Small updates

Okaasan took me shopping today. Went to a fresh market to buy fresh vegetables for the week. HUGE sweet potatoes. When I saw them, I was pointing to it, and gesticulating in a manner that was rather unbecoming. haha. Okaasan then asked, "You like?" I nodded vigorously. "I'd like to steam them and eat them." Back in Singapore, Mommy often steamed sweet potatoes and we'd just eat them like that. Haha, the sweet potatoes here are HUGE, not like the skinny ones we have at home. Okaasan is going to cook tempura today with them (and with other ingredients lah, but I can only remember the sweet potatoes.

I had a minor accident with the bicycle this morning (yep, what a klutz). Japanese roads are dangerous for cyclists. Especially one who hasn't been on a bicycle for a year or so. On our way from the grocery stall to the supermarket, I lost control of the bicycle and fell onto the roads. Fortunately, a) there wasn't a car beside me, or else I'll have to pay for the damages to the car. b) I escaped with nary a scratch (the tarmac wasn't all that rough I think). But, two cars had to wait for me to pick myself (AND the huge amount of grocery) from the road. HOW EMBARRASSING.

Anyways, was actually planning to study today lah (well, I still have less than 1 day before I enter Prof Steven's class!) but then, got distracted. Firstly, Otoosan came home and asked me if I wanted to attend an SGI block meeting. I said yes, and we set off for the meeting at 5 to 1p.m. Well, I couldn't even understand 1% of the meeting, except for the part where I was introduced. Plus, Hikari was distracting me with her demands to be carried... But, I did get this beautiful gift from them! :) It's made of a milk carton, with cloth stuck onto it. Sweet container. VERY KIREI right? <3


Today was especially isogashii = busy day. After meeting, went for a small piano gathering (of 4 people) at Child Space with Okaasan. They were practising piano. Apparently, Okaasan wants me to perform on my farewell party. Haha, I picked this beautiful jpop song. Hope to be able to play it beautifully on the day of my farewell, without crying. It's a very sad song, I tell you... But just so beautiful!

I'm doing things I won't do in Singapore. Haha... Like, picking up piano again. And like KNITTING. Tadah! This is 1/10th finished scarf. Yes, many many mistakes. Don't remind me I dislike looking at the holes which remind me that I made a mistake.... *sighs* Don't know why I started knitting, but it's good, because... I can use the scarves for winter. hehe.

I am going to give the finished product to a very very special person in my life. :) = Daryn! haha. Since she's the one who taught me how to knit, she ought to have my first complete product. This is entire knitted by me (and obviously, if u enlarge it, u'll see plenty of mistakes). Including the beginning. Daryn started one before this for me, but then I screwed it up between knitting and pearling. So, this is entirely pearling. So I don't get confused which is which. We went to get the knitting supplies on Friday. Actually it was pretty funny, cos we went to the bookstore to look for paper, and found knitting supplies!!! [till now, we still don't have sketch paper... at least I got knitting supplies! :) ] The amount of money I spent on Friday was tremendous. And the reason was because of...

My new phone! =) They didn't have pink, so I had to attach my love-wagashi-handphone-strap onto my phone to add a little pinkness to the phone. Even the screen isn't pink, it's blue :( NEON BLUE. Daryn was like, "Eh, you and your pink!" but, it'd be so kawaii if it were pink. I wanted to take pictures of the screen, but it didn't come out very clearly. My phone is fantastic. It's got a jap-english dictionary (and vice-versa) and, and, and!!! It has a moving screen, a rotatable camera lens, mail with a lot alot of pictures. I can send mail and attach pictures (of my bug bites) to Daryn without it costing more than 300 yen per month. It's 300 yen per month for unlimited mail! is that cool or what!

I forgot to update pictures of my Welcome Party. Here it is!!!





















Haha, first picture: Yuko spreading the dough to make the pizza. The pizzas were surprisingly good, you know! We had (look at the 2nd picture): Pepperoni, onions, mushrooms (yuck), corn, chicken ham, sausage, potatoes, LOADS OF CHEESE (yummmmmmmm), cooked chicken, pineapples, etcetcetc. Daryn and I helped to make the pizza (both of us avoided adding mushrooms. haha. so the first few pizzas had a lot of onions cos I love onions, and no mushrooms at all). The fourth picture shows Daryn spreading the tomato sauce. We had to add ALOT of tomato sauce cos the ingredients wouldn't stick otherwise. But then, we also added a lot of cheese (not for the same reason, but just because we love cheese, as does Okaasan! :)) The oven is pretty small, but it worked just fine :) Haha, at some point, some of my pizzas got a little burnt. but still delicious! :) And obviously, the 3rd picture is of Masayuki eating... He never takes proper pictures. Also does something stupid the second before I press the shutter... The 6th picture was included to show u the variety of pizzas we had. Seaweed/ham/potato pizza which was just a little spicy. That kinda pizza I think only the Japanese can come up with. but it was delicious anyways.

I didn't take pictures of the 3 other adults who came for the party, and 6 other children cos they were in another room at the time I was in the mood to take pictures. Difficult for me to talk to the adults, cos of the language barrier. But Daryn managed just fine :) All in all, it was a great party (though it left me very very tired the next day)... *dreams about the pizza* It really was good. haha.

Hope today's tempura is equally delicious! hehe. can't wait for the food today! yay!!!

Hmm, Okaasan was telling me yesterday about two ex-homestay students. Apparently, the one from Vietnam was so homesick she cried every single day for the 1st month and the 4th month. I think it's silly. Her parents borrowed a huge amount of money to send her here, and she spent all that time crying?!!!! I'd spend the same amount of time crying, but for a different reason, because I have to LEAVE here... what the heck... Haha, because of this Vietnamese girl, Okaasan decided that she'd only take boys in instead. -__-|| [and no, I didn't edit the application to say I'm a guy lah. She just had a string of boys and I think she got tired of guys.]

So, the next was a Canadian called Mary. Mary had a nose-ring, and Okaasan disliked that because the nose ring was equivalent to a tattoo. It's "bad". So, Okaasan didn't like her either.

I hope not to do some stupid thing that would make Okaasan dislike me. And knowing her, she won't show that she's displeased. She'd just keep it to herself. Such people are scary cos u never know what they're thinking. *shrugs* I've become a little lax in manners (familiarity breeds contempt you know). Should start bucking up again!!!

So, now, to the 60-page reading that I keep talking about but never ever got round to reading...

P.S. The trip to Nara this Tuesday has been replaced by a trip to Kobe with the entire host family (and hopefully, with Daryn. but Daryn's not replying my mail :() because they want to want the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. YES, u did not read that wrongly. 三国演义! I came all the way to Japan to watch 三国演义 in Japanese. -___-||| It's going to be a play... Haha, 三国演义 and I have some fate. I studied it in SNGS, watched Red Cliff, and now watching 三国演义 in Japanese. -_________-||| Oh wells, it will be very interesting then. Okaasan said not to worry about the cost of the play because she insisted on paying.

I feel so fortunate to be in this host family.

I asked Alex some time ago, "Do you miss being at the Seminar House?" He said, "a little." And asked me the same question. My reply was an resounding "No". Why would I miss the Seminar House when I get all these exciting things to do, and interesting things that happen to me?

Haha, I THINK Okaasan will teach me to make mochi. Not sure, but I THINK she will. We got an ko (red bean) paste, soy bean powder. Okaasan has flour at home. But even if we don't make mochi, we can always eat the an ko with bread for our breakfast, and pour the soy bean powder into milk. It apparently is delicious :)