Packing!!

Right now I'm packing the last things for my class trip to China, Korea and Japan, but being sick and feeling like my brain will float out from my nose makes me take breaks. So I'm blogging as I go~

I will go to stay at my mother's place for a couple of days first, since we're not leaving for China until March 2nd, and there's winter break in between ^^
It's going to be so nice seeing them again after such a long time!!!

We just got the trip-schedule today, and I'm so excited!! We are going to do so many awesome things that I wouldn't have the resources to do alone! And this also means that there's only 23 days until I will meet my boyfriend again~ ♥

I'm afraid of packing too much... I'll probably do what I usually do and take out things last minute before going and end up realizing I could have taken out more stuff. Well, my plan is to not shop so much on this trip, and rather just spend money on experiences and sightseeing instead, since I'm going to move to Japan for at least one year and I already have a lot of stuff I'll need to bring there :P I'm also really excited about that, since I'll be sending in the last of the necessary documents to apply to the school in Kyoto while I'm at home~~~~ The world seems to be smiling at me, despite me being sick ^^

Valentine's and only 10 days until takeoff!

This Valentine's Day was beautiful, even though I couldn't spend it with Yuto. In Japan it's customary for the girls to give chocolate to the boy they love, so I had sent him homemade Chocolate cookies, and they arrived just in time for Valentine's! 

We did kind of a mix between Western and Asian Valentine's, because the week before Yuto sent me a Valentine's gift~ It was the first Valentine's gift I had ever received, so I was really really happy!!♥♥♥

I spent this year's Valentine's Day with my classmates and watched the last episode of the Korean Drama "Full House" starring Rain while eating chocolate ice cream XD 

The time for my school trip to China, Korea and Japan is getting closer and closer! Now it's only 10 days left until takeoff - and I've caught a cold. >__<

Well, it's not the biggest cold, it's just a tiny bit of a flu, but still. It's the worst timing! I just hope that it will go away completely before we're leaving... 

This week is a full week with only Chinese, Korean and Japanese repetition~ 

I feel somewhat confident about my Chinese knowledge(though it's VERY basic), and of course my Japanese, since I've been there a number of times and survived and it's the language I've studied the most. The Korean, however is still limited.. I can understand a few sentences in songs or dramas and the occasional "fangirl"-Korean, but I don't know much practical and useful Korean. It's not like I will ever have to use the phrase "Even if I die, I can't let you go" or "My heart is hurting from missing you" XDDD

So I'm more confident about the other two languages. lol

Our schedule for the class trip is coming together!! 

In China we're going to visit the Forbidden City, the Wall and we're going to see pandas in real life!!! 

In Korea we're going to Lotte World, the Demilitarized Zone, and we're going to do our best to catch a Kpop concert while there :D

In Japan we're going to Tokyo Tower, the Studio Ghibli Museum, Harajuku, Yoyogi Park, Shibuya, Shinjuku and basically all the places I have been before and have dear memories in~~ Some of us are going to a goth night club in Tokyo ;D

But the highlight for me is the on March 17th, I'll be going to Osaka to visit Yuto! It will only be for one day, but it will be so good to see him again! ♥

These days I'm also preparing the necessary documents to fully apply for the school in Kyoto! I am really excited about this! 

And BIGBANG just released a new song. I've been listening to it on repeat today. 

I became a teacher for a day and a gothic doll for a weekend.

Well, the past week was all but boring! 

On Thursday my school took on the job as teachers on the local primary school since the teachers were attending a course that day. My class was divided into three groups; China-group, Korea-group and Japan-group. Well, obviously, I was in the Japan-group~ We were going to teach 7th graders about Japanese culture and history, and that we did! I was amazed at how much fun it was! The kids were asking all kinds of questions about Japan, and we were able to answer them all! I felt knowledgeable. lol

I taught the children about Japanese music(I showed them a music video by AN CAFE), cosplay and Tokyo street fashion. Their reactions were mixed XD haha

Afterwards, we went outside to keep an eye on the kids during their break, and we ended up playing with them in the snow instead. it was fun XD But the little kids never got tired O_O haha

On Friday and Saturday, a couple of photographers came to our school to teach us a bit about theatrical makeup and special effect for Photoshop. They showed us some special effects and how to make realistic fake blood XD And they sent around casts of the actual faces of some actors, among them Johnny Depp!!!!!!!!!

On Saturday, everyone could have their picture taken either normal or dressed up as various celebrities or just any creative outfit or style. I contemplated a lot about whether or not to dress up, since I had no idea what to dress up like. But in the end I decided to do it. I found a pretty gothic outfit in my closet (my choices were very limited, since all my cosplay outfits and lolita dresses are stashed away in my dad's attic, far away from this school.) and I put on the lolita-wig that I bought at Bodyline in Osaka last year. Then I searched around youtube and found a really good tutorial, and the result was pretty freaky. lol

I was wearing 5 pairs of fake lashes and more eyeliner than ever to make my eyes look doll-like and creepy. 

The photoshoot was really fun! And due to the photographer's skill using lighting and angle, they turned out so scary! haha

The photographers took pictures of many people in all kinds of costumes and outfits, and they would then edit the photos in Photoshop and then send them to our school. So I will post the finished pictures when I get them~ I'm excited to see how they will turn out in the end!

In the meantime, here are two pictures which my classmate took of me in the cafeteria that day, that I have edited quickly. They still give a pretty freaky and creepy effect! I never knew I could look like that. lol

Lastly, I recently discovered Kanon Wakeshima. I have heard of her before, when she debuted, but I never really listened to any of her songs. But this song is just fantastic!

Package from Japan and future plans

Today I got a package from Yuto!!!

:D

He sent me a cardigan with his perfume on. I am happyyyy~~ 

I have never gotten anything like this before *w* ♥♥♥

So, tonight I can sleep well (~^w^~)

A few days ago, I applied for a school in Kyoto! I plan to study Japanese language in Kyoto for one year this October!! I really really hope that they will accept me(actually, the mails from the school staff seems really positive!)

I checked to see if I can still get a student loan for the internet-based education which I am going to take simultaneously while studying in Japan, and everything seems to be smiling towards me! So, while I'm studying Japanese language in Japan, I will take an internet-based course in traveling-consulting and service, so eventually, I can work in hotels, travel agencies etc. in Japan! 

I have finally found the job I want to have, and the way to getting that is now finally clear to me!! I am really excited over this!

Also, the time for the class trip to China, Korea and Japan is getting closer! Everyone is really excited! I think it will be fantastic, especially since my class is so close to each other!

Since I can't possibly think of being in Japan and not meeting Yuto, I have asked my teacher if I could go to Osaka one of the days we have off while in Tokyo, and he said it's ok! So if Yuto can get a day off from work, we can meet on March 17th~♥ So I hope it works out ^__^ 

January update, fangirling and projects~

January went by, feeling like an eternity!!!! I did a lot of things this month ^^

Right after getting back from Osaka, me and some girls in my class joined a fan project for SM Entertainment(company of Super Junior, DBSK, SHINee, Girl's Generation etc.) and we practiced dancing and had a good time fangirling. :D 

It was nice to have something to do, and spending time with my girls. That way, I wouldn't feel so lonely without my boyfriend~ 

I met my best friend, Elise, in Oslo on the 20th, and we had a real girl's weekend~ :D 

We shopped, talked, stayed up until late, ate good food and had a great time! I hadn't seen her in over half a year, so I was really happy to spend time with her ^___^ 

Me and Elise~♥

The view from our hotel room

Pizza~~~

Right after getting back, me and my fangirl classmates gathered in the TV-room to watch MAMA Awards, which was being aired on Norwegian TV(not live, but still!) We were fangirling and having a great time watching our favorite Kpop bands on Norwegian TV~

My classmate Kjersti with the fan-poster! :D (We like to go all out! xD)

Last week was filled with events!! 

On Friday, I baked sweets for Yuto for Valentines Day, and after that, some of the girls in my class gathered and watched movies and talked until 4 AM. :D It was very nice~ 

On Saturday, me and two other girls went on a burger-date x) It was delicious!!!

Later that day, one of my classmate made "Sunddalsgrøt"(Sunddal-porridge), which is a traditional dessert-dish from her homeplace. It's served cold together with waffles, and so my class gathered and ate it together~ It was really nice, and really tasty!!

My classmates~

Sunddalsgrøt :)

 Recently, me and Kjersti have started a project to make 15 pairs(7,5 pairs each!) of mittens before we go on our class trip to Asia! So last month, we bought a lot of yarn! haha XD

I have already almost finished my first pair! I have never knitted mittens before in my life O__O haha

I feel proud lol

My trip to Osaka in Christmas/New Year - WEEK 3

On the morning of New Year's Eve, me and Yuto took the train to Senrichuo station, and then the Osaka monorail to Banpaku-kinen-Kouen, or Expo '70 Commemorative Park~ The park itself was unfortunately closed, but we still walked around the area around the park, since the weather was really nice and it was 8 degrees~

Osaka monorail tracks


"Taiyou no To", or "Tower of the Sun" which is a monument inside of the park. It's really big and illuminates at night~ Yuto told me that it is also the symbol for his hometown ^^


Then we took the monorail into Dainichi station, and went into a shopping complex called AEON. We walked around and did some window shopping, and I even found a Liz Lisa store and Cinema Club! ^^ We also looked at cute kittens and puppies in a pet shop there and had ice cream at Baskin & Robbins~

In the evening, we went back to Shin-Osaka and just took it easy. We went for a New Year's dinner at a family restaurant called ガスト(gasuto), I got a chicken steak with kabocha(Japanese pumpkin) and eggplant. And the steak was shaped like a heart! :D It was delicious!!


Since it was New Year's Eve and all, we had dessert :3 Japanese matcha green tea fondant with red bean paste garnish. Both me and Yuto loves matcha *w*


When we ot back to the hotel, the annual New Year's show had already started! It's a music show featuring the most popular artist in Japan and this year's hosts were Arashi and Inoue Mao!

Various artists performed, among them TVXQ, Kara, AKB48, Arashi, SMAP, SNSD, Ashida Mana and Lady Gaga!! There were also many Enka performers(Traditional Japanese folk music), it was very fascinating~ There were also many touching performances dedicated to the tsunami and earthquake in March 2011.

After the show, the countdown began with a live concert by lots of Johnny's Entertainment groups!! It was so cool!!!!! :D

Just as the clock struck twelve, me and Yuto did a jump into the new year~! I never did that on New Year's Eve before, it was fun! Then we said "Happy New Year" to each other in English, Japanese and Norwegian :D

We didn't see any fireworks except on the Johnny's Concert, which lasted just about all night. After the new year had started, we went out and bought instant soba noodles(it's traditional to eat soba on New Year's in Japan), which we ate at the hotel~ It was yummy!


It was a very fun and interesting New Year's Eve, even though I missed my family and friends back in Norway, I am so happy to share that day with Yuto ♥♥♥

A couple of days after Christmas Eve, it seemed like all the Christmas decoration and illuminations were just gone with a *poof* and been exchanged by New Year's decorations overnight! I was amazed. Here are some traditional New Year's decorations outside of my hotel:






On January 3rd, I went into Kyoto together with Yuto for some bargain shopping! In Japan, there's bargain sales EVERYWHERE at the start of the new year! We thought that maybe it wouldn't be so crowded in Kyoto, but we were wrong. haha

We walked around and talked, looked around and shopped a bit. I bought a cute long skirt from Spinns(one of my favorite clothing stores!), and a cute rucksack from a stand in one of the shopping streets in Kyoto~

I also bought a Starbucks cup from Osaka~ I have kind of made it my goal to collect Starbucks cups from different parts of the world~

When we got back to Shin-Osaka, we decided to have a dinner at Gasuto again, but this time we got a bit lost. But that didn't matter so much, it was really nice to just walk together like that ^^ And we found the place eventually ;)


The 4th was our last day together before I had to go back to Norway. After a delicious omurice for breakfast, we went into Umeda and we went into the HEP FIVE ferris wheel, just like we did the first time we ever met~ It was nostalgic and very romantic. ♥♥ I got the memorial photo this time~

Afterwards, we bought couple's keychains from the Disney store in HEP FIVE and we shared a Matcha green tea parfait~ Despite the crowdedness, we had a romantic last day together. Saying goodbye was so bittersweet. T___T

The wonderful memories I've made during this stay is something that will always be precious to me~♥


The trip back to Norway went very smoothly. No delays, however, SAS airlines had changed their rules without me knowing, so I had to pay overweight for one of my bags. I had to pack in two bags because of all my shopping XD Also, there was little space in the first place, since I did bring way too much from Norway... Next time I'll bring less things from Norway! haha
I didn't need to pay much in overweight, so it was alright, really.

When I got back to my school, almost everyone in my class came to the bus stop to pick me up!!! I was greeted with a warming group hug from more than 10 people, they had been waiting for me in the middle of the night in minus degrees and they even helped me with carrying my luggage! I was so grateful~ It made me feel better about having to leave Yuto... :)

My trip to Osaka in Christmas/New Year - WEEK 2

Christmas in Japan was very interesting and definitely very different from the Norwegian Christmas traditions! I was really happy to be able to experience what the Japanese culture is like during Christmas!

On the morning of Christmas Eve, I went to a market which is held every Saturday in front of Shin-Osaka station. I bought a tare-panda teddy bear for 50 yen!!

Since I had heard that Japanese people often eat Christmas cake on Christmas Eve, I wanted to try it, and so I bought a really tiny one at Lawson convenience store. x) It was tasty~ 

I also wanted to try the traditional Japanese Christmas fried chicken! It was really tasty too, and very different from the Norwegian Christmas dinner!

After eating, I went to sing karaoke. I sang a lot of Christmas songs~ It was fun!

This Christmas was definitely different and very interesting! 

On Christmas Morning, I went to an internet-cafè with Yuto~ We watched "tři oříšky pro popelku"(Three nuts for Cinderella), which is a Czec version of the Cinderella story. It's a big tradition in both Norway and the Czec Republic to watch this movie at Christmas, and I had brought the Norwegian dubbed version with me on DVD. I explained the story and the lines to Yuto during the movie, but the movie is easy to understand even without knowing the language~ Since I watch it every single year, it felt extra special to actually watch it in Japan! I bet there aren't many Japanese people who have watched this movie, especially not all in Norwegian! Yuto was very good at imitating the lines. xD It was so much fun!

Afterwards, we had a nice dinner together before he had to leave for work~

I found that the Christmas time in Japan is a very relaxed time. There is no Christmas stress to buy presents or anything. They really do go all out with Christmas illuminations and decorations, though, which truly gives the surroundings a very romantic touch♥ Since here in Japan, Christmas Eve is couple's day~

On the 27th, I met Yuto again, and we went on a Umeda-date ^__^  We went to the movies and watched "New Year's Eve" ! It was so romantic and sweet~ We also went to karaoke and did purikura again :D 

On the 28th, I went into Namba for some shopping, and I found a really nice hair salon, where I cut my broken edges an got a wonderful hair treatment and even shoulder massage!! The salon is called "Prete" and is located in the street leading to Ebisu-suji walking from exit 14 of Namba subway station. I think I will go there next time I'm in Osaka too~ I got a discount card there! XD

Here's the result~

Namba at night

Here's a vitamin jelly drink which I used to drink while in Japan. I figured that since the vitamins I brought from Norway last time gave me an allergic reaction, I'd try some local products. This seemed to work well, I didn't get any allergic reactions, and I felt overall better after drinking it a couple of times. :) It costs around 200 yen at the convenience store.

My trip to Osaka in Christmas/New Year - WEEK 1

I realize that I haven't updated this blog in some time. Well, I spent this Christmas and New Year in Osaka, Japan together with my boyfriend~ To say the least, I had a wonderful time! I was there from December 19th to January 5th.

Traveling from Norway to Japan turned out to be a longer trip than expected, since it turned out that when I got to Frankfurt airport to change planes, my flight to Shanghai airport was delayed! But not only by a few hours, it was delayed until the next day!!! Luckily I got a free night at the airport hotel and a free meal and my luggage had already been transferred to my next flight, so all I had to do was wait. I had to to a whole lot of waiting in Shanghai airport too, since I arrived in the middle of the night and I had yet to get my flight to Osaka rebooked. After sleeping for a few hours on a bench near the Check-in area, I could finally check in my luggage again and finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, I was on the plane to Osaka!!! IT FELT SO GREAT.

After arriving in Osaka, everything just went smoothly~ I claimed my luggage, bought a Japanese phone from the Softbank stand in the airport, called Yuto to let him know I had finally arrived! Then I bought tickets for the Haruka Express(which came in just as I got down to the platform!) and one hour later I was in Shin-Osaka and from there I found my hotel right away! I checked in and everything was just bliss *w*

It felt so great to be back in Osaka! And after resting for a couple of hours, I couldn't wait any longer and went to meet Yuto~ Seeing him again after 2 months felt great! I had missed him so much!! ♥♥♥

On December 21st, me and Yuto went on a two-day trip for Fukuoka! It's a city in the southern island of Japan. I had never been there before~ It was also the first time I went by Shinkansen(bullet train), it was really exciting :)

This is Canal City, a huge shopping mall near our hotel~

Me and Yuto♥

There was a Korean music-fair in one of the stores in Canal City, I found Honki and A.N.Jell XD!!

In Canal City there is also a Moomin Café! Needless to say, we had lunch in there. :D

The members of the Moomin family were sitting around the tables in the café~


I had an iced cocoa with Moomin motif on it! And with it I got a Moomin bisquit, the same kind I used to eat as a kid! It was rally cute and nostalgic~ ^^
Yuto had a smoothie named "Guroke" (The groke!!)

Then we shared a chocolate cake, also with Moomin motif~ And the forks were also Moomin-themed!


Yuto and Snufkin ^___^

After eating and walking around a little bit, we decided to go to Marine World, a famous aquarium in Fukuoka! The theme was Christmas romance, so it was a really romantic atmosphere there!♥

My shoes were killing me slowly(I had actually traveled to Fukuoka in high heels. Don't ask me why, apparently I thought that seemed like a good idea at the time. lol), so when we were walking up to Marine World, Yuto suggested that I'd take off my shoes and just walk in my socks the rest of the way. That I did, and it was like sweet salvation for my feet! But I never thought that I would ever be walking barefoot in the middle of Fukuoka XD 

It was the first time I ever visited an aquarium, so I was really amazed at everything! We saw so many interesting, cute and weird looking sea animals! There was also a dolphin show which we went to see~ I have always wanted to see dolphins!

Dolphins jumping together with a whale which obviously believed that it too was a dolphin. So cute! :D

This guy was just feeding the sharks..... O__O


This is a huge manta/devil ray which was really hungry and almost ate the guys that tried to feed it. XD It was like a big, flat dog.


This is a sea-otter. This is probably the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!! Just look at how it's eating its own hands and looking at us with those tiny eyes! ♥

We also saw seals! This one is balancing a tiny Christmas tree on its nose~

A totally chillin' sea-turtle just waving at us. :D


After a very fun and romantic time in Marine World, we returned to Hakata station, and checked into our hotel. Then we walked around and did some sightseeing. My feet were really tired, but I was happy to be there with Yuto and seeing and experiencing so many new things and places! 

When walking back to our hotel, there was a lot of taxis in the middle of the busy streets!


Our dinner was ramen! It was so tasty omg. I LOVE ramen. The smallest portion was mine, since strangely enough I seem to eat like a bird whenever I'm in Japan. xD

Since it was Christmas all around, there were a lot of beautiful Christmas decorations!!! It was very romantic~ Fukuoka seemed like a very romantic city all together ^^

Christmas illumination in front of Hakata station♥

The second day, we checked out of our hotel and took the bus into Tenjin, a popular place for shopping in Fukuoka! There we looked around, shopped a little bit and took purikura~ :D ♥♥

After that, we went to a Japanese Onsen(hot springs)! It was the first time for me to go to one, so I was really excited! Since me and Yuto obviously had to go into separate baths, I had literally no idea what to do, but I figured it out. The Onsen was so hot and super relaxing!!!
When we were walking back to Tenjin, I led us in the exact opposite direction of the station, so I'm never choosing the way again! haha XD
Well, we had each other, so it wasn't that bad, really, to walk a little extra. Except for my feet, which were dying underneath me. I really wished that my feet had not been that tired. >< But really, going on this trip together with Yuto was wonderful and really romantic and fun! 

Christmas illuminations in Tenjin~