Cracking the Whip

Come on, Bunny. You can do it. Pull yourself together. All you need is DISCIPLINE.

I have been at Judson for 26 days. Even though I arrived at the beginning of the institution's summer vacation, I have classes and coursework that needs to be done. The subject is challenging and the coursework is just as engaging. Nevertheless, with proper time management, I would have done just fine.

The problem is that I have been slacking, procrastinating, and submitting to sloth. I guess the works in the noggin thinks that I am on holiday in comparison to the past 2 years in the workforce. I used to be running about juggling a plateful of other things and I still managed to keep on the top of things. My responsibilities today definitely seems easier than what I was juggling with during my senior year. So, hop to it, Bunny.

I will be wrapping up my course on Educational Psychology on Tuesday. This means that I have to complete all of my research, assignments, and prepare for the final exam on June 3. In order to be waived from paying summer housing, I should get in 150 hours of volunteer work by August. I also should get an on campus job soon to get a social security number. Technically, I should be visiting the local schools now to try to get exposure in teaching, but since the school year ends next week, I guess I have to put that off till Fall. And last but not least, I should get my driving license done soon. (I was foolish to have left my Malaysian driving license at home. I could use it for a year here. Sigh!)

So, yeah... things have to be done and I should not be lazing around, sitting in front of my computer everyday playing online games and watching stuff off the Internet. Hanging out in the lounge with friends in the evenings should be balanced too.

Time to get some work done.
DISCIPLINE, woman. DISCIPLINE!

Memoirs of My Week in Japan

Exactly a month ago today, I landed in Japan for my one week of leisure transit as I make my way to Chicago. I remember walking out into the familiarity of Narita airport and the April weather. Yanagisawa-sensei gave me a ride back to TCU and we had a good time catching up. My week in Japan was refreshing and I am thankful to be able to see loved ones again.


MONDAY I found Baileyna in the dorms we just chilled out in her room. Later I meet the boys for dinner. Mark, Matthew, Matthias, Sunil, and I head on over to Gusto (smiles) and had a great time there. It was good to see them all again. Matthew accompanied me as I shopped around the mall for necessities, and we had coffee at Starbucks when Hannah bumped into us. Oh yes, it was this evening that I developed the pictures in the disposable camera, and hung out at McD's laughing over the good times. We returned to campus, making a stop at Ken's park, and I spent the night at ChingBoi's.

TUESDAY SHAR just started at お茶の水女子大学 at the beginning of April, and fate gave us the opportunity to meet in Japan, the land of our dreams. The last I saw her was September last year. We have been encouraging and supporting each other during the long period of waiting and confirmations of our universities. I really wanted to see her again and made my way downtown Tokyo. It was 昭和の日. I made use full use of my holiday ticket and spent my morning shopping at Harajuku. I later went to meet SHAR at Ikebukuro and we were soon riding on the Yamanote-line catching up. I showed her around Shibuya: Hachiko statue, Shibuya crossing, had sushi at my favorite place, shopped around at the Disney store, Uniqlo, and walked back to Harajuku via Yoyogi park. I got to spend time with SHAR and enjoyed all of my favorite spots in Tokyo as I reminisced all the wonderful memories there. As we walked down Takenoshita St., we stopped by LaPausa for dessert. We made a purikura stop just before bidding each other farewell. Arriving at CNT, I waited for Sunil to finish work and we spent some quality time together before wrapping up the day.

WEDNESDAY I slept in today and enjoyed a typical lazy morning in the Women's Dorm. I present myself at chapel as the ACTS-es students was on duty. They did a great job and I was so proud of them. ChingBoi choreographed a dance and delivered a message that was uplifting. I walked お母さん to the station and we shared a wonderful lunch together. It was great being able to sit down while sharing our thoughts over a nice meal at Denny's. I saw her off at the station and ran errands at the post office and the mall. I grabbed a few cookies and made it back to campus. Since I was on holiday, snuck a nap before grabbing dinner at the good ol' 食堂. I attended the Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting and enjoyed the fellowship there. It was a lovely evening and I even got to enjoy a walk in the park. (*^_^*)

THURSDAY It was just like any day at TCU for me. I met up with Mori-san before chapel and had lunch on campus before enjoying cakes and coffee at Meadow grass. Mark was already there enjoying his dessert. We sat at our favorite side of the room at Barnabas Hall. Soon, Osakabe, Matthew, and Sunil joined us too. We had a good time teasing Mark by confusing him about the Preaching class schedule. The boys had to leave for class and left Osakabe and I to just catch up. We reminisced about the good times shared as classmates, past relationships, and shared about our future. We were amazed by the development of friends in our Class of '06, both Japanese and ACTS-es. We talked about weddings and how great it is to see familiar faces, like Tadashi, Char-kun, and Hiroaki on campus again. I wrapped up my afternoon with a trip to Jusco and made it back in time for a small dinner party at Barnabas Hall. Yanagisawa-sensei was kind enough to organize a get-together with STF, the Seniors, and some of the ACTS-es Juniors. Although the food arrangements were "interesting," I did enjoyed the taco-rice and dessert. The boys and I went out for karaoke and it was good fun. I have taken enough pictures and videos on my camera to keep me laughing.

FRIDAY I love my Fridays at TCU. It was always a day for me to unwind before the weekend. I also have a good number of wonder Fridays in memory for me to smile about. It was an easy-breezy day, highlighted with a walk to the Harayama Post Office to mail baby sis her stuff, getting ice-cream at Kasumi, and enjoying the afternoon at Tatarada-park. I enjoyed singing with familiar faces at choir, had dinner, and had grammar lessons at Denny's. Yep, nothing changes much, I guess.

SATURDAY This day was a special treat for me; I get to spend the whole day with the people who are indeed special to me. The rainy day did not damped my spirits at all as I so much at home. It felt... NICE. We had a wonderful lunch and had fun making our own parfaits for dessert. (Man! Thinking about it makes me smile.) We later had a walk in the park enjoying the weather and reminisced our first time at the park. We later returned to the Kobayashi's for some hot tea before I had to return to campus to have my bag sent to the airport. Since it was my last evening, the boys and I hung out at the mall and had dinner. On our way back, we stopped by our usual spot for pictures and the usual habits.

SUNDAY It was difficult getting up and ready. Although I was looking forward to Chicago, a part of me would like to have stayed a little longer. I was up around 5 to prepare myself for the long journey ahead. Lucy, Baileyna, and I went to TUC together, and met STF at the 8:30 service. I had a good conversation with Lucy at McD's on Omotesando as we waited for time to pass. By 11, I was at Shibuya for my final lunch date, sushi. I really hoped that time could have stretched itself out for me, but the train to Narita beckons.

The week went past so fast, but I am happy that I was able to be there. It had been a splendiferous week, and I know for sure, how much this piece of Japan means to me. Do enjoy the pictures.

Thanks for everything. I will miss you and I hope to come back again! In the meantime, do take care of yourselves. Love ya, bye bye!

HOME

Where is your home? Who is your family? Who are you?

We cannot choose our birth. We cannot deny our past. Although our background tells of our story, it does not dictate how our future is to be. We are humans, born of freewill. Our choices define who were are. Who I am today relates strongly to my past. I am thankful for every circumstance for I will be less of who I am today without them. Nevertheless, answers to the question above is the identity I have chosen.

My history has its complexities. I do not claim that I am the only one that falls prey to the harshness of the fallen world, nor do I regard myself the survivor who stands victorious over others who shares similar conditions. I am just thankful for love and grace entered my life and I find peace and a new identity in the cross.

Humans are fallen beings and we all have our limitations. We are governed by physical laws but it is through the freewill and intrinsic mind given that we could find the truth, spread our wings, and soar free. By grace, I stumbled upon the truth and have since made the choice to live as a free person.

Someone once gave me a lecture on the difference between a house and a home. She imposed her distinction of both nouns. With little understanding then, I gave in and embraced that; but as I have grown older, I know I have lost my traditional understanding of home as I entered my adolescent years. As for the family, many vivid memories repaint a picture of my disappointments and distance. During my years in Japan, I learned something about the homeless. It was not because these people had no family, they just did not belong there. It was not limited to the marginalize. It was a choice. I was alone.

Grace is amazing. Numbers of people stepped into my life, and the weirdest thing of all was that they accepted me for who I am. I do not have to please them, and yet they shared they genuine concern for me. They were interested in my well-being and happiness that they are willing to spend time getting to know me. I found my place among God's people and soon my identity there too.

Do you feel lonely? There are times when I wonder whether loneliness refers to the lack of having someone physical beside me, and I do not deny that. Where is your home then? I have been moving around so much that I only look forward. Nevertheless, grace has weaved itself into my life and I have found unconditional love in God and reflected in his children. Biological threads of relation still exist, but I find it more fulfilling to love them with the understanding from above.

I no longer feel lonely, I have a family, and I have a home.

Summer is Here

Man! It is hot today. Hot enough that I needed a fan. The temperature was at at the height of 27C today. (Laughs.) Well, as the nation remembers those who fought for the country's freedom and defending America, it also marks the beginning of summer. Yep, according to the unspoken fashion rules, people are allowed to wear white from today, right up to Labor Day in September. (Hmm, I think I have been breaking the rule these few weeks with my white loafers.)

Anyways, I have work piled up and I seriously should be catching up with my reading. That textbook is a killer. But, there is just so much going on in my head right now. I really wish to speak with someone about it... Skype credits, come soon! Okay, no more procrastinating for the evening. It is time to work on papers due tomorrow.

Central Conference 2008

Over the past 3 days, I attended a conference held by the Japanese Christian Fellowship Network held here at Judson. The conference was attended mainly by Japanese, and those who have a passion for the Japanese. The theme of the conference was "HOME." It was a meaningful time spent in fellowship. Everyone had fun. Here, I have to kick myself for not taking any pictures despite I have a camera.


It is amazing how small the circle of Japanese Christians the world has. At the conference I knew people and was connected to a few through ways I could only imagine. I was invited to attend the conference from JD, a missionary to Japan for 30 years, who is now a professor at my school. She was introduced to me through STF and GL. At the conference the first person I met was Otomo-san. Believe it or not, we took a class together during my first semester at TCU. He attended STF's History of Western Civilization class in preparations to start taking classes when he planned to further his studies in the States then. Now he is a seminary student at Trinity. There were a few other TCU graduates. I was speaking to a participant who was visiting friends in Chicago. After speaking for 5 minutes, I also found out that she was classmates to Otomo-san and she knew Jewel. Other coincidences were people who know friends from Tsuchiura Megumi Church, and a participant from Singapore knew Yanagisawa-sensei too.


Here, I have a confession to make. I did feel uncomfortable at the conference at first. This is because I really do not know where I fit in. Maybe, more than that, I started categorizing myself and others. Oh, how petty I was. The conference and the fellowship was to encourage and support Japanese who encountered Christ overseas. I soon understood the focus of this group. Being a Christian is never easy in Japan. Those who met Christ overseas would like to learn and grow in their faith through fellowship in the language they best understand. Also, with only a small community of Christians in Japan, this fellowship aims to provide follow up and support to those returning to their homeland, finding a church, and living the faith in a closed society. So, regardless how I feel about myself at the conference. It is more of an issue of being their sharing our experience and supporting each other. It was refreshing how my mindset was changed. It should never be about me.

It was a fruitful 3 days. Although the sessions were long, but I have definitely experience the same transcending love and grace that transcends culture, nationality, and ethnicity. Home is indeed where the heart is, and I place mine above.

Silence and Indifference... the Death Sentence

It takes two to tango, and a relationship of any kind is a dance. The bond between two person can only exist if a conversation is going on. It is a game of tennis where the ball gets hit back and forth, momentum builds up, a work out, and it brings about benefiting one's health. When one ceases to talk or communicate with the other party, some may think that the ball might just hit a wall and bounce back, but honestly, it doesn't. The ball is hit to the far end of the court, where it just sits there.

Silence could be caused by hurt. Don't flatter yourself too much that you have hurt me and causing me to hate you. Hate is an emotion. It is on the other polar of love or like. Any emotion involves indicates that there is still something going on. No, you had your chance. I feel nothing for you right now. I am indifferent. I don't care. You are just another human being on the face of this earth. I am no longer interested in what happens to you. Whatever you do will not effect me whatsoever anymore.

I thought you were smart enough to figure this out. If you claimed to have know and understand me, you should have just left things as they were. This is not a hat-trick, a rabbit pulled out of nowhere. You were warned. I have no place for wusses who comes back in regret, or rather, I think you are doing this just to ease your conscience. Too late, you are already dead in my books.

Bitter? I don't think so. I wish you well and all the happiness in the world. You deserve far better, or at least, what you are able to cope with.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

"She is the ice queen, a cold-blooded b*tch." I never denied the title, neither have I claimed that I am a saint. I am human, just like everyone else--fallen. Evil is embedded in our very nature. It is just the choices made in our conscious and reasonable mind that curbs pandemonium to be unleashed.

Many consider that I am a tough nut, an iron lady, and that I rise up to the challenge, overcome, and conquer what is in my path. Situations and circumstances of my past have nurtured me to be strong. But seriously, how strong do I need to be? As life dishes out its realities, in a sadistic way, I have developed an almost impenetrable defense mechanism, a wall built with harsh rule to protect myself and others who I care for from being hurt.

Being impulsive, short-tempered, and stubborn is no help at all. My tongue and mind are sharp, and I can cause serious hurt and damage to the heart of the soul. I constantly have to practice self-control, for this side of me is manipulative, conniving, and mean. I have restraint to avoid acting like such to get what I want, but I may not able to suppress myself when I choose to be mean for the sake of hurting. Maturity might just be what people see from the lighted side.

For convenience sake and easy housekeeping, I would rather throw all of my problems and everything that is associated with them out of the window; however, my masochistic side bids me to shelf them instead. I just brought an item down, ripped open the can of malicious, mutated worms, and let them feast off a soul. Can time dissolve and dilute a hurt? Not in my kitchen. It simply brews and stews. It would be sheer luck if I had made my peace and thrown out the shelfed item, but like every malicious woman, I have my magic and my potions.

Don't say that you are sorry. You have made your choice. Suck it up and deal with it. Knowing light, I was humane and warned you of the consequences. You accepted the rules, and I was fair. No, actually I allowed you to have the better share of the bargain. In fact, I had cheered for you, fend for you, and even protected you. I am able to take care of myself. I needed you to take care of yourself.

Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. 2 years? 10 years? I am just a simple girl, longing for the basic needs. The complexities you see is a part of me, that cannot be changed, for then I will be less me. It is a fair offer extended to all:
Accept me for who I am. Discount nothing. Have some decency to return the courtesy, for I accept you just as you are.

Striking Similartities

With my limited knowledge about the big world, I am only able to make associations to events and experienced I have encountered in my short life span on the planet. I have learned to appreciate the seasons and should really be outside enjoying the sun on this beautiful day, but since I had been procrastinating and distracted by my new toy, I had better stay indoor to finish up my work.

Talking about work, my current class brings back memories from my days at TCU. I am starting to wonder whether all psychology professors, regardless of their focus topics, went through the exact same education process as the way classes are carried out, study notes, and class activities are strikingly similar. Oh, how I miss Sugitani-Sensei.

Also, we had the rare opportunity to be meeting on a Saturday today, we were given treats! My current class/course are mainly taken by adults who have attained their degree, some even are currently teaching in the local schools, but came back to take courses to be certified as teachers. Juggling these courses and a full time work is seen to be hard and we are also moving in a fast pace in completing a semester's course in 5 weeks. This morning, I entered the classroom and there was a spread of breakfast! Dr. W brought sweet rolls, while Dr. D provided us with fruits, bagels, doughnuts and coffee. Yummy! At least I am fed and awake for class!

Man, it is great to be back in school again; especially one that reminds me so much of the wonderful times I had at my Alma mater. Grace, in abundance. Forgive me of being a stereotype if I may use the expression here, but I sincerely believe such "generosity" can only happen in an environment where people understand, have received grace themselves, and are compelled to do what they can so that others may come to know of grace unlimited.

What A Day!

I saw my first raccoon this evening on my way to class. The masked dog caught my attention scraping down the slope before catching me eye-to-eye. I smiled, thinking to myself "How cute! That explains the unidentified poop I see on the paths!" (We have all kinds of animals on campus. Now I can identify 3 kinds of poop if I see them: geese, deer, and raccoon. I bet I'd be able to recognize the poop associating it to the animal I see. [Man, wouldn't the biology lecturer and the pet-lover back home be proud!])

That started the ball rolling for good things to come. I was rather annoyed that I was not prepared for class today. But knowing that my new MacBook arrived early this morning excited me. However, being a techno-illiterate, I had troubles setting it up and faced problems with the wireless connection on campus. The annoyance did not get to me but I dread to leave my new toy for class.

As I approached the the Education Department building, I bumped into Dr. D, who was trying to locate me all day. He had an extra ticket for Avalon tomorrow and would love for me to join him and his family for dinner before that. That boosted my spirits for my upcoming 3.5 hour class! Things started to get better when I found out that I did pretty good on my test on Tuesday and aced the assignment given. (Laughs) Now, I just have to keep up the good work and work on what is due in the next 32.5 hours.

But hey, I bumped into some international students in the dorm and they were going to hang out at Selina's place for a movie night. It is summer after all... So, after watching Sweet Home Alabama over sugar and caffeine free coke, an orange popsicle, and some mini pizzas, I managed to log on in my room hassle free! What a day!

My First Visitor

Kin Yan visited me this week. He arrived from Connecticut Sunday afternoon and we had the best of times (minus the moments when PMS-bunny took over) till past noon today. I hope he had as much fun as I did, caught his flight out from Chicago O'hare, and is happily reuniting with his family this evening.

We spent a good deal of time catching over meals. (Yep, although paranoid of getting blown up, we practically stuffed our face with American Food at least twice a day.) On Sunday, we had A&W/KFC lunch before driving out to IKEA at Schaumburg to shop for stuff. After having dinner and dessert there, we lost our way for a while heading back to Judson. (Bunny was no help in this for she went "Oh, THERE is Olivet [where STF teaches 1/2 of the year]!" and made Kin Yan miss the exit.)

Monday was a day spent downtown Chicago. We drove downtown and universal to all major cities of the world, we experienced the morning traffic. I was intrigued by the toll systems, but soon focused my attention to the majestic Chicago City skyline. It was simply beautiful. Our first stop was Chinatown as Kin Yan craved for Malaysian food. After lunch, we drove along the shoreline of Lake Michigan towards Lincoln Park up North. We spent the entire afternoon at the zoo, had a Chicago hot dog, and walked towards Old Town, where we enjoyed the stunning architecture of residential buildings and coffee. We later drove down the Majestic Mile and circled to find parking before visiting the ever-famous Sears Tower. We spent about 1.5 hours there, but I will definitely want to go there again as I would love to see sun set and the city's night skyline from101-stories above the city. We had the yummy Chicago famous deep-pan/stuffed pizza at Giordano's before making our way back northwest. Again we mixed up our bearing, but I did enjoyed the drive as Kin Yan rented a VERY NICE car. (*^_^*)

Tuesday was easy-breezy as Bunny had to finish up her reading/preparing for a test, finalize on her research material that would be discussed, and finish up her assigned questions, all due in the evening. Struggling hard to complete everything as soon as possible, we did manage to have lunch on campus and caught Ironman at the AMC cineplex at West Barrington in the afternoon. We played a few games of 9-ball before my class and had dinner's at Subway's after.

This morning, we took time to explore Wal Mart and Deals (a dollar store) before having a REALLY HEAVY brunch of scrambled eggs, cheese burger, and dessert at Denny's. It was great having Kin Yan for the past few days. We talked about almost everything and hung out.

Thanks, buddy, for making the trip. I did try to burn what was consumed thus far by rearranging my room and organizing the mess. After this, I'd better hit the books for this week, classes and assignments would be pretty intense!

You Know You Are in America When...

... everything is much bigger in size, volume, and quantity.

My right wrist has been hurting since 2-3 days ago. Was it caused by the lugging of my stuff? Or by pushing and pulling the heavy doors over here? Even opening and closing a car door seems to be a major task for me.

I used to think road kills on Malaysian roads happen more often since nobody really clears away the mess. For all I can remember, I had never seen any in Japan. But hey, the standards of road kill over here matches the opening line. I saw something lying dead right in the middle of the road on Tuesday. I think it was a gopher (not the regular stray cat, dog, or monitor lizard we get back in Malaysia. I might be wrong since we were cruising rather fast). Nevertheless, the size of it was similar to a big dog. The stuff one may hit/run their car through over here... A friend of mine hit a deer and the front left of her car was totally ruined. The impact of the hit caused a massive dent, a 2 foot rip above the bumpers, and took out all the lights on the left. The deer possibly died of a concussion within the next 24 hours.

Anyways, I should get back to my reading. 3 hours to class and I have hardly touched on the assigned chapters. The bed was so tempting this morning that I got back under the sheets after I was done with breakfast! Slaps on the wrists and will sit in the library before class today.

Day 4- Sober and Smiley

My body is finally catching up (or is it slowing down?) to the time here. I woke up around 8:45, took my shower and felt like a million bucks. (Thank God I did not get up any later as maintenance turned off the water right after I got out of the shower.) The morning was moving slow but I finally managed to log on campus computers with my very own user ID. Yep, settling down and getting integrated.

I was invited for lunch today. The gay party of 7 congregated at Olive Garden where we had soup, salad and bread sticks. It was a good deal as we could have as many rounds of refills to our choice of 3 kinds of soup, garden salad, and yummy bread sticks. What a joyous gathering it turned out to be for a welcome lunch for me and a farewell party for the resident missionary who will be returning to Congo.

Everyday is a fun and exciting experience. Today I managed to have my close encounter with the state police. We saw them everywhere during our drive to the restaurant. The amusing thing was that 5 state police cars were parked around our car at the restaurant. We were observing the officers and cracked a few jokes. We had to tone ourselves down when they seated down next to our table. (Laughs)

All is good. My jet lag is slowly wearing off and I guess since my brain is working, I'd better get some blogging done and read up for my class. Hmm, the bed seems rather tempting though....

Getting Connected

It is always an interesting experience to start afresh in a new environment. Being one of the modern day technology-reliant babies, I was looking forward to get myself connected to the basic necessities of the 21st century, telephone and Internet connections.

My day started slow as I walked around campus to get hold of the needed textbook for my class this evening. I hoped to get some reading done before class as I used to but to my avail, both the campus store and library did not have it. Nevertheless, I did managed to check out the wide range of campus merchandise being sold (something I had never experience before). Minga and I went to the bank to check out some "interesting" activities in my account before picking up another international student from Etophia for lunch. We ate at a local well-known Chinese buffet, made a trip to Wal-Mart, and head over to Woodman's again. It was simply super that we still managed to get back on campus 2 hour before my first class and I managed to cram in 1.5 hours of sleep!

Class was interesting. A total of 26 students turned up rather than the 11 that were expected. Since is a summer semester catered for those who are coming back to school to get a certification, we had an interesting group of people. I survived my first session and enjoyed the walk back to my room. Instead of hitting the sheets, I spent a good 3 hour in the TV room getting myself acquainted with Lydia from California, and the basic cable we have on TV. Fellowship over popcorn, Law & Order, and a few episodes from the Disney channel... it was fun.

The night wrapped itself up by me connecting my phone and receiving my campus PC ID. Now, I will be accessible to the rest of the world and look forward to keeping you guys updated.

Hey you there! Now you have no excuse not to contact me!

Who Am I? Where Am I? What Am I?

Most people know of how hectic my life is at most times. My move to Chicago has been the most dramatic change of my life thus far. Just a month ago I was still in Macao drinking in the possibility that I will be heading off to America soon, quit my job on the 7th, packed up and left Macao on the 10th, running around KL getting the needed documentations for 2.5 weeks, spent a week in Japan, and arrived here in Elgin, Illinois about 52.5 hours before my first class. Yep, this will be the top of my crazy list for a while.

I got up around 5:3o this morning unable to get back to bed and decided to do some unpacking. I was done and prepared to meet Minga for our activities for the day around 9. We took a tour around campus by car and arrived at our first stop for the day, meeting the Director of Intercultural & Academic Integration, GL. It was great to finally put a face to the person who played a big role in bringing the bunny to the States. Even though I was really spaced out and ready to get back to bed, GL graciously explained to me what I will be doing at Judson University before I was ferried off by the Dean of the Education Department, KD.

Overwhelmed and disoriented, I found out the following: (1) I am a post bachelor certificate student (2) I will be starting my first class--Education Psychology, to get my teaching certification, possibly focusing on elementary education, in less than 36 hours (3) Ohio Residence Hall will be my home until the Fall Semester begins (4) And a whole bunch of other stuff that I could hardly remember.

In a blur, I then went over to the registration office, received my ID with a terrible picture of me taken on the spot, had lunch at the cafeteria (man! It was food heaven! I would say that the spread of food would equal a 4 star hotel spread in KL, and this is during summer when only 1/2 of the food serving stations are open), took a nap, went out to the bank and set up an account, had an early dinner at a pizza buffet, and shopped at Woodman's for food.

Lesson learned at the end of day 2, everything is super-sized in America. People consume a great amount of food for each meal and the supermarket is WAY bigger than what I am used to (just imagine shopping for food at a place 3 times the size of Carrefour, Wangsa Maju, and 6 times the size of Jusco supermarket at CNT). Thank goodness for jet lag, I was out like a light before 10 and slept soundly for the night.

A New Chapter Unfolds

Hear ye, hear ye! If you had noticed the countdown clock on the left of the page, it runs out today! Through the hustle and bustle of the past month, I am blogging to you from the Land of Lincoln. This bunny sends her warmest greetings to you from Illinois, United States!

I arrived at Chicago O'Hare International Airport around 2:30pm after a 12 hour flight from Tokyo. Disoriented and jet lagged, I was picked up from the airport and ferried to my new home, just 30-45 minutes away by car. I checked into the dorms and found it totally amusing how the system is similar to what we had back at Tokyo Christian University. I had to go through my check list and was glad that it was in English. I was totally wiped out and slept till around 9:30 before heading out for dinner with Minga, the international student from Chad who is doing a post bachelor leading to a Masters Degree in Architecture.

Guess where did I have my first meal in the States? DENNY'S! (Hysterical laughs!) Ah, what fond memories I have from Japan and it compliments the newness and difference of this all American all day breakfast chain. Minga and I had a good time getting acquainted and we later took a drive to the neighboring neighborhood to collect her stuff from the family she was staying with the last 2 weeks. Dinner and midnight drive, what an adventure!