2016 Reading Goal Completed!

I have reached my goal for reading!!!

In early January,  I made a new year resolution that I am going to read at least 10 books this year in English.

Today, I have finished reading my 10th book!! I feel some accomplishment and a little more confident!

10 books might be not that much but it is quite a big deal for me.

I am actually a bookworm and I used to read I lot of books in Japanese when I was at school and went to the library quite frequently. But I was reading in JAPANESE not English.

My favorite genre were fantasy novels like: Harry Potter, Chronicles of  Narnia, Howls Moving Castle, Deltora Quest, Never Ending Story, Momo, and more!!

As I got older I started to read books from Japanese authors like Ishida Ira, Arikawa Hiromu, Abe Kobo, Dazai Osamu, Murakami Haruki, and many more.

I loved books and I read everything that interested me. I was curious at what the authors wanted to talk about. But everything I read was in JAPANESE not English. Of course I could read English but I did not feel comfortable reading in English. Maybe it was a type of fear and struggle that I have been avoiding for years. In terms of academic English I still did not like reading but I got used to it but I always wanted to read for pleasure!

Few years ago when I lived with Rebecca(my friend from America) for a little while, I started to push myself more to read books in English. I knew that I wanted to read more English books in there original language instead of waiting for it to come out in Japanese. I did not want to put too much pressure on myself so I did not made it big. But now I have finished and completed I am putting it down as a milestone here in my blog.

I have a couple of challenges that I want to complete.

1. Another reading challenge (I am not sure how many books I will set myself.)
2. Read all "Lord of the Rings" books.

For the second challenge, I have been inspired by a good best friend of mine and I have been meaning to read this book for years!!

What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
Is there any recommendations?

If you want me to get into authors or particular books, let me know! :)

See you soon!
Ellen
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Instagram: @ellenkoala

Christmas at the QVB

Hello! 

It is December and everywhere in the city has Christmas decorations! 

It is summer here in Sydney and I will say it feels very strange. I have mostly lived in the Northan hemisphere so it feels very strange in a good way! 

I am just not used to it yet! 

This is a picture of the huge christmas tree in the Queen Victoria Building(QVB) and looking upto the stainglass dorm. This part of the building is my favourite part. I find the colour of the glass stunning! 

It looks a little diffent when you take a photo form the grownd floor and the 3ed floor of the building. 

QVB is one building that I love and visit it quite frequently :) 

 It is in the middle of the city of Sydney and close to Town Hall station. 

I actually have a Instagram that I use.

If you are interested have a look :) 

It is: @ellenkoala

Do you have a favorite building or a part of a building?

See you soon!
Ellen 

Songs and Memories

Do you have songs that trigger a specific moment and time in the past that you can pin point?

There is this Japanese boy band called Arashi that I follow since my late teenage years.

I often had music or a movie playing in the background while I work on my essays and theses at univeristy. 

Which sometimes work in my favour but at times it became a way for me to procrastinate. In fact, I am currently writing this while I watch the second disk of a Arashi concert.

Each song associated with a memory, an emotion, a location, or a stage in my life.
Most of the time it is a combination of all of them with a story that comes with it.
When I listen certain songs, it brings me back to that exact moment.
Some memories are hazy but some can be very vivid. 

I think this is because I really enjoyed listening to them while I was thinking different things. 

One song is called "Oh, Yeah!" which is a really good music to listen while you riding a bicycle down a gradual hill. I used to listen to this song on my iPod or MD(Mini Disk) player(I sound really old here) while I ride home from high school. Every time I listen to this song, it makes me feel nostalgic and take back when I was riding my bicycle home in my uniform feeling the wind on my face.

*2025 Ellen here. You can listen to the song here: Oh Yeah! Arashi

Another song that brings back good memories is called "Shake it!". This story is silly one.
It was when I was at university in the winter semester, I watched Japanese and Korean dramas with one of my American friend called Becca regularly then. We were watching this exact concert DVD I am listening now together in my dorm room. We were enjoying the concert and I remember that we had to pause the DVD because the dance was quite unique and seductive for a Japanese boy band and the lyrics made us laugh a lot as English speakers. We laughed a lot!

*2025 Ellen here again. The Concert name was called “ARAFES NATIONAL STADIUM 2012” and you can see the dance here if you are interested.

The memories and emotions I feel when I listen to a song are not always positive. They can trigger negative ones too. I do try and prepare myself but it does not always work out. There are times where I hear a song randomly in public which do bring back both positive and negative mixed emotions and memories like: nostalgia, emptiness, the feeling of missing someone.
The intensity of the emotions I do feel has a gradient of strength depending on the situation I am in. I do try and shift away from it and try and think positively. It is very hard and I think it will take time to master it.  

"Wake me up" from Avicii is a song that reminds me of one period of life at university which was difficult. I can relate to some of the lyrics which added to some of the uneasy emotions I feel when I listen to it. However, it also brings me back good memories like meeting wonderful people and dancing with them to this song. It reminds of my friends and make me miss them at the same time. Missing them makes me want to do my best to work towards meeting them again!!

I miss my friends so much now!!

Are there any songs that remind you of a specific moment(s)?
Let me know!

Ellen  

Different types of Halloween

Halloween 2016 has been a quiet one for me.
I have been studying most of the day.

On the other hand, the last few halloweens have been different each year.

Most of the years when I was univeristy in Japan I dressed up and went to the halloween event was at the student hall or/and dress up for the halloween IAC(Intercultural Affairs Committee) dancy party as an IAC member.

In Japan Halloween is quite a new thing that the country and society are processing slowly. There have been problems especially in the middle of Tokyo on the Halloween weekend, there are a lot of people walking around in costumes and going to bars and having fun. However, because of the amount of people gathered at one area the traffic stops and the cars can not move at all.

When I was in the UK I had to experience the pumpkin carving and went to a birthday party.
Two of my friends had their birthday on the 31st of October and we celebrated together.
In the UK I also went to a bar which was pop culture themed and it was turned into a halloween event venue. It was quite spooky and I remember half of the time being a little scared of the decorations.

In Australia... I think Halloween is quite a new thing for Australia. The party supply industry loves the promotion and the sales for costumes for children and young adults who participate and enjoys it.
On the other hand there are the older generation where they only see it as an advertising, commercial event for people to spend more money.

I can see both sides of the argument but at the end of the day,  I think if people are enjoying it that is the best thing! For example, I made some ghost biscuits and dressed up as a witch and I enjoyed it.


One day, I would love to experience the true American Halloween in the future.

Ellen    

Felting for the first time!

Late January, I visited my friend's family house in the suburb of Sydney.
It was a really good opportunity to get out there and see different parts of Sydney.

I really enjoyed my stay there with my friend's family.

The family has a Russian background and we talked for a quite a long time about Australia.
I have also learned a little about Russian culture. I wound every thing curious!

Most of all, I have learned about felting.
I knew about felting but I have never had a chance to do felting.

I found it quite difficult because we had to layer and layer wool, and then rub the wool under a net with water and soap. It took a very very long time making felt.
Did you know that when you making it, the wool shrinks 2/3 from the original size?
We were on the table rubbing wool with wet hands for the whole evening.

It was also my friends first time to do felting so it was a challenge for her too.
She made the cat cover for a teapot and I made a mug cover with sheep on it.

It was a very good and new thing that I was able to experience and I am grateful for that.

I will love to experience interesting things like this more often!

Ellen.

Art Between Books

One of my hobby is to cross stitch.

I have been doing it for quite a while and have been working on some small project and big projects.

Recently I have been working on quite a lot of small projects:bookmarks.
I really like making them because it gives me the sense of satisfaction by finishing them.

Earlier this year when I started making book marks I just referred to patterns that are already made.
I had this idea of making my own pattern but I found it quite difficult when I was colouring in and then rubbing out the pencil marks I made in the gridded notebook I bought at the local newsagency.

After sometime of trial and error, I have discovered this software where I can create my own pattern!!
My aunt already had it in my grandfather's computer and since I have access to it, I stated to make my original patterns.

I have made custom designed ones and made similar ones in different colours.
My mother has requested quite a few of them for herself and for presents to her Friends.
I have made themed ones too.

Most of them time I will watch a movie and work on a project while I enjoy movies and television series. I enjoy the process and love to see the face of the person first opening there present.
I also love using something which has been hand made and that there is no exactly seme thing in this whole wide world.

See you soon!
Ellen

Watermelon prices in Australia

Recently I have been talking to my friend who now lives in Switzerland about the price of fruit.

As we both grew up in Japan we both agree that it is quite expensive to buy fruit. For example, one package of strawberries might cost you 600 yen/$6 and here in Australia yes it is pricy but it be 2 packages for $5. In switzerland I am not exactly sure but I can imagine my friend saying "expensive".

So, lets talk about watermelons. It was quite a shock to see big watermelons sold at about $1 per Kilo!!
If you would be in Japan It would cost just one watermelon about $15 to $30 each!!
Another thing that shocked me was that the watermelons were all in this huge box in the middle of  the shop!
I am used to buying things by weight in Australia but I feel like going to buy a watermelon or even watermelons would be a whole new level of culture shock and experience.

Australia has areas like Queensland which consider to be the tropical region and have big scale farms. In comparison, Japan has its restriction of land and when it is imported from other countries fruits from its own country becomes more expensive.

In the case of Switzerland and Germany, my Friend say that it is quite cheap to get fruit like Australia but not as cheap as in Australia. When I lived in the UK for a while. I remember it was quite cheap compared to Japan.

I think in quality and uniqueness for having several kinds of varieties for strawberries, mandarins, grapes and also watermelon, I think Japan is ahead with creating tasty fruits.
But also the price difference will be depending on the economic factors and trade agreements but let's not go there.

This is a quite normal thing as an example of a form of culture shock where you get everywhere.
It is just for me, it is quite a difference so it made me curious!

There are so many things in life which is curious and fascinating.

Ellen 

DIY Computer Cover

Recently I have made a cover for my computer.

There are few reasons why I have made this.

• I could not find any cover that will fit my computer.
  From my search around local electronic stores and stores in the city, I just could not find the right side I need for my computer. I did not want to take the risk and buy a cover and bring it home to discover that I have to return it back to the shop.
  
• I could not find any cover that I liked.
  This is in terms of design and colour wise. There were covers that had interesting designs which I did not like. Some were in really vibrant colours which did not appeal to my taste.
  
• The covers that I were looking at were all over my budget.
  Some times I found covers that were quite good and which I would be willing to purchase. However, simply most of them were over my budget. 

So, one afternoon after college I decided to make a computer cover.
I went to my local textile shop and bought: Cotton padding material as lining, material that I wanted to have outside, and industrial length zipper.
After I got home I started to measure the size I wanted and cut out the pattern using newspaper and then cutting out the amount of material I need for both the lining and the outside pattern.of the cover.

I then sew the materials together having both right side together for 3 sides. For the last side, I left a gap in the middle to be able to flip it inside out to make both right sides outside and sew the gap up. 

Then it was the hardest bit: sewing the zipper. I struggled a little, especially to have the right length and at the corners. However I think I did a good job!

I was proud of myself being able to come up with the idea and then finish it in one evening!

I love being creative and making these kind of things.
Feeling some kind of accomplishment and satisfaction from your own projects are the best thing ever!

See you soon!
Ellen 

Am I smelling smoke?

One Friday morning, I got off the train and smelt something burning.

In Australia bushfires are quite common and I was quite concerned about it.

It is getting close to summer and there are days that are quite cool and days which are hot.

I arrived at Tech and I looked up where the fires is and what the status of the fire.

Have had experienced some major disasters in the past, I get quite conscious of the change of my surroundings.

It turns out that it was quite close but it was controlled and it was safe.
I was glad that it was not major and I am safe and other people were safe.

As my teacher arrived to the class, I asked about the smoke in the air.

She said, "Ah, do not worry, they are doing Prescribed Burning."

"What is that? Is that like burning to kill the bugs?" I asked.
"In Japan they burn the side of the rice paddies to kill the bugs before they start to grow new rice every year." I continued.

The teacher answered. " No, it is to eliminate the spread of bushfires."

That made so much sense because the college is no where near any farms or paddies that I am used to have back in Japan.

Apparently the first nations people, the people who originally owned the lands of Australia had their own way of control burning which surprised me and made me see another interesting side of Australia.

See you soon!
Ellen 

Leaves changing colour ~it's Autumn~

It is spring in the southern hemisphere but my mind is telling me it is autumn/fall out of habit. 

Is this a type of culture shock that I am experiencing?
Maybe but I should be fine.

This time of the year is all about art, food, and beauty of the leaves changing colour in Japan.

Last year my cousin and I went up the mountain called Nasu in Tochigi prefecture.

It was the first time for me to drive my cousin in a car and go up the windy roads that take you to the beautiful areas of Nasu.

We went to the places that my grandfather recommended to the family when there were visitors to the area.

He knew all of the best places!

Down near the water fall there is also a small hot spring called "Kita Onsen" which is a nice cosy traditional hot spring place.


I do miss the distinctive change of 4 seasons in a year.

I also miss my grandfather.

See you soon!
Ellen

Thoughts at the art gallery

After finishing my errands in the city, I decided to go to the Art gallery. 

I have realised that I have not been there for nearly a decade. 

There were few things that I have realised while I was walking around the gallery.

First thing was the facet that me walking through the exhibition rooms made me see flash backs from the past. A teenage girl walking, looking at the paintings with her first camera, photographing her favourite paintings. Stopping at paintings pained by people she has read in art class text books and then dreaming to see many more paintings in Europe. 

Another thing was that that dream of a teenage girl seeing more paintings where still there standing in front of those paintings.

Today was a day to reflect on myself and I am glad that I walked to the art gallery and spend some time there. 

Headphones DIY

Recently I have noticed the fake leather part of my headphones started to come apart.

I bought these maybe 3 years ago and I still like them! 

They are good noise canceling DJ headphones from Audio technica.

I enjoy my music and at the time,  these were on special and was about 2000yen (about AU$20,US$20) off the original price. 

I could not continue using it without fixing it. I came up with the idea of covering it with some kind of ribbon. But I thought using normal ribbon might be boring and I was nit keen to use any thing to glue it to the head phones. 

In the end I used black and red leather twine. 

I rapped around black leather twine around the headphones firmly from the right side to the left. I tucked the ends that they will not come undone. 

When all of it was covered, I randomly rapped the read leather twine on the top of the black leather.

And, this is how it turned out!!!

I am really happy how it turned out. I like it even more that it feels more personalised. :)

I now want to do more DIY and crafting :) 

See you soon! 

Ellen 

Public Transport Australia vs Japan and tips for countryside sight-seeing

Public transport are very different in each countries.

Japanese public transport is always, every day on time even in the countryside. They they some times where they are late, but not that often. If you are in Tokyo there can have the occasional accidents and weather interference can cause a delay but they are pretty good at scheduling the timetables and being on time.

On the other hand in Australia, I have experienced many times where the buses did not arrive at the bus stop for 30 minuets and even longer. It can be good at times because it means that you can just pop into the shops and get a snack and you will still have time to catch the bus. However when you have to arrive at a certain place at a certain time, it can mess your plans drastically. 

Australia has there good points with public transport too! I think they are good in terms of covering a wide range of areas in terms of buses and having quite frequent services. As in Japan, when you go to the countryside it is really difficult to get public transport because some areas they just do not offer them or they are at really odd times and limited services.

There was a time when I did not have a licence and a car and had to go for a job interview. I looked up the time tables for the buses and they were not helpful for the time I had to be there. In the end I had to walked to the station which took 30 minuets, and hop on the train to the next station, then had to get a taxi to the company which took about another 30 minuets. 

Of course when it comes to tourist areas in the countryside of Japan there are more likely to have good public transport. But when you live in places in the countryside, it is best to have a bicycle or a car for mobility. If you want to see more than just the tourist areas, which I really recommend it can be a good idea to bring a international driving licence and hire a car to explore with a group of people to split the cost.


Also when you are traveling from one place to other it is best to have other options in mind too.
When I was living in Akita (Northern part of Japan) at my university, my friend from the US was going back for Christmas holidays. He want to the air port to catch his plane but When he arrived, the airline was announcing that they were not going to fly due to the heavy snow. He had to catch another plane that night from Narita International Airport and he was in panic. Lucky he understood a little bit of Japanese so he was able to change his plan and catch a train down to Tokyo. In the end He did made it in time for his plane.

 Once I got my driving licence and I was able to borrow a car,  it became much more easier.
I still use public transport when I am in the city and I often plan ahead and always double check my transport options for delays and weather interfering.

I hope article has been useful!

See you soon!
Ellen

Beach Culture

Recently my friends and I made a plan to go to the beach.
I was excited and nervous at the same time. In the process of preparing to go to the beach, I found myself asking around what do people normally do when they go to the beach.


Going to the beach has been a big deal for me. I grew up in a prefecture that is well known to NOT have any coast in Japan. The times I have been to the beach was when I was young and on a family holiday or with friends when I was at university.

The beach was something that I always imagined before I went to sleep to calm myself down. I secretly like the beach as much as my bedroom floor was yellow and my ceiling was blue like the sky.  I love the sea breeze which makes you feel that you are free from all of the bad things and I love seeing the sun setting or it rising in the horizon. It felt romantic even for a 16 year old girl. The beach was somewhere special for me.

For my friends here in Australia, I think it is not be that special to go to the beach that it is for me. It is something that is just normal and casual, a thing that people do daily. "Let's go to the beach" is almost equivalent to saying "let's go the cinemas" or even "let's go out for a coffee". They have that geological accessibility to be able to have it in their normal day to day life.  

I think it is just the difference of growing up closer or far way from the beach.
I did not have that culture to casually say "Are you free this weekend? Let's go to the beach!" but if I lived near the beach even in Japan, I might have not felt or recognized the beach culture that I have came a cross. This might be considered to be a culture shock but I think it is not a international culture shock but more of a geological culture shock.

Going to the beach can still be something special. I just need to make it a special thing that I do often :)

I hope I am making sense.

See you soon!
Ellen

Beautiful old Camera shop on Leeds

I was living in Leeds UK studying for a year between 2013 and 2014.

One day I went to explore the city and I went to the Corn Exchange.
Now the building is used for vintage fairs and events there but most of the time there are small shops there.



Of course, there were some vintage shops but the shop that caught my attention was a camera shop. I really like cameras. I might not have all of the the knowledge about camera's memorized in my head but I experiment with the shutter speed and the aperture. I like experimenting.

 

This shop mostly second hand cameras and some were film cameras. They had a variety of accessories for cameras. I had to go in and have a look at everything!
I was really interested in the lenses that they had. I mostly have been using the 18-55mm lens that I bought with the body of my Pentax K-5. I have borrowed my mother's lenses and I really wanted to own my own.

In the end I bought these two lenses: Pentax Zoom 75-150mm and Pentax 50mm.
Both of them are manual focus and they cost 40 pounds for both of them which I was really happy with!

Since I got them I have been having fun with them and I have taken interesting photographs with them :)


This was a story about a shop for an old camera shop in Leeds.

See you soon!
Ellen

The 4 seasons in Japan.

As it is well known, Japan has very distinctive seasons.

I really like and enjoy the changing of the seasons for several reasons.
One is that you are always looking forward to something all around the year and there is always something to look for!
Of course I there are things that I do not like about each of seasons but that is how things come 

For instance, Spring is Cherry blossom season and I really enjoy taking photos of them and doing Hanami (viewing Cherry blossoms and have a picnic under the trees). But I am not that keen on the rainy time of spring. 

In summer I look forward to the fireworks festival and Kanto festival(Lantern festival in Akita city) at University. But I disliked the high humidity. It depends on where you are but it was like walking in a sauna when you walked out side. 

In fall or autumn I enjoyed the process of all of the leaves changing and falling down on the ground. It is sad but it has its beauty in the colours and the beauty of enjoying that moment you are living in. But it was that strange season where you do not know that you need to take a extra clothing with you or not. 

In winter it was being able to eat hot food and also the enjoying your surroundings becoming this winter wonderland like opening the door and entering Narnia. But it gets really cold and you had to think ahead to make sure you have extra time if you need to walk in the snow.

*All of these photos were taken in Akita Prefecture

Over all, all seasons have there ups and downs but I think every thing has, don't they?
Seasons are really important in Japan. In literature, art work, Kimono and for tableware: in almost everything!

I hope this is a little of an introduction to what Japan is like in each seasons :)

See you soon!
Ellen

Muisc and my own Ukulele

Music has been in my life from when I was little. I was fascinated at how music was played and was always amazed at how people can play musical instruments. 

As being a young girl, I thought playing the piano was easy and just had to "press the keys" in order to make music. 

I was wrong.
I still liked playing the piano but I really disliked and I got board easily from playing the same tune over and over again and eventually stopped going to lessons.
I still continued music by singing in the school choir club until I entered Junior high school.

I still loved music and still had the curiosity to learn. In one part of the Music lessons we had in junior high school we had to learn how to play the guitar and I was really excited.
There were multiple guitars in the house when I grew up because my father played it when he was young and on very occasions he would get it out and play it.
The lessons were fun and we had to play "Stand by me" by Ben E. King. But one thing I struggled the most was holding onto the strings and play chords, and changing between chords. Yes, it is comes with practice but I have quite petite hands and when I hold most of the guitars I struggle.

Time went by and I still wanted to be able to play the guitar or the base or anything that I can join in to enjoy music. I often want to the Jazz salon and met many local musicians in my home town when I was back from university.  In my last year of university I borrowed a guitar called Taylor Mini from my father. it was small enough for my hand to go around it and I loved it!
I practiced and practiced and I was able to play some notes but still I wound difficult.

After playing on the guitar for a while I saw a Ukulele in my fathers room and started strumming and I found it was much more easier than the guitar! Since then I borrowed several Ukuleles from him(he has enough instruments to pen a shop!) and practiced.

After I moved, I wanted my own one. my own one that I like the sound of and fits my hands nicely. I thought back and forth and I found this ukulele which I can call my own Ukulele!
I am going to practice as much as I can to get better! :)

I hope you liked this short story :)

See you soon!
Ellen