Japan 1 : Why Okayama?

ever since i got back, everyone asked the same question, "how's Japan?"

and i realised that my short+sweet answer "IT'S GRREEAAAT!!!" doesn't do enough justice to the 3 weeks experience in the east side. i owe the trip a proper, full update. no? at least you can view some of my 1000 shots of Japan *cheeky smiles*

here's my list of 20; of the people i've met + things i've seen + lesson i've learnt + food i've tasted during my elective in Okayama University:

1. okayama peach is the bomb-lah!!! sodaaaaaaaaaaap. mahal giler... but sedap!

2. 7-eleven and Family Mart (convenience stores) became our bestfriends - they don't just sell crappy, cheap food! we tried the rice cake, bento box, buns, vegetarian oden which were good enough to stuffed our tummy and restricted budgets. lol.

3. cycling seems to be the most important skill that everyone needs to survive in this city. they can cycle with one hand controlling the bicycle when the other hand holds the umbrella. 7-inch high-heels is a no biggie too!

4. 100yen shop and the vending machines are missyA's saviour to cure her coffee addiction.

5. japanese people are super polite, formal and hardworking. when i say super, it means super Super SUPER ohkay! every move we make need to be informed to them. i lost count on how many times they actually tundukkan kepala during conversation. and they masuk hospital at 8am and will only be back at night, let say 1030pm. it's unusual for them to go back at 6; unlike us yang sangat punctual and cabut at 4pm. *blushed*

6. the bread here is super thick.

7. korakuen garden is one of the main attractions here. we went there on the first day of the light festival. it was beautiful. dead gorgeous.

8. july is the raining season in japan. even though okayama is well-known as the land of sunshine, it's still wet wet wet ok! definitely NOT the best time to visit the country. hmmph.

9. Udon is thick wheat-flour noodle that can be served either hot or cold. i've tried both and due-due pun daaaaaaaaaaaaaap! remember to slurp your noodle all the way. and in okayama, tanuki serves the best udon ever *drooling*

10. red bean filling in everything! overdosed dei...

11. japanese people learned english since high-school. hence they can read english-written text. but because they hardly use it to communicate, some of them are a bit shy to converse in english. especially the girls.

12. the toilets at level 3, okayama hospital are super canggih! you can warm up the seats, spray deodorant incase you've stinked the cubicle and some sound to cover up while you are doing your business. and sooo clean sumore!!!

13. white-see-through umbrella is the in-thing. i was tempted to buy one but then, tak tau how to bawa balik la pulak... adoi, beg kecik sangat lah!

14. izakaya; the traditional japanese pub for them to socialise after work. Paper lanterns can be found in front of an izakaya. They serve food/snacks to accompany the drinks. AND you can't eat sambil bercakap. i had to put down my chopticks few a lot of times throughout the night - hence i ate very little even though i was super hungry that time.

15. japanese people are shy. so they prefer tooth-coloured, plastic bracket of bracess compared to the metal ones. less obvious to others.

16. drinking - karaoke - go back home; that's how you party in okayama. *wink*

17. sumimasen [excuse me], gomenasai [sorry], wa karimasen [i don't understand], arigato [thank you] were the essentials in my japanese dictionary. *laughs*

18. i love the green tea and black sesame seed ice cream.

19. tanjobi omedeto means happy birthday :))

20. japanese girls are kawaii. prothodontist guys are cool. orthodontic guys are gentle. paediatric guys are cheerful. miss miss lah!