remembering ginza

ginza, tokyo, may 6, 2005

i've been to ginza many times while i was staying in tokyo for my first 2 and a half months in japan. then, ginza did not appeal to me as a must place to visit since i found the place too vain for a street boy like me. when i say street, i mean it as a place where the street children are. ginza sells items with brand names, not a tiangge, and therefore you expect prices which can cause headaches for a salary man. it is just too much a place for me.

however, during the golden week, i was invited by my host family to spend a 4-day holiday, all expense paid, with them. one night in a hotel around this place. now the place became memorable to me, not because i could now afford to shop in this area, but because once in my life, i had spent a good memory with my host family. what with the oysters in 4 different courses in one dinner which were ordered for me to consume. blurp!

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remembering the family


tsurumaki family plus me, saitama home (pic taken using kohei's fon)

i have known them through jice which organized a homestay during our nihonggo class in 2003. since then, we continue to communicate as we share the same interest in photography. kohei san, the father, holds a wide range of interests from IT to philosophy, he is also a street boy like me in his university days. (he spent 8 years for his undergrad studies). he seems to have an unconventional mindset, uncommon among japanese (di sya bagay sa iuj), but perhaps he could be passed on as a true blooded UPian. other than that, i also share the same interest with the boy, tatsufumi kun, as he talks too much, likes to sing (he taught me one japanese song) and very lively. during my stay in their house, he served as my waiter, assistant, playmate and he taught me 300 types of car which he identified by memory. at the age of 3, he already read hiragana. when his father asked him for a shinkansen look, he gamely formed his face to look like it. kohei's wife, yumi san, is a japanese literature major.

they are a wonderful family. this is the same family who surprised me by sending a dozen of 1-liter pineapple juice, del monte at that, and 8 bottles of 1.5-liter coke, after the earthquake. why del monte? because they had remembered i told them once that i like del monte pineapple juice. wow.

thanks a million to them for the opportunity.

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remembering the house



the archi-design of their house suits me well as i am planning now to build a house of my own in a very small residential area i have in my country. it maximizes the small land area they have, giving attention to functions and colors. however, the price doesn't suit me well --- 45mil yen, and that was 1o years ago.

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remembering the hotel


annex daichi hotel, tokyo, and view from the room window

a wide room like that and in tokyo at that, i felt like solomon in modern times. i am used to sleeping in a bench in a sidewalk, or in a train station, and having a hotel room is not something i desire for, but staying overnight in a place like this for free, i felt like an heir of the kingdom of bill gates and queen elizabeth combined together [exageration supplied]. this was a gift, and that gesture made my stay unforgettable.

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remembering other things

i do still remember the song tatsufumi painstakingly wrote in a piece of old paper which afterward he gave to me. at 5, he could now write well. i remember the italian restaurant for my last dinner and the never ending order of pizza and pasta, coffee and juice and cakes. i thought then that it was my last day on earth for i had eaten the most and the best. i can't forget the long walk from akihabara to ueno station, stopping at every shop we passed by (not literally, of course). i do remember the never ending talks and the long talk in the platform while waiting for the shinkansen. when i get back to my home country, i shall always remember.

this piece is written to tell that if there is one thing i am proud of, it is never of having a certificate for master's degree, but having a friend like kohei san and his family.

untitled

til now, i still dont know the name of this river park. i ate my lunch here today, june 7, 2005

this is iuj in real life. simple world can be so much wonderful. just take a walk around (in my case i took my bike), open your eyes wide, and don't analyse. don't simply look at the lily in the pond, see it; don't simply hear the sounds of the natural wind, rushing river, and the bird, listen to them. in doing so, it is certain that you shall experience the 'awe' of nature. and don't be in a hurry, lest you miss a lot of happenings around. enjoy.

kiss

along the street, near the river, iuj, june 5, 2005

beautiful world, really. sweet. kilig. charming. this was my world yesterday. and the rest of the story is mine.

food disaster and other events

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yakisoba

i cooked the main dish for our lunch today

when aoki sensei arrived in NPO hotel a few minutes after i arrived, he excitedly announced that i, yes i, me, myself, would be cooking yakisoba. (what?!!!) oh well, yes i know yakisoba, it is like yakitori. (that comment was uttered under a delirious situation.) of course, i have to impress them that i am not only good in eating, but in cooking as well. (oh mom, please help me!) under his guidance, sweat and all (hehe), i managed to do well until i placed the soba into the mixture. i thought of how good the relationship was among the soba because they were sticking to one another. they were just sticking and refused to glide, soften, like the way i saw them in "real life". some were formed like balls, others like a group of telephone wires, the likes. i had to use a wooden laddle to mix them until the soba were refined, broken, cut into pieces. oh my! some were cooked, some were not, some were halfcooked. oh well, i served them anyway, and sprinkled nori all over. it looked delicious. it really LOOKED delicious, until i actually placed a chopstick-full into my mouth. that was it, i waved my white flag and said sorry for messing up. i could not eat the soba except the meat and the vegetables. then aoki sensei told me it was his mistake, he forgot to tell me that i needed to boil the soba first. oh well... he and sekiya san had to eat them all, which they did. thank you.
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goldfish in a pond


while aoki sensei prepared the dessert and sekiya san washed the strawberries, i consoled myself by looking at the pond with lots of gold fish in it. in my mind i was imagining this goldfish being grilled or barbecued. i'm sure it would have tasted better for a lunch.
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playtime


the kids came after we ate our lunch. i ended up watching them play gundam in the playstation. there is a special girl named mahu-chan, 14 years old, who is so makulit. she could not get the vibes of the others because she has a world of her own. there is also another kid named taira-kun, who kept on walking here and there, and teasing and testing mahu-chan's patience until world war III broke out. atsuya-kun didnt mind the commotion, he just played his gundam while kohei-kun kept on 'cheering', referring to the enemy as "mahu san hahahaha dead! dead! hahahah" hayy buhay... bagan marisyo man la.
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this is a store, even if it is not


sekiya san drove me back home. while waiting for the green light, i saw this building and wondered if this is a house, a store, or an office. only if i could read the sign. i don't know why this got my curiousity. and i hate it for wondering this way. what is it to me, anyway? green light, please, green light.
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nin-gyou


when i arrived in my room, i immediately took this japanese doll from my bag, and had it posed in my table for its first pictorial. i bought this today in a flea market in iuj, costing me 800yen. nice omiyage (present) for my family.

nice day...

all about tooth and toothache

prayer partners and friends,

i'm out here in NPO "hotel". after our bible study last night in shiozawa, we decided that i should spend my night here because my tooth, which could not wait until july, was having a tooth day. that means i have a terrible toothache. my sensei called immediately a dentist for appointment, and had me scheduled today at 9:30, too early for them to fetch me at iuj. so after our discussion last night, we went back to iuj to get my things, shirts and all, then back to the hotel. of course, i was smiling. aside from sleeping again in my old baby crib, that would also mean -smile smile smile- eating superb japanese food, and, fyi, it's home cooked.

i was hesitant though to visit a dentist at this time. first, the expenses. consultation alone is already 2000 yen (1thou pesos), much more the treatment. the assurance of my sensei that he would pay did not help me ease up my concern of shelling out more than 1 month of my salary back home, and, second, to think in 1 month time i'm already home. but pray still i did, because my tooth is really having its day. and it is showing no sign of slowing down.

the dentist clinic is located far from my place, though we have one near iuj. but this dentist is the father of the little boy i play with almost every saturday. so the connection helped a lot in my decision to go. truth to tell, i was praying that he would do it for free. no harm in praying anyway. (in times like this, i could no longer afford for any extra expenses. im going home soon, and that means financial insecurity now.)

aoki sensei took time from his work, and brought me to the clinic. when we arrived there, the dentist was polite enough to welcome us. he was unusually alone, had no staff so he apologized for messing up in filling up info sheets of whatever kind. he's not used doing it. he was alone and no staff because today is a holiday for his clinic, so his secretary is on holiday. and the dentist was kind enough to open the clinic for me! when i wrote my name on the sheet, the dentist made mention like: "ah boris san, itsumo kohei..." i understood it as kohei, his only son, always talks about me. that made me smile. at least i know i have touched one soul while i lost my way in this land of the rising sun.

my tooth was x-rayed. my, i was thinking again of the cost. i was feeling sorry for my father for that means the little amount- and i mean a litlte amount- i spared for him would be spent for this tooth. i joked to aoki sensei before i went to the xray room if i should smile while the dentist took a "picture" of my tooth. that eased my burden.

in our broken language, the dentist made me understand the situation, and the things to be done. and that means more than one visit. and that means more than 2000 yen, consultation alone. my tooth needs root canal something (i dont know the exact term), and replacing the tooth crown with a metal something. since we dont have enough time (be home in july), so he will only treat my tooth by cleaning it, injecting something, and what more. in 3 weeks, 1 visit per week.

and so in 1 hour i was done, just for today`s visit. another one next week which he told me would take more than 1 hour. he gave me medicine as pain reliever, no too cold too hot drinks, and i should use only the other side of my teeth for eating.

the bill shows a 2,867 yen amount (and this is only the beginning), insurance already considered. i shelled out 3,000 yen. the moment i placed the yen bills into the tray, the dentist took it, and gave it back to me, smiling and saying something i only understood one word, and it was a name: kohei. whatever that meant, i suddenly realized that the dentist was no longer a dentist to me, i saw him now as the father of kohei who looks up to me as his big friend. and kohei's father's name is nakajima san.

"a man reaps what he sows." a bible verse (galatians 6:7) i will never forget. thanks to my God who made all things possible.

in christ,
boris

(thanks to nakajima san. thanks also to my church in urasa who started it all for me. then to aoki sensei who broadened my japan experience.)

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post note:


kohei kun and his butteflies (with s KL, with s) in his house

after lunch, sekiya san took me back to urasa church because sato sensei and i planned to distribute tracts in muikamachi. while i was walking from house to house in muika, i saw kohei kun walking from school to his home. he was surprised to see me and he brought me to his house. he refused to let me go without me having a coffee for a few minutes. i said yes, and i was glad i said so. this time, i went inside their house, really a big house, very modern the interior. i gave one tract to his mother, who seemed to understand what i was doing. (btw, this morning i was in their clinic, adjacent to where they live.) though surprised to see me back, his mother was happy to see me with her son from school and gave me a warm accommodation. it must have been very lonely for the boy to live in a big house alone. nakajima san joined us after a while. kohei showed me his butterfly collections, one from malaysia (the name was morpho something, a big butterfly, royal blue in color) and the ones he's holding (in the picture) are from the philippines. (his mother's father went to the philippines way back.) i promised kohei if he goes to the philippines, the only thing that we do is to catch butterflies and beetles (another of his favorites). [to KL: if kohei will go there next year, as a sidetrip, i will catch too my own 'butterfly'. but whether kohei will go there or not, i will still catch my own butterfly.]

i have a very wonderful day. God is good. i'm glad Jesus paid all my shortcomings in life.

boredom breaker

i got a good audience tonight, and a good laugh. imagine the pencil sticking to my hand. could david copperfield do that? i learned the trick when i was still in my elementary. and i got to do it again during my master's. it happened during coffee break. the lecture in my international comparative management class bored some of us. so while we were in the corridor having our time out, i got to perform this pen-sticking-to-my-hand in a group of captured audience. it amazed me to know that it amazed them. of course, i didn't tell them my secret. i wonder if one of them tonight would dream of doing it on his own. gambatte!

portrait

faces of friends, captured by my olympus camedia. from top, reading direction: kohei, japan; yoshiko san, japan; daniel (asrul in real life), malaysia; leah, philippines; channa, cambodia; binh, vietnam; unur, mongolia; hau, vietnam; mirzo, tajikistan.

morning

morning in spring as seen from my window, may 26, 2005

japan has been known as the land of the morning sun. i was told that sunrise really could be so red as in its flag. ive been here two years but til now i havent seen such red sunrise. who would see it when the sun rises at 4 am? only this morning i got to get a glimpse of it because i slept at 5am. but yet it was not red, it was blue. since i am surrounded by mountains, i get to see the fullness of the morning sun at around 8 or 9 am. the mountains cover its first morning glorious beauty.

i am always thankful of the unfolding of a new morning. that means a new day, another day. i am thankful because i get to live again one more day of my life. and with a morning like this (in the picture), i am not losing the wonder of the day. what then would my day be like? how would i spend it? what surprises would i get? this is another exercise of my faith to go through another day.

i have one more day to live. and i am learning to live one day at a time. how long will i live to see one more morning? i dont know. only one thing is certain now, that i am ready to see the passing of another day, and ready to welcome a new morning. that i am ready to see the passing of my life, and ready to welcome a new life eternal.

"filled" trip

grabe ayos it ak adlaw yana. naglaba ak kanina nga aga while sige basa emails, mga news konohay ha inq7, philstar, malaya, journal ngan abante-tonite, exactly in that order gud. tpos back to inq7 to watch clips from gma7 while listening to music han akon sony hi-fi (nga ha pagkayana gusto ko na ipuspos kay "no disc" na pirme, ambot naano na ini.) after gma7, parong an sony, pamati na lwat ako ha dzas 702 ha internet while reading blogs, rereading blogs, etc. tpos laba, luto lunch, tpos pack up na hini nga mga forex boxes. asya it ak aga.



field trip kanina, may 25, 2005

han udto, nagfield trip kami ha uzhuoka (tapang la ito nga ngaran kay kalimot ak) diversion river (shinano river, the longest river ha japan) harani niigata, bis lugar di ak maaram. enjoy kami duro sige picture picture. for the first time, and i hope the last time, nahulog ak camera, try ko pgsalo, napakulob lugod ako, nauntog ak ulo ha bagan kudal ha rooftop han office hini nga kanan diversion. upay nala wray naguba ak olympus. olympus man gud. mahulog nala an tanan nga ginpicturan ko, ayaw la ini nga camera unta. tpos pag uli nam, umagi kami ha fish market. pumalit ak shrimp nga sinugba, mais nga makuri i-describe it rasa ngan gugti nga octopus. picture picture na lwat.

pag abot ko iuj, pasado alas 6, naghulat na ha ak an japanese para han english bible study, so kadto naman ak ha shiozawa. marasa na lwat am dinner. naabutan alas 9 am discussion. tpos invite na lwat ak nira kadto ha yokohama yana nga june 19, mayda daw gathering ini nga ira grupo nga mayda english interpreter. wray anay ako nagcommit kay dire pa klaro kon libre. i cant afford to go on my own kay damo ak expenses yana para mga padara hini nga mga balikbayan boxes. pinoy man gud ako. plus mga payables pa related ha graduation. pero ginbalik balik pagsiring nga isahaya san is inviting you. siguro libre gad ini. one day la ata, balik la pgkagab-i.

after hini nga BS, dul-ong na ako tiuli ha iuj. may kasabot ko pa alas 9pm, birtdey sankay ko. pero late ako umabot. wray hya bisita kay sunday pa kono celebration. kay birtdey man, siyempre may ice cream. tsika kami until 2 am. baga kami correct, pulitika am gin storyahan. ngan damo nga jokes.

past 2 am na ako nakabalik ha room ko. download pa ako mga pictures. surat hini nga blog. pagkita ko hit ak katre, damo mga gamit kay wray ko katapos knina an pagsulod ha forex box. hay gin itsa ko nala ha salog ini nga mga kon ano ano la. yana alas 3 na han umagahon, tapuson ko na lwat ini nga akon blog, nga makaturog na ako.

ayos gud it ak adlaw.

choice

anybody can tell me what kind of a flower this is?

alone or in a crowd, which do you prefer? or sometimes alone, sometimes in a crowd. it's a choice actually. but whatever your preference is, whether solo or in a company, always be beautiful in God's eyes. just like these flowers.
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good night.

"on boys and bikinis"

surprised? go just check it out. it's one good read. linked without permission.

hitched

after dinner last night with the cambodians who prepared a very green, very oishi meal, we watched a movie in the lounge. we were joined by our common friends from uzbekistan, holland, egypt, jordan, china, sri lanka, and vietnam. and the title of the movie was? ennnnng engggg engggg..."the bachelor".

hahaha the movie was for me although i dont have 100 million dollars to get girls go crazy over me. but i like his words of proposal to the girl when he said: you win! and i may add: i lost! this is what getting hitched is all about. maybe?

i envy the flowers now which look so compatible and cute together. buti pa sila.

when i was in my teens, i had this idea of what kind of a girl would i marry. when i reached my teens part II (twenteens, that is), i already had a picture of who the girl was. now, (HEY I AM STILL A CALENDAR BOY!), i am asking: WHERE is the girl! more of a punctuation mark than a question.

i wish i were jimmy who ended up a hudred million dollars richer and with anne, exactly in that order.