This time round, not only are we moving on to the next year, but also, the next decade. On a personal note, summing up the current decade in detail would be near-impossible, but in short; it consist of my teenage years. But personally, summing up the year of 2009 would be a good idea for its significance.

I’d describe 2009 as a year full of changes & new experience. The biggest experience would be my 4 months of cultural exchange programme in Tokyo, Japan. I was attached to Soka University of Japan from late March to early August this year. Spring & Summer, that is.

With that, I was able to live in an international all-girls dormitory. That’s my first time living in a dormitory too. Rules were strict, and we were expected to behave well as juniors in the dormitory. There were only about 60 international students in my dormitory so we all knew one another. Every now & then, we had parties & festivals going on. These special programmes bonded us together like a big family. And I miss this family so much

It was also my first time living in a foreign country for a long period of time, other than Singapore. Luckily, I’m already pretty familiar with the Japanese language. So there wasn’t much of a big language barrier. Food wise, I’m also a fan of Japanese cuisine. Cultural wise, there bound to be differences. Especially when it comes to the way we speak. I’m pretty much a straightforward talker, but it can be considered rude when I present opposite views in a straightforward manner haha.

Like many other students who went for exchange, the experience has caused many changes to myself. It was the first time I felt like I have really grown up into an adult. I’d have to work and take care of myself.

Also, there isn’t much chances in life where we get to meet many people from all over the world at once. Moreover, living with them together. Learning about other cultures, learning to respect them and appreciating their cultures. There’s so much more to life than the usual work cycles back at home.

In late 2008 till early 2009 before I left for Japan, I was occupied with Cosplay Photography. You can view my works here. Visual arts is one of my all-time favorite, and Photography could be labeled as my second love. It was a pleasure to be able to capture many great shots that I’m please with. And I do hope I can find more time for it too, even though it’s not my top priority. For, I’d like to do Photography as a hobby rather than a career. Because of that, I’ve also faced much limitations in the execution process due to insufficient equipments. But again, I’m not so much into technical aspects of Photography. Playing with available resources is good enough

One big change for me, that could be deemed as a small change for others, is my music taste. As a fan of JPOP for over 10 years, I’ve finally & completely moved on to KPOP. Yep, I’m also on Hallyu (Korean wave) now.

My favorite artist is none other than the Brown Eyed Girls. All my friends know that too. I feel that they are really different from most other idol groups as well. To a certain point, I wouldn’t even label them as an idol group. Their average age differs a lot from the others too. Three of them will be turning 29 in 2010, and that is considered kinda big for idol girls in Korea, and even more so in Japan. But age isn’t an issue when it comes to music, you have to agree with this. What I really like about Brown Eyed Girls are their determination to perform, and how their vocals & rap blend well as a group. And what’s even more? They came to my town early this month. Being able to catch their performance live is priceless

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I hope I didn’t miss out anything big in 2009.

For the next year, I can already foresee that it’s gonna run really fast. I hope that I’d be able to pick up at least the basics of Korean language. And I hope I’d be able to enjoy my work, as well as putting more time into doing other stuff that I like too. Kind of vague, isn’t it? Well, plans are good. But I prefer having my life half-scripted – I’d want some good surprises too haha.

Last but not least, Happy New Year!