I miss Okinawa badly, my host Aika and her family especially. They have been super nice to me since I touched down from the plane, worrying that I may feel uncomfortable at anytime. They are like my family in Japan, and I miss them so much )):
Anyway, a very very very long entry. I think this is so much longer than the Aska one.
Day 1 (Sunday 25th May 2008)
Cabbed to Changi Airport and reached at like 5.40am. The plan ride was well boring (N) It takes 12 hours to reach Okinawa! And what was worse was that we have to fly to Narita Airport first for the transition even though we passed Okinawa while we fly for Tokyo (this sentence doesn't make sense, I know. Even Martyn who knows how bad my English can get feels sorry for me D:).
During flight and our teacher-in-charge, Desmond.Touched down safely at 9pm and I got to meet the student who will be hosting me for the first time, Aika Shimojo and her family. They were very nice and brought me to Jusco for some dinner and shopping. Yay shopping on the first day even before I reached their home :D
Had takoyaki (Y) for dinner and bought some makeup - Kate pressed powder, eyeliner and green eyeshadow palette, Kose makeup remover and Shiseido blotting film. I spent like S$56 on those cosmetics in just half an hour or so. But most of them are Kate, I love Kate! And you can't find them in Singapore! At least according to my memory, I haven't seen a counter/store selling them (:
Arrived at my home in Okinawa at about 1130pm and I went straight to unpack before my shower. Gave them the presents that I brought from Singapore and uhm, I slept late hehe.
Day 2 (Monday 26th May 2008)Had my first breakfast in my entire life before a weekday school starts even though I am not used to eating anything at 6.45am in the morning :} Reached Koyo High School like 2 minutes before the bell rang -_- Seriously, I thought being at Okinawa with Aika will kick this habit away, but no. Anyway, the rest of the people were like dying to go back to Singapore even though I'm okay with another 9 days :O Had a tour around the school.
The students bring bentos for lunch, instead of buying food from the canteen we have here in Singapore. I miss my bentos Okasan pack for me everyday now ):
Family Mart is like our only hangout after school because there isn't any place else for us to visit :O
After Aika finished her club (she's the basketball boys' manager, super cool!), took us and her brother for some awesome dinner :D
Day 3 (Tuesday 27th May 2008)
The school wasn't particularly exciting for me and we sat in for all the 6 lessons. I can't understand a single word while the teacher was speaking, except maybe English lessons. But even their English is taught in Japanese :\
My lunch bento for the day, yummy (: After school was the welcome party at Language Lab Room (where we meet for the 1st hour everyday for the MI students). We were very noisy and even Aika who was at the library could hear all the noise we made. It was fun I guess, playing the squirrel and tree game -_-
Marcus and Li Xuan's hosts (I know, my dark eye circles + eyebags -_-)
After the party, Aika and I headed to some gym located at some unknown place for the basketball trainings. I swear being the manager is cool, you practically don't do much except maybe refill cups with water but the players seem to respect you alot :D
Day 4 (Wednesday 28th May 2008)
Headed to Gushikami Junior High School for some short exchange programme and interacted with the students. Sort of :\ During the art class, we made this miniature traditional Okinawa (if I'm not wrong) drums using bottle caps and such.
During her club afterwards (because the weekend is their tournament, they have basketball everyday after school till eight :O), one of the basketball person gave me another drum! In orange, super cute! :D
At night, we went to Tomato House for the celebration of Aika's birthday :D It is a karaoke house, kinda big, and to my surprise, they do have chinese songs O.O But nope, no Aska nor XGB ):
And so, I was given the duty to finish all food :D My host family is super cute, they keep playing the bells thing which make super loads of noise while someone else is singing a supposedly sad song and kept ordering (more) food :D
Okasan, Aika, Miki, Kadsu (Okay, I don't know how to spell his name but I am 100% sure it's not Katsu)The brother always look so strained in pictures :D But he's seriously one of the veryyyyyy few kids I can tolerate. He's super kind (always offering me sweets) and cute :D It's like whenever he wanted to ask me a question, he would walk in and out of the room for at least a dozen times (am serious, not exggerating) to seek help from Miki whenever Aika's not around.
Digressing for abit. For example that was once he wanted to ask me whether I'm tired and hungry, he went to the room Miki's in and asked for the english word, tired, but when he reached my room, he would have forgotten how to pronounce it. And when he finally got it, he would then ask for hungry. When he got it, he had forgetten tired. Awww, super sweet (:
Okay, I realised I am (once again) not making sense for the above paragraph ): Anyway, I really had fun eating and jumping up and down and shaking the bells :D
Day 5 (Thursday 29th May 2008)
Basically wasted the time in school because the students have some integrated studies and we were left to rot at the LL room. At least, I could attack the computer and basically searched on Aska. His videos and everything.
Day 6 (Friday 30th May 2008)
Peijie and I were taking photos of our clasmates during PE lessons because we did not bring our shirts to school :D
I think it's better not to post my photo with Ryota because it'll be the 2 stalkers then :D Which reminds me - YAY! I GOT TO KNOW ANOTHER STALKERRR WHOOOOO! Heart fellow stalkers, at least those I know personally anyway :D
Me and uhm, my classmate. I forgot his name but he's nice! At least nice enough to take photo with us :D And whatever happened to my hair and eyes was disastrous, thank you very much.
The girls and the PE teacher. Yes, I know, I think I stood too close to him too :\After some random phototaking, we headed to Okinawa Peace Memorial Park. It was like a museum dedicated to the World War 2, I think. Photos taken were too uninteresting to be put up so yeap :D
Because the tour ended too early, the teacher brought us to one of the many Jusco-s for some shopping :D I swear we behaved like we never shopped before. Took some neoprints because they were cheap like only 400 yen yay. And after that, Meiling and I headed for the makeup department after buy a bronze neclace for Aika -_-
I finally bought my Helena Rubinstein mascara after a few months wait :'D Its so pretty with leopard (or maybe some other animal) prints and it's only 2980 yen! Which is around S$40! Cheap cheap cheap as compared to Singapore's, maybe like S$60? And I bought another Kate makeup, the liquid foundation this time whooo.
Went shopping at night with Aika and her family again whooo. Ate kid's meal for dinner because I was too full to finish the normal adult's one. But Okasan keep adding more food to my plate, it seems like the amount of food I have to finish is wayyyy more than that :\
Day 7 (Saturday 31th May 2008)
After the basketball tournament, Aika brought me to Kokusai, also known as the International Street in Okinawa. Had taco rice for dinner and i love love love it. Bought like 5 packets of instant-taco thing :} Anyway, her team won :D
Bought some Majolica Majorca makeup, two mascaras and an eyeshadow palette. And another Kate gel eyeliner.
This boy's name is Wataru, super cute and talented too! Aika spilled some lemon tea on one of the paintings and she bought some tea, sandwhich and gave her chocolate to him (: He then gave 2 very cute paintings to us. So now I've got 3, including a baby seal one which I bought. Its wierd though, you can pay for any amount for the art work.
Day 8 (Sunday 1st June 2008)
Met up with the people to go shopping together. Went to Main Place and Kokusai (again). Because Aika's basketball team won the first round and therefore, had to play another game, she can't join us ): Miki drove me to the school to wait for Meiling's host to drive us there.
Bought yet another makeup stuffs. Kose makeup base and Canmake liquid eyeliner. I swear liquid or gel eyeliners are so much easier to use than those pencil ones.
The toilet isn't much I know. But my legs look thin hereeeeeeeee (:
We basically took neoprints (again) and hung out at the supermarket. I swear the boys are more crazy in shopping than the girls :}
I looked happy to be pressed on the head.
Day 9 (Monday 2nd June 2008)
Took a photo with the class before going to Okinawa World. There's limestone cave, reptile shows and more shopping for us to do.
Peijie blends into the crowd because she wore Azumi's Koyo uniform and therefore, I looked like an outcast somehow ):
When we came back from the Okinawa World, we had this farewell party. I think I'm the only person out of the 10 who had the whole family to attend this party :}
Went shopping at some place before heading to another place for dinner. I love the barbecue and we have two because there's like too many people :D And about the picture above it, the youngest brother is there. It is like the first 4 days or so, I do not know his existence until one day, I saw him inside the car. And then there was another day he vanished but he still managed to reappear again. But still cute, always offering sweets.
Day 10 (Tuesday 3nd June 2008)
The last day at Okinawa ): Cried like buckets because it's so difficult to see her again. She's a year 3, so she came to Singapore on March already ))):
Like I cried at piloty when her mum and brothers helped me to drag my luggage and bags and everything. Then I cried again at the LL room because of something Joey said. I think it was like "Ehh. Will you all cry later?" ): Then the third time was at the piloty again after we took photos with Peijie and Azumi. Then I made myself busy by carrying random bags to the bus. The fourth time I cried was when I finished the chore and I had to turn my head towards Aika and passed her my presents for her): Then hugged. Kicked some random bags. Then cried harder for the fifth time because I saw her crying too. Then hugged for the second time. Then we chatted until Desmond said that we had to board the bus. Hugged again for the last time. Then cannot stop crying even by the time we reached the airport. Cried again during the flight to Tokyo. I wonder sometimes why I could be so emotional at times.
But she said she wanted to live in Singapore when she grows up because she loves it here :DDDDD
If you haven't realised, I was trying to bend down which in turn, makes me look weird :\
" Today when you went to Okinawa World,
I was feeling lonely.
Then I think of tomorrow,
when you have to go back to Singapore,
I was very sad." )':
We exchanged like 40 plus emails already (': She is super sweet. On the last day during our flight, she emailed me like 3 times, asking whether I reached home and whether I'm okay and telling me that she's worried because I have not replied her yet (: But that's only because I'm still flying and I reached home at 1am. It was only the next day I read her emails.
I have been thinking whether does it takes any money to send email globally using the cellphone? Because Aika does that and I don't really want her to spend too much on it.
Loads of misses and take care ):
xoxo
Labels: Okinawa