Good byes and hellos.

Sayonara Nippon. :(

Sawatdee Khrab Bangkok & Koh Phangan!

Schedule for next few weeks

7 days in Japan to do mad shopping, packing, bonnenkai'ing (end of year parties) and soubetsukai'ing (good bye parties)

9 days in Thailand to go to Bangkok, Koh Samui, and Koh Phangan

2 days in Japan to do last minute gifts, visit favorite places, and say goodbye

4 days in Winston-Salem, NC to visit family, friends and drop off presents

2 days in New York City to visit friends, celebrate my 26th birthday

Jan. 6th - return to Philadelphia for work and officially repatriate back to USA

Let the race begin.

Japanese comedy

If you ever wonder what is Japanese comedy, it's like the following:



Almost all the TV I've seen so far in Japan (which is not much) resembles something not too far from what you have seen.

Oh, and if you ever get a chance, check out this place: www.tokyocomedy.com

I met some awesome up-and-coming comedians last Friday near Shibuya at a bar/pub where there were English comedy (mostly about Japan) and improv which I haven't seen since college. They were the funniest English teachers I've ever met on stage. I tried to make them laugh. Here's a tip: don't try to be funny to a comedian.

The comedians are really down to earth when you talk to them after and one even bought me a drink afterwards.

Upcoming this weekend: Hanami! Cherry Blossom viewing, otherwise known as get together with friends and get drunk under some beautiful sakura.

Exercpt from Wikipedia: "The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court but soon spread to samurai society and by the Edo period to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, they had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts."

Count down in Philadelphia

I am winding down all the things to do left in Philadelphia before I move to Tokyo. Still, some things stress me out such as saying good bye to some close friends I've made in Philly, selling my car, and finding a place to live in Tokyo.

I will make a stop in Hong Kong to visit my aunt and some friends...and to buy some suits and clothes. The dress at my work will be business attire but I received an email saying that it's too warm now so most (male) employees just wear suit trousers and a dress shirt. No neck tie needed.

Current mood: excited yet nervous beyond comprehension.

FYI: I've decided to use a new blogging tool instead of Xanga. I've wanted to have more control of my journal entries and seeing how much Google already dominates my life, I've decided to give them another piece which is to document my travel in Japan. I also think this is a better way since Blogger provides soo many cool tools to use such as audio blogging, mail-to-blogger, and photo blogging.