Tachikawa NO JIRETTAI BURO-GU!

Its been 24 days since I’ve been away from Singapore now. 24 days of the most unique experience of my life. 24 days worth of friendships made, some to be for a lifetime. 24 days worth of memories, laughter and tears, to be remembered forever.

I would have never thought the hundreds of hours of training, sacrificing time with family and friends (thank you very much for understanding! ((:) in the past 4 months prior to my departure would have culminated to so much more.

So much more!

You guys would never imagined the experiences I’ve gained. Interactions with so many different types of people, acknowledging the pre-existing cultural differences existing between all of us, whilst in the mean time nurturing our sensitivities towards one another. In Singapore, language might not be much of a barrier, but on this program, gestures are of the utmost importance. Combining this with the various different languages that we’ve picked up along the way, we hone our communication skills to the highest of levels; to a level that one can’t reach through language alone.

But also, that does not mean that languages are not important in this program! I was pleasantly surprised at the diverse amount of people that are able to speak more than 3 languages ((: And the weirdest situations arise on board the ship! Like take for example, me, one Chinese Malaysian and another indigenous Bruneian (not Malay!) understand one another more in Japanese than in Malay or English. Or the Indian girls from Malaysia who’s English isn’t quite perfect but converse in perfect mandarin. Or the 2 Japanese girls that are not so well versed in English but converse in French with the people who can speak French in the ship. Or the Cambodian girl who speaks fluent Japanese, and if not for my Japanese, I wouldn’t be able to understand her much due to her difficulties in English. And so forth. NOT FORGETTING the Japanese administrative staff who could speak English, Malay, Japanese (duh), Mandarin and Thai!

The list goes on and on.. And I’m really thankful for all the lessons and friendships that I have been able to take with me so far. I’ve learnt so much! And now I can safely say that one month of living in an environment where a language is used so often is a lot more beneficial to me than even 2 years of literal studying and writing! Heck, I might even look to living in Japan for a while to soak in the atmosphere, study language a little bit after I graduate from university.

Epiphanies and opportunities don’t come around too often, so I’ve gotta pick as many of them up as possible! (: That, and I’ve got quite a few good friends (both Japanese and Singaporean) and family living in all parts of Japan right now, so no worries about not having any friends or contact with anyone there!

Anyways, just a date check: it’s the 19th of November at the moment while I am typing out this blog in the Saloon while the ship is docked in Port Klang, Malaysia. I’m waiting for lunch and we’re going to be hosted by the Malaysian Prime Minister later in the evening for dinner. I can’t wait for that!

29 more days to foster closer friendships. 29 more days to take in more experiences. 29 more days till the end of the programme ):

How I wish it wouldn’t end.

But the memories on Fujimaru will live on forever.

And ever.

Till next time, peace!

P.S. I hope everyone in Singapore and Japan reading this is doing well! To my friends in NUS, the exams are cominggggg! Hope everyone’s doing fine in their preparations (: I’ll see everyone soon!

Its actually 2am now, and I’m snuggled up nice and comfy in my oh-so-comfortable futon, rolling around like a contented baby in the guest tatami room of the Kubota family in Kouchi Prefecture, Japan, I’ve really been disconnected from the online world for the past five days, just randomly going online to look for places of interest (and shopping :D) around the area I’m staying in. When I actually arrived 5 days ago, we were actually bunked into the Hotel New Otani for 2 nights, this 6 star hotel located near Akasukamitsuke station, where the opening ceremony and just about every other activity was held. An excellent hotel with excellent facilities and staff, though what can I say; you (don’t) pay for what you get! Haha.

Anyways, I’ve actually spent the 3 days I had in Tokyo exploring Akasukamitsuke & Harajuku. I didn’t quite manage to get to Akihabara and Shibuya (though I hope to do so when I’m back in Tokyo for the ASEAN Youth Summit tomorrow), but that’s ok. I’ve actually been in Kouchi prefecture for the past 2 nights and its been one heck of a wonderful experience for me..much more warm and hospitable people than those from Tokyo. First night in Kouchi was spent attending a ceremony for the opening of the SSEAYP Programme in Kouchi, as well as a spot of exploration around the hotel area. We walked past shuttered shops and kids doing the hiphop dance in front of the shops.

…yes, the shops were closed. But that didn’t stop us from carrying on further. It was the first time I was going out with my SG (Solidarity group - comprising of 2-3 members from each country in ASEAN as well as Japan, but Japan didn’t join us due to an influenza scare. ED: I just met them today at the ASEAN Youth Summit!).The company was really REALLY good. Its quite surprising to find out that everyone had a great personality. Led by the National Leader from Brunei (we call him Abang HajI. Fun guy :D), we just walked around laughing, poking fun with one another and getting really close. I can only foresee my SG getting closer as the days go by. OH! And we ran across this authentic Sushi shop, and there was this awesome 1000 yen sushi which was HUGE (Diameter of about 10cm, with a length of about 25cm!). It had unagi (eel), tamago (egg) and cucumber. About 8 of us shared it, and OH.MY.GOD. It was so friggin awesome!

On the second day, we actually visited the Makino Botanical Gardens to learn how to make chopsticks (HAHA AWESOMENESS) and walk around to enjoy the scenery of the plants that the botanist Makino gathered…which was a LOT! Firstly before that, we visited the Kouchi community centre where we actually showed an interesting presentation on how “Life” (growing of plants, and using them in the cookings that the children could eat!) was taught in schools in Kouchi elementary schools. Kouchi’s Chief School Superintendant, was also there. We were also actually featured in the papers, with a photograph of the youth ambassadors plastered in the article as well (I was literally outstanding for some weird reason -_-). We also visited a very beautiful garden with a huge historical significance after (:

On that second night, we were then matched with our homestay family in a very wonderful ceremony cum reception at the hotel.

(I actually fell asleep on the futon at this moment because it was soooo comfortable! These parts onwards are written from another time standpoint; when I’ve settled into the National Youth Olympic Centre for my ASEAN-Japan Youth Summit.)

..and that was when my life totally changed. I was matched with the Kubota family. The family consisted of the father, mother, daughter and her fiancee. We called the father “Otousan” (Japanese for Father), the mother “Okaasan” (Japanese for Mother), Chi (short for Chihiro), and Hiro (the fiancee). They might be a Japanese family, but boy did they exceed my expectations. I was on the homestay programme with another guy called Hafiz, a Bruneian (which someone said was totally similar to me in terms of character and all!), and we were blown out of the water with the amount of things they did for us! On the first day after the first night, we had flower arrangement classes (Ikebana) in the comfort of the Kubota house, followed by a visit to Kouchi Castle (Kouchi-shou in Japanese) After that, we actually took an hour’s drive down to a pottery-making factory, where all of us spent 2 hours learning how to make plates, bowls and cups from clay. They couldn’t be ready on the spot (only 2 weeks later), so they’re going to be delivered to my home in Singapore! (: After, we took a ride back to Kouchi city (we got to a drive through a Mcdonald’s Drive-through for some Ebi (prawn) Filet-O, which was DAMN EXCELLENT btw!), and Chi brought us to Aeon (YES ITS JAPANESE. They have ‘em in Malaysia as well) to shop while Otousan to Okaasan prepared dinner at home. AND OMG UNIQLO is so friggin’ CHEAP in Japan! I bought a pair of perfectly-fitted skinny jeans for 3900 Yen (About 60 dollars, IMPOSSIBLE TO GET IN SINGAPORE’S UNIQLO) and soft insulated sleeveless black vest for 1200 yen (18 DOLLARS?!) . Also went to another shop to get a Plus One navy-styled jacket for 6900 Yen (and it was soooo beautiful, totally fitted me so well. Got so many compliments for it! Looks like someone‘s got a new jacket for the new semester!)) and a few other random stuffs. After that, we went back home, where we actually had a table bbq. And OH.MY.GOD. Everything tasted so friggin’ gooood! From marinated chicken and beef, to vegetables that had been BBQ’ed, to fresh scallops.And the discovery of Noritama (egg/seaweed flavouring sprinkles for plain rice) as well! A game of Jenga was followed by more merriment, which was then followed by some excellent conversation and an exchange of gifts from them to us, and vice versa. We gave em our stuffs from Singapore, but in return they actually gave us a lot of souvenirs, snacks AND..you won’t believe this), A SHIRT PRINTED WITH A PHOTO OF US ALL, taken just barely a day before. Talk about Japanese efficiency! ((: We totally loved the shirt

The next morning, we actually went to the Sunday market, located near Kouchi-shou (Kouchi Castle) to browse the wares that the sellers had. It was barely an hour before we had to check in to the airport (to get back to Tokyou), but we made it in time!

Now, the hardest part was about to come. Even though we’ve just been together for only 3 short days, we were treated so much like family! Laughter, random practical jokes, poking fun at one another, lame puns and that kinda stuffs. The closeness we had was much more than 3 days; it seemed like we’ve known one another for a really long time. Of course, all of us (yes, Hafiz too, hahaha), being very emotional people, got really teary-eyed. We teared, hugged, said our goodbyes, took pictures. Rinse. Cycle. And repeat please. Yes, it was more than one moment that we did all of that. Even when we finally crossed into the departure area, we were still taking pictures through the glass, saying bye and, tearing and talking through the phone. The Kubota family’s hospitality was unparalleled, and they’re always going to be family. Chihiro and Hiro are going to get married next year, so me and Hafiz plan to write a song especially for them And we’re gonna make visiting them a very frequent thing throughout our lives, we swear (:

I miss Kouchi ): I’m currently in the National Youth Centre in Tokyou attending the ASEAN-Japan Youth Summit, and after looking through all of the pictures and souvenirs from Kouchi…I feel a little tear forming in my eye.

Wait for us, Kouchi. Your homeboys are coming home again one day.

45 more days of the 36th Ship for South-East Asian Youths’ Programme.

Always making Singapore proud,

(and eternally your home boy),

Syahmi

P.s. Don’t miss me please XD