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.. :'(

After the Earthquake 地震後 Jishin Go (PART 1)

When the earthquake happened, I was in my room surfing the internet.. It started slowly and I thought it was fine since I`ve experienced it before but when it got stronger, I left my room. Scary.. and sometimes when I think about it, the feeling of unsafe and worrying all the time will come back to me.. Until now, small earthquake (or can I still call it aftershocks?) still occur.

In this entry, I just want to share what I had to face after the big earthquake,

Well, when it happened, electricity, water and phone line was cut off.. Got back electricity and water at around 2am on 13th March.

We were asked by the dorm manager to stay at the dining room and candles was not allowed in our rooms.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then, representative from International Centre came and we were given free dinner,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Since it was so cold in the dorm, we were also asked to warm ourselves at the nearby Daiei. We saw how bad the earthquake was on TV,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After electricity went back, we still can't use the lift..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

With all the aftershocks, I decided to sleep at the dining room with my friend..

Even though damages was minimum in Shiki, it brought many inconveniences..

*to be continued in part 2 ^^

Back to Japan 日本に戻った Nihon ni Modotta

Hi everyone, its been a while (more than a month since my last post).. Did lots of things while I was in Malaysia and what I enjoyed the most there was eating.. From KFC, McDonald`s, delicious home-cooked meals made by my grandmother to Japanese food like Ramen and Yaki Niku (I can`t really eat those in Japan).

To be honest, I`m not that eager to come here again since I felt very comfortable in Malaysia but that`s not all, since a service provider here made me pay for something (even if I couldn't stay there until August).. Hmm.. So, I`m here :) Everything looks normal here except some rises in food prices but I think I can cope with it.

Boarded Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight on Saturday (23.4) at 11:30pm and arrived at Narita Airport at around 6:40 am (local time).. Encountered some problems at MAS counter due to the overweight of my check-in luggage. Initially weighted at 29.2kg, I had to take some things out, then it became 24.6kg. The picture below was taken in Japan,



From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The flight was a little boring with little choices of movies and the service was quite dissapointing. What was good about it was the breakfast, I enjoyed it ^^



From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun
Then I went back to Shiki using trains and it was a tough one.. Hu.. Hope everything is going to be okay..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I'm back! ただいま！ Tadaima!

Good morning from Malaysia!

Arrived here on Sunday, 20th March from Narita via Changi.. Everything was so last minute and I still can't believe I'm in my home.. There was no plan to go back but since my family insisted, I just had to go back..

Preparation to go back was so tiring that I'm still tired now.. Had to apply for the Re-entry permit (再入国許可 Sainyuukoku Kyoka) and queued for 8hours in the cold.. But I was made to come back the other day because of the planned blackouts..

Bought my flight ticket on Thursday and it was the cheapest (64,440 yen) using Singapore Airlines.. Arrived at Changi Airport at around 4.10am and boarded connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur at 8.35am..

I will tell more about it later.. That's it for now :D