Jacaranda paradise!!

The whole chicken

It was my first time to take away a whole grilled chicken..! There is a deli shop near my apartment that has so many different things! Salads, sushi rolls, seafood or chicken (grilled or fried), chips, hamburgers... Etc. They are all reasonably priced, so it's very helpful to a visitor without income at Aussie standard!

I cut the chicken into many pieces of meat and froze them. It was so much of meat that I won't have to buy protein for the next week. Though stuffed and cooked, it had the bones and wings.. It made me thankful to the food I eat every day. It was once a living creature just like us... Thanks, I appreciate your contribution to my well-being. You're so delicious!!

Thai dinner and city walk

I always expect spring rolls would be fresh - and every time I get my order, I realise my rolls are deep-fried. After making this mistake twice, it's time to learn....
Kangaroo pad Thai was actually great! It's just like beef -very lean portion of beef. Very Australian. :9

Riverside walking was fun and delightful, watching cotton-like seeds (?) falling in the air, exhaling the distinct smell of jacaranda flowers full in bloom, and listening to various wild birds tweeting.

The birds are cute pedestrians, too.

Stormy Saturday to be a peaceful twilight

SA Museum was interesting. Nice building.

I went to a choir concert at St. Peter's cathedral. Inside was gorgeous gilled with a big audience 20 minutes before opening.

There is a beautiful, green-rich area along the river at North terrace. It was a stormy morning, but it made it up with the dazzling evening.

Exploring the city~

Adelaide is the best-sized city, just like Fukuoka. Not too big, not too crowded, but big enough to have everything. There is a botanic garden, zoo, and national wine institute in the centre of downtown. It is quite relaxing to have a lot of green gardens and grasses around. And the rose garden is always beautiful.
In the wine institute, you can try smelling the characteristic aromas of four wines using the aroma descriptors. Quite interesting!

The love of food

1. I've got so much Asian / Thai food here! I don't get to have this kind of food in Japan, so I just love it. Hmm yum..

2. I can't believe Christmas is coming. It's warm out and it feels like I had a time trip backwards.

3. Crows are black and white like a co here!

4. Hummus (bean&garlic&vinegar) paste and Thai chili lemongrass dip. They are so tasty, but I prefer the Thai one. It's got more complex flavour.

5. BBQ flavored rice crackers. Looks quite Japanese. 煎餅だけど、BBQというか薬の味がした...人口調味料っぽい...

Weekend in Adelaide

1. Some pretty flowers on the road. It's already withered because of the dry weather it seems...

2. My apartment~

3. A church nearby. Looks very ancient.

4. Vietnamese salad with grilled chicken. It seems normal just to eat carbohydrate (donuts/cakes), or protein or vegetables. "It'll be alright if the meals in the day are well balanced in total." Could be.

5. Benches and roads are covered by jacaranda petals. It's a beautiful scene.

Vice chancellor's speech

There was vice chancellor's speech this morning that all the staff were supposed to go.
I am not a staff member, but went there just out of curiosity. He was talking about finding research fundings a lot. I couldn't catch all of it, but was surprised he said that the university sold one piece of the land to have more income. That's just one-time trade, and it will not help the university to survive the next 10 years! The financial circumstances seem quite pressing... And that's why they are welcoming international students, as they will pay very high tuition fees. It is understandable they are charged more because they do not pay taxes as locals do, but the cost is huge.
Hmm... Making money is not easy.

The first few days in Adelaide

It's been warm. Especially this Wednesday, temperature hit 35C! But it's not as uncomfortable as summer in Japan as the humidity is very low. It's bearable to be in the sun for a short while, and the air conditioning is strong everywhere.

One of the good things about living in an apartment is that you can microwave food and do the laundry at home!

Mediterranean pie was OK... Tasted more bitter than I thought.

I had a short trip to the main campus the other day. There were many historic-looking buildings. The students looked very young! I'm surprised that I'm almost 10 years apart now. University students... What lucky people they are!

Australia has a strict rule on cigarette labeling. It must have one of the graphic images showing potential health risks, including tooth damage, lung cancer, kidney disorders etc.. And one box costs $35!! That's a good source of revenue, actually..

The last one: tempura soft shell crab, teriyaki salmon (!), and teriyaki beef sushi with brown rice. Quite exotic, but all tasted very delicious!

Study trip down under

This is my dream come true moment! I've wanted to stay in Australia for a longer period of time than just a week. And this is the opportunity! I get to learn some plant genetic skills and barley quality testing methods from next week.

I had a friendly taxi driver who said I am like an Aussie girl, and who kindly made sure that I reach the apartment office. The 2-bedroom apartment is really spacious and comfortable. There are many food courts and restaurants to choose from!! Wow~

Transit at Singapore!!

Had a short trip to downtown Singapore on transit. My friend and I first went to see the fountain of wealth at Suntec city mall, had a wonderful dinner and nice desert! It was a great opportunity to catch up. It was very hot and humid there. It reminded me of what summer was like, and made me ready for the hot weather in Australia.

There are soooo many food courts and restaurants at every mall, offering countless choices for meal, coffee-break or drinking. I wish we had one tenth of this in the city I live in, where the numbers of restaurants are limited and it's highly possible that you bump into one of your acquaintances.

Anyways, here are tonight's special.
1. Cereal prawn - one of many signature dishes of Singapore. Fried prawn with curry leaves (also called laksa leaves) and flaked cereals sprinkled on it. Yum~~

2. 刀削麺 - the cook shaves off each strip of noodles from a flattened noodle dough using a knife, after getting an order. The soup is a bit sour and has distinctive flavour of coriander. The think and chewy noodles are delicious and filling.

3. Thai basil chicken - one of my favourite Thai dish. Quite spicy even without the red chili, but it has a complex mixture of so many tastes. I love the flavourful meat dish to mix with rice.

4. Mango Pom Herbal jelly - it was my dream to try the herbal jelly again. I had it at Aw Choo Desert for the first time several years ago and loved it. It tastes a little bitter, but it tastes like it's good for health. Maybe. This time it turned out to be a better one - a great combination of mango and herbal jelly! Even the Pom fruits tasted nice despite the beans sprout-like look. It's called ざぼん in Japanese...

5. Osmanthus Aloe Vera
Aloe meat with dried osmanthus (金木犀!) flowers sprinkled. It was an experience to "eat" osmanthus for the first time.. It had a unique, fairly recognisable flavour. Very interesting. I found a new favourite to go for dessert - 香港盛記.

I want to stay longer in Singapore....

Fukuoka is going through a lot of changes

Bank transfer ATM, visual big signs at the bus stop for the international terminal at the airport..
Fukuoka is getting more and more convenient, and getting ready for foreign visitors. The government is aiming to welcome 20 million tourists from overseas, almost double the current number. There could be more translations of detailed information, in addition to the very basic words like "Card" and "Receipt". For example, this is an important piece of information to give to any card user: "Beware of cash card skimming. Call this number if the card slot is distorted and do not use the ATM." I'm not even sure if it makes sense... It's hard to translate, and this message in English means there will be an English-speaking operator at the other end of the telephone line.
There seems to be a lot of work to morph cities into an internationally friendly one. That's why the younger generation are learning English from kindergarten~

学校の校と悦楽の悦の右側

以前英語の校閲をしていると書いたが、最近は日本語でもしている（笑）。
ちょっと高校の文芸部を思い出して懐かしい。

いろんな人が記事を書いて、誤字脱字や文法間違い等がないか最終確認する仕事である。（業務外…）　他の人にとっても記事づくりは業務外であるが故、「読み返してないな、これは。」と思われる原稿がたくさんある。ワープロの普及により、自分もほかの人も、国語力と漢字力の低下は半端じゃない。

以下、注目に値したもの。間違いを見つけられるか挑戦してみてください。

1．『その人の表情は筆舌し難かった。』
2．『日本には四季があり、天気の変化がめぐまるしいです。』
3．『大きな岩に閻魔大王の顔が掘られている』
4．『初めて参加するセミナーだったのでので、非常に有意義だった。』
5．『なぜ～だったのでしょうか？　一つにはこの地域は森林が近く樹液が豊富に取れました。』

こんな状態で原稿をそのまま提出してくる人たちの、日々の報告書などは大丈夫なのか心配になってくる。上司が訂正するのかもしれないが、それは上司が見るべきこととちゃう！と思う。

1．正しくは、「筆舌に尽くし難い」。何が筆舌に尽くし難いのかを書き加えるべきだと主張したが、まあこれで通してくれと言われた。もっと言えば、もっと極端な事柄についてこの熟語を使うべきではないか。言葉では十分言い表せないくらいひどい、とかそういう時に使うのでは。
2．正しくは「めまぐるしい」。なぜそうなる？？？　めまぐるしいと頭で勝手に判断して読み
飛ばしてしまうから、要注意だ。最初気づかなかった。
3．掘るではなく、彫る。これも漢字の使い方。ほんの小さな違和感だったので、気のせいかと思ったが一応辞書を引くと、うわ、やっぱり！　校閲者は、普通の読者の視点ではなくて、検閲者のような心構えで、目を皿のようにして一字一字見なければ。字が多い原稿だと気が滅入るのよね…。
4．のでので？？？　見返しなさい！！！
5．「一つには、～～だったことがあります。」「一つは、～～だったためです。」となるべき。これも読み返したら変だって思わないのかな。

最近ブログなどの普及で、タイプされた文章でも誤字や文法誤りが珍しくない。それに慣れてしまうと、こういった校閲の際に、見逃してしまう…。

というか、自分の記事には責任持ってほしい。校閲なんかなくして、訂正や校正は入らないというきまりにすれば、自分でしっかり見直すようになると思う。そのほうがその人のためにもなる。


新聞の校閲者の書いたコラムによると、校閲者はもっと厳しい。所属長が、広辞苑をまだ全て覚えていない、と言っていたのを耳にして、大変な部署に来てしまった…と思ったそうだ。ともかく、記事の中の単語という単語を全て確認するのは勿論のこと、内容まで確認するのだそうだ。たとえば、紙面小説の中で「特急○○は△△駅を通過する」とあれば、その列車の停車駅を調べ、本当にそうなのか確認する。小説なのだから、作者の責任ではないか！と思うが…、新聞社であるがゆえ、間違った情報は出せない。夜を徹して行うのだろうか…大変だ。

彼らは領収書を書いてもらう時に「こうえつ」を漢字でどう書くかからいつも説明しなければならないそうだ。悦楽の悦の右側って（笑）。税金の税の右側の方がいいのではないだろうか。「悦楽」を知っている人なら、「校閲」も書けると思うのだが。面白い。

何はともあれ、正しい国語力を備えた人物でありたい。そこまでいかずとも、文書作成には丁寧な人でありたい…。

"Gay themed books to be pulped in Singapore" - BBC

The authority decided to destroy three books depicting many variable forms of family. The decision triggered heated debate and an online petition collecting thousands of signatures to save the books.

To me, it is extreme to decide to pulp the gay-themed books. It reflects the government's strong attitude towards LGBTs, which it insists counters Singapore's traditional family values. Oh... It is surprising for a liberated and progressive country like Singapore, with equality is guaranteed to everyone (well at least in the national pledge). So this "everyone" does not include LGBTs? Here we go again..

It is relieving and moving that a lot of people participated in a peaceful rally against the authority's decision. The movement is called Pink Dots. The event is held annually in a park, and the number of the supporters increased and the pink dots they hold now looks like a pink whale covering the whole venue.

However, Singapore is a conservative society, surprisingly, with 80% of its citizens against gay marriage according to BBC. There seems to be a social divide among the people.

What is the point of criticising who loves whom? Why are some people engaged so much in intruding into someone else's private life? If you believe in something,  then go ahead, but don't impose the same belief to others. You won't like it if someone imposes you on something that you do not believe. "I respect your thoughts, so you respect mine, too, as long as it doesn't do any harm to anyone". Isn't it as simple as that?

Kindergartens nearby - An annoyance or social obligation?

Kindergartens and nursery schools are being build at a fast pace to tackle with the Japan's persistent low birth rate and poor working conditions of employed parents, especially mums. Approximately 1,000 new child-care facilities were built last year.

However, there are some issues they have to face: how to get along with the locals. Nearly half of all nursery schools in Japan responded a poll that they have received a complaint from neighbours about the noise of the children. The more densely populated the area is, the more complaints are tend to be raised.

Some schools take measures to such as shutting curtains and limiting the time when children go out to the playground. It looks no easy to coexist with the locals, especially when the kindergarten is new. There is a concern for accidents of bicycles and elderly residents, as many parents send and pick up their kids on bicycle.

The municipal governments seem to be doing a poor job to arbitrate the disputes between residents and nursery schools. They just coerce the locals to give land and start construction right away without seeking for public understanding and cooperation.

It is true that the voices of children are loud, and it must be tiring to live in proximity to a kindergarten. Because the land is limited and the population density is high, few of us are able to live with nothing next to us.

I am not sure what we can do. Personally, I would move away, paying respect to the needs for a nursery, but following my desire to lead a quiet life. It will not be easy for people who have their own house in that area. I think it is another thing when one decides to purchase a house.

Maybe I am not old enough to appreciate the local ties within a community..