EVGians in Japan 2008

Day 6 Last day in Joho High... Huixian

2008-11-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day spent at Kagoshima Joho high. It was also the last time we could see our buddy.It was indeed a sad day for everyone ( cos it was the last day in Joho High) but the activities coming up was GOOD! I enjoyed them a lot and had learnt a lot of things from it!

In the morning, once we settled down at Kagoshima Joho High, we were divided into different groups for different activities.

These activities includes judo, kendo, kyudo and Japanese drum. As for me I was assigned to be in the group that will get to experience Japanese drums. (Taiko) It was FUN! I enjoyed myself.

During the try out for Japanese drum, we were taught 3 rhythms.

For Japanese drum, the standing position were different from what I had seen in Singapore.For me, it was an enriching and fun activity as I really enjoyed myself when I was learning how to play the rhythms. Not only were we able to learn the rhythms, we were also able to see a solo performance by one of their students!

The performance was simply marvellous and full of excitement.

Her solo performance showcases a lot of their culture and when you are looking at her performance, you would simply not know what she would do next. so, that is why I say it was exciting while I anticipated for her next move. If you readers were there, I was sure the only thing you would say would be "wow". I meant its like a must watch for all as would be great if everyone could see it.

After that activity, the principal addressed us formally, talking about their school and this exchange program. Harada principal then ended his speech with best wishes for us. As said earlier, he gave us gifts; paintings done by the students. Not only that, Mr Lee too gave the Principal of Kagoshima Joho high our school's EVG BEAR!

After all the activities, it was tired for us to yet not too tired to took picture with them. I guess it might be the last time we can take pictures with the students for Kagoshima Joho high.

Posted by Huixian

JAPAN - SINGAPORE

2008-11-22T01:50:00.000-08:00

JAPAN,

a constitutional monarchy on a chain of islands off the E coast of Asia: main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

Frankly, I miss Japan a lot. If I had a chance, I would live there! Well, we visited one of the main islands in Japan, Kyushu. I am happy that I came, never regretted.

First night in Japan was one of the best night. We had a chance to experience the hot spring before we go to sleep. The water there was great, it was naturally hot, around 40 degrees celsius and above. It was a good experience that Singapore can't offer.

We visited two schools in Japan, Kinkowan High School & Kagoshima Joho High School. Actually three indeed, Kagoshima University was the third school. We saw how their culture was like and how they actually conduct their lessons.

During the home stay, my buddy was a 30+ year old, male teacher. He is very friendly and has two kids, and his parents. Although the stay is very normal, I love to talk to the uncle and aunty although I don't know Japanese much. But what ever I say they would laugh. A little Japanese words I say they would praise me. Time flies, now we're in Singapore doing work again. The weather there was fine, much cooler then Singapore of course. I would want to encourage students to come for these trips. But four words to say.....

No money no talk.

I'm sorry, the pictures are not with me, so sorry that I can't post it up.

Posted by : Ming Chong

2008-11-21T01:57:00.000-08:00

Please go to http://www.picturelah.blogspot.com/ for more of our pictures!!

For those who have nice pictures, please upload it into the blog, thank you!

User IDs and pw are available in the draft, thks.

-tingting :)-

Edited by Chuan Siang

-Back to Singapore-

2008-11-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

Japan is indeed cool!

During the first day, I almost cried as the night was so long and I have nothing to do! I really missed my parents a lot! But on the other days, I am having fun so I didn't thought about it for a while.

But during the homestay, I really missed my family again. It was because they are friendly, friendlier than my family. I remembered this incident clearly, I was watching the television programme (in Japanese), they knew I do not understand so they switched it to a cartoon channel. It was really considerate of them. On another occasion, the host asked me to call my parents, I almost cried again because the calling fees are expensive. I said "No need" but they said "You must". I had problem getting the call through and the host family searched for instructions on how to call back to Singapore for me. I told my mum that Japan was great. I sobbed secretly, facing the wall. I then hung up after a while and smiled at them. After eating an "Oi Shee" dinner, the host's brothers (Ken and Shin) played basketball and PlayStation with me. When choosing the games, I ask if there were racing game but they do not have it. Instead, they picked an air fighting game and I agreed with that.

Next day when I returned to their home and after eating dinner, I proceeded to their room again, this time, they bought a new game, F1 Racing just for me to play! I was so shocked and I really appreciated their gesture. I guess you can finally understand how I felt, they are so heart-warming and nice! The host family even made an effort to send me off at the farewell, another gesture that I will not forget for life. They printed out the photos that we have taken for the past 2 days and gave the nice photo album to me as a gift. I wished I could stay longer. This is my host's family.

Like Salonee posted, I will encourage all students to participate in this trip.

If available next year, I will surely try to participate again :D

I really miss Japan a lot(not only their food)..

posted by Chuan Siang

Day after returning from Japan.....

2008-11-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

AWWW! I miss Japan alot! BUT, at the same time, i'm glad to be back home, here in Singapore. It was a great trip, and I wish it could last longer. Even after shopping on Sunday, we still shopped more at the airport in Fukuoka...

Who would have thought that we have that much energy in our hands, to hold the numerous packets of souveniors and food... Many of us held at least 2-3 packets of goods in EACH hand!

The Merlions group

The durian group

The flyer group

Lizhen & Sufian.. the best evgians for the trip. Take you for taking great care of us

Group photo

Overall it was an awesome experience and I would encourage all evergreen students to apply for this trip next year, if the teachers decide to put it up again... I would also like to thank all teachers, Mrs Eng, Ms Chong, Ms Lim and Mr Lee(VP) for all the effort they put in to make this trip the best possible trip ever!!!

-Salonee

Day 6 - Robot Square... Nadia

2008-11-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

We went to the Robosquare today. We watched a synchronized Robot performance. It was very fascinating and the robots were very disciplined as they moved together and sometimes in different timing. Many of us took videos and photographs of the robots.

The robot performance

After the show we were given some time to explore the place. We went to see the other exhibits of robots, for example the robot dog. It can understand Japanese and English and respond to us. It operates by sensor and it was extremely adorable.

An i-Dog which dances and acts as a speaker as well when attached to an ipod

I find that this is a very valuable experience, as the robots are entertaining and we are unable to find such robots in Singapore.

posted by Nadia

Day 5....My homestay experience...Nadia

2008-11-17T17:59:00.001-08:00

After touring at Kagoshima University, we went back to Joho High School, to be picked up by our buddies. We went for shopping at one of the Kagoshima shopping malls accompanied by some of her Japanese friends.

After an hour of shopping, I was told that my host family will be bringing me to a Japanese restaurant to have our dinner there. I had shrimp tempura, white noodles and tempura ice-cream. It was very delicious especially the tempura ice-cream. We went home around nine p.m. and I got to try on an “Yukata”. It is similar to kimono, but the only difference is that, Yukata’s is much cheaper and the material used isn’t as good as compared to a Kimono. Also, from what they told me, every girl has to use a yukata for the whole day when they turn twenty years old to celebrate the occasion of being a woman. We exchanged souvenirs with each other before going to bed. I received a pair of chopsticks, and the Japanese traditional wallet from them. At about eleven-thirty p.m., it was time for bed. I enjoyed these three days of home stay with the Kaguchi family. They’re really kind, polite and very helpful. I hope that we can meet each other again.

My buddy (Yumi) and I at the farewell

posted by Nadia

Day 7.. Kurume fruit plucking activity... Regina

2008-11-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

We woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning, looking forward to the activities planned for us today. We had a simple breakfast, consisting of miso soup, a bowl of rice, vegetable salad and toast. It was very simple yet delicious. We then loaded our luggage into the bus and went on our way to the persimmon plucking venue, Kurume.

It was a very long journey and most of us fell asleep on the bus. Mr Thomas told us many facts about the persimmons and we were very interested to know about it. Singapore does not have a Kurume and we find is very exciting to be plucking fresh persimmons from the trees.

Finally, we were woken up and alighted the bus. The Kurume was very beautiful with tress everywhere and persimmons hanging from the branches. We were allowed to pluck one persimmon for free. If we want more, we have to buy it from the Kurume. The persimmons were very incredibly sweet and it was very enjoyable to be surrounded with persimmon trees and all our friends.

Aref plucking from a ladder...

Finally we left the Kurume bringing definitely not more than one free persimmon, but invaluable experience of plucking fresh persimmons. Tomorrow we will be spending our last day in Japan and I find it very unbearable to leave Kyushu behind, as we experienced many things we do not in Singapore.

Finally ending this post with, O ya su mi na sai! (goodnight)

posted by Regina

Day 6...Last day of school visit... Yimin

2008-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

We went to Kagoshima Joho High School on 15/11/08 to experience the club activities. They have Judo, kendo, kyudo and Japanese Drum. I was selected to do Kyudo. Kyudo is Japanese archery. We learnt how to aim with the bow and arrow. Japanese archery is very different from those that we see in the Olympics.

We were taught the specific steps before shooting. Mr Haji demonstrated for us. He did not hit the bull’s eye, however he as shooting from quite a distance(around 20m), and it was very impressive. Finally, after some practice, it was time for shooting. Everyone was given a chance to shoot. We took turns while the Japanese girls cheered for us. It was a a very enjoyable experience.

Left- Mr Kaji................Right - Our guide for Kyudo

This is how far the Japanese have to shoot

Mr Kaji, demonstrating how to aim and shoot

We are all ready for shooting

This is our mama bear. Auntie Chew who took on the 1st shoot. Instead of trying the 20m shoot, we were asked to move forward. Now close we are to the target.

This is Li Hua. She had problems with her bow and it caused her arrow to drop several times.

Chuan Siang aiming like an expert

This is Krystal

Regina trying her best

While we were having Kyudo, our friends were having Judo, kendo and daiko (Japanese drum) at other sides of the school.

Aref was throwing a student while the best in Kagoshima (guy in the background with red sweater) looked on.

Evergreen students with the Judo experts (They won the gold medal in Kagoshima)

After Kyudo, we had the farewell ceremony. We were to assemble at the auditorium while the Principal of Kagoshima Joho High School addressed us. He presented all of us with souvenirs and after that, we took our luggage and prepared to leave Kagoshima. It was very touching to see people crying as they were upset to leave their Japanese friend and buddies behind. I cried too. Our Japanese buddies chased after the bus to wave us goodbye. We were very touched to tears and could not help but stay put in the bus.

Chuan Siang's fans........

Nadia's buddy was in tears as she sent Nadia off

Most of the Japanese girls ended up crying.....

Ms Lim, Mrs Eng, Mr Kaji, Ms Chong, student leader & the Principal of Joho High

A group photo together

They chased the bus all the way........

Aref and Jaron was asked to do some sharing of their home stay experience on the bus. Aref started the sharing with much laughter as he shared. Though he wasn't enjoying himself during the 1st night, he had more fun during the second night. The morning when he was going off, the buddy's dad even brought Aref to an orange farm and asked Aref to pluck some as souvenirs.

As for Jaron, he ended off with us yawning away. Heehee... but I must say he also did a fantastic job when he was sharing. He told us that he was forced to play PSP2 with his buddy. It was a combat game and they need to kill 600 enemies each. But Jaron ended up losing to his buddy as the buddy kept on shooting Jaron down instead of aiming at the enemies.

Jaron looking happy with his sharing

We had our buffet barbecue lunch. Finally, after this few days in Japan, I got to eat western food such as french fries, chocolate cake, cheese cake and ice-cream. We also get to do some BBQ and we had fun in the restaurant. According to Mr Thomas, this type of buffet style restaurant is very popular in Japan, especially during dinner. The main reason is they get to eat Kobe beef ( the most expensive beef in Japan). The food there was very fresh.

Mrs Eng and Christine showing some cakes

After having our lunch, we went to the Kumamoto City Recycle Plaza. We had learned the importance of recycling and how different Japan makes an effort to recycle all their materials compared to Singapore. They put their rubbish separately in different bins. For example the bottle caps are separated from the bottle. One bottle can make a hat, ten bottles can make a windbreaker.

We had a lecture on recycling of materials

This picture is made from glass bottles

Ming Chong having fun with an activity using bottles and bottle cap

After that, we went to the Kumamoto Castle. It is known to be inaccessible by Ninjas and assassins. It was raining heavily therefore, we did not have a lot of time to explore the place, which was extremely depressing. We did not expect it to rain, therefore we did not bring our umbrellas. It was a lesson learnt, and we brought our umbrellas with us for the subsequent days.

The layout of the whole Kumamoto castle area

A model display of the castle

Graphical picture of the castle

The top of the castle

Dinner time! We had tempura set dinner. The food was fantastic. We were very full after that. We checked in into the inn. It was very much smaller than a hotel. The place was very packed.

The cold dish

Our tempura set meal.

We has a lot of fun during the debrief as we discussed our personal experiences during our home stay. We reached a conclusion that Japanese people are very highly discipline. They arrange their shoes neatly and is very well-mannered towards their elders. They are our role models and there is many things we would want to change to our lives to be as discipline as them. Knowing that fact, we did our reflections and retired for the night.

posted by Yi Min (with the help of Regina... :) )

Day 6 - Kumamoto.... Ming Chong

2008-11-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

We visited the Kumamoto city recycling plaza in the morning. Even when walking on the streets, dustbin for different type of materials is pretty visible. The dustbins are separated into plastics, cans, papers and metals. Japanese will sort out their rubbish and throw it away accordingly. Residents of Kyushu show their part in recycling by bringing their unwanted materials to the recycle plaza instead of throwing them away.

Come to think of it, as a Singaporean, how do we show our part in recycling? Have we been putting enough effort in recycling?

Portait made by bottle caps

Same old saying, ''Reduce, Recycle, Reuse''
Personally, I don't think Singaporeans are really taking this matter seriously. In Singapore, when I see recycling boxes, I see rubbish of different kind of materials inside where it is only for 'CANS'. We need to work on that.

We went onto Kumamoto Castle(熊本城). It is considered one of the three premiere castles in Japan, along with Nagoya and Osaka. It was drizzling when we reached the castle, thus it was quite difficult to capture a lot of pictures.

Kumamoto Castle was originally built by Kato Kiyomasa in 1607. After seven years of construction, the Kumamoto Castle displayed a brilliant architectural statement, exhibiting highly advanced engineering, superb masonry and mastery of flood control and defense. The castle was besieged during the Satsuma rebellion, and was sacked and burned after a 53-day siege

The unscalable J-shaped stonewalls and wooden overhangs, designed to repel the ninja, making the castle more interesting.

Kumamoto castle in the rain.

Posted by : Ming Chong

Day 7- Fukuoka Citizen's Disaster Preventions Centre, Kurome, Robosquare...Jaron and faris

2008-11-16T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today, We went to the Fukuoka Disaster Prevention Center. We experienced 5 different things. First we undergo fire extinguisher simulation exercise. There we get hands on experience using images projected on the screen. This simulation center is indeed an eye-opener for us as we get to learn how to use a fire extinguisher. The most interesting part of this exercise is we get to spray water at a screen which displays a fire screen and if we did it correctly, the fire in the simulation will be extinguished. If not, the fire will get bigger.

This is our first station at the Fukuoka Citizen's Disaster Preventions Centre.

The guide explaining to us the importance of fire safety

It is a very interesting explanation given by this guide. He explained to us how to use the fire extinguisher as well as how to spray onto the screen.

Look at all the fire extinguisher.

Spraying water at the screen???

Some of us spraying at the screen

Next we got a chance to experience an earthquake of 5 - 7. There we learn how to take preventive measures and how to evacuate effectively during an earthquake.

Most of the buildings in Japan can withstand a magnitude of 6, anything that is of higher scale will be disastrous. Our tour guide, Mr Thomas told us that it was predicted that Japan will suffer another earthquake of magnitude 7.8 at the end of the year. It sounded scary!!

This lady was explaining to us what are some of the effects of earthquake of different magnitude.

A look at the interior of the simulation area. This is the kitchen area.

Ke Xin, Chuan Siang, Christine and Lizhen before the simulation.

This picture showed Grace and Shazana hiding under a table during an earthquake of magnitude 7.7. Notice how hard they grab onto the legs of the table.

Afterward, we went to the typhoon simulation room. In this room we experienced strong wind similar to the actual typhoon. One can image how messy our hair is when we stepped out of the room.

Then we went through a fire experience while going through 16 smoked-filled rooms. We had to find our way out in the quickest time possible. At the same time, we shouldn't panic. Out of the five stimulation, my favourite was the last experience as it was the most interactive.

Posted by Jaron

Kurume

November is the right season for persimmon and Kurume is where we get to pluck our own persimmon. We do not get to see such persimmon trees in Singapore, thus it is quite educational for all of us. We were taught the correct way of plucking the fruits from the tree so as not to damage the whole tree as well as how to identify persimmons that are ripe and sweet by looking at the leaves surrounding the fruits.

A picture of a persimmon tree

We had to pluck one persimmon for ourselves. We went around the plantation, hunting for the biggest and best persimmon. They are fresh and delicious! When we were there our hands were so cold that we had to use chemical warmer. Those who did not have the warmer would get numb hands. The scenery was a beautiful. We had lots of fun there.

Some persimmon fruits

Mr Thomas showing us how to cut a persimmon

Salonee showing her persimmon. (It's the one on the right)

Most of us left the farm with bags and bags of persimmon. They are not FOC, we got to pay for it. 16 large persimmon costed around 2500 yen, which works out to be S$2.30 each. Not too bad a deal.

RoboSquare

We visited Robosqaure at about 10.30am today. We saw a variety of robots. The robot that I liked the most is the dog robot as I felt that it was the most convenient robot pet. We get to have fun communicating with it. There are sensors on the back of the robot dog so as we stroke the back, the robot dog will wag its tail and will bark. It was also an added bonus that the robot pet would not create a mess.

During our visit, a synchronized robot performance was held there. Small cute robots were placed together and they did a series of interesting and funny movement together, accompanied by music. I was amazed by the high level of technology in controlling these robots. If I only had a robot to do my homework, wouldn't it be nice?

Display of some of the robots

My favourite robot dog

Sychronised robot performance!!!

Posted by Faris

Day 5 - Kagoshima university... Inn siang

2008-11-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

Kagoshima university is the next place we are heading. When we first arrived at the university, the place was crowded with students in costumes as the university is holding a culture festival.

Chicky Club?

Merlion in japan!!

Go Go Power Rangers!!

Japanese are really daring in their dressing

After experiencing the festival,we arrived at the lecture room and had a lecture conducted by Prof . Kozo Obara on hydrogen. He begin with an introduction and discussion on Technology in the world. From his lecture, I've learn that technology is advancing at a rapid pace.For example , our carbon based - economy is facing a big problem -scarcity for oil and coal. Hence , it is important to source for new energy source.Thus , he introduced the use of hydrogen in Hydrogen-powered cars. However, engineers always seek improvements in technology. Prof. Kozo Obara introduces the use of Mg + H20-> MgO+H2 instead of the former water + steam. Magnesium Oxide (Mg0) can be processed through laser and the process is repeated to obtain Hydrogen. Magnesium solids are easily obtained from the sea thus it is not harmful to our environment at all.This could be our solution to our world's crisis and i hope Singapore would implement the system of using hydrogen-powered cars in the near future when this technology is easily accessible.

Mr Obara giving his lecture

Mr Lee and Prof . Kozo Obara

A group photo together

posted by - Gan Inn Siang

Day 5 - Homestay..... Yu Tong

2008-11-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

Yutong's first ever Japan home stay
After all the tiring activities, we went to Kagoshima Joho High School. When we arrived, we were asked to go to the lecture hall and wait for our buddy to pick us up. After about 2 hours of bus ride, I arrived at their house. I was told to take a shower first before dinner was being served. I was amazed by the way dinner was being served. Before we start eating we were suppose to say :"itadakimasu" and the guest will take the first bite of whatever he/she wants to eat. I had tempura with Miso soup and rice. After dinner was supper and we had fruits and traditional cakes. On the next morning, we had bread, egg and bacon for breakfast. I think that the host family/ Japanese are very friendly and they really treat their guest with respect. I think that they are also very healthy conscious.

posted by Yu Tong

Day 5 ... Chuan Siang

2008-11-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

It was day 5 of our Japan Trip and we are starting the day with some activities with students in Joho High. I reached the meeting point(in computer lab) and went to change and prepare to play basketball, it was very fun and i manged to goal 5 times :D

They started their warming up using light Japanese tune and the tune brighten up one's mood. The students will volunteer themselves to lead the warming up. After the warming up, we were given some time to try aiming at the net. We formed two lines and took turn to do our shooting. One thing that I noticed was.. during the shooting session, the Japanese students were making a lot of noise but when the teacher blows the whistle, they will all stop whatever that they are doing and gather to face the teacher. They behaved as though they are robots.. it just come so naturally to them. No reminder from the teacher and no scolding at all. We were divided into groups and played against one another.

During the competition, the students kept cheering for their friends although they are the opposition team. This cheering really helped to build up the morale for the team and it also set a postive tone for learning to take place. During the 5 minutes break, some of them chatted together and exchanged e-mail. After the basketball training, I changed back my clothes and went to the Computer Lab again.

Before we start our warm-up

Aref doing his self introduction in Japanese...

Our "kawai" warm-up leader

Ichi.. ni... san...
1.......2......3.....

Running around the hall for 2 rounds

Stretching our back

Notice that they have their name on their T-Shirt. It is done by their mum..manually....(no machine). Apparantly, their mummy needs to sew their name on their bag, T-shirt, pencil case... Bento set bag....

Li Zhen trying her luck

Interaction time

What are you doing AREF!!! Are you trying to impress the girls using your limited Japanese vocabulary....

Ting ting getting ready for her game

Notice the "high 5" given to Regina by the Japanese. (They are of different team and yet they cheered for one another)

Group photo (This is a class of scholars who are on scholarship to study in Joho High)

We then proceed to the bus that was going to Kagoshima University and met the professor to listen to his lecture on Hydrogen. We went to the parade where we all took a huge number of photos, there are students who dressed like cartoon characters, cross dress, etc. They are all so funny. From this parade, I got to encounter the weird beliefs and culture of Japan. They are very open-minded and it was really an eye-opening experience. After that, we gone back to the theatre for our lecture. The lecture is on using hydrogen as an alternative fuel to generate electricity for motor vehicles. Even though the topic is very difficult in concept but I do understand and is interested in the topic, all this made me enjoy the lecture more. It is indeed an interesting lecture which sets our mind thinking... We think of the future, what are some of the alternative fuels that we can use. We went up the bus again and reached the high school. We went to the library first and waited for our host family to come. Mine was the second to come. We then went back to his home.
Krystal and her buddy

Christine and her buddy

Ting Ting and her buddy

Li Hua and buddy

Clare and buddy

Regards,
Chuan Siang

Day 4...Home stay... Aref

2008-11-15T05:54:00.001-08:00

My blog is about the home stay.
Today, I went for the home stay.It was wierd to stay at a stranger's house for the first time you met him/her. My buddy and I went back to her house at around 6.30pm (Japan time). I felt very awkward to be with her family at home. I felt home sick. Actually I wanted to cry but I told myself i have to be strong. To relieve my stress, I called Mr Thomas, our guide from Japan. He gave me some advice and even though I was still nervous at that time I felt better. I told meself that I should enjoy the experience, though i have difficulty adjusting to it. Then I took a bath in the bath tub and took pictures with the family. After that, I went to sleep. Actually the first day I didn't enjoy myself. OYASUMINASAI...

posted by Aref

Day 4 - Home Stay/ Schools Experience...Salonee and Kyrstal

2008-11-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

file://My/ hosting family was very, very , very kind and caring. They were extremely friendly too. Throughout the time I spent with them, they always made sure that they satisfy my needs first before their own. My hosting parents, Mr and Mrs Koba, even went to the extent of sleeping in the living room and giving up their bedroom for me to sleep. I was so touched and really appreciates all the efforts they put in to make sure that I was comfortable. So, I slept alone in the room during the 2 nights. So, basically, for the first day, we just talked about everything related to Singapore, Japan and our families, while having dinner. However, on the second day, my hosting family took me out to dinner in a restaurant that specialises in tempura. Even before going for dinner I shopping with my buddy, Saya and her mother. After dinner, we went for shopping again. I even rode on the giant ferris wheel on top of a very famous mall. Overall I had a lot of fun and will definitely miss my hosting family a lot. I hope to meet them again! Sayonara for now!!!!!

My buddy, Saya

Me and her family

posted by Salonee

After living at the host house for one day, the next morning we met at Joho High School. We are then split into three groups to attend different activities,namely Basketball, Calligraphy and Digital Sound. My group went to the Calligraphy lesson, the teacher is very kind, although he is old but he is an experienced Calligraphy teacher. He taught us the basic skills and then we followed his instructions.

We learned to write Singaporu in Katagana (Japanese will use this if it is orginally an English word)

The sensei corrected my mistakes

Group photos of the flyers and the yasashii (kind) teacher.

Then we met at the Computer Room to prepare to go to Kagoshima Unversity. At Kagoshima University, we took part in their culture festival, after which we attended a lecture conducted by the professor. The lecture was very useful but a bit too difficult for my level. After the lecture we went back to Joho High School to return to the host house for one more day.

posted by Krystal

Day 4 - Shazana's Experience

2008-11-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

At the entrance of the Kinkowan High School

Steps before drinking the Tea.

The Sweet cake that we have to eat before drinking the tea.

The Tea.

Students from the Tea Ceremony club demonstrating how to drink the tea.

Picture time!!

The students that presented about the "Sprite"

Ms Chong with her Beautiful Smile.

One of the Kinkowan Student.

Flower from the Kinkowan park.

Visit to Kinkowan High School.
On the 14 November 2008,we visited Kinkowan High School to experience the education system.We were greeted by the school and I was honoured to be in the school.The surrounding is very beautiful and the school is very big.We were divided into two groups,Group A will attend the Tea Ceremony and Group B will tour around the School.I found that the Tea Ceremony is very interesting because we could not find anything like this in Singapore.Firstly,we were given a cake to eat before having the tea.The cake is very sweet so that it will blend with the tea which is Bitter.At first I was terrified to try the tea because it smells bad.But after seeing all my group members drinking the tea,I decided to try.It was a very good experience and I will never forget this experience.After we had our lunch,a presentation about "Sprite" was made by the Kinkowan Students.The "Sprite" is a phenomenon which a exist in the air without clouds.I was shocked by the research made by them.After which,the Science Elementz from our School presented their presentation about Genetics to see if taste buds can be inherited from our family members.The research made by them was very surprising,however,more research has to be made.
We then bid farewell to the students and headed to Kinkowan Park.I was amazed by the scenery because I could see different kinds of flowers.From red roses to white roses,all the flowers in the park bloomed in the presence of the bright sunlight.With that,I adored the surrounding because it was very Beautiful.

Day 5 - Last day @ Kagoshima joho high... Clarissa

2008-11-15T04:33:00.000-08:00

Kagoshima Joho high library.

Japanese Drum performance

Digital sound lesson

Introduction of a student's work

School entrance/exit

Kendo

Students warming up

Practising attacking skills

Early in the morning, we took the bus to school.
I was the first evgian to board the bus. Then Shazana, Sufian and Jaron. Shazana and i sat together. After an hour and a half we reach Kagoshima joho high. I realised that the Japan is a country that has everyone respecting one another. The girls and the boys have to seat separately. The students alight from the bus in an orderly manner. We then went to the classroom where we were suppose to assemble.

We were briefed on where we needed to go. We took pictures with the students and then proceeded to the designated place.

Group 3, the Durians, have to go to a digital audio class. Shazana and I sat together. We were taught how to operate the software. The teaching system in Japan isn't much of a difference compared to Singapore. Shazana created a song with hiphop, techno and rock whereas I created a song with metal, hiphop and rock.
We then took pictures of the classroom and the teacher. We went back to the classroom and waited for others and went to Kagoshima University.

posted by Clarissa

DAY 4....school experience.. Lizhen

2008-11-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

My first day in Kinkowan-High
It was a fun day in kinkowan high school. When we entered the school we were welcome by the teacher in-charge, it felt great that he speaks good English. and we count ourselves to be very lucky. It's hard to find Japanese that speak good English.

This is their "self-made" gym area

A picture showing Kinko-wan High

We need to change our shoes into slipper every time. We find that it's very troublesome, but we are in Japan, we have to respect their culture.

In the school we attended the Japanese Traditional Tea Ceremony, "chanoyu", hosted by students from the Japanese Tea Club. There are altogether 8 steps to drinking of Japanese Tea.

Step 1 : Place the bowl, Chawan in front of you inside the tatami edging and bow to the host

Step 2: Bow your head slightly to express thanks

Step 3: Turn the chawan clockwise twice in order to avoid its front

Step 4: Drink the tea to the last sip

Step 5: After you have drank, wipe the place where you drank from with your right thumb and index finger

Step 6: Turn the chawan back so that the front faces you

Step 7: Place the chawan in front of you outside the tatami edging

Our host explaining the steps to us

We are getting ready to bow

A Sweet dessert that we have to take before taking the green tea. It tasted sweet, something similar to our Moon cake. The fillings inside is red bean. Some of us actually asked for one more. YUMMY!!

The green tea prepared. Notice the foam formed on the surface.

Our host who made the ceremony possible.

After which we had a tour around the school. In their school they have a lot of facilities. However the number of subjects they are taking are limited. In their school they specialised in Maths and Science. Selected group of students (around 20 - 30 of them) need to attend extra Maths and Science module.

After touring around we exchanged our presentations. Their presentations were on sprites (upper atmosphere lightnings) and insects and our were on taste bud. The presentation on sprites is pretty hard to understand as we do not usually observed sprites in Singapore. Sprites are occasionally held responsible for otherwise unexplained accidents involving high altitude vehicular operations above thunderstorms. The other presentation is on "parasite insects", an insect that will eat up the egg of another species and then lay its own eggs into the body of its prey. Scary ya....

Presentation by students from Kinkowan High

Presentation by Ke Xin, Jaron, Regina & Yu Tong

After the presentations we had a 10 minutes interaction time. We took this chance to know them and knowing how their education system work. They will start their class at 8:30 and it ends at 4:00 p.m. From 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. , they will have their CCA. They do not have any remedial classes. After the interactions we had lunch and the student came and join us. During lunch we had curry rice. It was nice! After a short lunch we left the school for Kinko-wan park.

Our new friends from Kinko-wan

Our lunch

Japanese usually bring their own Bento set from home

In the park there were many roses and plants it was a very beautiful place and all of us climb all the way up to see the beautiful scenery. After that off we go to Joho High to meet our host.I shall write till here. =)

Scenic view at the park

Jaron, Faris & Ming Chong striking a cool look

The sec 2s

At the viewing point in Kinkowan Park. You will see Sakurajima volcano at the back

posted by Lizhen

Day 4 ...1st day of School experience and homestay... Grace and Sufian

2008-11-15T04:18:00.000-08:00

KonBanWa !
We had gone to Kinkowan High School the previous two days .

In the school, we had an introduction to the Japanese traditional tea ceremony, followed by a tour around the school .

After that , we attended two presentations conducted by their science club students and the best part was that they tried their very best to explain the theory of the experiment to us in English.

The presentations were about Sprites and the life cycle of a parasite wasp beetle .

As for the sprites , it included carrot sprites, column sprites and the dancing sprites .

The resulting observation for the sprites are quite accurate because of the numerous observations they made, namely the shining period(4.6 secs), the strength of light, the generated place(southern part of Yakushima Island) and the lightning of cause .

As for the next research, namely the investigation on the life cycle of parasite wasp beetle, was done in Kagoshima.

The behaviour of the egg parasite is unique.
The Attleabide, one of the species with the egg of the female(Paropoea) and the egg of the male(Morimotoi) can be found on the rolling leaf .

Mating occurs when the abdomen of the male is above the female .

Lastly , the male can recognize the body as female only by sight .

Picture of the wasps!

Newly-made friends in Kinokowan High school.

After this , we went to Kinkowan park .There were many pretty flowers !

We took a lot of photos and also went to the peak of the hill to see the beautiful scenery that we would never have been able to see in Singapore .

Picture of the beautiful roses.

posted by Grace

After that we went to Joho high school to meet with our host family but some of us had our host buddy schooling at Gyokryu junior high school. It took us around 40min to reach there from Joho high school. My host family was at Gyokryu junior high school. Lucky for me, my Japanese buddy was a girl,her name was Yoshiru Akari and shared my buddy with another Evgian which was Shazana. The family hosted two students from Singapore. After the welcome ceremony done by the students of the high school, at the car park, me and Shazana met the father. Then they drove us to their home. We met with the whole family and conversed with them although it was quite hard to communicate as they don't really speak Japanese. The family was very friendly. The parents ask us to call them papa and mama and not Mr or Mrs.

They ask us what we like,and Shazana said (shopping). Straight away they asked us to change and proceed to the shopping mall. They bought us lots of things although we said we want to pay for it. They said "no problem". Then we had dinner at Italian restaurant. As they don't want us to eat Japanese food because we have been eating the same food again and again for past few days. We then went to sight-see and take pictures together. We reached home around 10pm. Instead of going to sleep, they invited us to play the game Nintendo Wii. But we were too tired. So we just took a hot bath and slept. Now I already miss them although it was just a few hours back that we had been spending time with them. We promised to still keep in touch by email.

My dear Host family

They even invited the grandparents to be around

posted by Sufian

Day 3.....Sakurajima Volcano

2008-11-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone

We went to the sakurajima island (桜島) to view the active volcano today. Sakurajima volcano has three peaks, Kitadake (northern peak), Nakadake (central peak) and Minamidake (southern peak) which is still active. The eruption in 11 January 1914 has been the most powerful in the Japanese twentieth century, and during the eruption lava flows filled in the narrow strait between the island and the mainland, converting it into a peninsula. Before 1914, the volcano had been dormant for over a century.

We visited the visitors center first and after which we headed to the ferry which toured us around the island to view the active volcano . The scenery there was beautiful and with the sea breeze, it was truly a great experience ! haha! We really enjoyed the whole ferry trip thoroughly.

After the visit, we headed for lunch and outside the restaurant, there's a Ferris wheel with water spinning around and not forgetting there's was a statue which signified "GOOD LUCK" !
We had Ebi Udon for lunch.

After that headed to the bullet train ride !
Though it was just a short ten minutes ride , but it was a great experience !
And I will be at host family house staying for two days !
see you in two days time !

Day 3... Group 2

2008-11-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

We had our sumptuous breakfast at 7a.m. in the Grand Hall of Beppu Wan Royal Hotel. There are many varieties of choices such as Western style for those who are not used to eating Japanese food.

We then set off to take the ferry. We had to travel by bus for 2 hours before we board the ferry. During the ride, all of us fell asleep as the journey was long.

There was then a stop for a toilet break. Many of us bought drinks, snacks and sweets.
While we were waiting for the bus, we were people watching. There were "security guards" taking the number of people that arrived at the stop. Some of us went to the toilet where others were standing outside the toilet enjoying the scenery. We also realised that there weren't many dustbins around. Recycling bins were arund also! This shows to us that the Japanese are very tidy and environmental friendly.

We boarded the bus and continued the ride.
After some time, we arrived at the ferry terminal. We watched a video on volcano, Sakurajima island. The video showed us how the eruption was like and what happened after. We toured around the visitors center and took photos outside. Then we went to board the ferry and proceeded for our lunch!

After lunch we went to take the bullet train! We had to board the train with two tickets! The people queueing for the bullet train was very orgaised. The train ride was super fast! We couldn't see the scenery as everything was zooming by. Japanese people are so polite that they will leave the train's cabin just to answer the phone!
After the bullet train, we had an hour drive to have our dinner and then back to the hotel.

Day 3 ... Bullet Train Ride

2008-11-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone.

Today's programmes were not as much as yesterday's but today's programmes were equally interesting and fun. With everyone enjoying, our journey to two destinations were not boring at all.

Our first destination was Sakurajima. It is a active volcano with two craters. Too bad that we could only view it from a ferry and the visitor center. The scenery was extremly beautiful and magnificant. However I prefered the second itinerary, which was the bullet train ride from Kagoshima to Sendai.

So yes, I was very excited while holding the tickets.

The train track

In the cabin

Ms Lim (Is she thinking of something?)

The ride was enjoyable and worth it even though it was only for 10 minutes.
The train was really fast. The average speed for that bullet train was 200km/h.
Ms Lim told me that Japan's "MRT" is already faster then Singapore's.
I can't deny that Japan has really the higher technology than Singapore.
This bullet train has brought convinience to the people travelling around Japan.
If everyone were to take bus, a 10 minutes bullet train ride is so much faster than buses
because buses took around 1hour 30 minutes to travel from Kagoshima to Sendai.

I can't for tomorrow's programmes as this is the first time that I would be in a home-stay!

posted by Shann

Day 2- Our first day in Kyushu...merlions

2008-11-11T04:21:00.000-08:00

It was 7:30a.m. (Japan time)..........

The moment we alighted from the plane, we proceed to the counter for the stamping of our passport. In Japan, they are not using those stamps like what Singapore is using. Instead they used sticker to paste in our passport. The sticker showed the arrival date and how long can we stay in Japan. The Japan check-in area has a lot of different facilities like the Digital Video which checked our temperature. With just one scan, the machine can tell whether we are well or not.

We collected our luggage at belt 2 and upon leaving the airport, the first thing we bought in Japan is MINERAL WATER. It is selling at 110yen to 136 yen (around S$2) . It is a bit on the high side. Most of the food here is very expensive, mineral water is the cheapest. Some of us stepped out the airport to have a feel of the weather, the temperature outside is 12 degree Celsius, cooling is the word we are always using. We love the weather, it is so great.

We moved on to the Fukuoka Science Centre. It is a 3 storey building with a lot of different facilities. One of our favourite exhibit is a drawing robot which can draw Doraemon and Ultraman. The robot can also draw whatever drawings that we we want. Most of us enjoyed the "superimposed" area. It is an area whereby our image will be superimposed onto another landscape. It works something like the new Nintendo Wii, when we looked at the screen, it is as though we are in another land. Very interesting! There's a lot of hands-on activities in the centre. Though we do not understand the instructions (as most of them are written in Japanese), we still managed to figure our way out.

The "Drawing Robot"

Sample of drawing from the "Drawing Robot"

Grace & Shazana before their "work-out". The more they cycle, the balloon in the middle loop will move higher.

After the Science Centre trip, most of us were feeling very hungry. Just imagine, our last meal was at 4:30 a.m. onboard. We went on to a traditional Japanese restaurant which served authentic Japanese Bento meal. Our lunch is very sumptuous. It consists of Miso soup, fish, lots of vegetable and chicken. We gobbled down our food till the plate is clean.

Bento stands for "Home-packed meal". We were told that Japanese will bring their own lunch to school or to work. Their lunch will be packed nicely in a container which looks something similar to the one on the right.

Our next destination is Blood Pool. It is a 2 hours drive from where we had our lunch. Most of us slept in the bus during the journey and we missed a lot of nice scenery. What is so special about the blood pool is it is red in colour and the temperature of the water is about 78 degree Celsius. What accounts for the red colour is due to the presence of transition metal, namely Iron(III) compound and Copper metal. These two metals are red in colour.

The entrance to blood pool

Blood pool. Notice the red colour of the water of the pool.

Next we took a 5 minutes stroll down to the Dragon Whirlpool. This whirlpool will explode every 30-45minutes. We are really lucky to be there at the right time. Within minutes, the explosion occurred. I wondered for a long time what causes that to happen? Who discovered these pools?

The dragon whirlpool

Our last destination for the day is the mud pool which is another 20 minutes ride . I didn't try it. Grace, Lizhen and Regina tried it and it seems like they were really enjoying themselves as they were giggling when they stepped out of the pool. They called the pool "OUR SECRET POOL". We were all very curious what the secret behind the pool it?. After much interrogation, they confessed. They were NAKED when they were in the mud pool. YES.. they were all naked. But the pools are separated, men and women, they do not share the same hot spring. 14 of them went, while the rest of us go to another place to take pictures. (I do not of any picture of the interior of the hot spring.. haha)

Finally, after a 20 minutes drive from mud pool, we reached Beppu Wan Hotel at around 1730. As it is autumn in Japan, the day is much shorter when compared to night. At around 1730, the sky was so dark as if its already 2000hours.

We were given a thematic room. The room is very nice as it is filled with HELLO KITTY, even the toilet roll. Before the dinner we had a short debrief, then we proceed to the dining area. It's like that wedding room; the room got only 27 of us and teacher. the dinner cost 150 Sing dollars. Oh my god! so expensive. It was a slow set dinner whereby we were served with exquiste dishes. Sashimi (raw fish), Rice, grilled fish, cold dish, soup and almond yogurt as dessert.

The Hello Kitty phone in our room

The Hello Kitty floor mat in our room

The Hello Kitty dustbin in our room. Notice the Hello Kitty bedsheet.

Our S$150 dinner...

Day 1 & 2 ...Leaving for Fukuoka & 1st day in Kyushu

2008-11-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

On the 10th of November, 27 Evgians met at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal three at 10pm, preparing to go to Fukuoka, Japan.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

We toured around Terminal 3, taking pictures before our flight.At about 1am on 11th of November, we set off to Japan.

After 5 hours on the plane, we arrived at our destination – Fukuoka International Airport.

This is how the city looks like.

Our 1st visit was the Fukuoka Science Museum which showcases exhibits relating to the different sciences like physics, chemistry and biology. It was interesting as there were a lot of hands on for us to try.

Using the advance technology, Li Zhen and Li Hua are having fun with the video animation.

Lunch time – local Japanese cuisine.

The legendary Blood Pool. The reason why the pool is red is due to the red clay found there.

Dragon Pool. These pool will create a fountain like effect where water will move up against gravity, forming a spectacular phenomenon every30-40 minutes and each time it could last for 15 minutes.

After the visit to the dragon pool, we head off to the Mud pool. Japanese claimed that bathing in mud is good for the skin and diabetes. While some is bathing in the Mud Pool, the others wet to the mountain side to enjoy the scenery.

Some small private hot springs at the area.

Snap shot of a flower at a park near the mud pool

Day 2-Fukuoka... Zaki

2008-11-11T03:47:00.002-08:00

Took this picture at the fukuoka international airport.

After i arrived at the Fukuoka international airport in japan. I can't wait to feel what is it like to be in japan in autumn. IT WAS COLDER THAN SINGAPORE!!! Singapore has a record of being coldest at 16 degree celcius and tt was only 12 degrees celsius here. OH MY I NEED MY HOODY!!!

One of the most memorable experience of the day ws the the mud bath !!!!!

The rules states that we have to be naked, as it says NAKED PLEASE on the sign board, although it seems very unsual for singaporeans, some of the boys enjoyed the bath ;D oh yes we did.

The temperature of the water in the mud bath was warm-hot,as when i raised up my body and hand, there was vapour all over my body and hands evaporating ;D.

At the mud pool place

It was an awesome experience and i would recommend those others to try it out ;D
I CAN'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW. ;D

posted by Zaki

Day 1 -leaving our homeland... Nabillah

2008-11-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

On the 10th of November, we left our family members for Japan. We left for a Science Immersion Trip mainly to learn more about their culture & technology. But the main highlight of this trip is the 3 days school immersion programme. This is the first time we departed at Terminal 3. It was a brand new experience for all of us.

It was not easy leaving our family members behind, but on the other hand, we will benefit a lot from the immersion trip. It is an opportunity that not many Evgians are offered, and therefore we are very lucky.

We reached Terminal 3 at around 10pm. After a short briefing, we were given our passport and were told to check in. After checking in, we were given time to spent with our loved ones for the last moment before our departure. Before we left, we took a group photo at terminal 3. We bided our last goodbye and checked in.

Our group photo before checking in

We went to Burger King as a group and had some light snacks. For the first tine we were so united. We boarded the plane and flew off to Japan. We wanted to write down our thoughts before boarding the plane, but due to the lack of internet connection, we can't do our blogging.

Glancing out from my seat

On the plane all of us were so excited that we could not stay still in our seats. Some were listening to their MP3, some watching the latest movie on Kris World and some were playing games on Kris World. At around 2 a.m. most of us fell asleep. It was a five and a half hour journey. In Japan time 8 a.m. we finally reach Japan.

We are really excited about the whole trip and are anticipating to learn more about their culture and experience something we have never tried before.

Posted by Nabilah (Merlions)

Day 1 Feelings at Terminal 3...Shuqing

2008-11-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
After the long weeks of preparation, we are finally going to Japan! All of us will be boarding our plane at around 12.50am, 11 November 2008. We were feeling very anxious, excited and nervous about our flight.

As we checked into the terminal, we realised that the new T3 is really huge. We were having an awesome time in Terminal 3 as we shop and look around. Terminal 3 is the newest terminal in Changi Airport. It is very huge and beautiful. The place is full of decorations & shops.
It look really different from Terminal 1 and 2 as the structure and design is more modernised and well-built. There is even a hotel built next to it.

So that's all and we will be enjoying our plane flight to Fukuoka.
See all of you in Japan!

Shuqing from Group 2

Day 1 - Changi Airport, T3

2008-11-10T04:56:00.000-08:00

The durians, (Inn Siang, Shazanna, Clare, Nadia, Cristine, Kexin, Yutong, Faris and Ming Chong), are at the departure hall in Changi Airport airport Terminal 3. We are all very excited! We said our last goodbye to our family members and friends. We took some group photo and we went to Burger King and had some snacks before boarding the plane. It has just been minutes away from our friends and family members and we're already starting to miss them! However much we miss them, we're psych out to have the opportunity to go to Japan.

Pictures below:

Fida, Sufian, Shazana (left to right) with their luggages.

Yi Min in action at burger king.

Mrs Eng and Mr Lee in action at burger king.

"Faris! I'll let you have my fries!" said Shazana.
"No. I'm going to work on my draft for tonight's blogging," said Faris.

Blogging in process.

- Faris (Group 3)

Goodbye Singapore

2008-11-10T01:41:00.000-08:00

After many weeks of preparation, the day we've all been waiting for is finally here.
Preparing for this trip is hectic and troublesome!
But it was all worth it.
A week in japan with my schoolmates and new japan friends, can't wait to get there!
I'll definitely be missing my family and friends this whole week!
Can't bear to leave but at the same time, dying too!
Singapore is toooooo hot!
I am definitely going to take many pictures and post it up to share it with you people!
Sayonara!

xoxo, Clare

I'm so excited!

2008-11-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Photo taken during Japanese class
Me, Jaron & Faris

Oh! I'm so excited to go Japan right now.After those language classes & meetings, i feel bored of this trip but now I changed my mindset.

I can't wait to leave Singapore but I will miss my family & friends most! I hope this trip will be a meaningful one. Looking forward to the trip.

Mingchong

After so many weeks...

2008-11-09T19:17:00.001-08:00

After weeks of courses & meetings in school, finally we're leaving Singapore today!During the Japanese Language course, I've learnt a lot of basic Japanese language and made new friends. More meetings to come, we've built friendship among each other and I've known new friends.

Right now, I can't wait to leave Singapore! I will miss my family and friends terribly! I hope I will have good memories in Japan and not forgetting the fun & laughters!

Love, Shann.

Some thoughts before I fly off...

2008-11-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

HEY PEOPLE !
Oh My God, I can't believe that we are flying off tonight!

It's just so fast!
It's just full of anticipation!
I cant wait to board the plane....
I cant wait to see how my buddies and host family looks like and most importantly , the environment over there !

HAHAS .

shall post till here .
see you guys at the airport(:

Posted by Li Hua

We are leaving today...

2008-11-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Hello !.

We are leaving today !
Finally ! Time files fast indeed .
Last week we just had our practice for the performance and now we are preparing to fly over there ! I will miss my bed , my pillow and EVERYTHING here for sure!

A gentle reminder to our dear models please remember to bring the traditional clothes
Terminal 3 - 10 nov, 10pm , Row 10 .

Before I set off, let me just show you some pictures that I've taken during the Japanese classes

This is Eri sensei, the 19 year old graduate who is on exchange programme with NUS.

See you guys there ! Goodbye,
Grace .

Our first I/C meeting

2008-11-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Our group photo

Thinking hard....

Close-up of Inn Siang (Group 1 leader)

This is Sufian ( Group 2 leader )

This is me, Shazana (Group 3 leader)

Grace with her rebonded hair (Group 2 leader)

Aref (Group 1 leader)

Lizhen (Group 1 leader)

We held a Group I/C meeting yesterday to discuss about our performance in Japan. We have to put up something that is uniquely Singapore and all of us must participate in the performance. Unfortunately, after several hours of thinking, we still do not have a good idea about what to do. Thanks to Aref, we have agreed on singing. Tentatively, our initial idea is to sing songs like Chan Mali Chan. So a call to the Evgians going to Japan, do turn up on Wednesday and together we can make the performance successful one.

posted by SHAZANA

3 Japanese Lessons

2008-10-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

From the left
Me, Grace, Zaki, Inn Siang & Shazana

Hello everybody!

We've just completed our 3 Japanese lessons today. I have learnt quite alot of things from our sensei (teacher). I do find Japanese quite interesting as some of their words are either similar to the Chinese character or the English words. So, it's actually not very difficult to learn Japanese. However, I really need a lot of practices to communicate well with the Japanese there.

I'm looking forward to it and hope that I would have a wonderful learning experience there.

Posted by Shuqing

3 Japanese Lessons

2008-10-30T03:42:00.000-07:00

Hi, did I mention that we have already gone through 3 Japanese les
sons(16/10, 23/10 and 30/10), it is fun and everyone learnt a lot, thanks to the couches. The coaches are good and unforgettable :D

I estimated that we have learnt about 100+ Japanese words!! Japanese was harder than i expected. Let me demonstrate how to introduce myself, okay?

HiJiMeMaShiTe [Hello]
Chuan Siang ToMouShiMasu [I am Chuan Siang]
ShinGaPoru KaRa KiMaShiTa [I am from Singapore]
Evergreen ChuGakKou KaRa KiMaShiTa [I am from Evergreen Secondary]
YoRoShiKuOneGaiShiMasu [Please treat me well]

And lots others!

This is Fidar & me

This is Eugene Sensei

Me, conversing to my sensei in my Japanese

I got to go, see you!

Regards,
Chuan Siang

Mingchong applies for Japan trip.

2008-10-16T05:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's like the first in my life time that I'm going to Japan.

I was just testing my luck for this trip actually but I'm serious for this trip.

The furthest country I've ever been is like Malaysia?

It's just beside our country..

I wished I could travel further than Malaysia.

My dream to travel further came true.

So yeah, that's it.

I'm looking forward to see the Japanese culture & lifestyle.

It will be better if I could see snow falls. But it's just too impossible.

And the freezing temperature

makes it more different than Singapore.

I'm excited!

Signing off, Mingchong

Pictures taken at the Blogging Session...

2008-10-15T01:27:00.000-07:00

These are some of the pictures taken at our blogging session in preparation for our Japan Trip!

I find teaching the session quite enjoyable. I hope everyone has fun blogging about our experiences in Japan.

Mr. Lim / Hayashi sensei.

Why did I apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

I applied for this trip because i want to learn their dances, traditional cultures and food.
Im not really into Japanese stuffs, musics, celebrities, foods but maybe, i can learn to experience it when im going there. I hope this trip would be an enjoyable and a memorable one.

-Nadia.

Why did I apply for this Japan immersion trip?

2008-10-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

reasons for applying:

I am very interested in their unique culture and advancements in the technology. i wonder will their study life be tougher then ours?

Recently Japan had just introduce Nintendo DSI, (something i wish to have for a long time)

-smile-

TingTing :D

Sample Answer: Why did I apply to go to Japan?

2008-10-15T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

The reason why I applied to go to Japan is because I've been a fan of Japanese culture for a very long time! Japan is the geek-capital of the world and Aikibahara is the geek-capital of Japan, which is a must go for all geeks.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to stopover in Tokyo for this trip, but there must be many other sights to see.

Looking at the pictures of scenic Japan, makes me want to go and experience it for myself.

By. Mr. Lim

What will I get to experience in Japan?

2008-10-15T01:03:00.004-07:00

what do I think I would experience in Japan?

Well apparently i have not been to Japan, but i heard a lot about the country. I've heard about the modern technologies, their culture (the part i like about the Japanese is when they greet, they ACTUALLY BOW!) I can't wait for them to greet me while they bow xD such an honour. HAH! "BOW TO ME I'M JUST A TOURIST" XD

I can assure myself that the weather here compared to Japan would be different .
Experiencing the cold weather (free aircon! .hah!)

I wonder how would the students there be like, and how their school uniforms would look like.
Hmmm.....exchange uniforms maybe? (:

Who knows what we'll do there...... (*eyebrows moving up & down...)

posted by zakisapari .

Shuqing sharing her thoughts...

2008-10-15T01:03:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone!

I am going to Japan! I am here to share with all of you on why i applied for this trip.

I will be going to Kyushu, the southern part of Japan. Well, i applied for this trip because it is a very rare opportunity for me. We will be going to have a chance to tour around the schools there and learn about the cultures and people there. Most importantly, I will have a chance to learn Japanese and interact with them! I would like to make a few pen-pals in Japan and hopefully my learning doesn't stop here.

Posted by Shuqing

Why did i apply for this trip ?

2008-10-15T01:03:00.002-07:00

I am so excited; I am finally going to Japan. The date of departure is so far away, the anticipation is unbearable. Hiaz. It's going be a long long wait from now.

Why did I apply for this trip? Firstly I've always loved the country Japan. It's a beautiful country with the four seasons. The only flaws are the natural disasters that randomly hit the country. Other than that it's a wonderful place. Also I love watching Japanese animations, the drawings are really nice. Somehow I prefer watching shows with nice drawings

i heard the people in Japan are really discipline. I believe there are lots of values that we can learn from them. Japan is really high tech. a country that advances really fast. It would be so cool so live in a high tech area. It would be like living in the future.

Too bad it's going to be only 9 degrees, no snow but still it would be cold. I really shouldn't complain about the hot climate in Singapore, going to Japan for 8 days is like staying in and air-con room for 8 days. When I come back from Japan, the air-con remote is the last thing i want to touch. ha ha.

Well that's it for now.
-Jaron-

my reason =D

2008-10-15T01:03:00.001-07:00

Why did I apply for this?

A few reasons prompted me to apply for the trip.

I was told that Japaneses has a culture of being very clean. When compared to Singapore, Japan does not really have that much dustbin. I read somewhere that Japanese will not throw their dustbin as and where they like, instead they will hold on to it and only throw the rubbish at their house dustbin. I want to be there to see it. :)
The technology in Japan is superb.
Their culture of being very respectful. I heard we have to bow when we greet. Our teachers even told us that, we may have to bow more than 3 times when we greet a stranger.
I would also like to experience the cold weather as the temperature is below 15 degree Celsius. Gosh.. I cannot imagine how cold will that be as Singapore is warm and humid.
I also can't wait to see the volcanoes (wuhuu!)
Hopefully (keeping my fingers crossed), I want to meet the athletes as they are the 2nd runner up for the 4x100m in Beijing Olympic 2008!

posted by SUFIAN

2008-10-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hellos !

In the next few weeks ,I will be going to Japan ! Really can't wait for it to happen.

I applied for this Japan immersion trip because I wanted to learn different cultures in Japan and I also wanted to go Japan dearly as I will get to learn, understand the cultures and also get to tour around their schools and having a new experience to live together with different peoples .

As what I know , we will be going to Kyushu for 8 days . I want to go over there to learn Japanese,their different lifestyles and to make new Japanese friends !

This are some pictures taken during our blogging class with Mr Julian Lim

My group members working on the blog

Sufian (another group leader of group 2) with the "Victory" sign

Posted by Grace

why did I apply for this trip ?(LIHUA)

2008-10-15T01:01:00.005-07:00

I apply for this trip because I can learn more about Japan's culture and experience living in other country's environment . I can learn more things compare to travelling overseas with families because I can learn to be more independent by taking care of my ownself throughout the trip . I also can get to know my juniors better and making friends of different nationalities . Beside that , we can also learn some basic Japanese language .

-LiHua-

Why did I apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T01:01:00.004-07:00

I applied for this trip because this trip will allow me to explore more outside of school. This trip will also allow me to gain new experiences that are not available in Singapore.

As I am an inquisitive person I really will gain a lot from this trip. I will also be able to enjoy the food there. I also want to learn about the culture of Japan.Basically this is why I apply for this Immersion Trip.

- Muhammad Aref

Sashimi is good. Looking forward to lots of Sashimi..

===Lizhen

2008-10-15T01:01:00.003-07:00

In less than a month we are leaving Singapore for Japan and there are lot of preparations to be done. By the time we go to Japan it will be winter therefore we need to bring along a lot of winter clothing. This will be my first time going to a country with four seasons and I will get to experience the feeling of being in an "air-conditioned" environment.

I am very happy and excited upon going. On top of buying all the winter clothing we will need to go for lessons on blogging and even learn Japanese in order for us to communicate better with the students, teachers and perhaps everyone there. We will also need to attend a briefing before going. I hope to learn as much as possible over at Japan!!!

Posted by Lizhen

REGINA! : Why did i apply for the trip??

2008-10-15T01:01:00.001-07:00

Hey people! This trip is a trip worthwhile.

We do not have to pay ALOT, and yet get to enjoy ourselves in JAPAN! =D Not only that, out of sooooo many people in EVG, only 27 SPECIAL few get to go.*evil laughter* Okay, enough about the fun.We get to learn about the advancement in technology on science over there. We will also get to learn about the culture and traditions of the country and get to widen our circle of friends.

Some pictures taken during our blogging lesson:

My group members (I'm seated at the far right corner, you can only catch glimpse of me)

This is a better shot of me (extreme left, but I do look a bit sleepy)

Posted by Regina

-Yi Min - Why did I apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

I applied for this trip because I want to know how to communicate with the people from other country when they don't understand our language.
I want to know how is the life in Japan.
I would like to know more about their culture and technology.

♥Yi Min♥

Why did i apply to go to japan...?

2008-10-15T00:59:00.003-07:00

Greetings...!

The reason I applied to go to Japan is because I am a big fan of anime.

The growing attraction and interest of anime in singapore is on the rise. One of my favourite anime is Ruronin Kenshin(samurai X). This anime sparked the flames of interest in japan as it protrays the history of japan during the Meiji Era. I am awaiting forward for this trip and is delighted to have been selected !

posted by Gan Inn Siang

Reasons why I applied for this trip

2008-10-15T00:59:00.002-07:00

I applied for the trip to Japan because it is a once in a lifetime experience!

I have never been to Japan in my life and I've heard so much about its cultures and technological development. This trip to Kyushu is organised by the Science Department of the school and since I have a passion for science, I figured that I'll finally get to be exposed to new cultures and the way people do things in Japan. Maybe I'll get to have a better understanding of modern technology in Japan. I can't wait to go!

Posted by Ismahfaris

Yu Tong- Why did I apply for the trip?

2008-10-15T00:59:00.001-07:00

I applied for this trip because I think that it should be very fun. It is a chance for me to get together with my friends and go for a trip to somewhere where I have not been before. This trip is planned by Evergreen Sec Sch Science Department, which also means that this trip will focus mainly on science related things, like experiments. This is chance for me to learn about the Japanese culture and how to be more independent without my parents around me. Looking forward for the trip..

posted by Yu Tong

Ke Xin - Why did I apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons why I have applied for this trip is because I have never been to overseas before. Through this trip, I would have a chance to spend my holidays with my dear friends and teachers. I can also have the opportunity to learn more about the Japanese culture and also, adapting the students' learning environment. This will hence boosts up my confidence in communicating with other people. I'm anticipating to the wonderful experiences in Kyushu!

Crazy Ke Xin from Group 3 sign off.

Why did Clarissa apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T00:58:00.000-07:00

I applied to this trip because...

Japan is on my must-go list!

Japan is a very cultural and civilised country and I will definitely be able to learn new things when i get there.

Some reasons to why am I looking forward to the trip:

Japan also has nice scenery and i enjoy taking photo a lot.
Japan has very good musicians and i ♥ music
Japanese food is also very delicious and I'll definitely gain a few kilograms when I'm there!

I would definitely have a great time there and am not coming back empty-handed!

Lotsa love,

Clarissa.

Our Introduction!!!!

2008-10-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

We are the MERLIONS!!!!
Why we chose it???
Because it symbolise our country =)
I am lizhen the Aunty Chew...I am crazy about my CCA (NCC) and my two DOGS!!!
I am Aref....I am crazy about geography!!!!
I am Chuan Siang, I like Mathematics and playing computer games.
I am Regina, I like my cca (syfc) and my violin!! =D
I am Ting Ting, I like my CCA (NPCC)
I am Yi Min, I like Pets...i love to eat BEAN!
I am Fidar,I like playing soccer and the club Manchester United.
I am Li Hua . I like Shopping!!!

EVG Flyers

2008-10-15T00:41:00.000-07:00

Group 2
The Flyer People
Inspired by the Singapore Flyer.
Because of it's unique structure.
Represents the Singapore's icon.

Some introduction to our group members:
Team Members :
1. Grace - the gracious one
2. Sufian - the "brace" face
3. Zaki - the athlete
4. Shannling - the artist
5. Salonee - the bookworm
6. Huixian - the loudspeaker
7. Krystal - the shiny one
8. Shuqing - the veggie
9. Jaron - the pilot

posted by Group 2, Flyer People

-Krystal-Why did i apply for this trip?

2008-10-15T00:39:00.001-07:00

I applied for this trip because I can have more knowledge about Japan like the cultures and what they usually do. Japan is more advance in technology so i can know more about the technology there. Japan is also more advance in Science so i can learn more about Science there. I can also learn and know about the students over there.

-Krystal-

Why I applied for this Trip.Fidartullah posting.

2008-10-15T00:39:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I applied for the Japan Immersion Trip,firstly because of this oportunity is rare.I also want to experience how would winter be.I have heard about Japan being a beautiful and nice place.Being beautiful and nice would mean the country would be clean.I have heard from people that the citizens there are mostly polite and kind.Japan holds four big Islands.We are going to Kyushu.Japan also produce good anime series.

Also going there would mean I can learn their language and culture which I know are very different from cultures in Singapore.Bye.

Signing off,
Fidar

Shann applies for Japan trip

2008-10-15T00:38:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone,

The reason why I decided to apply for this trip is because
I always wanted to go to Japan ever since I was young
because I'd like to see how Japan is like in my own eyes.
Until now, I haven't took a plane yet. My furthest overseas trip
was the bus trip to Genting Highlands in Malaysia.

How hilarious!

I thought that I will not have the chance to get selected for this trip
but I WAS SELECTED, despite my contributions to the school.
I was elated.
I was even more happy that I was able to go with my brother & friends.
I can't wait to go Japan! I will come back with lots of photos in my digital cam!

Love,
Shann.

Salonee's reflection

2008-10-15T00:38:00.002-07:00

Hey there! I'm Salonee from the EVG Flyers.

I mainly applied for this trip because I was interested to learn about the Japanese culture and way of life, as well as the way science is learnt or taught in the schools over there. Since, this is supposed to be a science-based trip. I also applied for this trip because of the fact that Japan is a technologically advanced country.

Unfortunately, we are not going to Tokyo. Yet, there will be many other sights to see so I am still excited to go, whether we are going to Tokyo or Kyushu. I am most excited to hear their language. We will soon be learning simple conversational Japanese. I can't wait to use it there in Japan to converse with the people there!

I have yet to prepare for the trip and will soon get started! As it is my first time going to Japan, I am intensely awaiting the day we leave. I'm sure that the exhilarating trip will be meaningful and knowledgeable! Its going to be an awesome learning experience!!

-Salonee=)

Chuan Siang to Japan!

2008-10-15T00:38:00.001-07:00

I applied for this Japan Immersion trip because I know, this opportunity is rare :D

Actually, I didn't know that Secondary 2 is allowed to go to the trip. Fortunately, my irksome friend said that he wanted to go to Japan because he likes things to be clean. I also asked him about some Japanese facts, I managed to learn quite a lot. Finally, he is up to use :D

I also knew that the place that we are going to is Kyushu, which included a man-made reservoir which is very clean and will like a pool of lights blinking when the sunrises or sunsets.

I also like to learn their language and their culture very much. Therefore, with these reasons and more, how can I not resist applying this trip?Furthermore, Japan is the country I dreamed to go and so, of course I will apply to go to Japan!

Please bookmark this website because we will update everyday(11/11/2008 to 18/11/2008). And maybe before or after the trip! See you!

Regards,
Chuan Siang

Huixian's reflection

2008-10-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

hellos! Huixian here!
Having being chosen for the trip to japan, I know I have a lot of packing to be done!

As it is my first trip to Japan, i am anticipating for the day to come!
Besides anticipating for the trip, i am also busy searching for winter clothing.

There is sure a lot of preparations to be done. Besides searching for winter clothing, I also need to pick up some basic Japanese along the way. The teachers have arranged for 3 sessions of Japanese lesson which i believe would be of a great help!

With this, I really hope that the trip to Japan would be a successful one with lots of fun and great learning experiences!

posted by Huixian

Introduction on group 3

2008-10-15T00:34:00.000-07:00

We Are Group Number 3

Our group name is Durian.
It is inspired by Singapore very own Esplanade.

Why do we pick the name "Durian"?

We picked it because durian is very unique and only people that know how to appreciate it will find it nice. Durian stands as one on the outside however the seeds are binded together.

Here's introducing our members:
Gan Inn Siang- Smart
Shazana - Very wild
Clarissa Teo- Cool

Khor Ke Xin- Crazy

Tan Yu Tong- Pretty

Ismahfaris bin Ismail- Handsome

Nur Nadia Bte Md. Nazir- Shy

Christine Ong- Blur

Ming Chong- Sotong

We are pleased to meet you:D

Under Construction

2008-10-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Hello!

We are still undergoing construction. It'll take some time for posts to be up, so why don't you take some time to check out our school and links at the side bar?

Or, click below;

www.evergreesec.moe.edu.sg