my list of things

i was looking over all my entries since the beginning of the year. and i chanced upon my "list of things to do before i leave japan."

(Written in February)
1. travel to hokkaido in summer to see sunflowers
2. travel to hiroshima.
3. climb mount fuji in summer
4. become more fashionable
5. finish my thesis
6. become fluent in conversational japanese so that i can at least understand what the waiters are saying to me
7. make at least 1 good friend
8. get to know as many good (and cheap) eating places as possible
9. get to know some good jazz bars
10. stay in a ryo-kan at least once
11. learn tennis



looking at the fact that I have about 1.5 weeks left in Japan....there are things that i am obviously not going to get done.

travelling to hokkaido or hiroshima are no longer possible.
neither is climbing mount fuji.
or learning tennis.

but i've certainly made progress on the others...
item 4. is debatable. perhaps? :) i like my new birthday hat! and skinny jeans.

item 5. is marginally debatable. i am done (see a couple of posts ago), but not quite. projected final finishing date: slightly after 7th of august, after getting home to singapore. but i am DONE. spiritually. haha.

item 6. marginally debatable. i do understand what waiters are saying to me now, but fluency in conversation requires a hell lot more. then again, i've definitely become a lot more fluent. and i think i'm going to continue japanese while in london. :)

item 7. not debatable, at all. :)

item 8. debatable. cheap options that are good are hard to come by, have been sticking with shokudo (canteen) food a lot. but there's this one place near my dorm, a tiny restaurant run by an old couple, that serves a pretty good leeks-with-omelette rice set for 500 yen. and well i've come across some pretty good eating places near school as well. :) have gone for some pretty expensive meals too...and haha the most interesting experience so far must be eating at a hemp restaurant at shimokitazawa on my birthday. :) i definitely have no cause to complain in terms of food....although i do wish that japanese food in general used more vegetables. *grin* i miss my gia pronto salads.

item 9. not debatable. :) sometime at kichijoji holds some very special memories.

item 10. yup, at hakone with my family. an interesting experience, for sure.

so, 7 out of 11.....




i guess i pass.



:)

but i more than pass honestly. japan hasn't been the smoothest ride ever, but i've done things. learnt stuff. (including guitar!! :)) learnt stuff about myself. made friends.

ultimately, i've created memories. and that's the most important of all, i guess.


in that post - i ended off with saying, 'cheers to 6 months more in japan.'

well.....

cheers to 1.5 weeks more in japan. :) i will live every remaining moment of it.