Sayounara Dormitory ITO

Dah tengok gambar di atas? Pejamkan mata...tarik nafas dalam2...cuba bayangkan korang menetap berdua di rumah ini selama 4bulan......dapat bayangkan tak? Kalau dah dapat bayangkan, leh la bernafas seperti biasa semula..karang semput pulak tahan nafas lama2. Kalau tak dapat bayangkan, let me help you to visualize it!

(meja study merangkap meja makan)

Basically this is the house (or should I call it a room) where hubby & I stayed together since we arrived in Fukuoka. It is situated at Dormitory Ito, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken. All of the tenants were the students of Kyushu University Ito Campus. The monthly rent is 26000 yen (RM960) excluding internet, water and electricity. Despite it small size, it is still convenient for hubby to go to campus as it took him only 5-10 minutes ride with bicycle.

(sneak view of the bathroom. abaikan brg2 yang berselerak tu)

We were living on the 7th floor. The 2nd floor until the 8th floor was meant only for male tenant while the 9th and 10th floor were specified for the female tenants. There were also a common room (furnished with sofa + TV + dvd player + refrigerator) at every floor. As this dormitory was meant only for singles, there are times when I feel embarrassed to stay here as it seems like I'm the only one who has big belly in this building.

Bila mengadu dengan incik hubby pasal kemaluan perasaan malu yang semakin menebal, incik hubby cakap "nak malu ape?". Sigh...bukannya malu sebab perut besar ni, tapi malu sebab sorang2 je preggy kat bangunan ni. Orang lain semua bujang trang tang tang dan slim je. Lepas tu, tak mengadu dah pasal perasaan malu ni. Jadi hari2 bergelar isteri dan bakal ibu di habiskan menghadap laptop je dalam bilik. Keluar dari bilik cuma hari jumaat untuk gi kelas nihon-go dan hujung minggu untuk beli groceries.

Bukan kitorang tak nak pindah tapi dari bulan ke bulan kami memohon untuk mendapatkan "danchi" (rumah kerajaan) tapi agaknya belum rezeki kami berdua, permohonan kami tidak berjaya. Jadi, rancangan untuk berpindah ke ruang yang lebih besar di tangguhkan hari demi hari sehinggalah perut ini semakin memboyot dan membesar bagai juaraaaaaaaaaaaa!

(si boyot dgn teddy frog baring atas katil single)

Entering the 30th weeks of my pregnancy, I was so worried that I might end up giving birth to my baby SN in this small room. I urged hubby to look for a new place to stay and so he went to the housing agent. FYI, to rent a house or even a small apartment in Japan, we have to pay some amount of "shiki-ken"(bond money--> ratus2 ribu yen juga), "reikin" (key money), "tesurgo" (commission for the housing agent) and of course "yachin" (monthly rent). Thus, not only we have to consider about paying the monthly rent if we want to move to a new home, we have to consider also the amount of those payment I've mention above before moving in. There are few apartment that seem to be in our budget but we have to wait for the landlord to confirm about the availability with the house agent.

(senarai pamplet2 dari ejen rumah)

Masa semakin suntuk, perut semakin memboyot, ketegangan melanda di kotak fikiran, minda hampir berserabut dan urat saraf tambah berselirat memikirkan ke mana kaki hendak melangkah (ceehh, poyo giler). Allah Maha Pemurah, seorang tutor di lab incik hubby mencadangkan kami menyewa di International House, Imajuku yang masih dalam pembinaan dan sedia untuk di duduki pada 1hb April nanti. Lebih menarik, kami tidak perlu membayar sebarang wang deposit yang mahal seperti rumah2 lain dan rumah ini sudah di lengkapi perabot seperti tv, katil, air-cond, dapur, peti sejuk dan microwave.

(barang2 untuk di pindahkan..penat wooo)

Insya Allah mulai esok kami akan berpindah ke rumah baru. Walaupun cuma mempunyai 1 bilik dan 1 ruang tamu, tapi kami bersyukur kerana sekurang2nya ada ruang yang lebih luas untuk baby SN berguling2 nanti. Maklumlah, hidup kat Jepun tak sama macam di Malaysia. Living cost sangat tinggi, harga sewa rumah sangat2 mahal malah boleh di katakan lebih mahal berbanding sewaktu aku menuntut di Europe time muda2 dulu(ceh padahal br thn lepas je, koya2 dah tua). Apapun, kami tetap selalu harus bersyukur dengan apa yang kami ada sekarang...kerana sekurang2nya kami berpeluang melalui semua pengalaman ini, semoga pengalaman suka duka susah senang di perantauan menjadi sesuatu yang berguna buat kami di masa hadapan. Syukran.

Bye-bye....adios...tchuss, auf widersehen...sayounara..... Dormitory Ito!

Nota perantau: malam ni tumpang tidur umah Kak Yati dulu (sebab leh stay kat dormitory sampai 31hb je, umah baru pulak leh masuk on 1hb je huhuuh) . Esok pagi2 baru masuk rumah baru. Tiba2 rasa nak nyanyi lagu dendang perantau pulak..isk3x...

Psssttt: mungkin tak akan update blog untuk beberapa hari sebab kena tunggu ada internet connection di rumah baru. Harap maklum.

Santapan di Taman Nishi pada malam hari

I have a packed-scheduled and quite hectic Saturday. Nevertheless, it didn't stopped me and hubby from enjoying our remaining time berdua-duaan before the arrival of baby SN (should be in another 9 weeks time).

Saturday's activity :- Picking up the electrical items that we buy & moved it to Kak Yatie's house --> headed to Nagano clinic for the 30th weeks check-up with Dr Nagano, dietician & midwife (i'll update about the check-up later) --> rushed to Kashii to buy halal meat and Thai rice (tekak ni still tak selera nak makan beras jepun yang sangat glutinous) --> stopped by at Nishi Koen to enjoy Hanami at night!

Okie dokie..wth is Hanami? 'Hana' means flower and 'mi' simply means looking at, thus the word 'Hanami' means looking at flower (apa kejadah takde kerja tengok bunga isk3x). Its not ordinary flower ok, its the famous-amous 'Sakura'!

Sekarang sakura sedang berkembang mekar di merata2 tempat kat Jepun, but it wont last very long sebab tu semua orang sekarang di landa kegilaan bergambar dengan sakura sambil makan2 kat bawah pokok sakura (peringatan: makanan tidak akan menjadi bertambah lazat eventhough makan bawah pokok sakura ataupun makan bawah pokok bunga tahi ayam!).

(abaikan objek 'hantu' kat sebelah kanan gambar nih)

Nishi-koen is the public park to see sakura that is situated at Chuo Ward area in Fukuoka prefecture and about 10-15-min walk from Ohori Koen subway station. There were also few stalls selling foods set up in the park during this Hanami thingy.





As the road was a little bit steep, I almost fell down a couple of time while walking. So, I decided to walk macam membongkok time mendaki, and to walk macam menyandar time menuruni jalan tu.....semakin memboyot la nampak perut daku ni kan...

(mak buyung yg jalan tak stabil)


(berdiri senget sebab jalan ni senget bukan sebab diri ini senget)

The stalls were selling various kind of Japanese foods ( takleh nak tulis la jual apa coz I dont really know the name of the foods), games, mask and etc. Somehow this place has created the 'pasar-malam' feelings in my heart and for a while, I really feels like I'm back in Malaysia.

(main tangkap ikan kot..tak pon bagi makan kat ikan)

(satay Jepun)

(pilih2 nak topeng apa...macam2 ada)

(sila jangan fokus pada incik penjual, tp fokus pada pisang celup coklat berhias)

(mat bunga kat bawah pokok sakura)

(pakcik tu jual sotong bakar, aiskrim pon ada)

But the 'pasar-malam-malaysia' feelings quickly disappeared bila nampak di sekeliling ialah orang jepun yang pakai jaket tebal2 tapi skirt pendek...hairan2x..agaknya badan diorang je sejuk, kaki tak sejuk isk3x.


(sila fokus makcik yg tgh jln kat blkg tu, skirt pendek atas lutut & jaket tebal)


(incik hubby sgt excited nak bergambar dengan pisang celup cekelat)

We bought 'takoyaki' (kuih jepun ada inti sotong yang di masak dalam bekas acuan macam kuih cara). Its really delicious and very2 kenyang. Hubby and I dont have to eat dinner that nite because we were so full after being able to finish all the 8 bijik of takoyaki for the price of 500yen (RM20).

(abg kat belakang incik hubby tu, tengah golek takoyaki)

(close up of the takoyaki)

We sat on the staircase coz we didnt really plan to picnic there for a long time (giler sejuk takkan nak picnic lama2 pulak, hingus beserta mukus hijau dah meleleh2 keluar dari hidung). We have a nice view of the park from the staircase, the Japanese seems to have lots of fun doing nothing than spending time chatting with the loved one. Relaxing and entertaining activity to spend quality time with family, i really like the idea of Hanami!.

(down memory lane of the Nishi park)

After finishing 6 bijik of the takoyaki, we call the day off and headed home with full stomach and luvly memorable experience of our 1st ever Hanami!.

(fokus kat bawah pokok, ramai2 orang dok bersila sambil mengumpat)


(sakura di sebalik cahaya lampu neon)


(sakura at night...sgt2 indah)

~Pregnancy and me (part 8) : 6th month~

This entry is the continuation of the previous entry : ~Pregnancy and me (part 1) : 1st month~, ~Pregnancy and me (part 2) : 2nd month~, ~Pregnancy and me (part 3) : 3rd month~, ~Pregnancy and me (part 4) : 4th month checkup~, ~ Pregnancy and me (part 5) : 4th month symptoms ~, ~Pregnancy and me (part 6): 5th month check up~, ~Pregnancy and me (part 7): 5th month symptoms~

Readers are advised to read those entries before proceeding on reading this entry to alleviate mental sickness symptoms caused by the misunderstanding in the contents & issues discussed in this particular entry

time-frame: February 2009
(23rd - 27th weeks of pregnancy)
end of 2nd trimester

"Apabila seseorang perempuan mengandung janin dalam rahimnya, maka beristighfarlah para malaikat untuknya. Allah mencatatkan baginya setiap hari dengan 1,000 kebajikan dan menghapuskan darinya 1,000 kejahatan".

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DATE: 14th February 2008
VENUE: Nagano Sanfujika (Obstetrics & Gynecology) Clinic, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-ken, Japan

For the 6th month check-up, we went with Ain & A-T-qah. It's not that because one translator is not enough, its just that I wanted to give them some insights on baby & parenting information hik hik hik alasan je.

It doesn't take so much time as always, maybe because there are not so many patients for the Dr to attend to. Usual check-up was perform i.e weight + blood pressure, urine test for sugar + protein, fetal heartbeat, height of fundus, size of uterus and not forgetting checking on the position of uterus (by performing the shameful external palpation techniques as always..sigh).

(my baby on his/her 24th weeks 5days)

When hubby asked Dr the sex of our baby, he was saying that we stand for 70% chances of getting a baby girl. I become so excited (yeay ..boleh beli baju pink ), but still Dr was not sure coz my baby selalu tunjuk punggung je...malu nak tunjuk toot-toot dia...isk3x ...jadi Dr agak2 berdasarkan saiz punggung dia je ekekeke. Baby's weight in 24thweeks 5days was already 622g. As for mommy, I am 53.4kg in weight which mean I accomplished the task given by mid-wife on last month to gain 1.2kg every month.

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6th Month Symptoms

Despite the same usual symptoms that I've experienced for the previous month, listed below are the particular symptoms that I'm having during my 6th month of pregnancy.

(1) Protruding navel
My belly button used to be a perfect 'innie'. Now it's sticking all the way out. As the swelling uterus pushes forward, my belly button pushes forward as well. I just hope that it will revert back to its regular position a few months after delivery....please vanishes together with the stretch mark on my tummy.

(ini bukan gambar aku la, ini contoh dari internet je)
** takkan nak letak gambar pusat bujir aku terjuih pulak, marah incik hubby

(2) Clumsiness
Lately I've been dropping everything that I carry and pick up. That's why hubby will not allowed me to set up the table for dinner. I was allowed to cook only, and once I finished cooking, hubby will prepare the food and carry all the plates and utensils to the table.

Ada sekali tu, lepas bakar ayam tandoori..aku keluarkan pinggan ayam dari oven. Tapi tiba2 pinggan tu terjatuh..tergolek2 sume ayam atas lantai. Nasib baik tak tergolek sampai dalam bilik air je...huhuhu


(3) Trouble sleeping due to backache
Between midnight bathroom runs, a hopped-up metabolism that's keeping the heat on and also the impossibility of getting comfortable due to backache ---> all of these factors is driving me to insomnia condition.

Kadang2 dengki tengok hubby tidur, sengaja merajuk pastu tunjuk perasaan gi tidur atas karpet yang sangat sejuk. Lepas 3minit berdegil....sekali kena marah, naik balik atas katil...esoknya sakit2 seluruh badan..ini lah balasan untuk isteri yang degil huhuhu.

(wajah keletihan sang suami yang tak cukup tidur melayan rajukan isteri boyot)

(4) Sniffing hubby's armpit
Ok, I admit it sounded so gross...but it's the actual fact. I cant sleep until I put my nose right under hubby's armpit + sniffed the smell of his armpit+ and finally placed my head on hubby's arm ----> After doing this 3 procedures only I can go to sleep and sometimes when I woke up in the middle of the night, I'll sniffed hubby's armpit again and again in order to get back to sleep..hahahha..sangat geli kan? tapi takpe lah, sini kan sejuk..bukannya hubby berpeluh pon. bau ketiak pon bau deodoran nivea yang wangi tu je...masyukkkk sangat bau dia.


(5) Bigger belly
If last month, I can still fit into most of my old clothes, but for the 6th month I have to reorder my wardrobe to find out that I can only fit into very few of them. Thus, I go shopping for few clothes that can fit my body expansion (bigger belly and enlarged breast). However, I don't really bought maternity dress (masih tak sedar diri perut dah besar )...instead, I bought Japanese-style-blouse so that I can still wear it after giving birth to my baby.

(me during the 24th weeks)

(6) Mood swings
Though I can already cope with the mood swings, I still sulk some time. I'd say "takder gapo2 lah" when hubby asked me about the reason. As hubby knew me well enough,he wont take that for answer. He'll asked me the reason behind the sulking-thingy that made me cried. The most sulking incident that I can remember during the 6th month was when someone who is quite closed to us saying something about my baby. That person were saying that "kalu dapat baby girl, tok soho la" **
** translation = if you get a baby girl, it was not something to be proud of.

Though that person doesnt mean anything when saying it, I felt really sad. I was carrying this baby all along inside my tummy for 6months, not forgetting I have to bear with all the pains plus some other physical and mental suffers. Thus, it makes me really sad when that person says that...couldnt stop crying for more than 1 hour. bila bangun tidur, mata bengkak sangat2...padan muka, hal kecik cenggitu pon mau nangis beria2.


(7) Crave for 'roti canai'
For the 6th month, I only craved for 'roti canai'. Thus, hubby and I went to Kak Yati's house so that hubby can learn on the menebar technique with Abg Zainuri. Hubby finally make me 10pieces of roti canai to eat...puas hati sangat2 dapat makan walaupun liat sikit.

(proses penghasilan roti canai yang di ngidam sangat tuh)

That was all the best things being in my 'world' during my 6th month pregnancy.

I am writing this entry to make sure that I'll always remember each and every lovely moment that I have encountered during my pregnancy. I hope that one day, whenever I'm pregnant for my next baby( 1st baby pon x keluar lg, dh sibuk2 nak fikir next baby hihiihi)......this experiences that I'm having rite now will remain as a memorable experience in my life.


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