Enter Summer (ver 2)

Hello again dear readers :)

It's my first summer in the United States, and I'm pretty excited! I arrived in Amherst exactly one and a half weeks ago, and I'd say by now I'm pretty much settled in. I've bought things that I'll need to survive the summer comfortably, see attached (read: pillows and fans) so I think it'll be alright.. hehe

A sneak-preview of my room ;) my little haven <3

Anyways, I'm not quite sure myself why I've taken up to write, but let me share a few things:
1. I'm really pleased to meet friends who I can practice my Chinese and Japanese with. While I guess I can say my Japanese is conversant, apparently my Chinese "depreciated" by a huge margin lol. Well, I shall grab more opportunities to improve my Chinese, then!
2. The people in my office are amazing, and I love my work. They are really capable people, but they are really nice and willing to share too. Another thing worth mentioning would be the fact that most of the people in my office are ladies, out of the 30+ people working in the building I'm one of the four men there.
3. Here at Amherst, taking long walks in the evening summer is really pleasant. I took most of mine with a really close Korean friend in the past few days, and we would go for coffee (she'd grab tea) afterward. Too bad she's on her way back to Korea for the rest of the summer... But I'm chuffed to bits we got to catch up even just for a bit :)

I have plenty of time to catch up, rest, and reflect. It's really tempting just to buzz around and start saturating my time with people, or just moving around and going to different cities to catch up with the old pals, but I'll probably lay low for a bit more. I always welcome people who feel comfortable around me, though. The biggest compliment you can give me is if you can laugh and cry in front of me without a care, if you can be your truest self in my presence. I shall reciprocate and treasure you.

Also, pray that I don't forget to take it easy ;)

Happy summer everyone!

Transit

I usually try not to update my blog too often, but since I have some time, and am feeling great, so yeah why not?

Thank you for your understanding, readers :)

I am in Narita now, waiting for my next flight to New York. Narita is a fantastic airport to be stuck in, it has Japanese food, goods, and people. The free wifi's great, and I'm enjoying a fantastic resting space which is stylistically built and is very comfy! Although objectively Singapore's Changi Airport remains the best transit place I've experienced, I am very pleased with what I get here. As a bonus, I was enjoying my bowl of tonkatsu in a restaurant here when I heard a bunch of Japanese people practicing their Bahasa Indonesia. After the meal, I stopped by them, praised their Bahasa in Japanese, and finished off with terimakasih and sayonara. They were shocked; but it's one of the many little moments which make learning foreign languages worth it ;)

The comfy sofa-bed in Narita

Ahh. It is lovely to be back in Japan, even if just for a while. It brings me back to the country which treated me very well. It's difficult to not remember strolling down the dimly lit streets of Kyoto or watching the cherry blossoms flutter in Osaka Castle whenever I hear Japanese being spoken. I am truly grateful, for whatever the costs might have been, that I chose and was given the opportunity to spend some time in Japan during the past semester.

Let me conclude this with another story, a reminisce of my Japanese memory. Toward the end of the program, I began to hang out more with the 3rd Year Japanese kids, and they love going to Nipponbashi with passion. Nipponbashi is almost an hour's worth of travelling from my home in Shojaku, and in the region they do three main things: Doujinshi, Games, and Arcade. To be very honest, I wasn't much of a doujinshi/anime or game console buff, but I really enjoyed the Arcade visits to Taito.

On our second last weekend, I decided to follow Bry-Chan to split up with the group from Namco and to go to Taito. Probably good thing I did so, because I discovered this amazing drum game in the latter arcade. I really enjoyed the game because before I knew it I was smiling and laughing everytime I managed to beat a song. However, there was a song that I was always very close to beating, but I never managed to. I promised myself that I would beat the song before I left Japan for good. Therefore, in the very last day (it was a Friday after our final exams, and everyone had to check out of the dorms on Saturday), when everyone was shopping, packing, or saying goodbyes, I left for Taito by myself to finally beat the song, and only after then I joined the group's farewell party. I'm so glad that I did so, because now I can say I left Japan without any regrets!

Well, I hope you all are having fun! Cheers!

flyt

Hi All, thank you! :)

I'm sitting at Jakarta International Airport's Starbucks, having checked in my gigantic luggage. In a few I shall hop on my plane bound for Narita (a good chance to finish my Yen and recharge some of my nihongo) and then eventually New York. It was a good 18 days I spent here. I might say that my return flight from Osaka felt just like yesterday, but I learned a good deal about a lot of different things that my black notebook is brimming with barely intelligible scruffings hahahaha. 

Anyways, I shall have a meal with an old friend in New York before I reach Amherst around midnight. I'm excited because I've been blessed with a lot of things: Amazing friends who are staying around in the summer, *fingers crossed* wonderful boss and meaningful work, and a nice single room in Hitchcock (if I'm correct, it's even better than my single room next year lol). So, thank you, I have been blessed.

To paraphrase a friend, a student's life in school is like driving straight. The obligations and the potentials are clear as day. Therefore, to even it out, the bends and the u-turns happen during holidays for the students. I have had winding roads during the past few weeks; One fine Saturday I was just out from morning till midnight driving solo, cafe-ing, and meeting the news and reconnecting the olds. Another I was up till 3am in the top stories of a Singaporean construct, wine-ing with my cousin who I always respect. And this, below. If there are any international readers, this is an appeal for you to come visit Indonesia someday. Yes, I didn't upload the prettiest pic, but since I'm travelling soon the bridge symbolism becomes more relevant :P

Anyways, I'm glad because I finally tried kayaking on a solo boat and re-lived my old Sec 3 OBS at Pulau Ubin days. And yes, sorry, this is more for myself, but the 100 Yen gloves I bought for a "dishwasher" game in the Japanese arcade actually became handy on that day ;)

For all readers who are travelling, or who are about to, safe travels! May your paths be safe and be a cheerful one!

Lombok, Indonesia

PS: Oh and Happy Vesak Day everyone, may we eventually reach the perfect enlightenment so that we can save the universe! And to my best friend, Agan, cheers to an amazing study abroad semester in Qinghua, Beijing! I'm so proud of you for making that choice, and I'm so happy for you because you're gonna be in one of my most favorite city in the world! It's a pity that I might not be able to catch you there, but see you again somewhere mate!