I was supposed to prepare for the speeches final exam next week. We've been giving impromptu (!!!) speeches in Business Japanese class every week, and the teacher will make us draw 1 topic out of 6 that we had talked before in the final exam. As a result, we'll have to prepare 6 speeches, because we won't know which topic we'll get to talk about! I did start writing one speech, but then thought I wanted to write on my blog instead...
I was hanging out with Meijo university students that came to our university for some cultural exchange for a bit on Friday and Saturday. They came together in quite a big group, 16 students in total plus 2 teachers. This trip is supposed to be Thailand study tour for them, though I doubt they got to "study" anything, probably mainly just sightseeing. After my friends and I had been some sort of "tour guides" for them, it made me realize that I can't be a real tour guide. It's just sooo annoying to wait for people to gather in a big group. A big group of people is always too slow! And it's so hard to decide on something because everyone wants to do their own things.
I feel that this group of Japanese students is a bit different from my Japanese friends in Nagoya university. For most people in this group, it's their first time in Thailand, or for some, their first time abroad! I got to talk to one Japanese guy who said he's never been abroad before and he said he felt a bit shocked that he can't communicate to anyone at all, because he can't speak English, and Thais don't speak Japanese. I think they are really the "typical Japanese", unlike my friends in Nagoya who at least have some interest in foreigners and have been abroad (many times!) before. This group of Japanese students is so naive and so...well, Japanese! After I kept hearing the girls exclaiming "cute!!!!!!!!!" （かわいいいいいい）"awesome!!!!!!!!"（すごいいいいいいいい）etc. about everything in their high-pitched voice for 2 days, I thought it was a bit exhausting in the end. I told Neven, my boyfriend, later and he said "you just want to ask them to be normal and stop being Japanese, right?" and I guess that's it.
I also witnessed the tourist scams around temple of the Emerald Buddha and the grand palace AGAIN. There was this one guy who had a huge snake around his neck and just walk to the Japanese guy in our group and put the snake on his neck. Then he asked him for the camera and took his picture, then asked for 360 Baht! Shit, that was way too expensive. When I tried to argue that it was too expensive, the guy just said it was only 1000 Yen and he said this in Japanese. The thing is the Japanese dude should have yelled or at least said no if he didn't want that, instead of being silent! But I guess he was being confused by the whole thing. Or maybe he wanted to be taken a picture with the snake, I'm not sure. My friend said some street vendors next to that guy told her later that he does this with all Japanese and Korean tourists. Guess they are easier to "attack" I suppose if he did this to Westerners, they would probably punch him in the face.
It's so weird to go to touristy places with my foreign friends and experience this kind of stuff, because those Tuk-tuk, taxi drivers, and street vendors would never do that to a Thai person. Never have I known there are these many tourist scams in Bangkok. It really is disgusting, and I feel ashamed of it.
Anyway, I think the Japanese students had a really great time. I didn't stay until the end, but I heard from my friends that many of the Japanese girls cried when they said good-bye. Some of my Thai friends even cried with them. Wow, guess they must have had a lot of fun together. For me it was too short to be that emotional, saying hello then good-bye the next day. It was nice to meet them, though I think unlikely we'll see each other again in the future.
Neven and I did talk about my plan to go to Europe in October last night. Can you believe that I'll have to book a visa appointment for FOUR weeks in advance with the German embassy? Isn't it ridiculous!? And yes, I as a Thai nationality need to apply for a Schengen visa to enter EU countries, even though it is just a short stay. SUCH A PAIN. Anyway, like I said, he'll be working full time, and I really don't want to go there if he is busy. I probably could go traveling to other places on my own, but I'm not really a big fan of traveling alone. Maybe I could do it, or I could meet up with some of my German friends and/or European friends, I really don't know. But to be honest I'd want to spend time with him as much as I could if I went to Europe...
But the thing is, going to Europe is really expensive, and I want to make it worth so I thought I'd love to travel a bit too, even to other countries near Germany. But I don't think he'll have enough time for that, maybe only a weekend trip to Berlin or Hamburg because it's not that far from where he lives but that's it...We said we'll wait until he starts working next week and he'll probably can tell if he has time or not. In the meantime I'll call to make an appointment with the embassy in advance because it takes so long just to apply a visa. Not to mention that I'll have to prepare for documents like Schengen visa application form, bank statement, reservation of plane ticket (no kidding. UK visa didn't ask for this), travel insurance (UK visa didn't ask for this either), invitation letter from a German person and his copy of passport (because I'll apply for a visitor visa. if it's a tourist visa, you need to show the hotel reservation. complicated much!?) ETC, ETC. Arrgggh. If I make an appointment but I don't end up going I can always cancel it. He said the best time for me to come would be the beginning-mid October before his semester starts. But when he starts school and works 20 hours a week according to the contract he's pretty sure he won't have time until MARCH, end of the semester, and I'll have started working by then...
Right...This is one of the reason I tweeted the other day that we could move Cambodia to somewhere else and replace it with Germany! I told him we should meet halfway, he checked the map, and that place is like either Iran or Uzbekistan.
You know what, sometimes I think it'd be more sensible if we stopped trying, though I know I don't want that, and I'll be really upset if it ends...now I get to talk to him much less than when he was in Japan because of the time differences. Everything makes it hard, but I guess I should listen to my feelings, and I know that I don't want to give up now.
I wrote too much today! Well I should go to bed soon. Class starts at 9 tomorrow. Monday comes again, way too fast. And it's the last week of August already!
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