EVACOMICS BLOG

If you think that girls keep their places clean and tidy all the time, you are wrong! In fact in our international dormitory , kitchens and wash basins at the girls' floor are even more dirty than the guys'. Besides lacking in hygiene, some lack common sense as well. Eggs, curry, mushrooms, vegetables, rice, seeds, and even plastic wrappers are some typical recipe to our dirty sink mixed dish. Even the filter inside the kitchen sink was never emptied by the culprits themselves, causing the sink to be clogged all the time. 假如你認為女生都一定保持場所乾淨又整潔的話，你就大錯特錯了！特別是在我們的 國際宿舍 裡，女生的廚房和洗面所竟然比男生的髒！有些女生除了沒有清潔意識之外，還缺乏基本常識。倒入水盆裡的雜物包括煎蛋，咖哩，香菇，菜，飯，種子，甚至連塑膠包裝都不放過！水盆裡的過濾網也都完全沒清理，導致水盆常常堵塞。

Well old friends and readers will know that I'd now "fallen from grace". From a rich lady with credit cards in hand, flashy branded handbags and always attending fashion shows, to a poor scholar living in a tiny dorm in Tokyo eating cup ramen (well, actually it's sushi). 讀過以前貴婦系列的讀者就知道我以前是一手拿信用卡，一手握名牌包，常去看時裝秀的貴婦啦。但是現在已經淪落到一名住在東京破宿舍，吃著杯拉麵的窮學生（其實我是吃壽司的）。 So here's my tips to save some money in Tokyo: 所以這是我在東京省錢的一些小祕方和大家分享： 1. If you need to buy books, either purchase used books from stores like Bookoff , or purchase a  Tosho card from a discounted tickets store . Use the discounted Tosho card to pay for all your books which are new, at those big bookstores. 假如需要買書，就去 Bookoff 買二手，或到 折扣票店買折扣的圖書卡 。買新書就用那張圖書卡買。 2. Even better, just stand in the bookstore and finish your book. I saved money for 2 magazines this way! 更好的方法：站在書店內看完書。我因此省下2份雜誌的錢！ 3. For girls, if you want to satisfy your craving for shopping, you can buy those magazines with freebies. Many magaz

After sticking around for 6 months, aliens in Japan are allowed to open a bank account besides Japan Post Bank to access more banking services including online banking. However here's the catch, if you arrive as a group of 7 foreigners, the folks at Mitsubishi UFJ will try to split you up and have a few people apply for the account themselves at isolated "TV rooms". 過了6個月，在日居留的外國人可以申請任何銀行的戶頭來進行網上交易。可是當我們7個外國人到了三菱UFJ銀行時，工作人員竟然要我們幾個分開去“電視房”來自己申請戶頭。 I was persuaded to enter into a "TV room" which was an isolated cubicle with a computer kiosk which could perform webcam functions with a personnel stationed remotely. I talked with her using the attached phone receiver and she'd bow, stay bowed, until the webcam screen went off each time. This marvelous piece of high-tech equipment combined with first-class service was supposed to speed up the application and reduce workload for the bankers. However, they forgot that I am a bloody foreigner with limited Japan

One thing to enjoy in Japan besides food and scenery is shopping. Especially if you're on a tight budget like me, buying Japanese magazines with freebies will actually satisfy any shopaholic's craving. They usually cost cheap like 700-1500 yen, and come with branded freebies, usually a collaboration between the magazine and the design house. Because of this, the "freebies" are usually well-designed and don't look like those cheapos in Singapore. 在日本，除了享受美食和美景，就是逛街了。假如妳像我一樣沒什麼錢的話，購買附有贈品的雜誌（稱：付錄）將滿足任何購物狂的慾望。而且一本雜誌的售價約700-1500yen之間，相當便宜。因為贈品是雜誌和品牌公司一起合作的，所以設計方面都蠻好看，不像一般在新加坡找到的那種便宜貨。

Finally Fall is here as the weather gets cooler and cooler. Eating mackerels is a Japanese customs or habit to welcome the new season. This also marks the end of our simmering hot days! 秋季終於來了！ 吃秋刀魚是日本人歡迎新季節的習慣，也代表炎熱夏天的結束！

Discount ticket shops are shops where people sell their unwanted tickets, cards and vouchers, and where people can buy them at a discount of up to 5% off the original price. The shops are always located around major train stations with a shinkansen stop. In Shinjuku, there are many outside the West gate and I find that the furthest one provides the best savings, although negligible to most people. 折扣票店賣的是比市價便宜5%的各類門票，車票，讀書卡，電話卡，購物券等。因為這些都是那些不需要它們的人賣出去的，所以大家可放心購買，都沒問題的。店鋪通常都位於有新幹線的主要電車站附近。在新宿西口也有不少，越遠的會賣得越便宜。 These shops sell anything from concert and baseball match tickets, shinkansen tickets, rail passes, department store vouchers, to telephone and Tosho cards. 任何演奏票，演唱會入門票，賽票，新幹線車票，電車票，購物券，電話卡或圖書卡都能在這些店買到。

In Japan, oranges and apples are the major domestic fruits but the sales for them has been declining. Replacing them in the fruits sales chart is bananas from South-east Asia. I'm not a big fan of bananas, but if you want a convenient fruit to eat when you're lazy to wash hands or grab a knife, bananas are your best choice. 日本的土產水果主要是橙和蘋果。可惜的是他們的本土銷售額年年下跌，取代榜首的竟然是東南亞的香蕉大王！雖然我對香蕉沒什麼喜愛，但是當你不願洗手或拿刀子時，香蕉的確是很方便的健康水果。 Cherries　櫻桃 The cherries season is usually in the spring season around April. Japanese cherries are smaller and more reddish than the Californian cherries. Oddly, Japanese cherries are more expensive than their Californian counterparts and tasted more sour. For example, one small box of Japanese cherries costs 700yen but the Californian cherries costs 450yen. I'll prefer the Californian cherries anytime.  櫻桃季節通常在四月份的時候。日本櫻桃比加州的還要嬌小和紅潤。雖然日本櫻桃比較貴，但是比較酸-_-。一小盒的日本櫻桃可賣700yen，但是加州的只賣450yen。你說我會買哪兒一個呢...

Due to cost-cutting measures, I decided to walk all the way from my dorm to Shinjuku station to meet my friend. This would save me 130yen instead of taking a train and getting 35mins worth of walking exercise. This is equivalent to a plate of Kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi! And oh, I get to see the Danjiri Matsuri (Japanese: Festival) at the West exit of Shinjuku station as well! 因為要節省開支，所以我決定從宿舍一直走到新宿見朋友。 這讓我省下了130yen的電車費和得到35分鐘的運動，相等于一盤旋轉壽司店的壽司！ 而且在新宿西口巧遇日本的Danjiri祭！

Well for some time, I'd found it rather hard to get into sleep, so I asked the know-all Google on any holy advises. Here are some of its recommendations: Drink milk. Take a hot shower before sleeping. Use the bed only for sleeping. (except for those things which couples would do) Dim the lights to prepare your body for sleeping. Sleep at your regular time, even during weekends. Read a boring book. Do something boring until you're tired enough, then sleep. I don't like to drink milk and don't like to shower late, so I picked tip #6: Read a boring book. Now I know when to study my Japanese! P.S. IT WORKED!!! 有一段時間一直很難入睡，所以請教一下萬能的Google。以下是一些提議： 喝奶。 睡之前洗熱澡。 只有睡覺時才上床，不要躺在床上看電視或唸書。 把燈光調暗，讓身體意識要準備睡覺了。 即使在週末也要按照平時的時間睡覺。 讀一本很無聊的書。 做很無聊的事，直到很累才睡覺。 因為我不喜歡喝奶和晚洗澡，所以我選第6項：讀一本很無聊的書。現在我知道要幾點唸日語了！ P.S. 這方法果然有效！

I passed my Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 2 again!!! This time with higher rate than my just previous passing score of 240/400 taken 9 years ago. Everyone, including the teachers, thought that it was rather easy to pass this year's level 2 examination based on the higher passing rate than previous years. Looking at my results slip, grade B is actually between 34~66%. What this means is even if you failed your grammar, you can still receive a grade B. Strange isn't it? Moreover, they did not reveal the passing mark so no one knew exactly where the line was drawn. It was rumored that if you scored more than 19/60 for example, in Listening Comprehension, you could still pass, provided that the overall score was decent. For those of us who had taken the 5500yen test in Japan, we need to pay an additional 1000yen if we want to receive the A4 size certificate. I'll think about forking out that cash if I pass N1. 我又2級合格了!!! 這次的比率比9年前的240/400還高:P 因為今年獲得合格的學生比往年多，所