Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Hui Wa On @ Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan (from CityU) 30 March - 16 July 2010
30/03/2010
A LATE EXCHANGE BUT AN EARLY JOURNEY
It has been the ended of March already but my exchange program has not been started officially. Enjoying a long semester break from January to March, I have decided to start, unofficially, my exchange program earlier. I have arrived Japan for two weeks and now I am staying at the apartment of one of my best friends in Osaka. In this two weeks, we lived together, played together and unfortunately we got sick together. Certainly, time has not been wasted. Although it is my first time I traveled Japan, I have traveled many scenic spots in the Kansai Area including Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and so on. It is so excited that almost everything is in Japanese. During sightseeing, I did have many chances to practice my Japanese through reading the tourist guide, communicating with the local people, listening to the broadcast in the train, etc. My horizon was broadened. Everything is so fabulous here. People are so nice; Places are so beautiful; The food is pretty delicious. The picture shows Kinkaku-ji, one of the most famous and historical temples in Kyoto.
31/03/2010
THE WAY TO TOKYO
In order to save some money as the Shinkansen is a bit expensive, I took an eight hours night bus from Osaka to Tokyo last night. Then, I took another one hour traveling from Shinjuku, Tokyo to Aobadai, Kanagawa in which my dormitory is located. It is a really long way that I left my friend’s apartment at 8pm last night but it was already 9am when I arrived at the dormitory this moring. Right after I arrived at the dorm, our Resident Assistant took us to a “Shop Tour” so as to help us get familiar with the environment near our dorm. I am so excited to meet lots of new friends today. We did have fun although I did not sleep well the previous night. On the other hand, the first culture shock I encountered here is that there are tones of rules in the dorm. For example, we need to flip our name card over when leaving the dorm and doors are closed at 12am every day. Nevertheless, I think those are valuable experience to learn more about Japanese culture and society.
01/04/2010
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Today is the first day of school. Our school is located in Shibuya, one of the busiest and trendiest in Japan. Our campus is very nice with green plants and beautiful sights. Although we did not have any formal classes today, the school organized the first orientation session for us. Followed by the Welcome Session, we met with our tutors and had lunch together. Then, we took the Japanese Placement Test but we had already been looking forward to the event after the test- cherry blossoms viewing. Cherry blossom viewing is of great cultural importance in Japan. It is now exactly the flowering period of Sakura, so we went to see cherry blossoms in the park. The Sakura was really beautiful and we drank together under the "Hanafubuki" (Falling Cherry Blossoms).
14/05/2010
NEW FRIENDS BECAME GOOD FRIENDS
Today is my friend Son Hun’s birthday. So as to give him a surprise, we knocked his door at midnight and sang the birthday song for him. But then the manager of the dorm came and said 'Urusaiyo'(which means too noisy in Japanese) -_-. We went to Yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) after school today to celebrate his birthday. It is now the second month I have been in Japan. My new friends have already become my good friends. Although sometimes I get some communication problems because we all come from different countries and speak different languages, I treasure our friendship very much. We hang out all the time and have fun together.
16/07/2010
FAREWELL PARTY
It is hard to say goodbye. Time really flies. In a twinkling, I have been in Japan for 4 months. I miss my family and friends in HK so much, but meanwhile I don’t want to go back to HK so soon. The exchange experience, bringing me maturity, confidence and friendship, is a valuable treasure. During these four invaluable months, a wonderful chapter was added in my life. My memories would remain in my mind forever and in addition, I hope I will able to see my friends in somewhere else in the future. Japan is really a wonderful places and I will definitely be back in the future as well.
A LATE EXCHANGE BUT AN EARLY JOURNEY
It has been the ended of March already but my exchange program has not been started officially. Enjoying a long semester break from January to March, I have decided to start, unofficially, my exchange program earlier. I have arrived Japan for two weeks and now I am staying at the apartment of one of my best friends in Osaka. In this two weeks, we lived together, played together and unfortunately we got sick together. Certainly, time has not been wasted. Although it is my first time I traveled Japan, I have traveled many scenic spots in the Kansai Area including Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and so on. It is so excited that almost everything is in Japanese. During sightseeing, I did have many chances to practice my Japanese through reading the tourist guide, communicating with the local people, listening to the broadcast in the train, etc. My horizon was broadened. Everything is so fabulous here. People are so nice; Places are so beautiful; The food is pretty delicious. The picture shows Kinkaku-ji, one of the most famous and historical temples in Kyoto.
31/03/2010
THE WAY TO TOKYO
In order to save some money as the Shinkansen is a bit expensive, I took an eight hours night bus from Osaka to Tokyo last night. Then, I took another one hour traveling from Shinjuku, Tokyo to Aobadai, Kanagawa in which my dormitory is located. It is a really long way that I left my friend’s apartment at 8pm last night but it was already 9am when I arrived at the dormitory this moring. Right after I arrived at the dorm, our Resident Assistant took us to a “Shop Tour” so as to help us get familiar with the environment near our dorm. I am so excited to meet lots of new friends today. We did have fun although I did not sleep well the previous night. On the other hand, the first culture shock I encountered here is that there are tones of rules in the dorm. For example, we need to flip our name card over when leaving the dorm and doors are closed at 12am every day. Nevertheless, I think those are valuable experience to learn more about Japanese culture and society.
01/04/2010
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Today is the first day of school. Our school is located in Shibuya, one of the busiest and trendiest in Japan. Our campus is very nice with green plants and beautiful sights. Although we did not have any formal classes today, the school organized the first orientation session for us. Followed by the Welcome Session, we met with our tutors and had lunch together. Then, we took the Japanese Placement Test but we had already been looking forward to the event after the test- cherry blossoms viewing. Cherry blossom viewing is of great cultural importance in Japan. It is now exactly the flowering period of Sakura, so we went to see cherry blossoms in the park. The Sakura was really beautiful and we drank together under the "Hanafubuki" (Falling Cherry Blossoms).
14/05/2010
NEW FRIENDS BECAME GOOD FRIENDS
Today is my friend Son Hun’s birthday. So as to give him a surprise, we knocked his door at midnight and sang the birthday song for him. But then the manager of the dorm came and said 'Urusaiyo'(which means too noisy in Japanese) -_-. We went to Yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) after school today to celebrate his birthday. It is now the second month I have been in Japan. My new friends have already become my good friends. Although sometimes I get some communication problems because we all come from different countries and speak different languages, I treasure our friendship very much. We hang out all the time and have fun together.
16/07/2010
FAREWELL PARTY
It is hard to say goodbye. Time really flies. In a twinkling, I have been in Japan for 4 months. I miss my family and friends in HK so much, but meanwhile I don’t want to go back to HK so soon. The exchange experience, bringing me maturity, confidence and friendship, is a valuable treasure. During these four invaluable months, a wonderful chapter was added in my life. My memories would remain in my mind forever and in addition, I hope I will able to see my friends in somewhere else in the future. Japan is really a wonderful places and I will definitely be back in the future as well.
Labels: 2009/2010 Semester B
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