Sakura@Ueno Park

My wonderful friend Dechen~

Sweet Tamila~

Flying without wings~

"The Sakura Cloud"

What a beautiful day spent in Ueno Park, together with all the cherry blossoms!

Upon seeing these pure white flowers, I thought of all the lovely people in my life I wish to have by my side today..My parents, sister, buddies, cousins and their children, uncles and aunties, grandparents, good friends all in different places... If only I can spend this afternoon with all of them, then it would have been perfect.

A lovely pink blouse from Chanita's parents :) just nice for spring~

My First Hosting Event @ the Japanese Farewell Party 2009

Last night, we held a farewell party for our fellow Japanese friends who would be graduating today. It was a night of fun and of course, another special first time for me - as the host for the event. :) I never thought it was possible for me to address the crowd 'informally' like this and I must say despite the minor slips, I had a lot of fun! If there will be another opportunity like this, I will grab it!

Summer-night dance led by Taka-san

This is our lovely Director of Alumni Office, Karin Hillen, or should I say, the loyal supporter of all the activities organized by the ISC and JSC. Karin, if you are reading this, thank you for everything! Well, looking at her smile, she does seem to be enjoying the party !

Winner of our Photocontest Dheni wins himself a swanking new iPod shuffle, which he was already happily using today.

Drinking contest: Our defending champion Taka-san had to be content with second place as Horie-san, life of the party, became our winner!

Dancing makes me happy! :)

Taka-san, my wonderful co-host. A funny conversation we had:

me: Taka-san, please speak in English. I can't understand what you are saying in Japanese and it's hard to keep up a conversation and entertain the rest!

taka: no.. but my english is not good....

me: please... please....

taka: okay. (Proceeds to down 2 cans of beer on the spot)

*lol*

Singing "Sukiyaki"

The a capella group Shu Shu worked their magic with a rendition of movie music and other classic, folk songs.

Our Volleyball team!

Posing with the prizes we had prepared for the winners.


***

Despite the flurry of exams, a good few of us managed to gather around for a night of good fun and laughter. Good times never last forever, but when they are here, we should make the best of it, shouldn't we? As my good friend would have liked to put it, "we all can make a good past for ourselves".

Today, our fellow Japanese friends have officially graduated and will proceed to start another chapter in their lives. I wish them all the best in everything!

Ethnic and Folk Costume Fashion Show @ TIEC 2009

Beautiful Nan & ... ME! ^_^ Brazilian + Scottish costumes

French costume (though it looks Spanish)?

I modelled in the Hanbok at the Fashion Show today!

The rest of the costumes were also fun to try on and take some photos. 그런데 한복을 가장 좋아해!

There is just one thing....

There is one person in this world
who never fails to make me laugh..
who is my pride and joy..
who is my shining light when the world turns dark..
who knows exactly what to say or do (she's wasn't trying too hard, she was just being herself)
but magically, my heart is always hopeful and happy when I'm around her.
and though this person is in singapore now..
i think she should know how special she is once in a while..
it is the APPLE-WORM relationship
it is the SISTER-SISTER relationship
It is you mei mei!!!!

Love you alot! ;)

*Picture of the day* :)

KEEP SMILING AND spreading your positivity to others around you :) i'm the luckiest of them all, coz i have a chance to be your sister. ;)

Latest creations from the kitchen~

Kimchi Fried Rice

Honey-glazed chicken with potato salad

***

I'm beginning to enjoy making good food!

While they are not as tasty as those in restaurants, I will keep trying to make them even better :)

Nan's Birthday Celebration :)

The three of us in Yokohama! I like dressing up for Spring :) !

"where shall we eat....?"

Without a doubt my two best buddies I have made in Tokyo..

Okay, Nan wanted to take the kiddy ride and I joined her ! ;)

@Afternoon Tea Cafe

Birthday celebration at night!

Another great day!

내 첫 사랑에게
어디든지 언제든지 행복해야 돼.
그리고 아름다운 기억 해 줘서 고마워.

This delicious curry rice is now my new fave ~ ;)

Lessons learnt from the Hiroshima Trip

Hiroshima is unlike other cities I have seen in Japan. Maybe because of the fact that the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on it on the fateful 6th August 1945 at 8.15am, this city and people has been through more than others. But this city has re-emerged with a sense of resilience and understanding of peace that can touch and inspire anyone who is willing to listen.

I would like to share some pictures and thoughts of our morning spent in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park here.
Many people who witnessed the after-effects of the atomic bomb drew haunting images of what they have seen.

Taegu and Hiroshima signed a sister-city agreement and this traditional Korean drum was presented to the Hiroshima Peace Museum.

A walk through the park in the morning left me feeling refreshed and slightly thoughtful.

This is the Children's Peace Monument that commemorates the children whose lives were lost due to the radiation effects of the Atomic Bomb. Paper cranes came to symbolize the hopes of these children because of a girl named Sadako. 10 years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, she contracted leukemia.

This is the "Tower of Thousand Cranes". They believe if you fold a thousand cranes, your wish will come true.

The Peace Bell located in the Peace Memorial Park. The aphorism "Know Thyself" is engraved on this bell. Just before ringing the bell, one has step onto the platform and look into the mirror first.

***

This is the first time I have come to understand how war can drastically affect the lives of innocents, children, old folks and everyone else who deserves a normal, peaceful life.

When we talk about military and defense systems in my National Security Policy class, I never knew, through those 'light-hearted and sometimes humorous' discussions, how close to our hearts this issue really is. Like Hiroshima, a city who has understood peace and long for a world free of nuclear weapons, I also have the same wishes and aspirations for this world.

-- This post is dedicated to my sister Sherlyn, a history student who is much interested in the world beyond her textbook. Ju, I will bring you back to Hiroshima someday --

Hope for the future

When we think about our future and dreams, we don't often realize how different they can be from others, those that we don't get to see everyday.

I have a good friend named Seifa from Ethiopia. Just last week, we spent alot of time discussing the situation in his country. Yes, there is a vicious cycle of poverty, lack of education and basic necessities in most rural areas and we talked about how we can bring about change in this society. Because he was trained in Politics and I have a background in Economics, I thought hard how about we can introduce a form of 'social engineering' to create 'small successful rural areas' instead of relying solely on the government for a top-down approach. We talked about his people, his family, the political leadership in the country, the need for education, the role of NGOS in Ethiopia, the exploitation...

There is something in Seifa's eyes that is magical - it sees the future. Those eyes have seen much but it is unrelenting and determined. If there is anything I can do, I would like to spread the awareness of this country, through words or discussions, any channel -- often what we see in the newspapers have been overly dramatized.

I believe there is room for a true reflection of what is going in Ethiopia and a chance for us to offer our assistance in anyway possible.