A day with a friend...

A friend took me to Hiwasa, about an hour from Tokushima city by car. It was a nice trip during early spring where sakura just started to bloom.

Hiwasa is famous as a place where turtles come the beach there to lay eggs. A museum/aquarium was built dedicated to the turtles, where we can learn so much about them. Geographical information about where turtles go to lay eggs can also be found there, even about turtles of Malaysia.

We then went to a castle and a temple. On the way back home, we stop somewhere along the way to go up a hill, a place where people of Tokushima built a monument of a warrior who happened to come to Tokushima many, many years ago.

Before she sent me home, we again stop. This time for a coffee (tea for her) and a pancake.

Beginning of an end...

Now, at the edge of my time in this foreign country, a beginning of an end has started. Today, I will have my first trial presentation to the lab members. On the 10th of June, there will be a presentation of my work for the past years to the whole faculty members. The butterflies in my stomach are now working overtime . Hopefully, it won’t take away my sleep.

The end of the journey will be when my article is accepted by the publisher.

Regarding the paper, my Prof and I were much delighted when last two weeks we received a feedback from the editor saying that the reviewers were interested in our article and needed a few more control analysis to be added to the article.

Those requests sent me back to the lab and the rats.

But I am willing to do just that and then get my article publish. It will justify all the sweats and tears of mine.

May God bless us all!

Orchid V

At first I thought it was a bouquet of plastick flowers, which turned out to be a vase of an orchid plant named Lycaste aromatica. The flower really stand for it's name since the whole room was full with the floral fragrance, sweet. 

It really perk my mood to see this flower first thing on Monday morning up on the usual place after nothing was there for a few days. Besides, I was so down thinking about the numbers of killing that I need to carry out during this one month....really sound like a contract killer here.

A white purple dendrobium

And Dendrobium secundum....

Compare with this....

or this....

Orchids IV

(Top) Shiran (Bletilla striata) is an indigeniuos orchid of Japan, a lady's slipper type (a pouch) but this one is a mutated plant with three slipper-shaped pouches. Interesting! (^_~)...

(Top) This plant belong to Lycaste genus flower.

Ah! Re-entry of Miyabi flower.........(^_^)

Make love, not war...

Whoever say that those words are cliche probably have never understood the effect of war or weapons used on the people involved in the war.

Under the bright summer sun, we visited Hiroshima, the town which had witnessed the destruction caused by a weapon names atom.

The victims of wars are never the Generals, but the ordinary people.

The wound may heals itself, but the scar remains.

Please, make love not war!

  

O-bento for lunch

This is the typical looked of nasi bungkus or lunch/dinner set in Japan that can be bought at stores or ordered from catering company (picture) and known as obento. The set comes in many size and prizes. As usual (for me), this one contained only seafoods, vegetables and small dessert. It cost around ￥1000. However, for the one with meat, the price normally a little expensive than this. Besides the tradional obento as in the picture, we may also find the western style obento consisted of hamburger, spaghetti or salad. 

By the way, the ￥1000 obento is considered expensive and I only had this because I was part of the last summer symposium entourage. In the university co-op we can find a much cheaper version of obento which is less than ￥５００ but with a lesser number of food on the box; anyhow it is enough to make one feel full and taste just as delicious.

Orchids III

The latest orchids in the room are another version of Lady’s slipper, Formosa’s Lady’s slipper (Cypripedium formosanum) and Dendrobium moniliforme ‘miyabi’.

Araregi

‘Araregi’, that is how to say allergy in Japanese.

And because of the araregi, I was confined in the apartment for the last three days and missed golden-week holiday (spring holiday). The body temperature was up and down without noticed. The running nose added the misery as I can’t sleep well, it blocked the normal tubes used for inhalation and made me breathed through the mouth instead. Imagine the difficulty of waking up with dried mouth.

The first day was terrible because my right eye became red, as red as it can be; and I can see the swollen retina in the mirror, which terrified me the most. After taking paracetamol, vitamin C and drank enough warm water, I went to sleep. By night, the eyes were becoming less itchy.

The next two days, after went out, bought allergy pills and took them; I just rested in the room. What a holiday?

Back to the past in Bikan, Kurashiki

About two years ago, my friends and I made a two days journey to a few places of southern part of Honshu Island. The last place that we went was of Bikan district in Kurashiki, Okayama. The place was keep to the original look with no electric poles around. Seemed like we were thrown back to the Meiji era. Enjoy the pictures...