Tags: food, japan, school.
Categores: Culture, Daily Life, Site Updates.
I used to be one of those people who thought that Japanese people only eat sushi/udon/teriyaki *insert meat of choice* all day. So I always thought their food was…well, kind of bland.
Then I was introduced to okonomiyaki, which is Japanese savory pancake of sorts. The pancake is fried with, among other things, cabbage, eggs and meat/seafood of your choice. It is then smothered with okonomiyaki sauce, which is the Japanese cousin of Worcester sauce, topped with a dollop of Japanese mayonnaise.
Betcha hungry now. 
My Monday Lunch: Shrimp Okonomiyaki
To be honest, it was too flavorful for me. (Who’s complaining about bland a second ago?) I’m not a big fan of salty food. I would have love some salad or rice as a side to balance out the taste. But it is refreshing to have once a while (yes, this isn’t my first okonomiyaki) - especially when my favorite sushi restaurant is jam packed.
If you live in Toronto, and would like to try something new, head over to Okonomi House at Charles Street. If you live in Singapore/Malaysia, Sakae Sushi actually serves okonomiyaki, but it’s nowhere as good as the one in Toronto. Sorry, guys. 
I’m Back!
I’m technically done with my undergraduate degree now. I’ve finished all my exams and assignments. 
Now, I’m just waiting for my graduating diploma to be printed and I’ll be heading back to Singapore - but I’ll save the details for another post.
Anyway, all this means that I can go back to blogging, commenting on all your sites and designing the new layouts I promised. I’ll be updating slowly over the next few days as I will be cracking my fingers and my head on the new layout for Nanyate?! In the meantime, happy drooling.
Tags: chinese, language, school.
Categores: Daily Life.
Disclaimer: This entry is my first entry written in Chinese. The English translation is kinda awkward and contrived, akin to a second-language English speaker. It’s because I wrote the entry in Chinese first, then translated it back to English. I purposefully did so to show non-Chinese speakers the level of my Chinese. And yes, that means my Chinese is awkward and unnatural. But you know, effort must count for something!
Chinese
大多数的人每天都在拼命地赚血汗钱，我这三天来在拼命地写一千两百的血汗字。我学汉语才学了三年， 认的汉字也不多 － 最多有3000吧。对我来说，写文章是一个非常痛苦的事。英语的文章就够痛苦了，现在还要写中文的文章。真是很麻烦。每个句子都要用到没学过的字。即使我现在在抱怨，但我很高兴在三年来能写出那么长那么复杂的文章。三年前，我只能认“陈爱薇”这三个字 。别的字一个也认不出，甚至于“名字”这两个字也不认识。现在，写了1200字的文章给我一个成就感。虽然认识的字比中国人还少，口音还想老外那样，这1200的血汗字表示我这三年来的痛苦，这三年来的承诺。由于这1200的血汗字，我会继续学汉语…直到能流利地讲，写，听，读汉语的那一天。
English Translation
While most people spend their lives toiling over blood-sweat (hard-earned) money, I spent these three days slogging over 1,200 blood-sweat Chinese words. I’ve only learned Chinese for three years; I still can’t read much Chinese - probably only about a maximum of 3000 words.
Writing essays have always been a pain to me. It’s already quite the pain to write essays in English, now I have to write an essay in Chinese. Jeez. I have to check the dictionary every sentence because there are so many words that I haven’t learned. Although I’m complaining right now, I’m actually quite happy that I managed to write such a long and complex paper.
Three years ago, I was only able to write three words: Chen Ai Wei (my Chinese name). I couldn’t read any other words; not even the word “name”! So writing a 1,200-word essay today has left me with a feeling of accomplishment. And although I still don’t read as many words as mainland Chinese and my accent still sounds like a white man speaking Chinese, this 1,200 blood-sweat words symbolizes my three years of pain and effort.
So with this 1,200 blood-sweat words, I will continue to learn Chinese…until the day I can speak, write, understand and read Chinese fluently.