♔Busy in Fukuoka♔

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My classes started up this week so I've been fairly busy. I haven't fully registered for classes yet, so I checked out a lot of different classes this week. I think I'll end up with integrated Japanese, grammar, kanji and converstaion. On top of that I'll propably be taking the three courses Hakata studies, Japanese cinema, and short fiction by Haruki Murakami. Most of the language classes are 99% on Japanese, so it's definitely a challenge, but I hope it will pay off in the end :)

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Monday, I had to return to the hospital one more time to talk about the results of my blood sample. As I had expected, everything was fine. My feet were probably just swollen for a couple of days because of the long plane rides. 

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Wednesday, me and a bunch of the other exchange students went to the post office to set up a bank account for each of us. It took quite a bit of waiting and the post office was small, so I felt like we filled up the entire post office! I ended up waiting for the others outside. Luckily, the post office was located in a cozy place with pretty houses so I didn't mind the waiting. I got my bank book, which I can use to withdraw money at the bank's ATM. My cash card is yet to be delivered!

The post office

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Today has been a really neat day. The weather was amazing, which meant I could wear a summer dress with no sleeves... in October! I don't think I've ever tried being in a sun dress in October, but I'm loving it!♥ Especially because I heard that it's pretty cold already in Denmark. 

I had three hours of integrated Japanese which pretty much went by with self introductions and a bit of grammar. Come lunch I went to the university's convenience store and bought a meal for under 20kr that I ate outside in the sun, before I had to leave for short fiction class. It only lasted 30 minutes, because it was just orientation about the class - so weekend started early this Friday♥

There's so much delicious food in Japan. Luckily there is a (very small - but free!) gym at the university. So today I went to AEON mall with Line to buy some shoes for running, since I couldn't fit my running shoes in my suitcase when I packed for Japan. Walking to AEON was so nice. It takes some time, but because the weather was so great I enjoyed every minute of the trip.

Me and Line had been really tired the last time Miu took us there, so today we took our time browsing in a lot of the stores. One of the stores played five different songs in different places of the store (it was so confusing 'cause the store wasn't even that big!) and was filled with everything from Studio Ghibli plushies to a selection of books, candy, earphones... you name it. And it wasn't a 100 yen store so I guess it just had a weird mix of products. It was fun browsing though! I found a really creepy pen that I will post a picture of. Together with a beautiful poster for shape up pantyhoses♥

 

Hahahahaha

After shopping we went into a cozy ramen shop and ordered a small bowl of Hakata (tonkotsu) ramen. I figured I had to taste it since that kind of ramen originated from Fukuoka. I didn't read what was in it before ordering, but it turns out the soup is made from pork bones. It was very delicious none the less. Afterwards I bought a little box of different bite-size pieces of donuts from Mister Donut, that I brought home. I love donuts but I don't think Denmark has a donut shop yet (at least I haven't found one) so I absolutely had to try it out for dessert. Of course it was delicious. But now you also see why I need to use the campus gym, haha! There's too much awesome food in Japan...

Ramen shop♥

Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip and I'll be coming back Sunday evening! I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures and I'll write about it when I get home. 

I hope all my friends and my family is doing great back in Denmark♥♥ Take care!

♔Arriving in Fukuoka♔

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I've now been in Fukuoka for five days, and figured I would share how I'm doing and what I'm up to. Which is a lot - I'm super busy! But I want to write down my first impressions of life here before I forget.

Sunday my family followed me to the airport. It was extremely difficult and emotional getting up the stairs to the security check in. But I know I won't be gone forever, and I will try to Skype with everyone as much as possible♥

The flight to London took off at 2PM and I knew I had to use a whole day on traveling, so it was quite dreadful. Especially since I don't like flying... Luckily, I was traveling with Line from my class, who's also going to be studying at Fukuoka Women's University! From Heathrow airport I had to get on a 12 hour flight to Hong Kong. It sucked. Also, a lady got sick on the plane and the staff had to request help from passengers with medical experience. It's weird how they don't bring doctors on a flight that long. But I think she was alright when we finally landed :)

Hong Kong airport

It was a relief to get out of the plane after that long. It also got me an opportunity to check out Hong Kong airport. I've never been to another Asian country beside Japan, so I tried to take in as much as I could of the airport alone. But since Fukuoka is actually closer to Seoul than Tokyo, I might go to Korea too during my stay in Japan, so hopefully I will be able to see more of Asia. 

We had to land in Taipei too, but we didn't have to change planes. At that point, I just wanted to get the plane rides over with! Me and Line finally arrived at Fukuoka Airport around 10PM Monday evening. Two JD-mates (students at the university who will help if we have a problem or there's something we need to know ^-^) welcomed us at the airport and took us to the university by taxi. We had to get some information and fill out  some documents before we could finally go to our rooms and sleep.

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I haven't taken any pictures of my room yet, but I did sneak two photos from the 5th floor! During the first day, I notided that I was able to hear a woman's voice when I had my balcony door open, talking loudly through a microphone, together with laughing kids. Turns out I have an amusement park really close to my dorm, called Kashii-kaen :D It means Kashii flowergarden (Kashii is the area I live in). As you can see, the university is also very close to the ocean. I can't see it from my room, as my room is on the 1st floor of the building, but I did walk around the coast line down by the sea.

Tuesday was a national holiday in Japan, so I had that day off to settle in and buy important stuff that I had forgotten back in Denmark. One of the JD-mates, Yuu, took me to a big electronics store called Yamada Denki, a 20 minutes walk from the dorm. I bought an adapter (because I forgotten about it when packing...) and a router for wireless Wi-Fi. She also showed me to a 100 yen shop, Daiso, in the building's basement. Oh, have I missed 100 yen shops♥ They have such a wide range of cheap items.
Afterwards, me and Line went to a small restaurant and had gyoza and fried chicken and rice. I was so tired though... I wonder if there will ever come such a day when I will look rested in Japan. Not during the first couple of weeks, I figure.

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Wednesday was the day of my Japanese placement test. I was worried because I didn't feel like I had studied enough - Tuesday pretty much went by with me learning about practical stuff and shopping for things I needed. The University of Copenhagen uses the Minna no Nihongo books, but I think they learn you the kanji in a very strange order. If I remember correctly, you don't learn the kanji for "I" until one of the last chapters in kanji book two! But it didn't end up affecting my score, it seems like I landed at the approbiate level. We are not going to use the same books as the university in Denmark, so I hope we will learn a lot of the same things anyway!

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Thursday, the exchange students had to take a trip down to the Higashi ward office, to order a residence card and national health insurance. It took some time, since they had to process all of our papers (and I think we're about 27 international students).
Afterwards we split up, with half of the students going out to eat ramen and the rest heading home. Or so I thought. We actually walked down to Hakozaki shrine!

(Photo by Freya Terryn)

The purification fountain of Hakozaki shrine. You have to wash both hands and mouth/ lips before heading over to the main hall.

(Photo by Freya Terryn)

It was really beautiful and peaceful. Sadly, I wasn't feeling so well. I was really tired and my feet had been swollen since the day before (or maybe even Tuesday). When we got back to the dorm, I went to the international center at the university, to ask what to do in case my feet got worse. I figured they were just swollen because of the long flight, the heat and because I had been walking around a lot. But to be sure, two JD-mates, Shiho and Kei, took me to Kieikai hospital to see a doctor. It was interesting to experience how a hospital in Japan was like, but it was definitely not how I had imagined spending my day... I got checked for blood clots and had a blood sample taken. Everything seemed fine though, so I got sent back home. I might have to go back on Monday, to talk about the blood samples and get some money back from my insurance. But my feet are back now to normal! :D

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Friday was a long day. Long - but fun! It started out at 9AM with the international students' fall semester opening ceremony. First there was a speech by the university president, Tisato Kajiyama. After that, the international students got called onto the stage in groups from the same countries. We had to say a few words ourselves and bow a couple of times, before we could sit back down. I really hate talking in front of a crowd. But all the students had some really awesome things to say, so I was happy to be a part of it.

After the speeches, we had to pose for some photos with the university staff. There were so many cameras that I didn't know where to look! Line's JD-mate Yuri took some pictures for us to use♥ Lastly, we had photos taken with all the exchange students together. That will be a nice memory to take home. 

We had to attend a lot of orientation about the school, courses, living in Fukuoka and so on. It was really great to get to know a little more about how everything works! We also got a tour of their brand new library, which is really cool and cozy. I look forward to spending some time there this week, borrowing books and watching movies (if I have the time... I probably won't, though).

At 7:30PM we all went to the welcoming reception at the university's cafe, Nan no Ki. JD-mates, exchange students, school staff and teachers were all there. Beside more speeches, we also enjoyed a lovely buffet (they also had a cake buffet afterwards♥). Once more, we were asked to stand up and say a few words. I hadn't known about it, so it came as quite a surprise. Maybe, when I return to Denmark, it will be a breeze talking in front of a crowd!

At the reception. So cozy!

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I was tired after the long day before, but there was no time to rest, as I had to meet up with the international students and JD-mates at 9 o'clock Saturday morning. In early November, the university will hold a festival, Kasumi-sai. The exchange students will have a booth, selling food. We had to decide which kind of dishes we wanted to make, so each country came up with a dish and a dessert. I think we settled on Sri Lankan curry and German baked goods.

The university will provide us with hoodies to wear at the festival, and we also had to make a small design that could be on the front of the hoodie. Turns out they are going to use my design, I'm so excited♥ Especially since there were so many great designs and ideas, I sense that a lot of the students are good at drawing. I'll show off what I drew when I get the hoodie!

Afterwards, my JD-mate Miu took me and Line to a mall called AEON. It was about 40 minutes on foot from the dorm, but we had to walk by the coast line a lot of the way. It was really pretty and relaxing, and the weather was amazing. I'm wearing short sleeved shirts and showing off my legs here, and it's almost October! I'm in love with this weather♥

We were really hungry, so we got something to eat as soon as we arrived at AEON. I ate a delicious katsu curry, Lina had ebi fry and Miu got tempura soba. It left us with some energy to go check out the mall. I want to go again at a time when I'm more rested, I didn't end up buying anything and wasn't really in the mood to either. Even though there are still things that I need to buy :)

Before heading back home, we took some purikura (photo stickers). I feel really out of touch with what looks good on those, haha! But I have five months to practice, so I ought to get them right at some point. 

Too many things are happening for me to write about it all. But I will try to write updates whenever I have the time. And post some pictures on facebook. 

I miss everyone in Denmark so, so much♥ So take care of youselves until I get back!♥♥

♔I shall consume... everything♔

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Just arrived home from a cozy Christmas get-together at Ane and Emil's place. Unfortunately, me, Demi and Christian got there a bit late... but it was really nice seeing everybody, I enjoyed it a lot♥ Everyone had decorated the place really nicely, it was so cute. I didn't get to make any Christmas decorations, but I did got to play with some marzipan and nougat! I managed to make 2 Christmas related confectioneries, before it all turned into weird stuff.

Picture is taken by Maria. This is some of the stuff me and Emil made, haha :D I don't think anyone would want to eat it though... not Demi's either, I wish I had pictures of them.

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Last weekend I finished The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Those games are seriously awesome, you guys should try them out (if you awesome people haven't already). I'm not playing anything beside Zelda lately (except WoW), I've already borrowed The Wind Waker from my boyfriend. The graphics are different, but it's still equally as fantastic♥

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Tomorrow, I've invited some friends and my family over for sushi, because my birthday is on Monday (but I've already eaten sushi twice last week, haha. It will still be delicious! Haven't made homemade sushi for quite some time now). I look forward to seeing everyone and have a good time. I wish I could just fast forward to it♥ But the least I can do is go to bed, so that's what I'm going to do. I feel like a little kid though, I wonder if I will be able to fall asleep ;D

Sweet dreams y'all!

♔The flow of time is always cruel♔

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Some time ago, I finished playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game has been around since I was 7 years old, but only now were I finally able to borrow the right console (and the game of course) from my boyfriend. It was simply... amazing♥♥ I'm really hooked and want to play the other games too! I've started on Majora's Mask, which is also extremely entertaining... I think everyone should try playing those games :D They have such a cozy feel to them.

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I've also been to a lot of nice dinners with my family. Last weekend, both my brothers came over, and my mom made an absolutely awesome, delicious dinner. Roast pork, ain't it very Christmasy? C: It was such a nice evening♥

The day before that, we had tried out a Thai restaurant near my brother's school. I ordered their duck in red curry and ate so much that I was freezing all the way home haha.

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I've been shopping a bit on ebay this month. I bought 2 pairs of organic plugs for my ears. My stretch is 12mm now, so I needed new jewelry if I didn't want to walk around with a big, heavy spiral in my earlobe (who wants that?). I ended up buying 2 lotus flower tunnels. I think they're really cute because they're so feminine. Looking so much forward to trying them out!

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Since I have to use my old cell phone for some time, I decided to remove some of the fake crystals from it, since it didn't look good anymore. Just too bad my boyfriend was laying so close to me... I think he didn't quite realize what I was doing before it was too late >:D Hahaha, didn't it look pretty?

Sadly, he didn't want to keep them... I wonder why..

On another note, my birthday is coming up soon. Then I wont be able to call myself a teenager anymore. Dammit.
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♔This is Halloween♔

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Happy (late) Halloween everyone!


Last Saturday, me, Demi and Christian attended The Rock's Halloween party. I decided to go as a demon/ something with horns, while Demi dressed up as a cat and Christian went as a zombie. Scary!

I also wore horns on my shoulders and collarbone, but I put those on when we arrived at The Rock, 'cause I couldn't wear them under my jacket. The Halloween Party was a whole lot of fun, so of course we stayed until closing time. I met a whole bunch of friends and people I hadn't seen in ages, so it was quite awesome♥ Oh, I love Halloween!

Gave me a reason to use my red contacts (Super Pinky Wine Red). I'm not that into colored contact lenses, 'cause they tend to hurt my eyes a lot, but these were really comfortable. I wore them all night and they didn't dry out at all :D

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Tuesday, my boyfriend took me to my favorite restaurant, Sachi Sushi. They make the most delicious maki rolls! I had been craving their sushi for weeks, so it was simply awesome♥♥ I could eat there everyday, I'm sure. If anyone wanna go there, be sure to have their tempura roll. Even people who don't usually like sushi love their tempura roll :D

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Also, meet our newest family member, Felina! We had to name her after a phobia, so Demi chose phobia of cats (I find that very fitting, haha). She's so cute and already very big in size, because she was bred to be a huge rat. She's only 2 months old, but she's already the same size as Tofu - and rats usually don't stop growing until they're 6 months old. Demi took this really cute picture of all of them: Tofu, Felina and Yolandi.

Kisses♥

♔I want to meet you♔

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A lot has happened since my last update, so I wont be able to write about it all, since I don't want this blog to be nothing but a wall of text. But I do have a few pictures I want to share with you guys, taken during this last month C: I should get myself a camera, I would probably blog more often if I took more pictures.

The 30th September I attended the ASIANVIBES party by Fried Rice. Me, Demi and Christian went to Ane and Emil's place for a pre-party, before we headed to the nightclub NASA. I had a whole lot of fun with everyone, beside getting pissed at shitty doormen and getting way too drunk. I wont be going back to NASA again, but I'll definitely look forward to a party with all you guys again♥

Photo taken by Emil and stolen from Ane's blog ;D

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The next day I went to the Villains and Heros Party with my boyfriend, Demi and Christian. My boyfriend suggested I came dressed up as Butter's "evil" alter ego, Professor Chaos (from South Park). Of course I had to do it! I was totally hungover from ASIANVIBES the night before, and the tin foil was really hot to wear, so I basically didn't drink that night - but it was awesome none the less C:< I'm saving the helmet for another time!

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Some of you might remember that I blogged a bit about Final Fantasy X - which I really loved, so I decided to play Final Fantasy VII as well. Of course it was equally awesome, the people behind the games really know how to write an amazing story and create a marvelous universe♥ Luckily, sweetest Antonio can borrow me all the FF games, so I've already started on FFIX.

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Also, my mom bought me a gift after she returned home from a vacation to Turkey. A super cute Vivienne Westwood necklace♥ I'm wearing it all the time now, I think it's very elegant. You can also see that I finally removed my last skin diver piercing. I never had the time to go to the piercer and get it removed, so at last I grew so tired of it that I decided to remove it myself. It's healing up nicely, but it will still be red for some time.



Sweet dreams everyone♥