Bought a mobile phoe today, horray!! :D Took more than 4 friggin hours, but I got a bag of fruit as an apology from them when I finally could leave :3 uuh, I wonder if they know they're slow if they already have that prepared...
anyway, I have a japanese test (the normal type of come-and-help-me-die test) and a kanji test on Friday (come-and-help-me-die-faster type), so you probably won't hear from me until at least friday evening. Hope there will be good news to tell...
Hugs
Humm...
2010-11-28 @ 14:01:03Todays report
2010-11-17 @ 13:37:34 Wednesday evening, and not much new to tell. lots of time spent on todays homework and those godforsaken kanjis. Went to pay our first waterbill today as well, and we took our chance to sneak into mr max, a pretty cheap shop for various things, and went home with... one 10 kg bag of rice (poor Emma had to carry it home haha), new slippers for colder days, a bigger frying pan than we already got (nothing can fit in the one we have), a cozy towel to have outside our shower, and some other slightly uneccecary stuff.
About tomorrow we were supposed to watch a japanese tea cermonyin class (and eat japanese snacks^^), but apparantly she's gotten sick so it was cancelled :(
Now, some photos that finally has been transferred to the computer so I can show you :D
Hakata Bay, taken from the disaster experience day! As I wrote earlier we stopped by here for a little while
...and this is why I hate putting up pics with myself in... but I find it hilarious with the guy in the background XD
We found these in Tenjin last Sunday! Some swedish ..Glimmis haha. Slightly unexpected
We've got red cones in Sweden, and about the same everywhere I know. Except for Japan of course, they've got rabbits, ducks, and frogs (maybe they even got more, but that's the only ones I've seen so far) to close off the road! Gotta love it
But here is the cutest of them all; Rae Ran!! This was the little thing that was given to me by one the girls at the japanese elementary school! I simply adore him, even though I have no idea really what he is supposed to be... eeh, screw it, he's unique!! :D
Until next time!!
About tomorrow we were supposed to watch a japanese tea cermonyin class (and eat japanese snacks^^), but apparantly she's gotten sick so it was cancelled :(
Now, some photos that finally has been transferred to the computer so I can show you :D
Hakata Bay, taken from the disaster experience day! As I wrote earlier we stopped by here for a little while
...and this is why I hate putting up pics with myself in... but I find it hilarious with the guy in the background XD
We found these in Tenjin last Sunday! Some swedish ..Glimmis haha. Slightly unexpected
We've got red cones in Sweden, and about the same everywhere I know. Except for Japan of course, they've got rabbits, ducks, and frogs (maybe they even got more, but that's the only ones I've seen so far) to close off the road! Gotta love it
But here is the cutest of them all; Rae Ran!! This was the little thing that was given to me by one the girls at the japanese elementary school! I simply adore him, even though I have no idea really what he is supposed to be... eeh, screw it, he's unique!! :D
Until next time!!
15/11 Playing teacher
2010-11-15 @ 14:36:05 Okeydokey, I'm tired as usual, but I'll try to make some kind of effort with the blog before heading to bed. The weekend rushed by as usual way too fast for my liking. Not very much happened, but the Sunday was to a big part spent walking, walking and walking.. Me and the other swedish girls got into our little heads that we would try walking into Tenjin and save some bus money, hmm... the reason we were only us swedes was simply that all asians seems to have in common that they walk incredibly slow (generalization?? Noooo...), and we wanted to get there this week. Maybe we walk faster because we have in our genes that we will freeze to death if we walk that slow in Sweden, haha...
Anyway, on our way I saw in my horror a food place offering horse meat (I was like, "oooh, we had those kanjis last week, lets see.. 'horse' and 'meat'... ... ... omg eeeeewwww!!!), and the tour also consisted of a authentic cultural experience at McDonals. But nontheless, one and a half hours later, we were there!! Walked ouround in some malls, and then we made our way out to Canal City in Hakata. I can't say I really like to shop over there since the prices often are a bit higher, but it's so pretty that I can walk around just for the atmosphere. Now, I got a bit of a chock from all the enormous christmas decorations they put up (my guess is that christmas here is mostly a big commercial show. I mean, they're not even christians..?), this was one big thing, and it was REALLY big..
And of course, the water show they have every hour is cool as usual. Have seen it a few times now, but it doesn't get old! They change the music and the "dance of the water" regularly, have seen different ones both times I've been over there. Hmm... I'll see if I can find a good link on youtube for you maybe... Yep, this works!!
Hugs, hugs, hugs
Anyway, on our way I saw in my horror a food place offering horse meat (I was like, "oooh, we had those kanjis last week, lets see.. 'horse' and 'meat'... ... ... omg eeeeewwww!!!), and the tour also consisted of a authentic cultural experience at McDonals. But nontheless, one and a half hours later, we were there!! Walked ouround in some malls, and then we made our way out to Canal City in Hakata. I can't say I really like to shop over there since the prices often are a bit higher, but it's so pretty that I can walk around just for the atmosphere. Now, I got a bit of a chock from all the enormous christmas decorations they put up (my guess is that christmas here is mostly a big commercial show. I mean, they're not even christians..?), this was one big thing, and it was REALLY big..
And of course, the water show they have every hour is cool as usual. Have seen it a few times now, but it doesn't get old! They change the music and the "dance of the water" regularly, have seen different ones both times I've been over there. Hmm... I'll see if I can find a good link on youtube for you maybe... Yep, this works!!
Ate some ramen, and then walked (!) back home again. But enough of sunday!! This morning was my stand-in-teacher-job!! Or whatever to call it.. But it was great, and the children were deadly cute :) My job was basically to run around to the different groups they had been seperated into, each one representing different countries. Sit down and talk to them a few minutes, letting them tell me facts about their country, and me trying to keep the very basic conversation going and making them feel understood. Easier said than done actually, but they really tried their best! And of course, they were all very excited about having foreigners coming to visit heir class ^^ Got lots of Thank You-cards from them in the end, plus the cutest little pink dunnowhatitactuallyis thingey called Rae Ran! Have to take a photo of him to show you! He (or she maybe, but I think of it as a he...) will guard my bookshelf from now on!!
uuuhh, I have no idea, what happened to the text above. Live with it, because I tried to fix it, and it only turned out worse before it got slightly better. so I'll leave it in peace :/Hugs, hugs, hugs
11/11 can't think of an interesting headline =_=
2010-11-11 @ 14:14:01 uuuh, I'm pretty tired, but I'll try to tell you a bit of what has been going on since it's been a while now. So first up, yesterday was to say the least, a busy day. It started with going up early in the morning for a freezing shower (damn that shower, it hates me), and a quick breakfast later we were off with the school in a rented bus. First stop was at Hakata Bay around Fukuoka Tower. It was somewhat cold and windy, but the place was beautiful! So it was just to pull the scarf tighter, and admire the view over the sea, Southern Korea evident in the horizon. The sand on the beach was very yellow compared to what I'm used to, but pretty nontheless :) And of course, who would forsake the chance to dig your hand down i the sand, and then wash it off in the cold sea while frantically running away for the waves... Never grow up too much!!
We went up to Fukuoka Tower as well for a few photos, but we never actually went up in it. Have to do that someday, you're supposed to see almost the whole city from up there! So after that it was into the bus again, and then out once more when we got to the main stop; Fukuokas own little disaster center! The next hours was spent practising on putting out a fire (a fake fire on a screeen. Meeeeh...), practising on getting out from a burning dark house as quick as possible (that was actually pretty fun! Totally dark and with a lot of -nondagerous- smoke, and the setting was done), and experience a simulated typhoon and earthquake. Haha, that was awesome!! Probably not as fun in real life though... The earthquake simulation was a vertical nr 7, aka pretty shakey.. I actually didn't though it felt THAT bad, but I guess that it's more than enough for everything to fall down were it to happen for real. And yeah, just to make us all feel safe ad cozy they showed us a little film as well. Fukuoka normally have no earthquakes at all (that you can feel at least), but they DID have a big one -95 from when they showed us some nice footage of collapsing buildings and a schoolclass suddenly having their chairs and benches basically going from one end of the room to the other. And more collapsing stuff in floodings, and people flying like gloves in typhoons. yay, I chose the safest place in the world to live in... :/
Back to the apartment, and made some quick lunch before it was once again off to school, now for some real classes. And the first test since I arrived here.. It wasn't that hard, but I did screw up on the first listening exercise, and some kanji reading I wasn't prepared for at all. I don't know how they expected us (when I say "us", I mean with all do respect people NOT from China, Taiwan, or Korea) to know them, since it's nothing we've even gone through at the lessons. In that exercise I managed to save my own ass through discovering that many of the kanjis we needed to read was actually written elsewhere in the test, hehe.. But oh well, got it back today, and it could have been worse. 82/100, so I'm ok with it. Some stupid mistakes, but most points where gone to the wind in the kanji reading and the first listening exercise (honestly, it went too fast. Before I had time to write down my first answer, the second one had already played halfway through).
Umm... today there was a meeting for those who'll go as "english teachers" next monday to the elementary school. I think we met up with their two english teachers, who... couldn't talk english...
And just to complain, homework took me ages today. It was just one page, but I think it took me close to 1,5 hours just because I wanted to try to write my answers with kanji. Mostly for practise (most of them I don't know in my head, and had to search after in my book), and a bit of show-off-opportunity for the teachers! :D But to be frank, the major happening was that it got veeeery ugly, and my whole evening ran away because of a single, very easy paper. Not sure how much I'll do that in the future, no matter how good practise it was :S
Heading off to bed soon, so nitey-nite! I'll see if I can find some pics for next time, I guess all this text is pretty boring huh?
hugs XXX
We went up to Fukuoka Tower as well for a few photos, but we never actually went up in it. Have to do that someday, you're supposed to see almost the whole city from up there! So after that it was into the bus again, and then out once more when we got to the main stop; Fukuokas own little disaster center! The next hours was spent practising on putting out a fire (a fake fire on a screeen. Meeeeh...), practising on getting out from a burning dark house as quick as possible (that was actually pretty fun! Totally dark and with a lot of -nondagerous- smoke, and the setting was done), and experience a simulated typhoon and earthquake. Haha, that was awesome!! Probably not as fun in real life though... The earthquake simulation was a vertical nr 7, aka pretty shakey.. I actually didn't though it felt THAT bad, but I guess that it's more than enough for everything to fall down were it to happen for real. And yeah, just to make us all feel safe ad cozy they showed us a little film as well. Fukuoka normally have no earthquakes at all (that you can feel at least), but they DID have a big one -95 from when they showed us some nice footage of collapsing buildings and a schoolclass suddenly having their chairs and benches basically going from one end of the room to the other. And more collapsing stuff in floodings, and people flying like gloves in typhoons. yay, I chose the safest place in the world to live in... :/
Back to the apartment, and made some quick lunch before it was once again off to school, now for some real classes. And the first test since I arrived here.. It wasn't that hard, but I did screw up on the first listening exercise, and some kanji reading I wasn't prepared for at all. I don't know how they expected us (when I say "us", I mean with all do respect people NOT from China, Taiwan, or Korea) to know them, since it's nothing we've even gone through at the lessons. In that exercise I managed to save my own ass through discovering that many of the kanjis we needed to read was actually written elsewhere in the test, hehe.. But oh well, got it back today, and it could have been worse. 82/100, so I'm ok with it. Some stupid mistakes, but most points where gone to the wind in the kanji reading and the first listening exercise (honestly, it went too fast. Before I had time to write down my first answer, the second one had already played halfway through).
Umm... today there was a meeting for those who'll go as "english teachers" next monday to the elementary school. I think we met up with their two english teachers, who... couldn't talk english...
And just to complain, homework took me ages today. It was just one page, but I think it took me close to 1,5 hours just because I wanted to try to write my answers with kanji. Mostly for practise (most of them I don't know in my head, and had to search after in my book), and a bit of show-off-opportunity for the teachers! :D But to be frank, the major happening was that it got veeeery ugly, and my whole evening ran away because of a single, very easy paper. Not sure how much I'll do that in the future, no matter how good practise it was :S
Heading off to bed soon, so nitey-nite! I'll see if I can find some pics for next time, I guess all this text is pretty boring huh?
hugs XXX
Dazaifu, and soon it's weekend again!!
2010-11-04 @ 14:17:11 Yesterday was great fun! No school :3 But WITH the school we headed off early in the morning (8.30 is early enough) to the area Dazaifu. If I understood it correctly it was once the capital of the entire Kyuushuu. The first thing we did when we got there, was to meet up in a huge field with the other two language shools in Fukuoka City, along with surprisingly many japanese people tagging along for fun. Here we stayed until noon playing various games, like "Janken" (for you swedes; read "sten, sax, påse"...), clapping games and other stuff you usually do in elementary school. But it was fun nontheless, even though I melted away in my jeans and winter boots, that field sure got warm when no clouds hindered the sun from getting to you.
One lunchbreak and bentobox later, we went like a huge snail-trail to Kyuushuu National Museum. Took us ages to walk there, and out there in the countryside we saw some unpleasant things you don't have to deal with in the city. Like BIG evil-looking limegreen spiders... The spoilt a bit of the otherwise stunningly beautiful japanese countryside :/
When the clock had gone past 4 and we all had seen our fair share of old vases, weapons, and replicas and god knows what at the museum, we were off to the last stop for the day. Mainshrine Dazaifu was as beautiful as it's surroundings, and apparently it's mainly a place to pray for academical purposes; passing ones exams and such.
Aah, friday tomorrow!! The weekly groceryshopping has to be done, and of course the homework that's sure to come, but the rest of the free time will be lot of fun I hope! Have a few different plans for saturday that I hope will turn out ok. Some kind of international meeting-thingey (with japanese people as well) that everyone said is supposed to be great fun, and me and a friend will probably meet up with a few japanese girls we met at the halloween party in the evening as well :) Looking forward to that^^
So, enjoy the pictures now, they don't do the place justice, but oh well, that goes for everywhere!
...oh maaan, I forgot, I have to go the ward office tomorrow to get my alien registration card, there goes my free morning... At least I can buy a mobile phone after this :S
One of the streets in Dazaifu, the cutest little shops along the way!!
I think this is just outside the main shrine.
Ok, so this does'nt look as pretty as it did in real life...
Before approaching the shrine you have to wash your hands here. And I did pray!! hahaha, a japanese friend had to show me how to do it (bow two times, clap your hands two times and bow again. Praaay..) and I felt very... touristey XD Took a fortune telling just for fun as well outside the shrine (self-service; put coins in and pull a paper of choice), and apparently it wasn't too good.. Okabe told me there was one that was even worse, but mine wasn't really fantastic either :S Was written with a lot of kanji, so I was glad I had run into a friend that could help me out :D
One lunchbreak and bentobox later, we went like a huge snail-trail to Kyuushuu National Museum. Took us ages to walk there, and out there in the countryside we saw some unpleasant things you don't have to deal with in the city. Like BIG evil-looking limegreen spiders... The spoilt a bit of the otherwise stunningly beautiful japanese countryside :/
When the clock had gone past 4 and we all had seen our fair share of old vases, weapons, and replicas and god knows what at the museum, we were off to the last stop for the day. Mainshrine Dazaifu was as beautiful as it's surroundings, and apparently it's mainly a place to pray for academical purposes; passing ones exams and such.
Aah, friday tomorrow!! The weekly groceryshopping has to be done, and of course the homework that's sure to come, but the rest of the free time will be lot of fun I hope! Have a few different plans for saturday that I hope will turn out ok. Some kind of international meeting-thingey (with japanese people as well) that everyone said is supposed to be great fun, and me and a friend will probably meet up with a few japanese girls we met at the halloween party in the evening as well :) Looking forward to that^^
So, enjoy the pictures now, they don't do the place justice, but oh well, that goes for everywhere!
...oh maaan, I forgot, I have to go the ward office tomorrow to get my alien registration card, there goes my free morning... At least I can buy a mobile phone after this :S
One of the streets in Dazaifu, the cutest little shops along the way!!
I think this is just outside the main shrine.
Ok, so this does'nt look as pretty as it did in real life...
Before approaching the shrine you have to wash your hands here. And I did pray!! hahaha, a japanese friend had to show me how to do it (bow two times, clap your hands two times and bow again. Praaay..) and I felt very... touristey XD Took a fortune telling just for fun as well outside the shrine (self-service; put coins in and pull a paper of choice), and apparently it wasn't too good.. Okabe told me there was one that was even worse, but mine wasn't really fantastic either :S Was written with a lot of kanji, so I was glad I had run into a friend that could help me out :D
