and assignments due as well and at the moment it's WIP (work-in-progress). Haaa... sooo much for an exchange student's life.... I'm supposed to be relaxing and having fun in Japan ya... =P It's just 3 days to hols... I will try to fork out time to type the Kyoto and Okinawa entries soon ya... Alritey, gotta get back to muggin! =)

Osaka Sukiyanen!

Osaka Sukiyanen (Kansai ben: Osaka dialect) means I love Osaka! I'm really sorry for taking such a long time to update my blog. I've been kinda busy trying to plan for my midterm break trip and okinawa trip. As usual, I haven't been studying much except for Japanese. I'm gonna have my final exams in a week's time though....guess I should really get down to some real studying. The academic calendar is kinda different here as each semester has 2 quarters The first quarter ends right before the midterm break so I'm going to have my final exams soon! べ勉強しなきゃ！(I really have to study ya... =P) Alritey, anyway here are some of the photos that I took when I was in Osaka...enjoy ne! (^0^)

along the streets of minami (one of the main shopping districts in Japan)

okonomiyaki (osaka style fried pancake), probably the japanese cuisine that Osaka is most famous for.... I've learnt how to cook this particular dish (but my style =P)... will probably make some for u guys when I return. (^0^)

probably the biggest ferris wheel in Japan.. it used to be the biggest and highest in the world... =)

osaka-jo (osaka castle), a replica of the original Osaka castle... the original castle was burnt down and a replica rebuilt...

with mic and jp...first time that I saw sakura in Japan!

suteki dayo ne! =)

hana yori dango? (guys who look like flowers)... thor and weili trying to act cool... =P

at the entrance of universal studios... lol... kinda ironic cos we went on a mon, thinking tt it wouldn't be crowded since it was weekday... it turned out that it was the first day of the spring break for all students in japan and universal studios was packed...

hollywood dream ride... e first ride that i took and probably e most thrilling one i've ever taken in my entire life... i was literally tear-ing after e ride... =P

(fr left: jingping, thor, weili, michelle)

3D or is it 4D spidey ride... it's a visual kind of ride... similar to the stimulation ride we have in sentosa but e car is mobile and could move around and not just on the spot... =)

The Best Travel Companions! (^0^)

After travelling with weili and jp for almost 2 weeks in Hokkaido, we travelled down to the Kansai area and met up with two other fellow smu frens, mic and thor. Lol... I've really enjoyed their company sooo much. Jingping, though the youngest in the clique, she probably has the biggest appetite among the five of us. =) She never fails to amaze me with her appetite and her never-ending hunt for hello kitty merchandise. Weili, or Willy, who has braved through thick and thin to lug our baggages for the three weeks of traveling. As our pre-exchange trip was free and easy, we had to travel around via public transport and some of the train stations do not have elevators and escalators. We had to rely on the 2 poor souls, Weili and Thor to carry our luggages via the stairs. Hontouni gomen ne... Weili sprained his finger while doing it and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have survived the trip without the 2 of them. Arigatou ne! Thor, the entertainment provider of the clique, who has tendency to link whatever we talk about with songs or become really "high" especially at night. I don't know why but he likes to tease me and really just can't stop bickering with me. =P But i guess the trip would not have been that enjoyable nor filled with sooo much laughter if not for him. Lol... Michelle, probably the most motherly in the clique. I can still remember she kept commenting that she couldn't get used to my never-ending giggling the first day we met up in Osaka. I'm quite sure she has gotten used to it by now. =P She's always on a lookout for the rest... For instance, she would always ask whether i've had enough food or need more rest, etc. Totemo yasashii hito desune.. (^0^) Thanks alot guys for being such great travel companions! I guess I wouldn't have had sooo much fun if not for you people!

白い恋人パーク Shiroi Koibito Park

Shiroi Koibito Park, the factory for the range of Shiroi Koibito chocolate products in Sapporo. It is now one of the main tourist attractions in Japan. I was there for one whole day and it was like stepping into the magical land of chocolate. I really felt nolstagic as I was not only brought through the whole process of chocolate making, but also got to view this whole display of toys played by kids from all over the world, including Hello Kitty, planes, cars, trains, tops, etc...Lol... It really reminded me of Charles Dickens' Charlie's Chocolate Factory as I toured this park. Lol... I kept telling my two tour mates, Weili and Jingping that the park would perfect if it is theme park with rides. As I've mentioned in the previous entry, the shiroi koibito biscuits literally melt in your in your mouth. It is not complete without the chocolate drink which is probably as good if not better than the Godiva milkshake. チョコレートやっぱり最高だよ！Chocolates probably make the most heavenly (though extremely sinful =P) dessert and beverage in the world! At least for me... =P

Pre-Exchange Trip - Hokkaido! The Land of Snow (^0^)

I've seen snow for the first time in my life! lol... till now it still seems like a dream to me. I really can't imagine myself standing in the snow, touching and feeling it. 本当に夢見たいね！It seemed so surreal to me...sometimes I really wonder whether I'm really in Japan now. The temperature range in Hokkaido wa probably about minus 3-4 to 4 degree celsius. I'm the kind of person who has to sleep without fan and air-con in Singapore thus it's kinda hard for me to imagine myself staying in Hokkaido for almost 2 weeks. The land of snow is located at the extreme north of Japan which explains its unbearably cold climate but at the same time one of the top tourist attractions in Japan. I heard from the Japanese that Hokkaido probably has the greatest influx of tourists right after Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Hokkaido is famous for sapporo ramen (one of my fave Japanese dishes), sapporo beer and shiroi koibito (it means white lover in Japanese and it's a kind of cream biscuits which literally melts in your mouth... the kind that once u start popping you can't stop... it's exclusive though as it's only available in Hokkaido and no where else in Japan).If not for my 30kg luggage plus 10kg backpack, I would have bought boxes and boxes of shiroi koibito...=P).