20 June 2012
Took me a while to get this one up XD
Let's start at the beginning. On May 16 two teachers of my school in the Netherlands came to visit Shinshu University. There were in Japan for 2 weeks so they could visit all the other universities with which we have an exchange program. We were up for Wednesday. They came to sit in class in the morning, and in the afternoon they had a talk with us to see how everything was going here. That took about an hour and then they had to leave for a meeting. Later that afternoon they visited our apartments and made photos and videos of it to show to the people back home. I was so glad I cleaned up my room XD
In the evening all the Dutch students and the two teachers were invited for dinner at Sato-sensei's place. We were all asked to bring food, so Janneke made curry rice and Manon spaghetti. Sato-sensei's home is very spacious, not at all what I'm used to (usually houses, especially apartments, are very small in big cities). I guess that's an upside of living in a for Japan small city ^_^ He also own a talking stove that warns you when the gas is too high and stuff. I want one XD it was a very fun evening and went home around 1 at night.
In the meanwhile we had exams twice already. For the first exams I got a 69.5/100 for grammar and a 85.5/100 for oral. We recently had the second round of exams so I don't know the marks yet.
We also bought ticket for the Romeo and Juliet show from Takarazuka's Tsukigumi (Moon Troupe) on the 19th of July. We leave for Osaka on Wednesday morning. The show is on Thursday in the Takarazuka Main Theater around 3 PM and will probably run until 6 PM. We have very good seats, all S rank, first row on the balcony. On Friday we are going to travel to Kyoto to meet up with a classmate who is currently studying at the Kyoto University of Foreign Language. On Sunday we return to Osaka to take the bus back to Matsumoto. Looking forward to it already ^_^
One of the classes I'm taking is called Japanese Martial Arts and Traditional Culture I (武道・伝統文化実習I) and we do all kinds of cool stuff there. Last time I played an instrument called a "koto", which is a snare instrument. You play it with the thumb, index finger and middle finger of your right hand, and with you left hand you make the tone different. We only used our thumb 'cause else it would become too difficult. I had a lot of fun, but remembering all the notes was quite a challenge for me so I messed up often. Sato-sensei filmed a part of it which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtXGkmEvtcQ&fb_source=message (the girl in black is me XD)
We also practiced kendo for one lesson. For those of you that don't know kendo, it's a swordsmanship sport. We practiced using a wooden sword called a bokuto, and after a while we got to hit a real person (he wore protection, don't worry) XD
A few weeks ago Manon's tutor Ayumi showed us a really cool secondhand shop where they sold all kinds of stuff. The shop was divided in two buildings; one for clothes and one for games and mangas etc. I bought a couple of earrings, a shirt and 2 very beautiful yukata. I also bought Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards, the manga serie Loveless, Romeo and Juliet, and the volumes of DN Angel I still didn't have. The manga were a 100 yen a piece (100 yen is roughly 1 euro). I also managed to find the album Crescent by Gackt for 300 yen :D
This shop is definitely my favorite, together with the Book-off where they also sell secondhand books, CD's, DVDs games and magazines.
That's it again, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
D'espairsRay
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Birthday and Golden Week
05 May 2012
It's been a while since the last time I wrote something, so I figured, let's put up another one ;)
Exactly one week ago I had my 22nd birthday, and it happened to coincide with a school-planned bus tour and a party hosted by the ryuugakusei ouen family after that. We went to visit a museum about the history of the most important buildings in Matsumoto. After that we went to place where they make miso, the most important ingredient of the Japanese miso soup. We could also taste miso soup ourselves, but it's one of the few Japanese foods I don't like, so I opted out XD
Even before I went to Japan I figured it would be a memorable 22nd birthday, and it was. Only not for the reasons I thought. Because around 12 o'clock that night we were brought to the hospital by Sato-sensei, because Manon had a very bad migraine and needed stronger medicine than she had with her. Luckily the hospital could provide her with painkillers that worked and we went home again. Let's just hope that will be the last time I see a Japanese hospital from the inside...
Now for something else. As some of you might know it was Golden Week in Japan the last week. Because there are a few holidays close to eachother most Japanese have a free week and use it to take a short vacation. Because we still had to go to school on Tuesday and Wednesday we couldn't do that, but we made a last minute decision to go to a Takarazuka show in Tokyo.
There are 4 different seat ranks in the theater; SS, S, A and B, SS being the best and B the "worst". Because Manon and I didn't want to pay as much we decided to go for the A seat while Janneke and Jolene bought an S seat ticket. We also rented opera glasses for 500 yen so we still got to see quite a bit of detail ^_^
The show we went to was Tsukigumi's "Don Carlos/Shining Rythm!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk_Zw9BvbZw).
Of course, when one's in Tokyo one also does some shopping. When we arrived in Shinjuku by bus from Matsumoto, we took the subway to Harajuku, now as the fasion district of Tokyo. There's a street there called Takeshita-dori, and they sell Gothic Lolita, punk etc. One of my favorite shops there has to be Closet Child, which sell second-hand clothing, assesories and cds. I bought a shirt there from which I think is h.Naoto, a famous Japanese punk designer. I also bought a pair of shoes at the Bodyline store <3
Later that evening we went to Akihabara to check out some cd stores, and I bought one of the cds I've been wanting for a while (Toxic from the GazettE, in case anyone is wondering ^_^).
The day after was the musical which started at 11 and ended at 2. Of course we couldn't resist to buy some merchendise at the Quatre Rêves and Takarazuka An where they sell second-hand Takarazuka merch. At 9 in the evening our bus left for Matsumoto again where we arrived a little after midnight. It was a really awesome 2 day vacation ^_^
Until next time, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
School and shopping
19 April 2012
School has finally started, and I guess that will also mean less frequent updates from now on.
Since the last time I wrote an entry nothing much happened After a week of trying out different kind of classes I made my final schedule and it was approved by my teacher. Since most of us (the Dutch students) ended up in the C class (C being the second highest difficulty level) they decided to split the group in 2 and I ended up in class C2. My schedule is as follows:
Mon: free
Tues: 09.00-17.50
Wed: 09.00-12.10
Thur: 09.00-16.10
Fri: free
So as you can see I have 2 long days, but hey, I have a four-day weekend :D the classes untill now have been very easy, nothing new anyway. The teachers are very nice and make most of the classes fun.
A couple of days back Janneke and I went to the Yamada Denki (on our newly acquired bikes), a big electronics store in the south of Matsumoto. We bought an iron and a vacuum cleaner, one of those that doesn't need a bag.Then we went to the cheap clothing store that was in the same building as the Yamada Denki, where I bought my very first Japanese clothing ^_^
There was also a supermarket next to the clothing store (Yuparetto I believe it's called) and we actually found frozen food for a reasonable price! Everything in Japan is so much more expensive than it is in the Netherlands. Especially fruit and vegetables. We also bought canned apples, which really interest me since I've never had them before. It was only after we came home from our shopping spree we realized we didn't have a can opener XD
Guess that's it for this time, until the next! またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
Getting settled
09 April 2012
I just started my second week in Matsumoto, and we finally have internet :D ever since I left Tokyo my internet has been kinda gone, but today we got everything settled and have an internet conncection at the apartment I live in with 2 others. So from now on I try to update regurlarly.
Umm where to start.... Well, I guess I can start on the Saturday before I left Tokyo. Me, Janneke and Jolene went to Ginza to buy Takarazuka related stuff, and after buying quite a few postcards and photo books we headed over to Shinjuku to buy the buss ticket to Matsumoto. We also met up with Manon, and after buying the ticket we went back to Ginza so that she could buy a photo book of Ouki Kaname. After that she had to get back to her host family for dinner, and we went back to the Takarazuka Theater (also located in Ginza) so that we could wait for the Demachi of Tsukigumi. A Demachi is when the actresses leave the theater after a show to go home. We waited for two hours in the cold wind, but it was so worth it. We got to see all the Tsukigumi actresses including Kiriya and Masao <3 I even filmed it XD
On Sunday we left Tokyo to go to Matsumoto where we'll be spending the remaining 5 months. The weather was perfect and the closer we got to Matsumoto, the more mountains (with snow!!) we could see. The temperature is a lot colder in Matsumoto than it is in Tokyo, but it is so pretty here ^_^
On Tuesday we had our first guidance and the placement test. We also met our tutors. Each exchange student has their own tutor, and my tutor is named Sugiyama Moe, family name first, (kanji: 杉山萌) and she is very nice. The result of the placement was announced on Friday, and I'm placed in the C class, which is the second highest class possible. I'm really happy with the result :D
On that same Friday I went to buy a keitai denwa, a mobile phone, together with Janneke, Manon, Jolene and 2 of the tutors. After searching far and wide we managed to get a prepaid one from Softbank, because prepaid is cheaper for half a year.
Saturday we chose which classes we want to take for the next semester together with the tutors, and I chose the same classes as Manon and Janneke.
The classes start from tomorrow on, and I'm excited to see how it goes ^_^
Until next time, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
I just started my second week in Matsumoto, and we finally have internet :D ever since I left Tokyo my internet has been kinda gone, but today we got everything settled and have an internet conncection at the apartment I live in with 2 others. So from now on I try to update regurlarly.
Umm where to start.... Well, I guess I can start on the Saturday before I left Tokyo. Me, Janneke and Jolene went to Ginza to buy Takarazuka related stuff, and after buying quite a few postcards and photo books we headed over to Shinjuku to buy the buss ticket to Matsumoto. We also met up with Manon, and after buying the ticket we went back to Ginza so that she could buy a photo book of Ouki Kaname. After that she had to get back to her host family for dinner, and we went back to the Takarazuka Theater (also located in Ginza) so that we could wait for the Demachi of Tsukigumi. A Demachi is when the actresses leave the theater after a show to go home. We waited for two hours in the cold wind, but it was so worth it. We got to see all the Tsukigumi actresses including Kiriya and Masao <3 I even filmed it XD
On Sunday we left Tokyo to go to Matsumoto where we'll be spending the remaining 5 months. The weather was perfect and the closer we got to Matsumoto, the more mountains (with snow!!) we could see. The temperature is a lot colder in Matsumoto than it is in Tokyo, but it is so pretty here ^_^
On Tuesday we had our first guidance and the placement test. We also met our tutors. Each exchange student has their own tutor, and my tutor is named Sugiyama Moe, family name first, (kanji: 杉山萌) and she is very nice. The result of the placement was announced on Friday, and I'm placed in the C class, which is the second highest class possible. I'm really happy with the result :D
On that same Friday I went to buy a keitai denwa, a mobile phone, together with Janneke, Manon, Jolene and 2 of the tutors. After searching far and wide we managed to get a prepaid one from Softbank, because prepaid is cheaper for half a year.
Saturday we chose which classes we want to take for the next semester together with the tutors, and I chose the same classes as Manon and Janneke.
The classes start from tomorrow on, and I'm excited to see how it goes ^_^
Until next time, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
Japan
31 March 2012
When we arrived at Narita airport we went to pick up our luggage, and mine appeared very quickly, unlike the one from my friend. Then we had to figure out how to get to our hostel in Tokyo. So I asked a kind lady at the ticket counter, and told her we need to take the Keisei line to Aoto station, and she gave us the correct tickets ^_^ It was the first time I spoke Japanese outside of school so I was really happy that she understood me~
So after an hour we finally arrived at Aoto and then came another problem. We needed to get to Honjo-Azumabashi, but we couldn't find it anywhere on the train map. So after standing there for a couple of minutes looking clueless, a helpfull Japanese station employee came over to us and asked us what we needed. He told us we had to get a ticket for 350 yen and the we had to go to platform one. Luckily for us the train just arrived when we got to platform one, so we didn't have to wait. It was a fairly short train ride (5 minutes I think) and then came the biggest challenge: there weren't any escalators.... So we had to drag our heavy luggage up 5 stairs... But we managed to do that and arrived at the Asakusa Smile hostel in one piece ;) we didn't really do a lot except a trip to the conbini/100 yen lawson for next day's breakfast, and meeting another friend who is also staying at the same hostel.
On the second day we decided to go to Uneo park and Akihabara. Although we didn't plan on it we also went to Ueno zoo, where we spent most of the day. I made a lot of photos there but since my laptop is refusing to connect to the wifi at the hostel I can't post any (this is being typed on my ipod XD). But hopefully once I arrive in Matsumoto I will be able to post them ^_^ after Ueno zoo we went to Akihabara in search for a Denshi Jisho, an electronic dictionary. Finally I found one from Casio in a spiffy red-ish color for 27.800 yen. Because the shop I bought it from has a point system I got 10% of the buyig price in points, and I bought a nice pouch for it (and I still have 1300 points left). On the way back to the metro station I got handed various flyers from maid cafes, and that was pretty fun. I even got one that has cute guys on it instead of girls :3 But now I now why Akihabara is also called the geek district. There are a lot of anime shops and related stuff there, mostly aimed at guys XD
Today, on the third day, we are going to do some shopping at the Takarazuka shop and in Shinjuku ^_^
またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
Two days ago I finally arrived in Japan. After a flight of roughly 11 hour me and my friend arrived at Narita airport. I tried sleeping on the plane, and I succeeded in sleeping for two whole hours XD so I ended up watching a few movies and an episode of NCIS.
When we arrived at Narita airport we went to pick up our luggage, and mine appeared very quickly, unlike the one from my friend. Then we had to figure out how to get to our hostel in Tokyo. So I asked a kind lady at the ticket counter, and told her we need to take the Keisei line to Aoto station, and she gave us the correct tickets ^_^ It was the first time I spoke Japanese outside of school so I was really happy that she understood me~
So after an hour we finally arrived at Aoto and then came another problem. We needed to get to Honjo-Azumabashi, but we couldn't find it anywhere on the train map. So after standing there for a couple of minutes looking clueless, a helpfull Japanese station employee came over to us and asked us what we needed. He told us we had to get a ticket for 350 yen and the we had to go to platform one. Luckily for us the train just arrived when we got to platform one, so we didn't have to wait. It was a fairly short train ride (5 minutes I think) and then came the biggest challenge: there weren't any escalators.... So we had to drag our heavy luggage up 5 stairs... But we managed to do that and arrived at the Asakusa Smile hostel in one piece ;) we didn't really do a lot except a trip to the conbini/100 yen lawson for next day's breakfast, and meeting another friend who is also staying at the same hostel.
On the second day we decided to go to Uneo park and Akihabara. Although we didn't plan on it we also went to Ueno zoo, where we spent most of the day. I made a lot of photos there but since my laptop is refusing to connect to the wifi at the hostel I can't post any (this is being typed on my ipod XD). But hopefully once I arrive in Matsumoto I will be able to post them ^_^ after Ueno zoo we went to Akihabara in search for a Denshi Jisho, an electronic dictionary. Finally I found one from Casio in a spiffy red-ish color for 27.800 yen. Because the shop I bought it from has a point system I got 10% of the buyig price in points, and I bought a nice pouch for it (and I still have 1300 points left). On the way back to the metro station I got handed various flyers from maid cafes, and that was pretty fun. I even got one that has cute guys on it instead of girls :3 But now I now why Akihabara is also called the geek district. There are a lot of anime shops and related stuff there, mostly aimed at guys XD
When we got back to our hostel we ate s
ome cup noodles as dinner and pretty much relaxed all night because our feet hurt from all the walking we did.
Today, on the third day, we are going to do some shopping at the Takarazuka shop and in Shinjuku ^_^
またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Preparations v2
Hi guys! Hope you had a great New Year, I sure did ^w^ I spent the evening with two friends who live in the same town as I do, and together we baked cupcakes, watched Bunraku (which was an interesting movie) and played Tekken on the PS2. And of course we watched the fireworks (and while doing so nearly got hit by a piece of firework that some idiots didn't secure enough -_-).
After New Year life pretty much continued as usual, I went to school, made some exams (and passed them) and right now I'm sitting at home doing pretty much nothing XD School ended 2 weeks ago and now I'm counting down to the 28th of March, the day I'm leaving for Japan. Today I had to hand in 3 more forms, one for an insurance for injuries and stuff while in Japan, one about my travel plan and one for the housing plan. I'm guessing that as soon as these forms have been received by Shinshuu University that I'll get the application form for my visa. According to my teacher we are already allowed into Japan by the Japanese Immigration Office, but I still need proof of that for the Japanese Embassy where I'll be applying for the visa.
On Tuesday I also booked a hostel where me and a classmate that is also going will be staying until we can move into our apartment. After a bit of searching we decided to stay at the Asakusa Smile hostel. It's easy to get to from Narita airport (where we'll land) and there are quite a few interesting cultural sights close by. On the site you can also find a video showing how to walk from Honjo Azumabashi Station to the hostel XD Today I found out that another classmate is also staying at the exact same hostel, and the last classmate who is going is staying at a host family in Tokyo :D So beware everyone in Tokyo, from March 29 'til April 1 four crazy Dutch girls will be on the loose :P
Until next post, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
After New Year life pretty much continued as usual, I went to school, made some exams (and passed them) and right now I'm sitting at home doing pretty much nothing XD School ended 2 weeks ago and now I'm counting down to the 28th of March, the day I'm leaving for Japan. Today I had to hand in 3 more forms, one for an insurance for injuries and stuff while in Japan, one about my travel plan and one for the housing plan. I'm guessing that as soon as these forms have been received by Shinshuu University that I'll get the application form for my visa. According to my teacher we are already allowed into Japan by the Japanese Immigration Office, but I still need proof of that for the Japanese Embassy where I'll be applying for the visa.
On Tuesday I also booked a hostel where me and a classmate that is also going will be staying until we can move into our apartment. After a bit of searching we decided to stay at the Asakusa Smile hostel. It's easy to get to from Narita airport (where we'll land) and there are quite a few interesting cultural sights close by. On the site you can also find a video showing how to walk from Honjo Azumabashi Station to the hostel XD Today I found out that another classmate is also staying at the exact same hostel, and the last classmate who is going is staying at a host family in Tokyo :D So beware everyone in Tokyo, from March 29 'til April 1 four crazy Dutch girls will be on the loose :P
Until next post, またね！
~Marlies / マーリス
Monday, December 26, 2011
Living Space
First of all I want to wish you all a merry Christmas :) And while I'm at it, happy new year (since my next post will probably be next year XD).
I'm happy to tell you that I finally have news about what kind of apartment I'm going to live in during my stay in Japan :D Last week we got quite a few emails about a few different kinds of apartments and single person rooms. Eventually it was decided on three 3 person apartments in the same building. In total there are nine persons from my year going to Matsumoto, of which three persons are classmates and good friends of mine. Unfortunately we had to split up since it's a three person apartment and we're 4 people in total. But one of them offered to go with two people from the other class, so it's all settled ^_^
Of course the people from the real estate agency sent us quite a few photos of the apartment, so I'm going to share them with you :)
This is the entrance.
The bathroom.
One of the 3 bedrooms in traditional Japanese style, with futons (which will be there when we move in) <3
I'm really looking forward to it <3 Just three more months and then I'll be leaving. My flight leaves on March 28 and the return flight is on August 25, which also means I'm going to celebrate my 22nd birthday in Japan ^w^
But before I'm leaving for Japan I first have to make my last exams of this semester, which will start one week after the Christmas vacations. After that I don't have any classes anymore, but I do have my part time job at the supermarket until the end of February (I'm definitely going to need a lot of money while in Japan, considering all that I want to buy XD). The countdown has begun!
Well, this is it for now, see you next time :3
~Marlies / マーリス
I'm happy to tell you that I finally have news about what kind of apartment I'm going to live in during my stay in Japan :D Last week we got quite a few emails about a few different kinds of apartments and single person rooms. Eventually it was decided on three 3 person apartments in the same building. In total there are nine persons from my year going to Matsumoto, of which three persons are classmates and good friends of mine. Unfortunately we had to split up since it's a three person apartment and we're 4 people in total. But one of them offered to go with two people from the other class, so it's all settled ^_^
Of course the people from the real estate agency sent us quite a few photos of the apartment, so I'm going to share them with you :)
I'm really looking forward to it <3 Just three more months and then I'll be leaving. My flight leaves on March 28 and the return flight is on August 25, which also means I'm going to celebrate my 22nd birthday in Japan ^w^
But before I'm leaving for Japan I first have to make my last exams of this semester, which will start one week after the Christmas vacations. After that I don't have any classes anymore, but I do have my part time job at the supermarket until the end of February (I'm definitely going to need a lot of money while in Japan, considering all that I want to buy XD). The countdown has begun!
Well, this is it for now, see you next time :3
~Marlies / マーリス
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Preparations
As the months progress my study trip to Japan is getting closer and closer. Last Sunday I finally received the forms I have to fill in (and let others fill in) by email. I need to fill in a motivation form (why did you choose for Shinshu University?, what do you wish to learn? etc), and a general information form with all my data and stuff. Next to that I need to have a doctor fill in a Certificate of Health, get a statement from the bank to prove I have enough money, get a statement of enrollment from my current university and make a copy of my passport.
All of the above forms have to be handed in by the 24th of November so that my teacher can send them to Shinshu University, where I'll be studying. So far everything is going well, my Certificate of Health is almost complete (just waiting for the blood test results to come in), the statement from my bank is on its way and tomorrow I can pick up the statement of enrollment at school ^^ After that I can fill in the motivation form and the general info form and Ill be done way before the deadline :3
You know, I sometimes still can't believe I'm going to Japan for 5 months. But by filling in all these forms it does get more real, and I hope I can post photo's of my apartment in Matsumoto soon :D At the moment it's not really sure what kind of room I get in Japan, my teacher is still searching for available apartments in the area around the school. He is trying to get us 2DK (= 2 bedrooms, dining, kitchen) apartments, because we have to share the apartment with another person. But it will probably become a 1DK for the reason that 2DK apartments are very popular and the ones close to the university mostly unavailable. But as soon as I know more (around the end of November hopefully) I'll let you guys know ^w^
Since I'm supposed to be studying Marketing Communication for my exam tomorrow is this where I end it for now (^_^;) Wish me luck!
~Marlies / マーリス
All of the above forms have to be handed in by the 24th of November so that my teacher can send them to Shinshu University, where I'll be studying. So far everything is going well, my Certificate of Health is almost complete (just waiting for the blood test results to come in), the statement from my bank is on its way and tomorrow I can pick up the statement of enrollment at school ^^ After that I can fill in the motivation form and the general info form and Ill be done way before the deadline :3
You know, I sometimes still can't believe I'm going to Japan for 5 months. But by filling in all these forms it does get more real, and I hope I can post photo's of my apartment in Matsumoto soon :D At the moment it's not really sure what kind of room I get in Japan, my teacher is still searching for available apartments in the area around the school. He is trying to get us 2DK (= 2 bedrooms, dining, kitchen) apartments, because we have to share the apartment with another person. But it will probably become a 1DK for the reason that 2DK apartments are very popular and the ones close to the university mostly unavailable. But as soon as I know more (around the end of November hopefully) I'll let you guys know ^w^
Since I'm supposed to be studying Marketing Communication for my exam tomorrow is this where I end it for now (^_^;) Wish me luck!
勉強はだめ。。。T_T
~Marlies / マーリス
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The End of This Vacation
Next week I'm going back to school again ^_^ I'm now a third year student Japanese, and this is going to be an awesome school year. Because I'm a third year now, I'm allowed to go study abroad in Japan in March 2012. Ever since I started my Japanese study I have looked forward to it. Of course it's not a vacation, because I still have to go to school there, but just the idea that I can go to the country that is so close to my heart gives me goosebumps. When I'm in Japan I'm going to try to keep a blog as well, so I can keep everyone at home updated. Since I live in the Netherlands I'm going to make another blog written in only Dutch, and this blog will have all the updates in English.
But back to my summer vacation. I had so many fun things to do ^w^ I stayed over at friends of my parents' house for about a week. The highlight of that week for me was definitely the trip to the zoo. I really love animals, and the zoo I went to had all kinds of animals. For the Dutch people reading this blog, I went to Emmen Zoo.
This is a photo of me sitting in the mouth of a hippo near the entrance to the zoo. Luckily the weather was really nice that day (the next day it was raining a lot). First we went to the butterfly garden, and there were so many butterflies fluttering around, and really close as well, you could almost touch them. I also saw a hummingbird there, it was so cute :3
Then we went to see the sharks and other aquatic animals, like puffer fish and such. After we left that part we went to see the rest of the animals like elephants, lions, flamingos, tigers (although the only one I could see was sleeping on a high part with its back to me), hippos and all sorts of reptiles. They had this really cute gecko <3
See, isn't it cute? ^w^
The week after that Tessa, the thirteen year old daughter of those friends, came to stay over at my house (well, technically speaking my parents' house XD) and that was also fun.
But the absolute highlight of this year's summer vacation was the concert of YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz on July 26th in Amsterdam. Gackt was so awesome! Especially when they played Vanilla, the whole crowd went crazy. At one point I think I had eye contact with Chachamaru *_* Even though he is 52 (or around 52 XD) he is still really handsome ^_^ One of the staff members of the Melkweg handed out a few big posters of YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz and we could have them for free because of how long we had been sitting there (some of the people spent the night in front of the Melkweg :O I was there since 8.15 a.m.). So now it's on my door ^_^
This is the poster I got. There was also a different version, but I liked this one better. The poster above Gackt is from Dio~Distraught Overlord~ ^_^
On the 25th of August I went to Schiphol Airport together with Janneke (a friend/classmate) to welcome back Kayleigh, who came back from a study abroad in Japan (she is now a fourth year student at the same school as me). And then last Tuesday she held her birthday party since her birthday was in Japan. She also had some presents for me, Janneke, Elena and Danine. I got the August 2011 editions of Shoxx and Fool's Mate (both are Japanese music magazines) and a post card of Suzumi Shio, a Takarazuka Revue actress :D :D I keep staring at the magazines and postcard <3 Fool's Mate has Gackt on the cover, and Shoxx has SuG and ViViD on it. And even though Suzumi Shio is a woman, she looks really awesome in her role as Benvolio (Romeo & Juliet musical). Thank you Kayleigh <3
And now it's back to school next week, though I still don't have the necessary books yet, even though one of the companies I ordered at said that they would deliver at least one week before school starts again. One other book is coming from Japan, so I'm not really expecting it yet. The earliest will probably be next week if I'm lucky f^_^; But I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends/classmates again :D
Well, I think this is it for this time. Until next post!
~Marlies / マーリス
But back to my summer vacation. I had so many fun things to do ^w^ I stayed over at friends of my parents' house for about a week. The highlight of that week for me was definitely the trip to the zoo. I really love animals, and the zoo I went to had all kinds of animals. For the Dutch people reading this blog, I went to Emmen Zoo.
This is a photo of me sitting in the mouth of a hippo near the entrance to the zoo. Luckily the weather was really nice that day (the next day it was raining a lot). First we went to the butterfly garden, and there were so many butterflies fluttering around, and really close as well, you could almost touch them. I also saw a hummingbird there, it was so cute :3
Then we went to see the sharks and other aquatic animals, like puffer fish and such. After we left that part we went to see the rest of the animals like elephants, lions, flamingos, tigers (although the only one I could see was sleeping on a high part with its back to me), hippos and all sorts of reptiles. They had this really cute gecko <3
See, isn't it cute? ^w^
The week after that Tessa, the thirteen year old daughter of those friends, came to stay over at my house (well, technically speaking my parents' house XD) and that was also fun.
But the absolute highlight of this year's summer vacation was the concert of YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz on July 26th in Amsterdam. Gackt was so awesome! Especially when they played Vanilla, the whole crowd went crazy. At one point I think I had eye contact with Chachamaru *_* Even though he is 52 (or around 52 XD) he is still really handsome ^_^ One of the staff members of the Melkweg handed out a few big posters of YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz and we could have them for free because of how long we had been sitting there (some of the people spent the night in front of the Melkweg :O I was there since 8.15 a.m.). So now it's on my door ^_^
This is the poster I got. There was also a different version, but I liked this one better. The poster above Gackt is from Dio~Distraught Overlord~ ^_^
On the 25th of August I went to Schiphol Airport together with Janneke (a friend/classmate) to welcome back Kayleigh, who came back from a study abroad in Japan (she is now a fourth year student at the same school as me). And then last Tuesday she held her birthday party since her birthday was in Japan. She also had some presents for me, Janneke, Elena and Danine. I got the August 2011 editions of Shoxx and Fool's Mate (both are Japanese music magazines) and a post card of Suzumi Shio, a Takarazuka Revue actress :D :D I keep staring at the magazines and postcard <3 Fool's Mate has Gackt on the cover, and Shoxx has SuG and ViViD on it. And even though Suzumi Shio is a woman, she looks really awesome in her role as Benvolio (Romeo & Juliet musical). Thank you Kayleigh <3
And now it's back to school next week, though I still don't have the necessary books yet, even though one of the companies I ordered at said that they would deliver at least one week before school starts again. One other book is coming from Japan, so I'm not really expecting it yet. The earliest will probably be next week if I'm lucky f^_^; But I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends/classmates again :D
Well, I think this is it for this time. Until next post!
~Marlies / マーリス
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Good things and Bad things
Hi guys! I know it has been a while, but I'm really bad at regularly updating stuff (I tend to procrastinate a lot f^_^;).
So, what have I been up to lately? Well, quite a few things happened actually. First of all, I found out that I am able to go to Gackt's concert in the Melkweg, Amsterdam on July 26, so I am really happy ^_^
Secondly, I bought a new laptop (my old one was four years old and had quite a few problems). It's a black Dell Inspiron 15, and it's awesome, I'm super happy with it.
Thirdly I bought these awesome pair of colored lenses at eyecandylens.com. It's called Angel Violet and I could even choose the power for each of my eyes (my right eye is -3.5 and my left eye -4.0). It also came with a free lens box and the shipping was also free ^_^ The price was also very good. I wish I could show you guys what they look like when I wear them, but when I wanted to take a photo the battery of my camera was empty so I'll post a photo later on, okay?
And last but not least; after the summer vacation I'm officially a third year student Japanese :D and that means that I will be leaving to Matsumoto, Japan in March 2012 for about 5 months as an exchange student. I really can't wait *_*
But with all things in life there are also bad things. Now some of you might not care, but the first Japanese Visual Kei band that I ever became a fan of has disbanded after 11 years of activity T^T Perhaps some of you might know them; the name of the band is D'espairsRay. A comforting thought though, is that they didn't disband because of arguments or stuff like that. Hizumi, the singer of the band, has been suffering a rare throat condition that eventually made it impossible for him to sing. I guess I sort of saw it coming when they went on hiatus to give Hizumi a chance to recover, but it still hit me hard :S
The other bad thing happened yesterday evening. I arrived at the train station of the town that I live in after an awesome surprise party we organized for a friend, only to find out that someone stole my bike... Which I really don't get, since it's 8 years old, there is rust on the brake cables, the front and back light are wonky at best, and the plastic coat protector is cracked in different places... I even secured my bike to a lamp post with an extra chain. There were also plenty of other nice looking bikes at the train station that weren't as well secured as mine, and in a much better shape too. So now I have to buy a new one, since I really need it. And because my bike was stolen I had to walk home from the train station in nothing but a dress and high heels (13 centimeter) since I didn't bring a coat nor an umbrella. The weather was really nice when I left for the party, or else I would've brought them with me.
But enough ranting on my side. I still have fun stuff to look forward to (the Gackt concert and summer vacation), and I hope you enjoyed reading my post. Oh, and if you are interested in buying colored lenses you should really check out eyecandylens.com. They offer world wide free shipping, good quality and a lot of lenses to choose from. Quite a few of them can be ordered with the desired prescription for your eyes as well ^_^
That's all for this time, see you guys later! またね～
~Marlies / マーリス
So, what have I been up to lately? Well, quite a few things happened actually. First of all, I found out that I am able to go to Gackt's concert in the Melkweg, Amsterdam on July 26, so I am really happy ^_^
Secondly, I bought a new laptop (my old one was four years old and had quite a few problems). It's a black Dell Inspiron 15, and it's awesome, I'm super happy with it.
Thirdly I bought these awesome pair of colored lenses at eyecandylens.com. It's called Angel Violet and I could even choose the power for each of my eyes (my right eye is -3.5 and my left eye -4.0). It also came with a free lens box and the shipping was also free ^_^ The price was also very good. I wish I could show you guys what they look like when I wear them, but when I wanted to take a photo the battery of my camera was empty so I'll post a photo later on, okay?
And last but not least; after the summer vacation I'm officially a third year student Japanese :D and that means that I will be leaving to Matsumoto, Japan in March 2012 for about 5 months as an exchange student. I really can't wait *_*
But with all things in life there are also bad things. Now some of you might not care, but the first Japanese Visual Kei band that I ever became a fan of has disbanded after 11 years of activity T^T Perhaps some of you might know them; the name of the band is D'espairsRay. A comforting thought though, is that they didn't disband because of arguments or stuff like that. Hizumi, the singer of the band, has been suffering a rare throat condition that eventually made it impossible for him to sing. I guess I sort of saw it coming when they went on hiatus to give Hizumi a chance to recover, but it still hit me hard :S
The other bad thing happened yesterday evening. I arrived at the train station of the town that I live in after an awesome surprise party we organized for a friend, only to find out that someone stole my bike... Which I really don't get, since it's 8 years old, there is rust on the brake cables, the front and back light are wonky at best, and the plastic coat protector is cracked in different places... I even secured my bike to a lamp post with an extra chain. There were also plenty of other nice looking bikes at the train station that weren't as well secured as mine, and in a much better shape too. So now I have to buy a new one, since I really need it. And because my bike was stolen I had to walk home from the train station in nothing but a dress and high heels (13 centimeter) since I didn't bring a coat nor an umbrella. The weather was really nice when I left for the party, or else I would've brought them with me.
But enough ranting on my side. I still have fun stuff to look forward to (the Gackt concert and summer vacation), and I hope you enjoyed reading my post. Oh, and if you are interested in buying colored lenses you should really check out eyecandylens.com. They offer world wide free shipping, good quality and a lot of lenses to choose from. Quite a few of them can be ordered with the desired prescription for your eyes as well ^_^
That's all for this time, see you guys later! またね～
~Marlies / マーリス
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Awesome D Concert ^w^
Well, I guess this is a great way to start my blogging XD Two days ago, on Sunday May 8, I went to a concert of the awesome Japanese Visual Kei band called D. The name of the tour is Vampire Saga Europe Tour ~Path of the Rose~. It's my second Visual Kei concert, Versailles being my first. I went together with two friends, and met with 2 classmates and my lovely kouhai (for those unknown to the term, "kouhai" refers to someone who is your junior at school) at the venue.
This is my ticket:
Around 5 pm we arrived at the venue (de Melkweg, in Amsterdam), and to my surprise, there weren't that many people yet. Unlike last year when I went to see Versailles, when it was already packed by 3 pm.
To give you an impression:
When we were waiting for the doors to open, a few crew members came outside and asked us if we wanted to say anything to the band. If I heard it correctly they were going to put it on a dvd ^_^ So me and Sanne (my lovely kouhai <3) thanked the band for the concert in Japanese.
The notice for the D concert (the big D on the right XD):
Then, a little after 7 pm, a crew member asked us to form a neat line, and around 7.30 pm we could enter. When we entered there was a noticed posted. Apparently there was going to be signing session (original merchandise only) at 11.15 pm! My night couldn't be any better, and the concert hadn't even started.
Before the concert started I bought a photo set for the signing session, and their latest album called Vampire Saga. Then I deposited my bag at the designated counter and went over to the stage. I was standing third row, on the right side of the stage. Right in front of Ruiza, one of the guitarists ^_^
Around 8.30 pm they started. And it was totally awesome. I don't remember all songs that they played, but the ones I do remember are: In the Name of Justice, Black Swan, Desert Warrior, Yami no Kuni no Arisu, Tsuki to Umi no Seiyaku, Der König der Dunkelheit, Yami Yori Kurai Doukoku no Acapella to Bara Yori Akai Jounetsu no Aria and Nightship D. Nightship D was really cool, since we did the thingy with the flags. And I'm really happy that they played my favorite song (Der König) ^w^
Their outfits for the concert:
From left to right: Hide-Zou (guitar), Tsunehito (Bass), Asagi (vocals), Ruiza (guitar) and Hiroki (drums).
The concert ended around 10.10 pm, so we had to wait an hour before the signing session. Luckily it started at 11 pm instead of 11.15, so we didn't have to wait that long (even though D is totally worth it <3)
Unfortunately the signing session was a little rushed, but I did get to thank them for the concert and tell them it was fun in Japanese. Asagi said he was glad to hear that <3 So now I have all 5 of their autographs on their respective photos. As soon as I can find a good photo frame to put them in I'll make a photo ^_^
We managed to make it to the last train home, and around 3 am I was asleep. It was an awesome day, and I still can't believe I met them and talked to them <3 I wish them good luck for the rest of the tour, and please be safe!
Dの皆さん、楽しいコンサート、ありがとうございます！
Until next time~
~Marlies / マーリス
This is my ticket:
Around 5 pm we arrived at the venue (de Melkweg, in Amsterdam), and to my surprise, there weren't that many people yet. Unlike last year when I went to see Versailles, when it was already packed by 3 pm.
To give you an impression:
When we were waiting for the doors to open, a few crew members came outside and asked us if we wanted to say anything to the band. If I heard it correctly they were going to put it on a dvd ^_^ So me and Sanne (my lovely kouhai <3) thanked the band for the concert in Japanese.
The notice for the D concert (the big D on the right XD):
Then, a little after 7 pm, a crew member asked us to form a neat line, and around 7.30 pm we could enter. When we entered there was a noticed posted. Apparently there was going to be signing session (original merchandise only) at 11.15 pm! My night couldn't be any better, and the concert hadn't even started.
Before the concert started I bought a photo set for the signing session, and their latest album called Vampire Saga. Then I deposited my bag at the designated counter and went over to the stage. I was standing third row, on the right side of the stage. Right in front of Ruiza, one of the guitarists ^_^
Around 8.30 pm they started. And it was totally awesome. I don't remember all songs that they played, but the ones I do remember are: In the Name of Justice, Black Swan, Desert Warrior, Yami no Kuni no Arisu, Tsuki to Umi no Seiyaku, Der König der Dunkelheit, Yami Yori Kurai Doukoku no Acapella to Bara Yori Akai Jounetsu no Aria and Nightship D. Nightship D was really cool, since we did the thingy with the flags. And I'm really happy that they played my favorite song (Der König) ^w^
Their outfits for the concert:
From left to right: Hide-Zou (guitar), Tsunehito (Bass), Asagi (vocals), Ruiza (guitar) and Hiroki (drums).
The concert ended around 10.10 pm, so we had to wait an hour before the signing session. Luckily it started at 11 pm instead of 11.15, so we didn't have to wait that long (even though D is totally worth it <3)
Unfortunately the signing session was a little rushed, but I did get to thank them for the concert and tell them it was fun in Japanese. Asagi said he was glad to hear that <3 So now I have all 5 of their autographs on their respective photos. As soon as I can find a good photo frame to put them in I'll make a photo ^_^
We managed to make it to the last train home, and around 3 am I was asleep. It was an awesome day, and I still can't believe I met them and talked to them <3 I wish them good luck for the rest of the tour, and please be safe!
Dの皆さん、楽しいコンサート、ありがとうございます！
Until next time~
~Marlies / マーリス
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