Monetary policy

Is money important? You bet. then again, it should never be the one sole life driving force of a person. I meet many students here, those that work for 10 hours a day and complain that life is so hard, those that have humongous scholarships but are so stingy with paying for essentials, and people for whom money is no problem. Me? I have to find means to supplement my initial capital, which isnt much. So far, God has been good, He has provided me with many avenues to alleviate my monetary woes, but then again the best door (scholarship) nonetheless remains closed to me. Sigh, but at least I cant say that I didnt try. I will look for other avenues, while at the same time trying not to be resentful about the second and third group of abovementioned students and also trying my bestest to avoid being like the first group.

Life is a delicate balance isn't it.

LAbour Day

Happy thanksgiving everyone!

It was labour day yesterday, and the LLM students came together and had a nice potluck, then karaoke the whole night, then a late brunch together of french toast and bagels. Sweet.



You see the way the LLM people party I get the feeling they came here to escape from Legal work or something. Up next, they have requested me and the other Chinese students to cook a chinese dinner. Hmmmm. Do they really know what they are getting themselves into, asking ME to cook for them. haha

Earthquake

Orange--days said in her Kyoto blog, 'Every city in Japan has its own tower.' To buttress her theory, here is Fukuoka Tower, in the background, at the Momochi Seaside area. Where the rich reside.

Anyway I was praying last night when I felt the bed move. Well, I didn't think that it was a miraculous sign, but more like probably I had merely imagined it. It was only when I saw the news an hour later that i realised that an earthquake had hit Kyushu, and that my area was affected, even though it was just magnitude 1. Chicken little you say?

Read this, and be impressed:

''In old neighbourhoods especially, people know each other well. Looting goes against the Japanese spirit of helping each other in times of need,' he said.

Petrochemical executive Satoshi Hara, 49, whose flat in Nishinomiya city was also violently shaken by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, recalled how he could not believe his eyes when he straggled to a nearby convenience store after the first tremors.

'Things were knocked off the shelves. But no one - despite the desperation for drinking water and other items - attempted to take the stuff and run,' he said. 'Instead, people waited patiently in a queue 100-deep to pay for their purchases.'

To be sure, there were some bad nuts. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, unscrupulous vendors hoping to make a quick buck rushed into the devastated areas to hawk food to hungry victims at several times the usual prices.

But their customers soon disappeared because the local Yamaguchi-gumi - Japan's largest yakuza (gangster) group - were inspired to do their bit for the community and were serving up free rice balls and miso soup.

Incidentally, this was written by the Japan Correspondent (Kwan Weng Kin) for today's edition of The Straits Times. The fact that he holds my dream job is besides the point, point being is that I personally feel that everyone knows why The Straits Times is ranked so low in terms of press freedom but that doesn't discount it as being an excellent news source for foreign news, especially that of the Asia-Pacific region, where we are in. Try reading the New Straits Times or the Bangkok post and see if you get such in depth coverage.

And no, living in Japan has not inflammed my nationalistic pride. Its a comparative analysis.

Mochi-Tsuki & Thanksgiving

Here's a dummies guide to how to make Japanese 餅(mochi)/大福(daifuku). First you steam a pot of glutinous rice, then you place it (the rice! not the pot!) into a stone bowl, and smash it ceaselessly with wooden... hammers(?) as shown:



The really professional people can probably average 2-4 hits per second, but when we were doing it, it was probably much slower :P When it sticks, add a little water, and coninue. Anyway after you get a smooth consistency, it is ready to be seperated into little pieces. Wrap some azuki bean paste balls with the rice dough and roll it with your hands, like this:



Of course, there is a secret technique to it, so that it actually comes out looking like a mochi, like this: Ta-da!



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Thanksgivings

I have been here for close to 2 months already. Of course there are many things that I still find unsatisfactory (like my incompetence in Japanese) but there are an overwhelming number of things that I would like to give thanks for, for the opportunity to actually be here, for the people that I have met and the friends I have made, and a chance to find myself, to learn and to experience first-hand God's providence when I am residing in an alien land. As written in Psalms 100:4

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever"

And thankful, I am.

Autumn Leaves

These are just facets of Dazaifu Tenmengu, the whole thing is too big to fit into one single photo (it might be possible if I took it from the helicopter), so these are just selections of the shots that I like best.





Zen is a state of mind. Heh heh. Well, it was nice just sitting on the tatami mat silently watching the autumn leaves. Gives a nice sense of calm.



I love autumn, everything turns red and yellow and gold, and the weather is so cool. Yesterday was the first time I observed my breath coming out as smoke (if you get what I mean). Ah... nice :) I have been digging in my suitcase for gloves, scarves and ear muffs. Everyone has been asking me how have I been, living the dream or not. I say yes, I am happy here, I am not sentimental so I am not missing anything actually, just feeling out of touch with most of my friends back home since I am seldom online at night to chat with them. Its not the feeling of displacement that bothers me, its the fact that I might not be there for my friends who need me, or I do not have the chance to hang out with them and such. Give and Take. Thank you if you have been writing to me or sending me stuff, it reminds me that I have something waiting for me back home. :)

Where shall I go today

Taken at Tenjin Long-distance Bus Terminus

Well, it is confirmed, I will be heading down to Saga and Nagasaki in early December, as well as to Beppu after Christmas. Now a third trip has presented itself before me, now that the Law School has agreed to subsidise a "student trip" so long as I go with a Japanese Student (which isn't a problem, I am going with Chihiro). Problem is, where can we go? Hmmmmm....

Travelling

From Nishijin to Kaizuka 14:59hrs





Sailor Moon, personified. She ran off after I took this shot. Guess having a 4 inch lens isnt a very good exercise in discretion. By the way transportation here is horridly expensive. 460Yen for a 25 min ride.

Royal Rumble

Sumo’s greatest wrestlers are all here in Fukuoka for the last basho of the year – the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. Since the previous tournament in Tokyo, all eyes are on yokozuna Asashoryo (who isn’t even Japanese, he’s Mongolian) to see whether he can achieve his seventh consecutive tournament win, something never done before in Sumo history.



I managed to get my hands on a complementary ticket to the opening ceremony today, and shared a box-seat with the other law LLM students. Great view, and it was a great experience as I saw sumo live and in its full glory.



'Are you sure about this, little one?'



The flags outside the Fukuoka Kokusai Sentaa each represent a sumo wrestler.



With some of the Law LLM students.

Seasonal

Kaki-fry bento (Fried Oysters)

In Japan, I have learnt that many things that we take for granted back home should not be taken for granted here. For example, I have bought an outdoor thermometer from the 100-yen store and installed it on the balcony so I can check it in the morning and that would determine how many layers of clothing I wear.

Also for food, that most foods are seasonal and plentiful only at certain times of the year. Right now it is oysters and oranges and whatsnot. Above is a sample of what I have for lunch , especially when I wake up late (I have no early morning lessons. Anyone who knows me well would know how much effort it takes for me to haul myself out of bed in the mornings and I really appreciate not having to cook before going to school), so bentos are a nice alternative, especially since the foods varies with the season.

Kiku Hanami

This was somewhere near Munakata, about an hour's drive from Fukuoka. By the way, contrary to popular opinion the National Flower of Japan is not the Sakura, its the Kiku, or Chrysanthemum, representative of the Imperial Throne since the Meiji era. And at the festival it was HUGE. I have added Chrystanthemums to the list of huge things in Japan... Apples, Grapes, eggs and Chrysanthemums



The Bonsai was quite astounding (see background). These are some of the nice folks from Church that I went with. Kids dont look too happy though

Mikan Gari

KevinK insists that I am turning into a peasant proletariat.



Maybe because I have been picking oranges in a farm at Koga City?
It was an all-you-can-eat kindof buffet as we picked the choiciest oranges to keep (we were all provided with a mid sized plastic bag for 200Yen) and whatever we could eat there in situ was free. :D

I am now having mikan with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My own DeepaRaya

While everyone back home is probably enjoying some extended break, we here at Fukuoka have a holiday as well, coincidentally, on the same day. It is 文化の日, or Culture day. Not too bad yea, barely a month in Fukuoka and I have already had 2 national holidays. I went with Kouji, Eiko and Rinko to Karatsu City for their annual Hikiyama(引き山) literally *pulling the mountain* festival.




Basically these are giant floats (made of what I do not know because I did not get a chance to touch them) that are trawled through the cities at night by men from seperate villages of Karatsu City. There are a total of 14 of those floats, ranging from the mask of Yoshitsune to Koi to the Chinese Lion on a ball. (All these sound so much better in Japanese but because I was explictly told by Xianzhi to write in English, I guess my literal translation would just have to do) heh.



Basically the young boys are at the front of the line pulling the float, and the older teens and men are behind, and everyone goes Hei-sho! Hei-sho! or Hei-ya! Hei-ya! and the atmosphere was electric. There will be people on rop of the floats waving paper lanterns and musicians playing the Japanese flute on the foat. Kakkoii! Basically the floats could only go straight and I was watching the parade from a corner of the road so when they have to turn the entire team turns the float in one fluid motion and the float swooshes past me right in front of my face, as so:



Was really cool, street food and souvenior shops were selling so much stuff and I really had to restrain myself from buying one of those coats that the Japanese were wearing because I knew that I probably would not be able to wear it very often back home haha.