the reason why i like coming to work very early in the morning and leaving the office quite late is that i just like the smell of the place. on my first day here, i recognized the smell immediately…the office smelled like the japan foundation in kansai!! 懐かしい?gosh, i totally miss japan…いつか行けるかしら。。。i badly want to go back…
and speaking of japan, edwin is leaving for osaka in less than a week. he won in that contest that i joined last year. so in effect, he is my 後輩 (kouhai = junior at school) and i am his 先輩 (senpai = senior). i am two levels ahead of him. i really expected him to win…well, actually, i expected someone from nihongo center to win, hehe. in fact, he didn’t have any reason to lose! why? because i coached him every step of the way! i even handed in his form to the japan foundation…all because i really wanted someone from ncf to win! i was like, “here’s what you’re supposed to study” and “when you enter the room, face the panel, bow and say “おはようございます。edwinと申します。” and “if they ask you this question, here’s what you’re supposed to answer”, blah-blah-blah.
after he won, he kept on asking me small stuff like how much money to bring, what clothes to wear, where to buy this and that, can he go out of the institute at night, can he see mount fuji, will he get to experience autumn, which country has the friendliest people, and anything else he could think of!
he’s lucky he has me! not to glorify myself or anything. but last year, when i joined the contest, i didn’t know what to do…i didn’t know what to study, what to say in the interviews, what to wear, etc. i didn’t know who my sempai was and i never asked advice from my teachers. maybe it was my pride; i wanted to prove to myself that i can win without asking other folks for help. and i did! ^_~v
well, next week, he’s flying to japan. i can’t believe it’s been a year! i went there on the 3rd of september last year; yet, it felt like yesterday. i still haven’t forgotten anything from that short trip! a selfish part of me wishes that i were going instead of him. but i had my time; now it’s someone else’s to enjoy and i hope he will really make the most out of it just as i did. make me proud, edwin!
