2X TO SENDAI

I had to go to Sendai twice in 2 consecutive weeks coz of the office trip and JLPT. On 25th November morning, all my office staff hopped on a chartered highway bus and headed for Sendai. We had the whole bus to ourselves so it was really comfortable and we helped ourselves to the many packets of tidbits that were passed around in the bus. Along the way, we stopped by Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture to see San Juan Bautista [サンファンバウディスタパーク] which was one of Japan's first Japanese-built Western-style sail warships. San Juan Bautista actually means “St. John the Baptist” (originally called Date Maru, 伊達丸 in Japanese). It was used to transport an embassy to the Pope in Rome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_warship_San_Juan_Bautista.
The ship was beautiful! Really wondered how those people in the 17th century managed to built something so majestic as this when there were no technological help… Amazing. 偉いね！This trip felt like a school excursion so of course the child in us came out. We made fun of the sign which says “Watch your feet” and reenacted the famous Jack & Rose scene (“I’m flying!”) from the Titanic movie.
Next we continued our journey to Matsushima island [松島] where we did a bit of sight-seeing and souvenir shopping. Seems like I’m the only one buying omiyage! Well I figured out I wun be comin back here so why not? After that, we continued our journey to Akyuu Onsen [秋保温泉] where we rested our tired bodies at a Japanese inn called Hotel Sakan [天承千年の宿佐勘]. This inn looks absolutely gorgeous! It is modern yet traditional! Something really worth mentioning is the onsen! There are 3 different onsens in this inn, 2 are indoors and 2 is an outdoor one. There are different timings for males and females to use them. I was particularly interested in the outdoor onsen [露天風呂] coz I never went to an outdoor hot spring before! So exciting!!! When I watch “Japan Hour” on TV back home, I always envied those hosts who get to enjoy hot spring while admiring the beautiful scener...
As expected, we had a sumptuous Japanese styled dinner [和食] that filled our stomachs till they could explode! Strangely the small plates of food (sometimes I dun even know what they are!) laid out neatly on our trays look deceivingly light and would not be very filing. Boy, were we wrong! But I really dun mind getting full on Japanese food. Somehow it feels better (not so jalat!) than if I pigged out at an American buffet restaurant. Apparently、Japanese food which consists of mainly fish, is easily digestible so soon the stomach is empty again.
After dinner I couldn’t resist going to the onsen so Claire, Maeta san and I went to the indoor one. Plus the shampoo and shower foam provided were of top quality standard, from Shiseido! Feels so good There was a rose-petal bath… Wow, smells so good! いいにおい！The next morning, I dragged sleepy Claire out of bed (or rather the futon!) to accompany me to the露天風呂 coz she promised to go with me last night. Well, we both didn’t regret getting up early to go there coz it was simply wonderful. 気持いい！There were two types of baths, one is a wooden tub and the other a stone one. I feel down while walking from the wooden one to the stone one. Haha, it was freezing cold so I didn’t watch out for the slippery stones! Suffered a blue-black bruise on my back.
Checked out from the hotel and went to Sendai City to sight-see, free and easy style for 2 hours. Then we were all brought to eat the local specialty, cow’s tongue! So yummy!

Traveled to Sendai again on 2 December. Took the highway bus at 840am from Lapia. It was snowing on the day so I had some difficulty in walking on the sidewalks. This time I went with Wade coz he was gonna take level 3 while I was supposed to challenge Level 1! Totally unprepared for this test as I was busy with the office trip, school and the ALT seminar in Hirosaki (where I first saw snow falling from the sky!). Tried to study on the bus but ended up sleeping most of the time. When we reached, we first searched for the hotel which Murakami sensei has booked 2 single rooms for us. Thus armed with a small map that I had printed out from the hotel’s website, we went in search of Super Hotel. Imagine our surprise when we saw that Super Hotel was under renovation! We walked around the hotel and there was no way of entering! This can’t be it! Murakami sensei called the hotel and spoke to the staff personally. How can it undergo renovation and take orders at the same time? Desperate for answers, I asked the 1 of the construction workers and he told us that there’s another Super Hotel, located in the heart of Sendai City. Phew, what a relief! In the end, we finally found the small hotel and checked in.
Then we went to the bus terminal to confirm the bus-stop where we should take a bus to the test site tomorrow. At last when all the navigation have been sorted out, we had our late lunch at KFC. I miss fried chicken! Then we went to explore the park near our hotel and met up with Felicia in the evening. We then had dinner (cheap & tasty!) at a small shop in Sendai city and went back to the hotel to rest for the night. I did some last-min studying but soon was too tired to fit in anymore grammar. Woke up early to take the bus to the Kawaguchi Campus in Sendai’s University. Met up with Felicia and Charlie in the bus. Soon we had to go to our various rooms according to different levels to take our seats.
Well, what can I say but that I couldn’t understand 3/4 of the paper!?!?! 大変だった！困ったわぁ... Left the test site feelin kinda stupid.....私はバカじゃないか?!?!!! Felt especially so when I was stuck in the bus with all the China natives sprouting fluent Japanese over their cellphones. Arghhhh...... I’m so gonna fail this test and waste my time & ￥...
Met up with Wade in Sendai City as his test ended earlier than mine. We had dinner at Yoshinoya before catching the highway bus back to Hach. Was so tired from all the Japanese words floating in my head.... Just wanna go home & sleep.... Home sweet homezzz.....

SWANS FEEDING

23rd November 2006

Swans! Swans! Swans! Wow, I've never seen so many swans before, not even in the zoo! It was Labour Thanksgiving Holiday today so Ms Hosoyama kindly invited me to feed swans together with her & her daughter, Miu-chan. She brought many packets of bread along from Hokuryo JHS as the day before was bread-day for school lunch but there were many students who did not eat their share of the breads, resulting in many left-overs. Well, it's just right then. ちょどういいよ！We did not have to buy bread when we reached Shimoda Park. It was really chilly that day but it was so fun feeding the swans as well as the ducks! Couldn't have done it in Singapore as feeding animals is illegal! ;P After the feeding session, we went to Jusco for lunch and I managed to buy a pair of snow boots for 1700 odd yen! What a steal!!! Yeah, finally got proper boots. Ready for winter!!!

EI IN AOMORI

14th November - 19th November

Eiei decided to spend her leave in Japan so she came over with her fellow stewardess friend, Jennifer. However, this time I did not take leave so I could not bring them around. My sis and Jennifer were cool about it coz they had plans to explore by themselves. So they only stayed over on 14th night and for the next few days, they went to various places like Lake Towada, Oirase Gorge, Aomori and Hirosaki. They planned to return to Hach on Friday night so I organised a small simple dinner party for them. I invited Mayumi and Wade and we had a great time. Plus I was able to cook the bulk of the salmon I caught. I tried to re-create the "Chan Chan yaki" dish but failed miserably. I guess it's coz I didn't use the correct miso paste... I should have used the red miso paste rather than the usual yellowish one... Oh well, nvm... Mental note to self: Use red miso paste for it next time!
Jennifer went back one day before Eiei did coz her leave was shorter. Since Eiei is gonna leave on Sunday afternoon, I decided we shld go to church together. Thus early in the morn, we took a train to Hach so as to put all her big luggages into a coin locker.
Then our home-drama began at Hach station... Eiei somehow lost her JR East pass on the way! We couldn't find it anywhere! Not in her bags nor the train carriage or the train platform! We panicked, or rather Eiei REALLY panicked... She started to sob as we were explaining our situation to the train master. Yet the train master is one hell of a nice guy. He refused to accept our fee of 200 yen for the journey from Konakano to Hach and offered to help us look for the pass while suggesting alternate travel plans to Eiei. In the end, we decided that the best solution is foe Eiei to take a night bus to Tokyo fr Lapia that night, as her flight was the next day. I left my cell phone number with that guy and we left for church. As we were stepping out of the station, my cellphone rang. They found Eiei's pass! Strangely they found it it another train carriage... We were so happy & thankful so Eiei gave one of her apple omiyage to him in gratitude, despite his refusal.
Then we went to church, even though we were late... Wanna give thanks to our Lord! Anyway, Eiei really enjoyed the church service and lunch. Then we were brought to Mrs Asahi's house again to view her beautiful Japanese garden. AFter that, the nice Jap sisters gave us a ride to Hach station and sent Eiei off.

SALMON FESTIVAL

11 November 2006

Ricky, Veronica, Wade and I headed to Oirase-Cho Shimoda Park for the Salmon Festival. Felicia was involved in the rental of boots so when we reached, we went to the booth to visit her. Then we all had the famous "Chan Chan Yaki" for lunch. It's essentially grilled salmon and cabbage topped with red miso sauce. When it's cooked, just mix it all together and wala! Super delicious!!! Plus it was raining so hard that day (Look at the background of this pic!) so the hot meal was really suitable!
After lunch, we walked ard a little and soon it was time for the last salmon catch of the day. Since it was raining, I initially declined to catch the salmon in the pool... I don't wanna be dripping wet when I board the train home! AFter much persuasion fr Felicia and seeing that Wade was game for it, ohhh what the heck... It's just once in my lifetime that I will get a chance to catch a live salmon with my bare hands so let's just go for it!

Thus Ricky, Wade and I went into the water and begin our hunt while Veronica helped us carry our bags. Boy it wasn't easy to catch those slimy things! They kept wriggling out of my hands!!! It was also interesting to note that there were so many salmons in the pool that I tripped over some of them while wading in the water! At last I managed to catch one by holding on to it with my dear life!!! It's huge!!!!

People at a tent helped to get rid of the fish scales and chopped them up into smaller chunks. However these chunks were still really huge so I after I went home, I used my pathetic un-sharpened knife to chop them up into even smaller pieces. Then i chucked them into small plastic bags so that I can defrost a few pieces at a time when I need to use them for meals.

I thought this salmon must be really fresh as it was still alive when i caught it. Thus what can be better than eating salmon sashimi!? Had a few slices of raw salmon before my cellphone suddenly beeped. It was a messge from Felicia. It read "Don't eat the salmon raw as it is a river salmon". Thanks, it was alreay swimming in my stomach!!!

HOCKEY GAME

3rd November 2006

It's a public hol today (Culture Day) so I wanted to do something rather than stay at home and "nua"... Managed to ask Mandy out for boots shopping. In the end, I didn't manage to find suitable ones. Most were expensive & not practical at all. Ended up having lunch at a curry place on Route 45. It was good coz apart fr nice food, had a nice girly talk with Mandy, esp abt Jap dramas... This gal is drama-crazy!

In the afternoon. I recieved an invitation via cellphone email from Wade to watch a live hockey game with Russell and himself. It was a game between Daiichi JHS and Minato JHS. Russell teaches at Daiichi while Wade teaches at Minato. Upon hearing that we would bike all the way to the indoor ice-rink, I was really tempted to just give it a miss and stay at home. But on second thoughts, I've never watched a live ice-hockey game before... so was kinda interested to take a look.

And so after a gruelling 40mins or so, we reached Niida ice-rink on bike. I felt so hot & tired from biking... I would say I'm pretty comfortable with riding the bike now since I don't crash or lose control of my steering anymore (unlike few months ago!), but the Piado & Hach BOE is the furthest place that I've biked to so far. Well, at least I surivived this time!

We entered the rink and went to the spectators side. Now Russell and Wade were pressing me to say who's side i'm on, Daichi or Minato... I maintained that I'll be on the losing team's side. Heh, talk abt sitting on the fence! I saw some boys who looked familiar. Later I realised they are students from one of my schools, Choja JHS ! These boys are part of a team called Hachinohe United, consisting of players from various schools that do not have an ice-hockey team as there are too few members.

The game started and very soon, we could identify the star player of the game. The captain of Daiichi is amazingly skilled! Was very impressed by him inspite of his young age. The game was really exciting but according to the guys, this game is really mild coz apparently these Japanese ice-hockey players are not that rough, they don't slam their opponents into the wall... Canada's ice-hockey is very very much rougher... Nevertheless, I really enjoyed watching the game. I ended up supporting Daiichi and they won! Woo hoo!

HALLOWEEN

28^th October 2006

It was the annual HIRA’s Halloween event in Hach again. Never ever celebrated Halloween before back home so I really didn’t know what to expect of this event. Originally wanted to just wear an all-black outfit and cat’s eyes hairband on my head but luckily Q lent me her vampire costume in time. So yes, I dressed up as a vampire!

Went to the venue earlier to help set up the haunted house. It was real fun to see how some ALTs can transform so drastically into scary characters. Russell became a scary old woman, Claire was a pirate, Joel a hippie and Ricky a scarecrow! Soon loads of loads of children started streaming in… Many were dressed up too. Some as little witches, some as ghosts, some as bats etc. I was at the arts & crafts booth with Mandy and 2 helpful Japanese women. We taught children how to make little Jack O Lanterns and Bat clips. The few of us manning the booth were extremely busy coz many kids come to us before it was their turn to go on a “Trick or Treat” tour downtown.

I didn’t even have the time to go into the haunted house to see how scary it was… Well, judging from the constant screams fr the children, I guess the ALTs were pretty effective in their scary roles! Finally got to lead the last “Trick or Treat” tour of the day. Mandy, Erin and I led a group of children downtown and went into designated shops to say “Trick or Treat” and the shop assistants would give the children sweets in return. It was fun!

PA & MA IN HACH

19TH OCT - 25TH OCT

Time really flies! Before i know it, Pa & Ma came and they left! Was looking foward to their visit ever since they decided on their US tour. Picked them up at Hach station ard 645pm on 19th Oct. They had a long trip, all the way from Singapore to US and now Japan. Mama had many stories to tell about her interesting encounters during their US tour. I brought them to a restaurant located below the station for dinner. Pa & Ma were sooo sick of American food so they were happy to have some Asian food! I ordered some rice, miso soup and some meat. We decided to try the local cuisine so I ordered horse meat too! It looked like beef but was very tough…We also had hotate (scallop)　[ほたて] . After dinner we caught the train to Konakano and dragged all the luggages back to my small apartment. Once we reached my home, Mama unloaded stuff that they brought for me… Interestingly, they even brought toiletries, tissue boxes & toilet paper rolls that they have collected from hotels during their US trip! They thought I would definitely need these stuff so they have been collecting them at each hotel they stayed in the US! Haha, I have such cute parents! They were really exhausted from traveling so soon enough, they went to sleep. I let them have my bed in the loft while I slept on the mattress on my carpet in the living/dining room. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz….Was sleeping soundly until I was woken up by really loud snoring… Alas, it’s Papa’s signature snoring that I missed for 2 months! It was sooo loud that I couldn’t sleep… :(

The next day, we woke up early to have breakfast (kaya bread! Yummy!) before setting off to Hach station to catch the bus to Lake Towada. We met up with Jaslyn’s 2 friends, Lay Lian & Ooi Ling, who were also on a holiday here. They came from Gerard’s house and now they also wanna go Lake Towada to sight-see. Since we were going the samw direction, we went together. The bus ride was 2 hours. Enjoyed really beautiful scenery along the way. Also passed by Oirase Gorge… There were many old people strolling along Oirase Gorge who were taking photos with really professional-looking cameras (complete with tripod stands)! Wow, is this what old jap folks do when they retire?
Soon we reached the Lake but we were early for check-in to our hotel. Thus we had lunch first, then went to sit on the boat cruise around the lake. Was pretty chilling at the Lake! Mama did not wear enough thick clothes so she was freezing… Papa felt fine... Maybe coz he has lots of fat to insulate him from the cold! Haha! We took a leisurely stroll along the lake and enjoyed the foliage, what the Japanese term as kouyou ［紅葉］. Such a beautiful word…
After we checked into the ryoukan［旅館］, Kor Kor and Wendy still haven’t arrived. We were all very worried that they might have missed the last bus from Hach… However we were relieved that they finally arrived later. The hotel staff helped by fetching them from the bus terminal coz I told them we were expecting my brother to come via bus. So thank God they made it. Then we happily had a family dinner together – Japanese style! The food was good! Needless to say, the presentation was absolutely beautiful... The next day, we did some shopping before heading back to Hach. Kor Kor & Wendy had one more night to stay in Lake Towada so I bade them farewell.

Next morning, I brought Papa and Mama to Hokuryo’s Culture Festival. Murakami sensei decided to issue me a taxi ticket instead of making us take a bus to Hokuryo as he said it would be tough on my parents since they are old. Hee how nice!
When we reached, Ito Kochosensei was very hospitable. He let us sit just beside him, as the VIPs! There were performances put up by students of all the three grades. It started with a “Momotaro” play in English by the 1^st graders, followed by a presentation of Good Job week by the 2^nd graders and lastly various performances like dances & plays by the stars of the Culture Festival today – the 3^rd graders. It was their last Culture Festival so many of them were moved to tears! I always wondered why Japanese students seem to cry so easily… Anyway, it was very enjoyable. Papa and Mama got to talk to some 1^st graders and they seem happy to engage in a conversation with them. Some 3rd graders also brought us around on a school tour where many students' works were exhibited in classrooms.
After the performances ended, we left Hokuryo for Cino by taxi. Then we went shopping around Downtown and headed to Lapia to buy groceries for dinner. We bought sushi, sashimi and crabs! They all tasted really fresh! I was stuffed! I was lucky man coz usually I will not have such a sumptuous meal!

The next day, I decided to bring Papa & Mama to Hasshoku Center since it would be too cold to visit Tanesashi Coast or Kabushima.. However I didn’t know there was a direct bus to go to Hasshoku Center from Muikamachi bus-stop so we took a train to Nagashirogane train station and walked there. Unfortunately it started raining and the wind was especially strong today. Poor Mama looks like she was freezing… I felt quite bad. Papa seem ok though. Maybe coz he has lots of fats to keep him warm?!? Haha..
We had a warm meal at Hasshoku Center and Mama started her dried goods shopping. Papa tried out his bargaining skills there and I became quite irritated. Told him people in Japan don’t have the habit of bargaining… Plus this is an indoor market but not a flea market. I managed to buy a nice handbag that costs only 500yen! Very cute! We took a bus back to downtown then we went to Piado by Nanbu bus. Chanced upon 2 Hokuryo students at Jyuusannichimachi bus-stop and we took the same bus. Shopped at Piado for some time before walking to Lapia to buy dinner again. Had　yet another sumptuous dinner!
Had to work today but luckily I was assigned to visit Shimamori JHS. Shimachuu JHS’s JTE, Ms Nakamura is always well-prepared in her lessons and shows great enthusiasm during classes. Thus it’s a joy whenever I get to go Shimachuu. This time, Papa and Mama tagged along to do a school visit. When we reached, Shimachuu’s staff gave us a warm welcome. Ms Nakamura explained the day’s lesson and I was pleasantly surprised that she involved Papa & Mama into the lesson plans for all the classes. I thought having Papa & Mama at the school would cause a hindrance but she cleverly incorporated them into the lessons. I was really grateful as Papa and Mama had lots of fun interacting with the students, like answering questions about Singapore and giving out stickers as rewards for class participation! Furthermore, Papa & Mama were invited to stay for lunch as well!
Later at night, Papa told me that if JET would not mind hiring a 60 year old man, he would apply to be an ALT! Haha!

The next day, it was time for Papa & Mama to return to Singapore. I walked them to Konakano station, carrying bags and bags of stuff that Mama bought. Heh, was a gd trip for them and I can finally sleep soundly tonight... hee hee

CHORUS CONTEST

14th October

Actually I was quite disappointed when I learned that i would not be able to attend my semi-base sch's chorus contest as it's gonna be held on the 21 Oct, next Saturday. On that day, I'll still be in Lake Towada with my parents! However, Murakami sensei suggested that he can make a request to Odate JHS to allow me to attend their chorus contest instead, since I do visit that school too. Permission granted! Murakami sensei asked me to bring Claire along as her semi-base sch's chorus contest was already over.

Claire & I took a ride to Odate JHS fr Murakami sensei as he was gonna go to Odate as a parent to support his son, who is in second grade. Hmm the contest was v interesting. Every student had to sing or play a musical instrument. Can see that the first grade students were not as strong as the 2nd and 3rd students. But it was still gd efffort!

BBQ IN NANGO

8th Oct 2006

It kept raining non-stop so a few of us were wondering if our office BBQ was still on... but Kosei san confirmed that we are still going ahead as planned. Murakami sensei fetched the gals from Universe while Kosei san picked up the guys. Soon we arrived in Nango, a place where the jazz festival is held. Then of course we started to BBQ! It was in fact a great day to have a BBQ as it was so cold. Brrr..... I didn't have anything thick enough to keep me warm so Murakami sensei lent me one of his winter jackets. The heat from the BBQ pit kept us warm though...
Russell brought his home-made satay. Ohhh, it was simply delicious! How nostalgic! Joel also brought some beef patties. There was even a machine that could heat up sake (Japanese wine). I tried a bit of it... V strong & not v tasty leh...Still prefer ice wine!

We were lucky that day too coz there was some sort of performance held in an auditorium right beside the BBQ pits. So we all went in to watch. There were dance performances as well as taiko performances. I really enjoyed the taiko performance. The performers look like JHS age & they were so full of energy when they beat the drums. Even the gals look so cool! V impressive! かっこういい！

CULTURE DAY IN AOMORI

6th Oct 2006

We were back in Aomori! This time it was only a 1 day seminar on Japan's culture. All the ALTs (seniors included) and the CIRs had to attend. Russell & I took Q's car there. Q arranged to meet at Kathryn's house so that she can follow Joel's car because we were all unsure of the directions there. Half-way through, we lost sight of Joel's car so we went on our own on Route 40. Q has never taken this route before but we just followed the road signs, hoping they are correct... We travelled on many small roads that went through hills... but there wasn't many signs to assure us that we were on the right track. But the scenery was so good! It was misty & cold but we saw many beautiful trees that had red/orange leaves, flowing streams & fields... It was such a scenic route that we didn't mind missing the toll road. In the end, we reached just minutes after Joel & company! It was worth it after all!

The whole seminar started at 1pm, with my first seminar being "Surviving Winter". Boy do I need this course man! It's been raining quite heavily lately... Very soon it will be my very first winter in Japan! Got some useful tips from the presenter & headed off to the next workshop of Taiko (Japanese drums). Taiko was so fun! The teachers taught us a 4 beat sequence from their performance & let all of us have a go at the drums. I can still remember the sequence now! Next was Kogin embroidery. It was interesting but I got more & more confused when i try to copy the pattern on the paper while sewing. The last workshop was Aikido. It was really enjoyable! I partnered Veronica & we ended up executing the movements like dance moves! The old teacher was very helpful in correcting us. Later I was even chosen to be his "victim" to show what we should do when someone grabs your hand. I learnt a few cool moves! Haha, maybe I can try it on someone one day!

After the seminars ended, we hopped into Q's car again & went to the foreign food store & had dinner at a Vietnamese-Thai restaurant in town. The food and comapny was great!

CHURCH

God really blesses! I can testify for that! Before I came to Japan, I tried to search online for churches in Hach. I only found one link in English & I wasn't even sure whether it is near the area where I stay. I also didn't know what to expect from a church in Japan. I heard horror stories of churches that allowed their members to believe in Christanity & another religion like Shinto or Buddhism! So I prayed hard that God will provide me with a orthodox church & asked my family & church members to keep me in prayer too.

Well, He certainly led me to a church! I nearly got lost the first time I travelled to Hachinohe Christ Church. However by His Grace, I found the church & attended service there. The pastor,Kurakazu sensei has two daughters, Shinobu & Yurika who are both very fluent in English because they have studied abroad before. Thus they could translate things that I couldn't understand in the sermon that was delivered in Japanese. The two sisters also brought me shopping in Jusco & gave me a ride back. I'm sure God sent these angels to help me out...

Other people in church have also been very friendly. There's the ever-energetic Mari-chan who is my new playmate during lunch, the nice old lady who owns a truly beautiful Japanese garden, the generous lady who owns a bakery in Hach & the many other ladies who bothered to make gaijin like me feel at home.

The service style is quite similar to Barker Road Methodist Church. The songs that are usually sung during worship are also, to my surprise, quite modern songs like Hillsong songs. I feel very comfortable in this church. Thank you God!

COOKING

13 Sept 2006

I don't cook in Singapore. The last time I cooked a decent meal by myself was when I was in Secondary School! That was when I had to take Food & Nutrition as a GCE 'O' Level subject. It wasn't because I liked cooking then but I chose it as my 8th subject for a peace of mind. Most students in my school took 8 'O' level subjects, of which 6 would be used to gauge the total aggregate. That means 2 subjects are like back-up ones. For my class, only students who were really good in Maths could take A Maths, so the rest had the option of taking Art or Food & Nutrition or simply be contented with 7 subjects (means only 1 back-up subject!). Obviously I'm not one of the brainy ones who could do solve Trigonometry problem sums in 3 seconds so I had to chose between Art and Food & Nutrition. I enjoyed Art until the day when we were told to paint a banana during Art lesson. I just couldn't get the right colour! So Food & Nutrition was the last option. I did enjoy cooking in Food & Nutrition classes though because I get to eat after that! Haha! I think it's also because I had so much fun cooking with my classmates.

So it's been a long time.. I shall not count my occasional baking of little cakes & cookies as real cooking... Ever since I came to Hach, I've been cooking almost everyday. Most of the time, it's just simple Chinese fare consisting of stir-fried meat, veggies & plain rice. When I'm lazy I cook pasta or noodles.

But today I decided to cook something reminiscent of Singapore... Yes, Bak Kut Teh!!!! Plus it"s easy to make so it shouldn't take very long... Asked some ALTs over so that they can also share my joy. Bought pork ribs from the supermarket but they were all pretty long so I had to chop them into smaller pieces.. Alas, after struggling with my pathetic knife for ten minutes, I gave up & simply threw the pork ribs into the soup.

Apart from the fact that some of the ALTs had to use their hands to eat the pork ribs, my Bak Khut Teh turned out quite well! Yeah, so happy!

HIKING AT MT HAKKODA

23 Sept 2006

Since we didn't get to hike that day (I mean 18th Sept as it was raining cats & dogs so it was changed to the potluck party), Mrs Takahashi invited me to hike on Autumn Equinox Day instead. I was really looking forward to it because I heard Mount Hakkoda is very beautiful! Wade came along as Mrs Takahashi said I can invite anybody else who is interested to come.

Mrs Takahashi came to pick us up at my house at 94oam, then her husband drove all the way to a cable car place where we had to take a skyrail up Mt Hakkoda. The view was breath-taking! We stopped for lunch at a really scenic place at Mt Hakkoda. Mr Takahashi owns a shop selling outdoor sports wear & equipment so he came prepared with a small gas burner & kettle, so we could have instant cup noodles for lunch. The scenery was beautiful! Some leaves have already started changing colours... How nice... I will never get to see this in Singapore. A pity we did not have the time, if not we could have hiked even further...

We left Mt Hakkoda ard late afternoon, drove past Oirase Gorge & Lake Towada and headed towards Christ's Tomb. Didn't know we were going to that place but well since today's schedule was planned by the Takahashis, I'll just go along with it. Saw the fake tomb and just read the fable for fun.

By the time we got home, it was evening time. Well, I'm glad I didn't miss this outing! It was really enjoyable! The Takahashis are really hospitable... Always so willing to invite us for any outings... and always offering to drive us.. Such nice folks :)

MOMOISHI TOWN FESTIVAL

16th Sept 2006

Took a bus to Oirase to meet up with Felicia & Crystal. Felicia's Assistant kacho (section chief) invited us to his house for lunch just before the matsuri (festival ) started. Wow, what a spread... I love Japanese home-cooked food. The servings are huge & everything tastes so good! What's more, it's healthy! This Assistant kacho has a very hyper dog as a pet. It looks like a cross-breed sausage dog. SO cute! It's name is Mari-chan. Very greedy though.. Kept comin close to us coz she wants to eat our food.

After lunch we started to pull the float. Got to know some Japanese ladies & children. They are all so decked out. So pretty! The boys look really cute too! The floats are fully automated but the children, especially the young boys, use all their might to pull the floats as if the floats depended on their strength to move. Haha, so cute! The whole procession ended close to evening time. Then we were invited to have a small meal at a tent near to Assistant kacho's house. There, I made friends with Assistant kacho's daugther. We played games like the "thumb pressing" game and janken. Then Gerard (fr Ichinohe) & his wife, Jaslyn came & joined us. Then we all went to the bazaar that was nearby. Wow, they sell lots of Japanese food, as well as many toys & games. Assistant kacho's daugther was so excited! All of us ate so much that night! We had tako balls, Doraemon cakes, ramen, yakitori etc.
Gerard, Jaslyn & I all crashed at Felicia's house after the long day.

17th Sept 2006
Accompanied Felicia to a church in Rokunohe. Her church in Singapore, FCBC helped her look for churches near Oirase so here we were. We were warmly welcomed by a nice old lady & her daughter, Makiko. It turns out that Makiko works in Megumi kindergarten (the kindergarten beside my church) & knows my churchmate Yurika! What a small world! Haha After service, Makiko kindly gave Felicia & I a ride to Jusco where we were supposed to meet Gerard & comapny. Felicia, Gerard, Jaslyn & Crystal will go back to Oirase to attend the second night of the matsuri. This time, as spectators. I did not stay coz I had to attend Choja JHS's enkai at downtown Hach tonight. Took a ride fr Crystal across the bridge that separates Hach from Oirase and managed to catch a city bus that sent me straight back to Sakaemachi. Yeah, I love boarding city buses coz I get to use my bus pass so I don't need to worry about paying bus fares. heh heh...

Met Tanaka sensei outside Sakurano & she brought me to the izakaya where the party was held. I was sitted just beside the principal as I was an important guest! Wow! The food was great! Managed to chat with the principal, some teachers and even one Choja alumini student who is now a university grad in Hirosaki. Left after the dinner coz was feeling too tired to stay out late. The rest went for karaoke, as usual. I went home & began to prepare the dish for tomorrow's potluck party at Mrs Takahashi's friend's house. Accidentally cut my left index finger while chopping the carrots... Arghhh..

18th Sept 2006

Gerard & Jaslyn took a bus fr Oirase & reached my house promptly before 10am. Gerard said the festival yesterday was very different fr the traditional one on the 16th... Too bad I missed it! Mrs Takahashi gave us a ride and soon we arrived at her friend's house. It was an international lunch as there was Japanese food, western food, Indian food & Italian food. Really yummy! We had a great time chatting about Singapore & various other stuff.. They were particularly interested in Singapore food. Seems like I must try to learn to cook some Singapore food!

After lunch I brought Gerard & Jaslyn shopping at Home Center Sunday & Ito Yokado. I finally bought my dustbin!