Saturday, September 27, 2008

Second day in Sendai - some observations

More photos from Sendai - but not as many as before as there were so many photos of me with my round face! Pantang menjadi tontonan umum... Hahaha! So, I took the liberty to post some round-faced pics of Ayah's here instead ;)

We spent some time shopping in the morning until about 12:00p.m when Ayah had to attend the afternoon live procedure session as one of the commentators. Ayah came back just after 3:00p.m, and we went out to shop (again!). I noticed that they have LOADS of shops selling ladies/girls fashions and accessories, but not many for men and kids.

Bermacam gaya... but, I don't think they'd be well-received in Malaysia. It's more of a Mix 'n' Match thingies and the Japanese can be quite OTT with their accessories. And oh, they have so many different kinds of cool hats here. Unfortunately, neither of my girls are into hats. If not, it would have been easier to shop for them! And they also have amazing designs for their socks, stockings, and leggings. They're just fantastic! And Ayah and I noticed that the youngsters here are more "westernized" than the westerners (well, at least in their dressing-up sense, that is).

And it is just so difficult to communicate with them as virtually all of them do not speak English. We've given up trying to speak English with them, and Ayah finally resorted to just speaking in Bahasa Malaysia (with sign language, of course!) when we wanted to enquire on stuffs. It makes no difference really, whether we speak in English or BM. Both are very foreign languages to them. And it is just so amazing to see them to be so advanced technologically without having to rely on or know the "so-called" global language! As they say - only in Japan...

Anyway, we went back to our room just before Iftar at 5:30p.m. And we had sushi for Iftar. Maybe not that appealing to some, but, Ayah and I were okay with it as this is actually the second time we experience berpuasa in Japan. The first time was in 2002 when I was on a 3-week Research leave in Nagoya, and it just so happened that Ayah also had a conference in Kobe around that time and he extended his stay to join me in the last one week of my stint in Nagoya. And we had Sushi and Sashimi nearly every night for iftar then.

Seriously, I can't imagine if we were to spend our Raya here. No suasana langsung... I really feel for those Malaysian students who have to go through the festivities (or rather, the lack or non-existence of it!) here. At least when we were in the UK dulu, the suasana was very much alive, albeit in an ala-Pakistani way.

Yesterday, while waiting for iftar, Ayah made a 'lawak tak berapa pandai' by kononnya trying to find the channel which aired the Azan Maghrib...(Harharhar, Ayah...), and we ended up watching Sumo wrestling during iftar.

Seriously, how did them wrestlers turn out to be SOOOO huge?!

I asked Ayah, if he had any idea as to the life expectancy of the Sumo wrestlers as I didn't think it would be that long, considering how obese-looking they were. Ayah said, he didn't know. All he knew was that, the Sumo wrestlers are filthy rich here in Japan.

Hmmmmm... If it was me, I would rather be not-so-rich, but have a longer and healthier life to share with my family.

(Sorry...terlupa pulak nak ambik gambar the Sumo wrestlers on TV. Terlampau engrossed tengok they all berSumo semalam!). Hahaha!

Anyway, here are some pics of our second day in Sendai.

Note : Please do not confuse Ayah and myself with the Sumo wrestlers, okay?! But, one thing for sure, if we had their pics here, they would have made us feel so good about ourselves weight wise. Hahaha!

25 comments:

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Shana,

Mana ada round lah. You are looking cun, girl!

Was Ayah seriously looking for a channel featuring Azan Maghrib in the tv? Hee..hee..hee.. Next time datanglah Bangladesh. He'll have a choice of more than 5 channels to view azan maghrib.

udinb said...

Got yourself any latest gadgets? New mobile phone may be, or digital camera, ipod, mp4, gps etc etc.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

woww, lobsters! ok obviously i was looking at pics on previous entry. i'd kill to have 4 of them yummy stuff right now. 2 for supper and 2 for sahur...muahahha...hey, i believe you and doc are back home by now. come on, nothing beats your own backyard to be at as far raya is concerned.

Amy said...

Wah kat Jepun plak? beshyaa

IBU said...

Shana,

This reminds me of an episode of my Ayah & I trying to communicate with some Arabs & Banglas in a desert restaurant on our journey from Jeddah to Medina. My parents were also with us that time.

There was no menu. We had to choose from the dish counter itself - just like if we were to eat nasi campur at mamak restaurant here - but that time by pointing to which food we wanted. As Tuan Doktor was not easy to find on the desert, we had to ensure food won't drive Bapak & Mak blood pressure up the mountains. So - no mutton pls.

Our Arabic was pathetic. And they all pulak, sepatah haram English tak tau. Letih!

Guess what? We all ended up in "animal language"!!!
Moooooo
Emmmmbbeeekkkkk
Kok kok kokkkkkkkk

And it worked! MasyaAllahhh..... hehehe...

p/s I have not resorted to drawing yet. Maybe next trip to Seoul kena standby pen & paper.

Waterlily said...

You call that 'round'? Aiyerr Shana...now I will never post my pics in my blog!! Now that's what you call 'globular'..hahahahahaahh

Lee said...

Hi Wanshana, very impressive video. Outstanding...
Guess in a foreign country...the only language everyone knows is money, ha ha.

Have fun and keep well, Lee.

wanshana said...

Gina,

Sebab all the pics yang nampak I round are NOT in this slideshow! But, thank you :)

No lah...Ayah was just trying to be funny :)

Waaaa - more than 5 channels to choose from to view the Azan? And to think that they do not really observe Ramadhan as strictly as we do in Malaysia, kan?

Selamat Hari Raya to you, MrS and anak-anak, and Maaf Zahir Batin :)

* More Jelebis for Raya?!

wanshana said...

Udinb,

Nope. Tak sempat nak ke Akihibara to shop for electricals and electronic gadgets this time :(

But, we did go to Akihibara's Duty Free shop at Narita to find an HD digital camera, but we didn't find the one that we wanted. Tak banyak choice as the shop was not that big.

But, Ayah and I just got ourselves new phones in the last 2 months, and Ayah also just got a new notebook recently, so, rasa guilty to buy new ones unnecessarily :) Hehehe!

ipods, MP4, etc, syukur alhamdulillah Ayah got a few of them as tokens of appreciation for his roles in a few conferences this year, but semua dah passed over to our kids :)

wanshana said...

Yes, those lobsters were just yummylicious - tambahan pulak we had our own personal Teppanyaki Man to attend to us (and he looked a bit like Tom Cruise pulak tu - versi Jepun tapinyer...Hahaha!)

We reached home just before iftar yesterday, alhamdulillah :) First, the kids terkam me, then they terkam our luggage (before they terkam their Ayah!) Hehehe!

Yes, it's good to be home, and we just can't wait for Raya.

wanshana said...

Amy,

Yesh...besh... :)

We didn't go for any sightseeing thought, as Ayah's schedule was quite packed. And we spent nearly half a day (out of 3) travelling Narita-Tokyo-Sendai-Tokyo-Narita.

But, it was a good break for both of us :)

Selamat Hari Raya to you and hubby, and Maaf Zahir Batin, Amy :) Raya kat mana?

wanshana said...

I meant - "though" :)

wanshana said...

IBU!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!! That was so hilarious!!! Hanna and I tergelak bagai nak rak when we read your comment ni. We can just imagine you and Saba mengepak when you all berkokok tu!!! Hahahaha!

And bila part lembu tu, did you guys have to tunjuk tanduk as well???!!!

I think the Korean's English may be slightly better than the Japanese kot? Whatever it is, better be prepared with 2 kebat A4 paper... :)

Btw, hope Idin's much better and and will be able to celebrate Raya full swing.

Salam Aidil Fitri to all at home, Maaf Zahir Batin, and halalkan segala makan minum, tempat tidur dan melepak segala, and duit elektrik and air yang dok perabih bila we all tak tau nak balik rumah... Hehehe...

wanshana said...

Waterlily,

Yes... Anyway, "round" is a shape... That means I can always say that I'm in shape. Hehehe!

"Globular" is good - results of selalu sangat "mengular"?! Hehehe! Just kidding... ;)

Anyway, you ALWAYS look good, my dear, so doesn't matter what shape you're in. Hehehe!

Salam Aidilfitri to you, Id**s and anak-anak. Jari sepuluh disusun, Mohon Maaf Zahir Batin.

And here's wishing you a joyful and meriah Aidilfitri, especially in Kuching!

wanshana said...

Hi Uncle Lee,

Thanks :)

Yes, money is a global language, but in Japan, we Malaysian are less global lah kot, Uncle Lee. It's so expensive laaa...

A typical decent meal for one (1 main dish, 1 jelly for desserts, 1 drink) normally costs between RM35-45 per pax and we have to have about 3 meals a day...

Botak...

You have a nice day, too, Uncle Lee :)

MrsNordin said...

Mana ada bulat? Ok je...

My stepson, Nadim, who loves everything Japanese, said he wants to study and work in Japan so that he can eat sushi and play with his Gundam everyday. I don't mind, actually... :)


Have a great time there! You two sure look you are just doing that!

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

maybe the kids tak biasa having their mommy away kot...hehehe...

kak shana, takde raya entry ke nak bermaaf-maafan?

Daphne Ling said...

Hi Kak Shana,

Aiyo...You put other people's round face, ah? ;) You want see muka-bulat, come see mine...Getting round like ball...

Hehe...Anyway, came here to wish you and family Happy Hari Raya! Eat all the food on my behalf...

wanshana said...

MrsNordin,

Thanks :)

My Hanna also loves everything Japanese - boleh gang with Nadim.

Her school offers French and Japanese as options, and she chose Japanese obviously, and she's enjoying it. Cita-cita : nak gi Jepun in a foreign students exchange programme :)

wanshana said...

Kerp,

Yes, I guess that was why. They're so used to their Ayah being away :)

Posting hari raya - watch this space :)

wanshana said...

Hi Daphne,

Thanks for the wish :)

Canada sejuk, so, it's okay to have a roundish face - need all the lemak to keep you warm in winter. Hehehe!

No problem - I definitely can makan all those lovely food for the two of us. But, not fair coz' I'll be adding all the flabs to MY body only maaaa...

Theta said...

Yay! You're back. Must be one interesting trip. Your sumo commentary is funny! And I don't think you're nowhere in the overweight category. :)

Here's wishing you and your beloved family Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin. 0-0!

Anonymous said...

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir dan Batin to you and your family, Shana. Regards to your hubby. JZ tengah tidur kat sebelah ni kekenyangan while my daughter's watching some noisy AF concert on TV.

wanshana said...

Hi Theta,

Yes - Yay!!! :)

It was quite interesting really - watching Sumo wrestling. The only problem was, what with their huge bodies which were scantily clad, I just didn't know where to look! Nasib baik masa tu dah berbuka. If not, batal puasa I... Harharhar!!!

Here's wishing you and your family a blessed and joyous Raya, too, and Maaf Zahir Batin.

And if you're having all those yummylicious Kek Lapis Sarawak, jangan lupa we all in Semenanjung :)

wanshana said...

John F. Seademon,

Ditto - Selamat Hari Raya to you, Meen and anak-anak. Maaf Zahir Batin :)

I was so kekenyangan, too, last night. I lost 3 kg over Ramadhan, but, I think I might have gained 4 kg yesterday!

The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was my daughter Hanna telling me that she had transferred our raya photos to my notebook, and my two younger kids watching Naruto on TV. I really don't know what time they went to sleep last night!

Haizal sends his regards and Raya wish to you, too. :)

Salam to Meen, please :)