1# A Story That Was Once Told

FLASHBACK

Homestay In Tokyo, Japan Back In 2007

10th of December 2007

The start of my homestay programme in Tokyo, Japan began. It was a dark, rainy and cloudy evening. Dad drove to Concorde Inn, Hotel which is located nearby KLIA. I needed to attend a day of course before flying off to Tokyo. My mind started wondering off about a whole lot of things. Mainly, it was about meeting the other participants of the homestay programme. I was nervous, scared, thrilled and excited at the same time. I tried to picture how those people were going to be. Were they going to be extremely pleasant or the complete opposite? The weather didn't do much help either. It worsen my thoughts in the car. After approximately an hour or so, we finally reached our destination.

All the participants were in a formal dress. Ties for gents, dresses for girls. As for me, I sticked to the normal traditional clothes, baju kurung. We made our way to the respective halls. Parents and participants had to be separated as both were divided into different categories for the day. The administrator gave a short talk about the homestay programme that we were about to experience. All the rules and whatnot were brought out to brace ourselves in Japan later on.

To cut things short, that night we had another talk to attend to. This time around, we played games and learn basic japanese. It was soothing and I made new friends. My room partner was Arinah, a 15 year old girl from Kedah who was really friendly and despite the fact that I was two years younger than her, we became good acquaintances. I even met three seniors from my school who were very welcoming. I remembered sleeping at 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. because for us participants, the night was still young and we had to brush up our japanese language skills in order to survive!


11th December 2007

Buckle up, kids ! Get ready for the adventures of your life that you're about to experience because we're FLYING off to JAPAAAAN !

Sadly, my roommate and I got separated because she was going off to Osaka while I was going off to Tokyo. Anyway, our flight was about 11.50 PM, 10 minutes to midnight. Parents and participants had to bid their goodbyes before participants had to ride on those trains to go to the other part of the terminal. Once the gate was opened, we got on to the aeroplane.

So, I had to sit between two guys who were from the group. It was extremely awkward. Especially the part where I had to shut my eyes and sleep. Like c'mon, how can I sleep when I'm sitting between two guys? -_- Nevertheless, they were really nice. They helped take my hand luggage, haha! Oh and out of all the participants who were going to Tokyo, or probably Japan, I was the youngest of them all. It was nice knowing that. I feel protected somehow. Hehe. Anyway, the flight was about 8 solid hours. Thank God it was a night flight so I guess the only thing we all did was sleep, to freshen ourselves up for the next day.

12th December 2007

Ohayou Gozaimasu, Tokyo, Japan!

We touched down at Narita Airport at 7.30 AM, Tokyo time. Waiting outside the airport was our bus with a friendly bus driver! He took us to the Hippo Office in Shibuya. This was finally the moment. The moment of where we participants get to finally meet, know & stay with our respective foster families. The first task that the Hippo Club did was, they called out the names of the foster family and the participant together according to the name list, and both had to show up on stage and start hugging each other like mad! It was funny when they demonstrated it to us! The two who demonstrated were jumping up and down while hugging and the music that was playing made it even funnier! :D


"Helinna-san together with Takani family"!

My heart skipped a beat. I came running out to the stage and opposite me came a lady, who looked very sweet with her warm smile. "OMG , is this my foster mom? Cause it doesn't look like her in the picture..", I said in my head while hugging her like mad. When we finally broke off, she explained to me that my foster mother had work and that she couldn't get a leave for today. I learned that she was my foster mother's friend who was named Mi-chan. Mi-chan told me about my foster siblings who were in school right now and that I will be very happy to see them. Now this time, I tested on my japanese language skills. I confidently asked Mi-chan in Japanese about my foster siblings' profile. I proudly say that she was amazed and thought how wonderful it was for me to be able to speak a little bit of japanese. :D


The Tokyo Group ! :)

Moving on, we walked to Shibuya Station. The participants finally went out separately, following their foster mothers. I followed 3 of my friends from the group, along with Mi-Chan and their foster mothers. It was my first time riding on the densha (japanese train) ! Before getting down to Saitamaken (where my hometown is), my 2 other friends got off to some other city/town with their foster mothers. Down at Saitamaken, Mi-Chan, Lydia (one of my friends from the group), Lydia's foster mum and I walked together with our luggage bags to Lydia's foster family's house. The walk wasn't that far but the weather was cold to the max!

When we reached the house, the first thing that I saw was a black inu (doggie) in front of the compound. It looked kind of fierce but since it had his house pinned up with woods, I wasn't that scared to come up to their house. Right at the door, stood Haruka-chan and Sayaka-chan (Lydia's foster twin sisters) who were aged 9. They were utterly cute and they treated Lydia and I both well. I had a cup of Ocha (red tea) which was definitely right for the body with the warm heater switched on in the house.


Meet Haruka-chan & Sayaka-chan, the two cute twins that I first made friends with. ♥


So, while waiting for my foster mom to come and pick me up, I played with Lydia, Haruka and Sayaka. The twins taught us a lot of games which I find really amusing because back in Malaysia, I don't think I did ever play it before. We all laughed our butts off when I tried communicating really fast in Japanese but failed to. The twins both had on the "i don't know look"! HAHA. So in the end we all sticked to talking in Japanese really slowly and understandable. Even sign languages were inserted in too! :D

At 5.30 pm (by this time, it was already dark!), my foster mother and Kaito-chan (my foster brother) finally came to fetch me from the twins' house. Like how we were taught back in the day, I hugged my foster mum and brother madly. My foster mum even said to me "anak saya!" while hugging me. HAHAHA, it was the first time I heard my foster mum talked in Malay. I followed her and Kaito back home in their white Estima. Kaito was being all shy but as soon as okaa-san (mother in Japanese) started driving, he put on a blanket on my lap and I couldn't help but go "AWWWWWWW, Arigatou-ne Kaito-chan" ♥ :D

The first thing that I was touched right after I enter my new lovely home was this :-



HAHAHA, the T is missing but whatever, :') I still love it! Not only that but, Kaito and Aya gave me a surprise gift too! :-



They both made it with love, AWWW :). And not to mention, both their hobbies are drawing!



Kaito-chan, Me & Ayaka-chan playing cards together under the warm kotetsu. ♥


Ate dinner at 6.00 PM (pretty early compared to my daily dinner time!). After that, Aya-chan (my foster sister) came home and we (Aya, Kaito & I) decided to play cards, basketball, watch television under the kotetsu (warm heated blanket) and many more. I had my first japanese hot spring bath (jacuzzi) in the bathroom which was prepared by okaa-san. It was all that I needed to warm up my body again, haha! Anyway, otou-san came back quite late. About 8 P.M, I think. And the first words that came out of his mouth right after he saw me was, "Come to Papa, my daughter!". HAHAHAHAHA I tried so hard not to laugh but in the end everybody else ended up laughing with me. I had a little chit-chat with the family and when the clock struck 10.10 P.M, the rents' told me that it was bedtime already and I should have a good sleep. Okaa-san put me in bed at my room. While tugging the comforter, she said to me "Selamat Malam , anak perempuan saya!":D. It was sooo cute when she said it with her rosy cheeks exposed while grinning! So then, I replied back to her "Selamat malam ibuku", with a big and warm smile. :) That night, I went to sleep while thinking about the upcoming journey that I was about to experience next.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Here's a funny epic moment (well, at least to me :P) :-

After dinner, I had a really bad stomach ache and I thought of excusing myself to go to the toilet but unfortunately, that little visit had to be put on hold because okaa-san brought out desert. And it wasn't just any desert. Oh yes, it was a milky-sort-of-creme-brulee desert which I had to forcefully stuffed it in my stomach. The desert was extremely delicious but my stomach was making a really big fit so what I did was, I finished up my desert quickly (i actually stuffed in a BIG SPOONFUL of it into my stomach. I wonder if Aya & Kaito actually saw me doing it because to be honest, it was unladylike! D:) and finally, finally I stood up from the chair and confessed "I need to go to the bathroom please!!!". As okaa-san was busy washing the dishes, she asked both kaito and aya to show me the way to the bathroom. I quickly mouthed to them the word "toiree toiree!" - which means toilet in Japanese. And we quickly walked (or probably ran :P) to the toilet together and these two lovely foster siblings of mine even bowed to me while gesturing their hands towards the toilet right before I rushed in. It was really polite of them and I couldn't help but mouthed "Arigatou-ne !" again and again while chuckling even though the stomach was being such a pain. Anyhow, those nasi kandar from the airport really did me well, huh. HAHAHAHA. No wonder my stomach couldn't stand it. :P

~to be continued~

3 days in a post should be enough, am I right? :)

p/s: I know I should have posted this up a long time ago and not 3 years after the whole experience but here I am, reminiscing a past experience that I hoped I can experience once again.

yours truly,
helinna

Salam Maal Hijrah 1432

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

QuranHadis : Ya Allah, jadikan awal tahun ini kebaikan, pertengahannya kegembiraan & akhirnya kejayaan bagi kehidupan dunia & akhirat kami. Amin #1432H

Awal Muharam, detik permulaan yang baru. Marilah kita bersama-sama menanamkan azam yang baru dalam diri masing-masing untuk menegakkan syiar Islam.
Amin Ya Rabbil Alamin.

"It's a beginning of a new chapter"

Cinta Nostalgia

Cinta nostalgia adalah cinta yang suatu ketika pernah dirasai, disentuhi dan seterusnya, diingati bersama orang yang dicintai sewaktu bersama dahulu. Orang yang dikatakan itu bagaikan telah mewarnai kehidupan kita yang selama ini hanyalah dilakar tanpa sebarang keceriaan mahupun kebahagiaan. Gambar kehidupan yang sedia ada itu seperti tidak lengkap kerana kita berasa bahawa kehidupan harian kita tidak ada sebarang perubahan yang ketara untuk membuatkan hati kita gembira, air muka kita sedih mahupun membuatkan kita merasai apa-apa perasaan kerana kehidupan kita hanyalah seperti apa yang selalu dilalui sepanjang bernafas di bumi yang dicipta oleh Ilahi. Perasaan tidak ingin hidup juga kadang-kala bermain di fikiran dengan hasutan syaitan yang selalu tidak mengalah untuk menyesatkan orang-orang yang beriman. Orang yang ditemui atau lebih jelas dikatakan, jodoh dapat mengubah diri kita dalam saat-saat kita amat memerlukannya. Kehadirannya juga dapat membuatkan hati kita melompat keriangan kerana kita mengetahui bahawa dalam dunia ini, ada juga seseorang yang mencintai kita dengan berbeza daripada cinta Tuhan, ibu-bapa mahupun keluarga. Diri ini berasa seperti dihargai dan dikasihi sepenuhnya dengan cinta yang diberi olehnya.

Segala suka dan duka dikongsi bersama dalam apa jua keadaan. Segala apa yang ingin disampaikan terasa seperti mempunyai jawapan. Apabila hati resah dilempari rintangan, si dia dapat membuatkan kita berasa seperti dunia ini belum berakhir. Dalam segelintir masa, emosi dapat berubah. Tatkala sakit di hati juga ada terasa. Perasaan cemburu apabila melihat suatu gambaran mengubah persepsi kita dalam mempercayai orang yang dicintai. Tetapi dengan kata-katanya yang manis, hati dimenangi juga dengan cepat dan kita pun kembalilah ke pangkuannya.

Walau bagaimanapun, cinta yang suatu ketika dahulu pernah dirasai mungkinlah bukan cinta kita yang dijodohi Allah S.W.T. Di hari-hari yang akan datang, kita akan menemui jua jejaka yang akan menerima kita sebagai isteri dalam tangannya. Cinta yang dahulu dirasai boleh menghantui kita dalam jangka masa kita ingin mengubatinya. Mainan fikiran yang sengaja membuatkan diri ini berasa hilang boleh membuatkan kita mengingati semula cinta nostalgia itu iaitu cinta yang
suatu dahulu pernah berlaku, tetapi tidak lagi.

Dengan itu, kita seharusnya kuat menghadapi kepedihan cinta ini kerana sewaktu kita merasainya, kita kuat berpegang padanya. Adalah masa buat kita untuk meluru ke hadapan dan mencari yang lain tetapi kali ini, langkah pertama yang harus kita bertindak ialah untuk berjaga-jaga dan tidaklah terburu-buru dalam memberikan seseorang itu cinta kita yang sebenarnya sangatlah istimewa kerana ia merupakan anugerah Allah S.W.T dalam kita memberikannya kepada jodoh kita yang ditetapkan sejak azali lagi.

Manusia senang sahaja jatuh hati kepada mana-mana insan yang lain tetapi setelah hati dipatahkan, jalan kembali adalah sukar dan kita merasai bahawa kepercayaan kepada seseorang telah lenyap begitu sahaja. Namun begitu, pengajaran yang kita dapati daripada cinta yang pertama dapat memberi kita lebih pengetahuan dalam fasal-fasal cinta ini. Kita menjadi lebih berpengetahuan dan dalam hari-hari yang akan datang, kita akan faham erti cinta yang sebenarnya. Ingatlah, cinta bukan sekadar ungkapan.

Gossip Girl Fever

I have been cooped up all morning in bed watching Gossip Girl. Now how awesome is that? :D

The thing that sucks right now is that, I just had to stop on episode 12 because I found out dear sis didn't download the whole episode of season 3. Bummer.

Oh My God, I don't know why but Chuck Bass is just so yummy. Yummy for Blair Waldorf, that is. They are meant to be together, I swear! It's more than just Romeo and Juliet, okay? Actually, I reckon they're even better than any other love couples out there whether it's from the tale of classics to Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt. :P

And I have a new crush for Nate Archibald. Damn it, his piercing blue eyes just can't seem to stop sparkle each time he's in love. I don't know about his love life but Serena is just definitely not it. She's not the girl for dear ol' Nate. Dan Humphrey is for you, Serena. But just imagine, having a boyfriend who is your stepbrother doesn't beat out the extremely gargantuan, bold word of incest. Now people must be thinking , 'but they're not exactly siblings by blood' but, they seem like one now with Rufus and Lily together as an official marriage couple. Don't you think so?

So, Nate should just .. well I don't really know but sometimes I wished he and Blair would be together someday. But somehow, that doesn't seem to work out because Chuck is the perfect guy for Blair. So I guess Nate should just stick with lil' J. That would be thrilling because as far as I remember, the first kiss that they shared together was smoking h-o-t ! Ahh, Nate Archibald is such a good kisser! *drools

About what I conclude earlier back in the previous paragraph, maybe Dan should just stick to being with Vanessa? I don't really know because I'm still on episode 13 of season 3 and maybe there are some gossips that I haven't quite know yet. Maybe Vanessa might turn out the bad girl or Dan finally lets Olivia back into his life? I don't know. It's all so complicated with the director turning here and there in the direction of the storyline. It's getting really confusing. But Chuck and Blair must stay the same, okay Mr. Director? :)

Before I start blabbing over and over -- OH WAIT ! There's another character who appeared at the beginning of season 3 and I can't help but to notice because he is one cute tanned guy ! He is Scott, Lily & Rufus's real son. I hope he appears more in the upcoming season ! Teehee. :D

Basically, I just can't wait to find out the ending of the story. I heard there's one more season coming up-- Season 5? So yeah, will be waiting for that. But before that, I'm gonna have to take care of season 3 first and then 4. :)


p/s : there's this episode where all the girl characters wore a barrette & I can't help but crave for a red or purple one.

p/p/s : I just read the spoilers for the last episode of season 3. I am shocked! Blair and Chuck. :( Ugh, little J should just get out of the picture. -.-

your truly,
helinna