Graduation Day

Congratulations, 6th graders!!

In Japan, the school year beings in April and ends in March of the following year. Elementary schools in Japan includes grades one to six. The schools that I work at all have the same graduation date, so I was only able to attend it at one school. 

I personally think graduations done in Japan are better than those held in the states. It definitely feels like a large family. The lower grades (1-5) give their sempai (upperclassmen) messages, artwork and various other things. The day before graduation, the 5th graders decorate the 6th graders' classrooms (I helped out too!)

The 6th graders that graduated at this school were a great bunch of kids. I wish them all the best in junior high school!

Looking Festive, Fukuoka

Iwataya department store

Another department store

A store display window

Hakata (train/subway) Station 

Tenjin Core (a clothing/accessories store for teens/young adults)

Instagram photos of Fukuoka I took last month. Japan true loves lighting up their cities during the holiday season. Typically, the light are up by mid-December to about the first week of January.

40 before 40 - My new macbook pro

Soooooo, I think I've mention here that my 4.5 year old macbook died on me back in mid-July. I was without a real laptop until the end of August when I bought this baby. Ugh, this was the most expensive thing I have ever purchased in my life!! Apple, seriously, this Pro better survive for more than five years or else I'm going back to PCs.... heh, I'm so kidding. I love Macbooks. I can't see myself using a PC again.

I'm such a gadget girl. I really would like to own an iPad, but I'm not in love with the weight; it's pretty heavy. Rumors say that a mini may come out sometime next year. If so, then I'll be on it! It would be nice to have a small tablet while traveling to surf the web or read a book/magazine. Even more useful for my commute to and from work!

Good Times

I was invited to my friend's home in Fukuoka City. There, I met her parents and aunt for the first time. She mentioned that her father loves to use the amount of random English that he knows. Her father really enjoyed talking with me though and I thought his English was rather good compared to the average Japanese person.

Anyway, we had a little BBQ, which had me completely filled up; it was sooooo good. 

Hong Kong

Above photos are from Google image

My Japanese friend and I will spend our winter vacation in Hong Kong! I absolutely cannot wait for this trip! I am going to stuff my stomach with yummy food and empty my wallet from all the clothes and accessories that I'm going to purchase.

Fukuoka Tower

Inside the elevator going up!

I have visited Fukuoka City numerous times since I've been living in Japan, however, I never bothered to visit the 234 meter-tall tower until yesterday. My friend tagged along with me and we enjoyed the amazing 360 degree panoramic view of the city. I need to make my way back here for a night view!

GOAL ---> Europe Summer 2013

Ok, I am super-duper serious about this.

Initially, I had planned on going to Europe this past summer, but I never made it happen. Never looked up information on a country I'd like to visit. Never looked up on airfare and hotel costs. Yup, laziness.

Now, I'm serious and my planning starts now!

Ideally, I would like to visit Europe in August 2013 and stay there for at least one month... not the cheapest time of the year, I know, but I have no choice. It's the only time I'm available from work for an entire month.

Geared towards college students and recent graduates, but still very useful to me.

This book was purchased to help me decide on which European country to visit. Even though I do have few countries that I'd like to see, this book has profiles on 28 countries that may help me make a final decision. It also contains information on budgeting, visas, air and rail, etc. Very useful!

My aim is to visit only one country... maybe two, but one country sounds good enough. I'm trying not to rush through visits of various cities for only a couple of days. I would like to spend at least five days in each city that I visit and not as a tourist, but as a traveler. I'm not going to try to see all the must see sites, get my picture taken in front of said sites and then run off to the next site. I'm going to focus more on doing things instead of seeing things: take a cooking class, go bike riding, ride on a hot air ballon, relax and just enjoy the scenery! 

Seeing that my trip will be next summer, I have ample time to save money! I'm going to need quite a bit since I'll be traveling during peak season and I don't plan on staying at hostels this time. B&Bs and apartment rentals will get the most love from me this time. So, I plan on saving money everyday and cutting down on my spending. My aim is to save between $1000-$2000 USD depending on which country I plan on visiting. Thankfully, the Japanese yen is strong (almost equal to the euro). I'm so grateful that I'm not paid in USD.

Getting my savings under way!

xoxo

Diana

Ghent, Belgium winter 2012

Ghent, Belgium Jan. 4-6 2012

After visiting Brussels for two days, I took the train about 30 mins west to Ghent. I added this Belgian city on my visit list because I absolutely love the architecture and the fact that it's not a popular hot spot for tourists like Brussels or Bruges. Three days and two night were spent wondering in and out of the city center on foot, by bike and by bus. It was my first time biking around in Europe and it was so~ relaxing. I did get lost at one point and a lady was very kind to guide me in the right direction.

For my place of sleep, I stayed at a superb B&B (bed and breakfast.) First off, I absolutely love staying at B&Bs. They can be a bit expensive, but after staying in hostels in Amsterdam and Brussels, I needed a bit more privacy and comfort. I stayed at Suro Guesthouse and I enjoyed my stay immensely! I told the owner that he'll see me again when I eventually decide to visit Bruges.

And this ends my winter 2011-2012 trip to the Netherlands and Belgium. Europe will definitely see me again next summer. Currently saving as much as I possibly can since I'm looking at traveling for a whole month.

Fireworks in Kurume

Hello everyone!

I'm back!

Ok, so my 4.5 year old macbook died on me back in mid-July and I haven't been able to do anything in regards to blogging.

Well, now I have a spanking new macbook pro and I am soooo loving it! It's so fast, elegant, powerful and super light!! I was able to have all my data from my previous macbook transfered to this computer. I plan on going to the Apple Store once a month to take classes on how to use iMovie and the other useful applications that I never took advantage of.

Anyway, I'll leave you all with photos taken in early August at the annual fireworks In Kurume City. This is one the biggest and most popular fireworks display on Kyushu island.