the second of my reminiscing trilogy. this would not encompass all the memories i have because of my aots training but then again i couldn't list everything here. so here's a gist of the wonderful times i had.
i remember...
*the time we went to japan for our aots training. i had the biggest luggage among the five of us (amil --- who was unfortunate enough to be the only guy, rose, hazel, irish and me). we were met at the narita airport by chino-san and miyasaka-san. their positions did not matter in the long run anyway because we made them carry our luggages for us. hehehe! by the time we arrived at yokohama kenshu center, we were so tired and were ready to give up. but we were so impressed with ykc, we were able to gather enough strength to go up to our rooms.
*our first "trip" outside ykc? to jusco! the only supermarket in the area, it was the single place we could go to by walking.
*our kenshuu ryokou. we went to nagoya, osaka and kyoto. we went to a lot of places including the kinkakuji temple, the osaka castle and the toyota showroom where we got to ride (but not drive) really cool cars! we also went to a buddhist temple where we met and talked with a monk. we went to a place where they made kimonos and created our own naturally-dyed handkerchiefs. the coolest part? we got to ride on the shinkansen... twice! i remember rose professing her undying love for it. hehehehe!
*the time we went to kikuta-sensei's house. we even got to see mt. fuji! we went there together with the whole class and we had a really good time eating, singing and playing dance revolution!
*the time we went to disneyland! we had to wake up at 4 am because we had to walk for an hour just to get to the train station. we didn't mind the long walk because we were too excited. we were like little kids when we got to disneyland! we went to all the rides we could go to and bought all the souvenirs we could afford. it was a dream come true!
*our first and only trip to sea paradise. it was irish's birthday and we decided to go there to celebrate. we arrived there with just enough time to ride the roller coaster and the blue fall. russel was the only one who went with us... and we loved him dearly for it. a few days later, we spent hours in rish's room just talking until the wee hours of the morning.
*christmas and the millenium together. we met at my apartment in shiojiri. we had christmas dinner with kuya ramon and some other aots friends. although cold, we were happy we were together. had coffee sessions everyday in different coffee shops and did shopping for winter clothes. amil, unfortunately, had to go through the ordeal with four women. hahaha!
*my first skiing trip. i went with kuya ferdie's group and even had to borrow a ski suit from my nihongo sensei. at the end of the day, i was the only one who was not able to learn how to ski. but i didn't care. i had a lot of fun in the snow!
*my trip around suwa and shiojiri. ate hye yoon and kuya ferdie planned a trip going around a nearby city. i still think it's a conspiracy between them to have me spend time with hatta-san.
*the barbecue party in shiojiri with amil's friends, the matsumoto boys, kyoden girls and the epson boys (from lipa). the kyoden girls became my really close friends. sadly, however, we were not able to keep in touch after my aots days.
*my last lunch with the japanese girls of epson. they prepared a special lunch for me --- a sushi box. when all others were eating cafeteria food, we were enjoying our beautiful bento. :) i was really touched by their gesture. we may not have been close because of the language barrier but we have become friends.
i still believe that my stay in ykc are the happiest six straight weeks of my life. and i have voltes v (what we call ourselves) and our aots friends to thank for it. special thanks also to kuya ferdie and ate hye yoon who have been like a family to me while i was in japan.
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