The "full marks" breakfast

The day has come. After 11 months of studies I am going to sit for my first Japanese Language Proficiency Test. During the course of my revision the feeling that I should have taken the N3 test instead of N2 grew stronger and stronger. I am here now so that is moot. Anyway I got up early to make the "full marks" breakfast. My mother used to make this breakfast whenever my brothers and I are sitting for our school exams. She would cook one sausage and 2 sunny side up eggs and arranged them in to look like "100". It is her way of wishing us all the best in our exams. It is only now that I appreciate the thought that care and concern that she has in everything that has to do with us. 

After the very inspiring breakfast, I made my way to the test venue which is at Meijiro University.

I made it there in good time and was slightly taken aback by the number of N2 candidates. The doors opened at 12:00hrs. The test voucher states that the grammar and kanji section test starts at 12:30hrs and ends at 14:30hrs. What perplexed me was that the giving our of the question and answer sheets as well and identification procedure only commenced after 12:30hrs. We only started answering the questions 20 minutes later which I felt was time lost for us. Then I remembered that on the question sheet it was stated that we have 105 minutes to answer the questions. Hahaha. The test voucher should have been more specific, I think!

The instructions were given out no less than 3 times for the benefit of late comers. What got my attention was the part on rule violation. Depending on the severity of the violation you may be issued a yellow card of red card. The invigilator raised the cards as she was explaining the rules and it made her look like a football referee. By the way, at least 2 persons were handed the yellow card by the end of the test.

I came out of the test feeling forlorn; I generally understood the contents of the questions but it was not clear enough to give a confident answer. In other words, I am almost there but still not there. I know that by July next year I will be more than ready to take the test again. Hahahaha!

I am glad I took the test and that it is over. It had it degree of difficulty and my vocabulary was not extensive enough to equip myself to deal with the questions and that is something I will work harder upon from now on. Relieved and wanting to wind down, a few of us met up for dinner.

 お疲れ様でした！Yet more brain cells were sacrificed today in the name of progress so cheers to that!

On the eve

 One more day before the exams! It is another cold day and I really did not feel like leaving the apartment. But the environment at home is not very conducive so I made my way to the nearby cafe. Looking the at lighting that has been put up to greet the festive season and receiving a motivational message from a friend it brought a smile to my face. 

My revision was slightly distracted due to some necessary family chatting. Finally I took out a past paper to get accustomed to the test format. A little bit late I know but that was the last thing on my mind really. I was finished with the listening part quite some time ago as I really have rather bad listening skills. Overall I could understand the passages and answer the questions but it is the grammar that stumps me. Also if the sentence is exclusively hiragana it actually slows my reading reading pace considerably. My performance was mediocre. Bottom line is, just do it tomorrow and wait for the results. 

We came home to a very nice dinner. Spare rib soup!

As the weather gets cold soups warms the body and the heart. After dinner we decided to just relax and prepare the necessary for tomorrow's exam. For example…

After familiarizing myself with the examination venue and the instruction given on the ID pamphlet I am off to a nice warm shower and some music! 

Have a great Sunday!

An eventful day

A sense of hopefulness is growing inside me. Revision is drawing to an end and it is 2 more days before the "big" day. The more I revise the more I lose data. I am not really making sense, am I?

Tired out from the recent constant use of my diminishing brain power, I overslept only to wake up near noon. Luckily I remembered that today is the deadline to settle my insurance issues, I quickly made my way to the City Office. Although it was lunchtime my matter was settled within a matter of minutes and soon I was on my way to school. 

As usual on abstinence Friday I had a nice soba set lunch (which was very filling by the way) before heading for class. Class seats were switched as they do once a fortnight and I am glad that I do not have to sit right in front. On Fridays we get to watch a video with some Q&A before proceeding to grammar and kanji lessons.

The video we watched today was an interesting one. It was the story of a man who was punished by being set back in time whenever he fails to do a gratuitous deed when the situation arises. He wakes up on that particular day at 10:00hrs with a detailed plan to prepare for his girlfriend's birthday. He boards the bus and fails to give up his seat to an elderly lady. He wakes up and it is 10:00hrs on the same day. It happened a few times before he realized what was going on. Dreading to be sent back in time he helps out anyone who is in trouble. In the end his could not carry out his itinerary and also ended up losing his girlfriend to another man. From then one he continues to carry out gratuitous deeds and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize several years later. Unfortunately at the prize giving ceremony he accidentally stepped on someone's foot and ended up being set back in time! Although it was a fictional story the presentation was funny nevertheless. That was the fun part of class today.

It was my turn to buy groceries today and I felt like cooking something more special to take myself out of this sense of hopelessness temporarily before being sucked into it again during revision. I am not too happy with the arrangement but I will just have to leave it for another time. I enjoyed the cooking process as everything was cooked from scratch, including the sauce and dressing.

After dinner it was time to head to the cafe and get on with my revision. To my pleasant surprise I bumped into Ueshiba sensei and had a small chat with him. He very nicely wished me all the best for my coming exams. Smile. After revision I went for a walk with my flatmate and took some pictures of the neighbourhood.

Unfortunately the Christmas lightings had been switched off by the time I came back from my evening walk thus cutting short my clicking time. Awwww. I will have plenty of time after my exams. Hehehe.

I don't think I will be able to sleep anytime soon tonight so I might as well do another round of revision.

Twas a good day.

Some necessary spending

The soles of my boots were in a pathetic condition and today is the day to get it fixed. Aware of the high cost of living in Japan I braced myself as I looked at the price list as I approached the Mister Mint kiosk at Shinjyuku Nishiguchi station after class. The fix cost me 3,150yen which is just a little below SGD50.00. *gasp* I could probably get my shoes fixed 3 times for that amount back home. Oh well. It still costs less than me buying a new pair of boots. 

I decided to console myself with some retail therapy. HAHAHAHA. I am of the female sex after all! At first I was thinking of getting some pastries but ended up at this shop selling tea and what nots like tenugui (hand towels) and handkerchiefs. My eyes were cast upon this particular tenugui which is a limited season's edition. Since tis the season to be jolly I gladly made a purchase. 

I have grown to be very fond of tenuguis. The first tenugui I received as a gift from a Japanese friend 2 years ago and really like it. I was reluctant to use it as I thought it too beautiful to be subjected to wear and tear. But I brought it with my to Japan and eventually started using it. I now have 10 pieces, 8 of which were gifted. I am sure the number will continue to grow.

After my brief retail therapy it is off to the cafe for my revision. Although I can manage 2 solid hours the words will start swimming around after that. I don't use the language as often as I should and it has hindered my progress. Oh well, there are ways around it. *grin*

A sweet little thing

The weather is getting colder and brings back memories of when I first arrived in Japan. Frankly I don't really want to get out of the house and prefer to stay indoors reading and surfing the internet. My all important examination is just around the corner so it is time to switch gears on my revision. 

Hoping to up my motivation I invited a couple of friends for a 勉強会 (study group) at my place. As we gathered in the evening it started off with some chit chat. As time passes we decided that we would start after dinner instead. I think you see where this is going. Hahaha. After dinner there was more chit chat and I ended up spending some time on a phone call. Ah the wonders of internet calling. Eventually we got started and it was followed by 2 hours of deafening silence. The study group ended with the grumbling of someone's stomach. It was time to take out the dessert!

As I realized soon after arriving in Japan the country is a nom nom haven. Especially what the patisseries here have to offer! So as a reward for our "grueling" session of self study (which is itself obligatory anyway) we ended the night by pigging out on a delicious cake.

The act of consumption was accompanied by a variety of sounds which more than adequately expressed our satisfaction with this product. There shall be the sampling of another cake very soon. Twas a good day!

There is a first time for everything.

Indeed. Since arriving in Japan 10 months ago, I have tried doing a few things for the first time.

Today, also for the first time, I did something which I thought I will never do. It took me alot of courage from start to finish and I lost sleep over it too. I went through with it anyway to avoid having any regrets later on in life. 

That is not the end of it though. For now I will hustle while I wait.

Withdrawal symptoms?

I couple of weeks ago I decided that I would stop training at Hombu Dojo during the weekdays to give myself more time to study for the upcoming JLPT exams. Somehow it feels like something is missing. There is that sense of guilt too.

I have been attending training everyday and suddenly I only attend classes during the weekends. I feel left out; missing all that action and the learning experience.

But this coming examination is important as it is a stepping stone to my plan for the new few years. So I better make sure that the time I sacrificed not training is worth it!

相見易同住難

One of the best ways for people to understand one another is to live together. It does not necessarily need to be long term co-habitation; travelling together will also offer a glimpse of what a person is really like. Basically something where certain aspects of someone's personal life is inevitable exposed. 

The experience can range from pleasant to downright unbearable.

For me, the recent experience of co-habitation with a few people has resulted in closer bond in with one and return to being strangers with others. 

My first autumn in Japan

Coming from an equatorial country, I was really looking forward to my year long stay in Japan. Ah, to experience the four seasons. I came to Japan in the middle of winter and remember seeing steam in front of me everytime I exhale. Then came spring and I went cherry blossom viewing with some of my gals. It was followed by summer which I commemorated with a trip to Okinawa. The white sands, blue waters and clear skies!

As I am near the end of my year long stay, I have also just gone through the fourth and last season since my arrival 10 months ago. Thinking how I am going to commemorate this season, the chance came when one of my friends showed me pictures that he took of the autumn leaves when he went to Takao san. Takao san is roughly 50 minutes by train from Shinjuku and the fare costs 370 yen per trip. Seeing that autumn is near its end I thought I should do it soon.

After looking at the week's weather forecast, the best day was mid-week. I also wanted to avoid the weekend crowd. As school starts in the afternoon, I woke up at 05:30hrs, board the train at 06:47hrs and reached Takaosanguichi at around 7:20hrs. I paid 900 yen to take the cable car up in order to save time. 

For about 3 hours, I walked around enjoying the fresh air, taking pictures and at times just simply enjoying the view. 

I arrived early so there were not many people save for the ardent hikers and photographers. By the time I started making my way to the train station there were a steady stream of people arriving to enjoy the autumn leaves.

I stopped on the way to have a sake manjyuu. Whilst waiting for the train I took a good bye picture from the station.

The energy that I had in the morning quickly disappeared as I boarded the train. I snoozed off very soon after the train took off and was contemplating whether to go to school. As tired as I was, I decided to attend class and bought a box of souvenirs to share with my classmates and teacher. 

A truly wonderful experience. 

A nice cool rainy night

After some days of sunny weather, the rain visited today. I had just recovered from a migraine attack which occurred yesterday and thought I would give training another miss today. There are a few things weighing on my mind for the past month and it is about time that I deal with at least one issue. It has affected my mood more or less and I would like to get back to my old self again. 

So today, I cycled back home from school in the rain, took a hot shower, had my dinner and just relaxed in my room. Then my father, who is far away from us and had discovered the wonders of Facebook, came online and the family had a great group chat together. Some time with my family is just what I needed and it will keep me going for sometime.

A little of revision, a nice cup of tea and I am ready to call it a night.

Tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day.