Mount Fuji 富士山 Fuji san

At last! I managed to snap the pics of Mount Fuji from the 6th floor of Rikkyo University Building No.14 yesterday (10th December).. I saw it 2 times before from the same place but I didn't have my camera at that time..

The weather is getting colder by the day.. Hu.. Since I came from tropical weather country, temperature below 10'C is already too cold for me.. Wonder what will happen to me when winter comes.. Temperature will definitely be around 0'C, more or less.. Luckily I live in the Kantou region.. It's not that cold here compared with the northern region of Tohoku and Hokkaido (of course.. Hehe..)

Well, that's about it in this post.. Enjoy the pics I took of Mount Fuji.. ^^

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Trying to get a hold of myself..

Lately, I can feel that my study mood is getting farther away from me.. Before this, I enjoyed doing my review or homework but now, I only do them for the sake of scoring a test or to receive points for passing it up. And I'm officially addicted to the internet! Hu..

Well, I tried to be as far away as I can from my laptop on Sunday but I only manage to stay away from it for only 6 hours.. It was a good start though.. and by staying away from it, I managed to complete my essay due on Friday, one short report about a movie (My neighbor Totoro) and a drama (At Home Dad) (both written in Japanese) due on Wednesday, reading comprehension due today (Monday) and I read a few news articles in Yomiuri Shimbun (by reading it, I learnt 9 kanji compounds)..

After 6 hours, I felt like I want to turn on just for 10minutes to tweet or to check my mail box but end up surfing for nearly an hoyr.. I will try harder to control and get a hold of myself after this.. Sometimes, by recalling the reason why I'm in Japan can help me a little now and then but I need a real thing/reason (which I don't know what it is) to put me back on the right track.. Hmm..

Weird weather.. 変な天気 Hen Na Tenki..

Wow.. Yesterday's (3rd December) weather was the weirdest one I've experienced.. It started with a heavy rain early in the morning.. I went out of my dorm around 7.50am to catch the 8.02am Commuter Express 通勤急行 (Tsuukin Kyuukou) train.. It was drizzling during my walk to the station.. I didn't even need my umbrella at that time..

Later in the afternoon, I went to Shinjuku with my friend to meet our Sensei there. We noticed that it was getting warmer in the afternoon.. If I'm not mistaken, the temperature was around 23'C to 25'C..

At 3pm, I went to the Japanese Culture class and my sensei said the temperature will drop significantly after this.. After class, wind started to blow strongly..

As of now (12.34am, local time), the temperature hovers around 13'C..

In my opinion, the combination of rain, warm weather, strong wind and coldness is a weird one.. Hehe.. Oyasumi..

Tosho Card 図書カード

Had a great time at a bookshop near my dorm tonight.. Bought a book and a manga using my Tosho Card.. ^^

On Saturday, I volunteered myself to be one of the 'beginner' students for Japanese students whose going to be a teacher.. They were allocated 30 minutes each to give some kind of presentations.. It was okay I think.. But trying to be a beginner student when you are not one was quite challenging.. They taught me about numbers, month, telling the time, days in Japanese.. Also the basic of Japanese particles such as に、で、へ、が and を. Well, to be honest, I forgot some of the things, so, it was a good chance to do my 復習 Fukusyuu (review). Hehe..

After the presentation, I received a Tosho Card (図書カード Tosho Ka-do) worth 2000yen (~RM76).. It's a card that can be used to buy books, magazines or newspaper at bookshops that accept them (Book Off (a bookshop that sells second hand books) doesn't accept it, hu..)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I went to Ayumi Books.. It's not a big bookshop.. I tried to look for 漢字検定 Kanji Kentei (Kanji Examination) books but there was none.. So, I bought a book where the title catches my eyes immediately.. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

学校で習った日本史が信じられなくなる本 Gakkou de naratta nihonshi ga shinjirarenaku naru hon. The title's meaning is something like this: a book that will make you not to believe the Japanese history you learnt from school.. Sorry if my translation is not that accurate.. :) I will start to read it later..

This is the manga I bought..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

名探偵コナン Meitantei Konan (Detective Conan) vol. 69.. The two books cost me 1010yen.. 990yen left in the card..

I will attend another presentation this Saturday.. Will receive another 2000yen worth of Tosho Card.. Hehe.. Ok, it's getting late.. I have 1st period class tomorrow.. Goodnight.. :)

North Korea Special 北朝鮮スペシャル Kita Chousen Supesyaru

Hi guys.. I still have problem to update my blog on a regular basis.. Hu.. Well, this morning, as usual, I will have my breakfast in the dining room and watch my favourite programme on tv but today, the programme was cancelled and North Korea Special (北朝鮮スペシャル) was aired instead.. It was worth watching..

The programme mentioned about the attack on Yeonpyeong Island on 23 November and they asked a few scholars about the Korean War.. The North and South Korea is still technically at war because they only signed a ceasefire agreement.. Even though I was quite frustrated because my favourite programme was not aired, I managed to learn a few words from it..

I went to the dining room only with my food and utensils (of course, haha).. To write down the words I didn't understand, I used a paper napkin from the dining hall and a pencil from the dorm's counter.. Quite desperate, I think.. Hehe.. Below is the words I wrote on the napkin:

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The hiragana reading and the meaning in English was written only after I returned to my room. Ok, let's learn the words.. :)

朝鮮戦争 Chousen Sensou - Korean War

金日成 Kim Il Sung

金正日 Kim Jong Il

金正恩 Kim Jong Un

[Their name when written in Kanji.. usually, news and newspaper will provide the reading on top of the Kanji..]

神話 Shinwa - Myth

緊張 Kinchou - Stress

軍事境界線 Gunji Kyoukaisen - Military borderline

オバマ政権 Obama Seiken - Obama Administration

神格化 Shinkakuka - Apotheosis (A formal statement that a person has become a god)

後継者 Kou Kei Sya - Heir, successor

釜山 Pusan - Pusan, Korea. Name written in Kanji..

Ok, got to go back doing my homework.. Have a nice Sunday.. Cheers..

Loosing weight..

Oh, I'm getting thinner.. Went for a medical check up few weeks ago and I found out that I lost 6kg in 40 days since I arrived in Japan. Before coming here, my weight was 71kg and at that time, down to 65kg.. I was in disbelief when I saw my new weight, so, I browsed through my photos and I can't help but to compare the photo taken at KLIA and in Japan (in the same clothes).. Here goes..

With my grandma at KLIA,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

With friends during IFL Coffee Hour,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

It's kind of obvious that I loose some weight.. Perhaps I didn't eat as much as in Malaysia and I can't eat the fast food here (except for some limited seafood burger). How I miss KFC and McDonalds.. Haha.. I can't fit into my size 34 pants anymore.. Need to belt it everytime I wear it.. It's time to buy new pants.. :)

Well, I just hope it will not effect my health in the long run..

Rikkyo's IVY Festa

I walked for about 25 minutes to Rikkyo University's Niiza campus.. Today's weather was quite OK even though it rained for a while. I was looking forward to an event called バルーン　イン　ザ　スカイ(Balloon in the sky). The visitors was given a balloon each and when the time comes, they released it together.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, there was some kind of Flea Market in the middle of Building 1,2,3,4 compound.. I wish I knew earlier.. Everything was cheap..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Some autumn clothes:

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Later at 2pm, Japanese stand up comedy started on the stage. It was by COWCOW. To be honest, I don't know who are they and I understood little of their comedy because of the language barrier (I still have a hard time understanding Japanese that is spoken fast). Well, it seems to me that majority of the audience love them, they laughed a lot..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After watching the show, I went to the stalls to check out the foods they're selling. Everything looked delicious and I like the way the students try to persuade visitors to buy their foods and they're very friendly too..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The guy in the pic volunteered himself to pose,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Choco Banana! I have to try it someday..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Cotton candy stall:

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Students from samosa stall.. Very friendly and cute too.. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Yaki soba,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Yaki tori,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And finally, before going back, I went to see Wind Orchestra performance in the Chapel.. It was my second time entering church/chapel.. The first one was in Ikebukuro campus.. Had some misunderstanding at the entrance, I barely hear what the woman at the entrance said, so, I insist on entering through the main door but she made me enter the chapel through the side door. Enjoyed the concert!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Last but not least, I was amazed towards Japanese determination in recycling.. They put a coloured notice in the booklet given to every visitor on how to separate the used bottles, chopsticks etc. and if you are not sure, they stationed some one to help you at the garbage bin.. Wow.. One salute from me!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

A little tired but I had a great day!

Sunday morning.. 日曜日の朝..

Its Sunday again.. I can say that this week's Sunday is not quite the usual Sunday because I forgot that today is cleaning my room day but it will be ok since my autumn break is until Thursday.. I will clean my room tomorrow.. Hehe.. Oh, and I went to IVY Festa in Rikkyo's Niiza campus.. It was a nice experience going to a Japanese festival.. The food looked (since I can't eat it) great and it is truly an ideal carnival with lots of people, activities and foods.. :)

I start my day with an early morning shopping to buy eggs (the supermarket near my dorm, Daiei sell 10 eggs for 98yen (u.p 198yen)) and bananas.. I'm not a cheapskate kind of person but I did what I have to do, i.e. try to minimise my spending as much as I could.. I don't mind waking up early.. Really.. Here's what I bought:

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After that, I did the usual thing I do in the morning.. Checked my e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, my favourite blogs and the weather..

Since I arrived in Japan, it has become a habit for me to check weather forecast or 天気予報(tenki yohou) before going out. Today, I fully trusted the forecast and I didn't bring along my umbrella even though it looked like it was going to rain. Well, it did rain but only for 10-15 minutes.. I was glad I made the right choice. The other method to determine if I should bring my umbrella or not is by watching people who passed by my dorm, I watch them from my balcony and if many of them have umbrella with them, I will bring mine before going out.. This kind of method seldom fails.. Haha..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After breakfast, I went out and my destination: Rikkyo's Niiza campus.. For the IVY Festa.. ^^

Homemade Food 自家製の料理 (Jikasei No Ryouri)

Konbanwa! It's Monday! Always had the Monday blues and I'm not feeling very well today, the temperature suddenly drop to around 15'C this morning. I caught a mild flu and my head hurts. Since it's only autumn I don't know if I can survive winter later! Huhu..

I love Sunday.. Well, sort of.. Hehe.. Sunday is the day I usually do my laundry, clean my room and the toilet.. After that, I will cook my lunch at the dining room and then do some preparation for next week's classes..

As a Muslim, I have the adhered to some food/drink dietary (I can't eat pork and consume alcohol). Even though I can eat chicken and beef, since in Japan, chicken and cow is not slaughtered according to Islamic ways, I can't eat those meats too.. Meat that came from animal slaughtered according to Islamic ways is called Halal meat. Luckily, there's a few online stores that sells Halal food stuff and I found one Indian shop near Ikebukuro station's west exit that sells Halal foods.

Buying from online stores requires delivery charge of 1200yen, so, I seldom buy from it. Only once, to be exact. That was when I first arrived here. They will deliver it by using the Takkyubin and I have to pay when the item is delivered (COD-Cash on Delivery). Below is the items I bought from the online store (www.baticrom.com),

I bought Thai rice (I will try Japanese rice after this.. Hehe..) This pack of 5kg can last for about 2 months,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Items I bought (Beef, chicken, cooking oil, chili sauce, soybean sauce and mango drink)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I will go to the Indian shop every week to get my Halal chicken for 367yen per kilo. 1 kilo will last for about a week. Ok, now back to the topic of homemade food.. I have to cook my own meal everyday and that means lunch and dinner. I don't have much problem about doing it, it's fun.. I can try different menu everyday.. My meals MUST contain rice, at least once (for lunch). It can help me survive well during the day at campus. Before coming here, a friend recommended me on Onigiri lunch but it's just to little for my body to handle.

Usually I start my day with cooking the rice like 6-6.30 am and then go back to sleep. Then, I will wake up and cook some dishes to go along with the rice or fry the rice. I will put some veges (carrots, potatoes, mix vege) with meat/egg. Here's some of my meals I prepared for lunch and dinner since I arrived:

This one is my favourite! Maggi's Instant noodles from Malaysia,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Simple meal of mushroom soup, scrambled egg and bread,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Beef soup and rice porridge,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Chicken whole leg fried wit rice porridge,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Chinese fried rice,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Beef soup with rice,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Black pepper fried vermicelli with chili sauce,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Lunch, rice with beef fried with carrots, potatoes and black pepper,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The part I don't like about cooking for myself is the after-cooking cleaning.. Haha.. Have to wipe the cooking heater (well, I can just leave it the way it is but it doesn't feel right and look so messy).. Well, that's what living alone is all about.. Jya..

It's been a long time.. 久しぶり..

Wow, it's over a month now since I posted my last entry. Lots of thing happened during this period of time. I received my student card (学生証明書 Gakusei Shomeisho), commuting certificate (通学定期乗車券発行控 Tsugaku teiki joshaken hakko hikae) and I bought a 1month Commuting pass (定期券 Teikiken). The pass is very convenient, cheap and it costs me 4580yen (including 500yen deposit for the PASMO card).

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

With the pass, I don't have to worry anymore about the ridiculously expensive ticket price.. Hehe..

During this 1 month plus, I've attended a few parties organised by Rikkyo's Centre for International Studies, Rikkyo's Ladies Club, International Friendly Lunch (IFL) and JoinUs. Both IFL and JoinUs is managed by Rikkyo's student. It provides good chance to interact with both Japanese students and International students. In Japan, the clubs available in university is called サークル (Sakuru), derived from the word 'Circle', I think.. So, for now, I'm officially the member of IFL, JoinUs and another サークル in Niiza campus called Lingua Franca. Here's some pics of the events/parties I've attended:

The first party I attended, organised by IFL,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Second party organised by IFL,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

JoinUs Coffee Hour (Filled with games and snacks!),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Welcome party for new students (新入歓迎会 Shinnyu Kangeikai) organized by Rikkyo's Centre for International Studies,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The last JoinUs Coffee Hour I attended. I can't attend any more because they changed the time to Wednesday (I got lecture during that time),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I think everything went well during this 1 month plus and I'm looking forward to post some new entries later. There's a lot of things to post! Hehe.. Ok, bye for now.. ^^