EVACOMICS BLOG

My students admired me to have a chance to study in Japan and I used to have this dream of coming here to pursue an education in comics and animation. But after actually attending the Japanese language school here, I now know that dream and reality is totally different. －為何不該來日本修美術設計－ 我的學生之前都很羨慕我有機會來日本唸書。我從青少年時代也很嚮往來日唸動漫的課程。不過在這裡上完一年的日語課程以後，發現夢想和現實是完全不同的。 （中文版在下）

Passing JLPT level 1 was not difficult. Passing my MBA entrance examination was also not a problem. But renting an ideal apartment in Japan, which fits your budget and requirements is a huge big problem, especially if you're a gaijin (foreigner)! 日語能力考試一級合格並不困難。MBA入學考試也沒問題。但是要在日本租到合適，又在預算之內的理想房子，卻是一件非常非常大的問題！特別是對於外國人簡直是困難$$$重重。 Everything here costs money, money, and more money$$$

Finally after 8 years since my last failed attempt to pass level 1, I managed to pass it without much problem :P It seems that as long as you don't get any grade C in any of the sections, plus your score is above 100/180, you'll get to pass! This makes the percentage passing score at just 55.5%, compared with the previous old 60% benchmark. Sayonara JLPT1! 沒想到我一級不合格的8年後，居然可以通過新格式的一級合格！原來只要不要在任何項目拿到C級，再加上總分在100/180以上的話，就能過關！所以新合格率只需55.5%，比以前的60%來得輕鬆。再見啦一級！

Tokyo today was freezing cold as it snowed for the whole day for the first time this year. I was gazing outside my window to rest my eyes and admire the snow (because there's no where else interesting to look at in my tiny 9sqm room), when I spotted these 2 cute parrot lovebirds on the tree in front of my veranda. Aww, I thought, one pair. Were they hiding out from the snow? But the withered tree provided no shelter... or were they dating? 今天東京第一次下了整天的白雪。我為了讓眼睛休息，眺望了一下窗外的雪景。突然看見2隻可愛的愛情鳥在陽台前的大樹上休息。我心想是不是在避雪啊？但是枯樹沒什麼用啊。還是它們在拍拖？ Then I got my shocking answer: 然後我得到了驚人的答案：

First day of Chinese New Year at Yokohama Chinatown wasn't as crowded as I'd thought. The area was brightly lit with chinois decorations and dotted with restaurants offering buffet. 橫濱的唐人街在新年的初一時並沒想像中的那麼擁擠。到處都有濃濃的中華燈飾，街邊也有很多吃到飽的餐廳。

I was quite surprised that Confucius is rather popular in Japan. 我很意外孔子竟然在日本如此受歡迎。