Yesterday (19-APR)

Dear Mother, Dear Brother,

Actually okay na din yung price sa 7-eleven dito, slightly higher lang than
at the grocery, which is slightly higher lang than at the co-op here at the
daigaku (university). I think at other small restaurants, the price
wouldn't be attractive, but yes i'm sure it is better food.

I am by myself in the apartment. There's TV, yes, but no cable. Did you
see the pictures of the apartment? http://ronjie.tripod.com/japan2005apato

Also visit http://ronjie.tripod.com/japan2005food and
http://ronjie.tripod.com/japan2005tpu and
http://ronjie.tripod.com/japan2005misc . I will update these also
(hopefully I will have the time.)

It is basically not a studio-type apartment, nor is it a one-bedroom
apartment, because the bedroom is... Well check out the pictures na lang. =)

Yes, I do the cleaning, dishwashing, and microwaving (perhaps I'll do
cooking later), and the laundry, i plan to do this sunday.

Yes this is school and not an "office," "studying" but not really, more
like "researching," and not "working." I say it is an "office" because in
this big room (larger than our house) where i "work", there are desks and
computers and appliances, but there are just four of us: me and three PhD
students. I think they call the whole building, with our office, and the
other professors' and researchers' office, and the library as a
"laboratory." It is actually an APEC Center... APEC Wind Engineering
Research Center, I think. Well, studying is working also, but of course,
not in the usual sense. My "working" time is 09:30-17:30 but they are not
strict. I could come in early or late, and leave early or late. Well, I
do not have much to do at the apartment, and there's no internet there also
so...

Okay let's talk about yesterday!

Yesterday, starting at lunch, naka-usap ko yung isang Vietnamese na PhD
student. He's 31 with wife and a 7-year old girl and a 3-year old
boy. His name is Giang. Okay naman, nagkakasundo naman. Mabait din, he
guided me how to get lunch at the co-op's "fastfood" (microwaveable food,
shorter line).

Right after lunch, naka-usap ko naman din yung Indian na PhD student. He's
"24.5" years old, and his (family) name is Pillai, and he lives just around
15 km north of the part of India hit by the tsunamis last December. Mabait
din, linibre niya ako ng kape and pinahiram ng payong at bisikleta nung pauwi.

So nung afternoon, the silence was kind of broken na at the
"office"... Although my long durations of silence pa rin... Busy nga rin
naman sila. Si Giang is busy with preparing a country report for Vietnam,
and also looking for a topic for his PhD research. Pillai meanwhile is
busy refining his research topic, and also doing some research.

Medyo ginabi ako kagabi... At a little past 6pm, Giang and Pillai invited
me for dinner at the canteen because it closes at 7pm, and it's a good time
to eat because hindi crowded doon at that time. I had my first
not-so-Japanese meal... It was "chizu" hamburger with fries, but I ate it
nonetheless with rice and hot tea! Hehehe. Actually medyo nagtitipid ako
because paubos na ang Yen ko, e i was not able to exchange my dollars or
pesos, and today lang (tuesday) ibibigay ang allowance.

Then we went back to the "office" or "laboratory", medyo uma-ambon na. I
thought I'd stay na din muna, para maka-internet na din ng kaunti. Then
lumakas ang ulan! The two guys said they'd go home at 9:30pm but 10:30pm
na hindi pa sila umuuwi so nauna na ako! Actually I should have gone home
earlier kasi...

Ang lakas na ng ulan! But I had to go home (than stay at the "laboratory")
to rest, because the next day (kanina), Koizumi-san was going to teach me
how to use the stove, the washing machine, and where to put the garbage for
the garbage collectors. Also, there's this bottle and I didn't know what
it was... Koizumi-san told me it was "body shampoo"... I do not know
if she meant body lotion...

Anyway, so I went home by bicycle, with an umbrella in one hand. It was
raining real hard. And then I got lost... So I approached this car parked
in the street. And meron pala don na mag-nobyo't-nobya na... alam niyo
na... Anyway, I had no choice but to disturb them... I asked for
directions, fortunately marunong mag-ingles yung babae. And then I went on
my way, malayo pa, and then they drove right next to me offering to bring
me home in their car, but that I had to leave the bicycle there (which was
not mine). I had to refuse because I said I had to bring the bicycle
home. So home I went, all wet, took me maybe around 30 minutes total from
the university to the apartment. Still, bait pa rin talaga nitong mga hapon.

Tsk tsk. Anyway, I did not become sick naman or anything. I got good rest
naman. So we go to... Today!

Today, Koizumi-san went to the apartment nga, and then I asked her for
directions to banks in Atsugi. So we went to the downtown, walked around,
saw a McDo, KFC, Starbucks, and Denny's... We got back to the university
in time for my meeting with my advisor(s), Prof Tamura, the Program
Director, and Dr Cao, a Researcher.

Now... I'm just typing e-mails! Actually I'm feeling only 99% well. I'll
go home early tonight... =)

Until next! ;-)