Turning Down Invitations

Invitations..

That is what I get almost every week.. From drinking at Japanese Bar (居酒屋 Izakaya) (even though I can't drink alcoholic drinks), eating out at some restaurants near Ikebukuro campus or even invitations to some events like going to Ueno Zoo and watching baseball match at Jingu Stadium.. and I had to turn down all of it..

Saying "Sorry, I can't go" is not the hardest part for me, explaining the reason why is the hardest.. From "I already made arrangements with a friend", "Got tonnes of homework" and the usual phrase "I'm tired"..

I wish I can tell them that I'm not a normal exchange student, I'm on a very tight budget and I do not have the luxury to spend my money for other things like entertainment or eating out (but I managed to do it sometimes though)..

I hope they can understand my situation.. Sorry guys for turning down your invitations..

After the Earthquake 地震後 Jishin Go (PART 2)

Continuing from part 1 (please forgive me for the gap between the last entry and this one),

Besides the uncomfortable and not-so-safe feeling at most of the time, the earthquake made me in some kind of stress since I didn't expect to see those things happened, especially in Japan.

I can say that food was a little hard to find after the earthquake, well, not all of it but foods like rice, bread, meat products and instant ramen, since many people did panic buying.

Meat section at Big A,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

No more Ramen..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

and no more rice too!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Bread shelf,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Oh, when I think about it, the feeling of uneasiness will creep into me.. Hu.. Knowing that even though you have money but you can't buy anything.. :|

Besides food, train services was badly disrupted too.. No more Express or even semi-Express trains! Only Local trains and it ran at interval of 10-15minutes.. In the pictures below you can see how long the queue was,

Taken from way outside Shiki station (my friend and I gave up and we went back to the dorm),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Finally, in order to return to Japan, I have to get the Re-entry Permit (再入国許可Sainyuu Koku Kyoka). So, I went to the Saitama Branch of Tokyo Immigration Bureau with my friend. We queued for nearly 10 hours in the cold only to be disappointed when we were told to return the next day due to the planned blackouts!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, everything went well and I went back to Malaysia on the 19th of March using Singapore Airlines.. At that time, I left Japan with a heavy heart since I'm not sure if I can return to Japan.. :'(