Test day

It was very stormy today... In strong winds and continuous rain, I dragged myself to Fukuoka to take TOEFL test. The test venue was freezing as always.
I think I did fairly OK in all sections except the speaking test. You have 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to say your answer. Watching the timer that count down, I simply get so pressured that I often end up talking about too much and not reaching the conclusion. With only one try, you will realize how difficult it is to sum up the information that you heard and add your opinion about it in one minute. One more thing, the difficulty lies in the solitary of the test. Test takers are not talking with a person; they are recording their answers through the microphones. Saying your response simply into a microphone without anybody that interacts with you, can make you feel a bit strange. A person who nods while listing is important for a display of a good conversational skill.

I'm not making an excuse for not performing well, though. I still have a looong way to go.

Agriculture

It's been raining since last weekend and the forecast says that the rain will continue this weekend too. I am worried about the quality of barley that are about to be harvested around the area.

Usually barley seeds are sown at the end of November and the germs grow tall throughout the cold winter. When spring comes, barley-ears emerge and mature. Now it's supposed to be the time when the maturation is complete with dry weather, but the growth was slower this year, resulting in delay of harvest. And it's going to be the rainy season too. Barley should be dry before harvest because they must be hard and contain less moisture, for storage, than they usually do. Also the rain will soften and blacken the barley, which, makes it hard to process, and bad-looking respectively.

There's nothing we can do about this though; it's the force of nature. We can't change the weather pattern unlike other industries such as IC tip factories, where they can control temperature, humidity, everything. And the barley fields are so huge that for sure the barley characteristics will vary among the grains that was grown in the same field. There are too many factors that influence the quality of the crop.

Therefore, when we ask farmers for detailed data of each growing stage, or exact estimate of this year's production, it feels nonsense. It's so changeable and not uniform so it's almost impossible to make a general statement. We ask those as a scientist, but calculations and data-analysis are not sufficient to understand agriculture. There is a range of uncertainty because it greatly depends on nature.

The researchers asked the definition of "maturation", about the indicator of that stage or the accurate way of estimating the date. However, the growers said that there was no exact way of defining maturation. It occurs to their crop when the ears slightly tilt due to its own weight, and you would notice it if you watch the barley you are growing every day. It's the only way to tell maturation is going on.

知っていると覚えている

今日ペットボトルのお茶をもらって、鞄の中にしまっていた。夕方、いつも持参している水筒が空になって、のど乾いたなーでもポットまでいくの面倒だ…帰ってから水飲もう、と思って、ちょっと仕事をして帰った。

帰って初めてペットボトルを見つけて、その存在を思い出した！ もらったこと自体を忘れているというか、適切なときに思い出せない。それって、「知っている」と「覚えている」の違い？ 鞄にお茶が入ってると「知っている＝見れば思い出す＝見なければ思い出せない」のと、「覚えている＝情報がいつでもスタンバイで、必要なときに関連付けて思い出せる」のってかなりの違い。

覚えていれば、のど乾いたな、そうだ、お茶をもらったんだ、となるはず。

いつも水筒が空になったらポットまで行くというのが習慣になっていて、思い出す力が働かなかったらしい。

知識を必要に応じて引き出しから出すのは難しい。つねに心がけよう。

Entry requirement

You need to enter a good school to have a record of achievements, however, you need to have a competitive achievement in order to enroll a good school.

It seems there's little chance for entry-level students to be accepted by those schools.

Hope

If it's no, then tell me so. I'm trying not to think about it but am already tired of waiting!

Birthday

I got so many birthday wishes and presents today! You guys made my special day even happier!

メッセージとプレゼント嬉しかった！ 本当に感謝感謝…。24歳…10代の頃思い描いていたような輝く大人になれるよう頑張ります。

謝謝大家。

Merci!

Smartphone

very tempted to buy an iPhone or an iPad just because it would not be boring on trains or airplanes... even though I travel only several times a year...

But I found it's very inconvenient to communicate with my friends when in foreign countries. Bringing a 14-inch laptop is too much a trouble for me especially for a short vacation, so a small device that can connect to the Internet via WiFi will be very convenient and useful.

I checked smartphones that au provides, but they are only in-Japan use. They are not designed for WiFi abroad and even skype is not available... iPhone is international, but communication with my family will be expensive if I terminate the contract with au and start using an iPhone.

Anyways I will just wait until I have to go travelling very often...

Busy....

I have a lot of things to do and other tasks fall me one after another. I barely catch up with all of them. The bad thing is that their deadlines are not very clear. All are "As soon as possible but not like 'by tomorrow!'", so it's hard to decide which one to do first.

And many of them require me to consult my colleagues so I have to adjust my schedule to theirs, which, sometimes, can be an obstacle for me to concentrate! :P

If you look at the bright side of being super busy, your salary will increase because you work overtime, time flies when you are always catching up the schedule, and you will have a good feeling of achievement when everything's done, hopefully.

hmm I need to talk to somebody to refresh my mind!

すっぽん

安心院（あじむ）地区で有名なすっぽんを食べに行ってみた。亀の一種？らしい。

味は魚みたいで、骨は鶏肉みたい…。生血をオレンジジュースでわったものも出てきたけど、においを嗅ぐだけで十分でした………。

いい経験になった、という感想(笑)。

Malay food

It's unusually hot and humid there days! I just cleaned my humidifier a week ago and I already need a dehumidifier this week.

This tropical weather reminds me of everything in Singapore.

General Election in SG

I happened to visit there at the time of general election which will be held for the first time in five years.

Currently Singapore is ruled by one political party; "People's Action Party". Nowadays several opposition parties are geining popularity among young citizens. Many of the older generations like those in their 40s and 50s, are supporters for PAP. The ruling party lead Singapore's development from the scratch after its independence in 1960s, my friend told me. As they saw the fast, progressive development from nothing, they trust PAP.

Young generations, on the other hand, think that PAP's regime is too strong and is not a healthy state of a government. If the only ruling party takes a wrong path, nobody will be able to stop them; that's what they are concerned about. In addition, they argue, there are so many things that need change, a drastic one. Increasing housing prices, shortage of job opportunities, congestion in public transportation, aging society, and military spendings which account for 6% of its GDP.

Although people have different political views, they are all concerned about the future of their country and thinking carefully which party to vote for. Unlike in Japan, everyone is paying close attention to the rallies and manifestos of each party. I'm just wondering what the voter turnout will be.. I suppose it will be higher than it is in Japan.

Talking politics with my Singaporean friends, I thought "oh no I don't know much about politics and Japan's system!" It's time to subscribe a newspaper and discuss current issues with other people!

Tomorrow is the polling day.

"Later go where?"

Typical Singlish (Singaporean English) is characterized by shortened and simplified sentences like Mandarin. They think that "Where are we going later?", the correct full sentence, is too long so they just make it like "Later go where?" probably because they are used to speaking Cantonese, which often lacks subjects and has flexible word orders.

It is sometimes hard for even other English-speaking citizens to understand what Singaporeans are talking about. A bit of knowledge about Mandarin will help. For those whose mother tongue is not English, though, getting used to Singlish too much might not be very good because it could confuse the proper English structure they learned.

I emphasize, however, that there are quite a few Singaporeans who try to speak correct English, to become more neutral. It would be easier for foreigners and at the same time, be beneficial for the Singaporeans too because it makes them competitive.

Chinese funeral

There are so many China-originated people in Singapore so many of the community is like a Chinatown. I saw residents display many kinds of lucky charms on the wall or the door, Chinese Buddhist temples and people practicing yoga thing in the community center.

In Chinese tradition when someone passes away, their family keeps the body for 3-5 days so that the friends and relatives can visit them. their friends and relatives attach many towels and blankets to make a big "banner" and put messages on it saying like "Rest In Peace", "You will never be forgotten". The banner is several meters long and they display it outside their flat. After the funeral, they can use take the towels and blankets apart and use them.

Quite interesting custom, totally different from what Japanese people do.

Trip to Singapore

Talking with fast-speaking Singaporeans, I think I got back some of my English. I was surprised how slowly the newscasters speak!

But I realized that learning a certain language in childhood is an advantage. Kids are so fast and efficient in acquiring a language or even two at the same time! My host daughter, nine years old, speaks excellent English and Chinese and she translated Chinese books for me. Using two different tongues is not a problem to her.

Especially because I stayed at my friend's house, not in a hotel, I can say that living in a foreign country is good. I enjoyed exploring new places. Encountering different customs, unfamiliar systems could be tiring or difficult, but overall I see them as a good experience. They will certainly broaden your mind and way of thinking.