Sanuk Canadian

A friend from the UK organized a big traditional Xmas feast at a retired teacher's house. 10 ex-pats living in Bangkok gathered on Christmas Day to enjoy a meal of turkey, stuffing, potatoes..even pumpkin pie! I took many photos of this special day... The coffee table filled with light snacks: The dining table and tree: A "garland of happiness" -- traditional Thai ornament: All the delicious food -- which was ordered in from a restaurant! My plate: My friends teased me when I decided to sit on the floor and eat, saying: "You're practically Japanese, so yes, you should sit on the floor!" (laugh) My friends are funny/cute/know me very well. ^_^ cutenekko on the floor: My friend teased me after taking this picture, saying: "You look like you have no friends! Sitting all by yourself!" (laugh) A Thai friend joined me on the floor too, after this photo was taken....so I wasn't lonely! ^_^ I really enjoyed mingling and me...

The title of this post sounds like a children's book: "My first day at school" or "My first bicycle". Haha. Back in early December, I had attended a home party for fellow Toastmaster members and it was really fun. It got me thinking: why don't I do the same? ^_^ I invited 12 people, but in the end, only a few could attend. Oh well. Despite being small, my group of friends and I had a great time chatting and eating. I made apple pie... ...and a veggie platter with Hummus dip. (my mom's suggestion, thanks mom!) Due to the party being held just before Xmas, I bought candy canes too... My friends all brought some food too--pizza, chicken, vegetables...The little coffee table in my living room was transformed into this... My friends are all quite funny, so I really enjoyed the evening. ^_^ Home parties are not so common in Japan, due to the limited room in one's home; despite that, I am still planning on hosting some parties af...

I had to head back home early in the morning, so I took the new Skyliner train from Ueno station to Narita airport. As I love trains, I wanted to try it out for the first time. The cost was much cheaper than taking the bus too -- about half price!! The inside was really neat: The view from my seat to the station platform: After departing, I enjoyed the nice views of the city... At Narita, I decided suddenly to get myself a Christmas present. I picked up a new bag. Everyone who knows my elephant bag, always comments on how big it is. *sigh* I love my big elephant bag. But okay, I probably should have a smaller bag, something for traveling lightly. My elephant now has a new traveling partner... Pink...my happy color. ^_^ When we arrived in Bangkok, I was surprised how cool it was. My driver said it had rained earlier in the day, making the air cool. My elephant and I stretched out in the back seat for the journey home... Culture point: In Thailand, which ...

I was pretty excited about this day -- one of my buddies took the day off work and offered to take me to Nikko. I was told via text message to meet at Kita Senju station by 8.10am. Normally, this would not be a problem, but in Bangkok, 8.10am equals 6.10am. o_O We took the Tobu-express train to Nikko. This says "express", but the ride is about 2.5 hours and via a local train -- meaning, the seats faced each other and did not recline. Despite that, we enjoyed the nice views from the windows: It was my first time to enter Tochigi prefecture, so when our train stopped at that station, I got a quick photo: I think my blog readers know I love traveling by train. As I mentioned earlier, the reasons are: - slow travel is relaxing - it's a great way to see the country - you can enjoy chatting with friends ^_^ Put cutenekko on any train = super sparkling happy  ^_^ Upon arrival at Nikko station, I got a photo! Do I look cold? I was... @_@ We walked from...

I had made so many appointments to meet friends, this was the first day to myself! One of my students had recommended to check out 中野[Na-ka-no] area, as a potential place to live. So, I went. ^_^ At the station, I took a picture of the map, which I thought might be useful while walking around. It wasn't...I still got lost! (laugh) I am such a girl...^_^ While wondering around I headed down a little side street and found this: ...a soba shop!!!! Soba translates as "buckwheat noodles" and these are my favorite. How to make cutenekko happy? Take her to a soba shop. Really, it's that simple. (laugh) The menu was really hard to read, so I just asked in Japanese: 店員さんのおすすめは何でしょうか？私は野菜と暖かいそばを食べたいな〜。 [What is the recommendation of the shop owner? I want to eat veggies and hot soba.]  First reaction: The lady looked VERY relieved that I could speak Japanese. Second reaction: She spoke a LOT of Japanese in a flurry to me! I had a hard time keeping up. She was ...

I met up with a Canadian friend I knew in Bangkok, but had recently moved to Tokyo. While living in BKK, I gave him a lot of advice and information about moving to Japan. It was good to see how he was doing and hear his news. We went to a pasta shop first... My plate: We talked for a looooong time about everything....how different Bangkok is and how awesome life in Tokyo is. ^_^ He asked for some help buying a train ticket, so we went off to Yurakucho to seek out a JTB (travel agency) office. I spoke with the lady there and success! We could reserve his ticket easily. After that, we both had some free time, so I suggested going to a train cafe. I had been before, back in September. You can see that post HERE . I learned something new about my friend -- he is a big train fan too! We talked about many kinds of train museums that we have visited, or hope to visit in the future. One train museum he taught me was this miniature train park in Cologne Germany. Watch the video!! ...

Day 3 arrived and the skies were sunny & clear, but cold. I was planning to go to a planetarium on this day, but the weather was nice, and a friend suggested walking around the famous tourist spot, Asakusa -- a temple/ shopping district in Tokyo. The last time I visited, the temple was being renovated and completely covered; this time, I could see everything. Lucky! ^_^ I saw the famous gate (the kanji character means "lighting"): ...and got a photo at the pagoda: I stopped to enjoy some dried fruits at this stand: Here, while munching, an old Japanese guy asked me in Japanese: "Do you know what that is?" and then proceeded to tell me his life story. @_@ I am not sure why, but wherever I go in Japan, people always talk to me. I think it's either my smile, my blonde hair or the fact that I can speak Japanese. (shrug) I walked around some more and enjoyed looking at these.... ...outdoor food stalls. We have these in Bangkok too. I think it's amusing that e...