Kobe

.. is very different from Tokyo.

For one, it is colder here than in Tokyo! I regret not bringing along the very long down jacket I borrowed from E. Was afraid to exceed the weight limit. :(

Everything seems more calm and peaceful here. No one seems to be walking at lightning speed with the ‘I am in a rush I am in a rush I am in a rush’ mentality, no crowds, no traffic jams.
It’s nice.

For the first time in my life, I saw snow.
Very light snowing, but hey, that’s still the first snow in my life. Haha. Though the setting and surrounding didn’t seem so right.
In my imagination, I’d be in a cottage, sitting at a table beside the fireplace, looking out of the window, hands on a hot cuppa, and it’d be snowing beautifully.
Haha, 想太多了~

Meals with the Japanese colleagues were surprisingly fun. I thought there’d be some kind of what we call 冷场, but the conversations turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Yesterday I had lunch with a colleague who used to be JB’s subordinate in Japan.
I was really, pleasantly, surprised by how open she was. She looked like the kind and gentle type of Japanese woman (and she’s really beautiful – at least I think so), and so I thought she would be very polite when it comes to talking about JB.
She very honestly said JB was a good manager, but she didn’t like it that he always talked too much. (But of course she said it in such a kind tone that somehow you don’t ‘hear’ the negativity.)
I told her how he’d comment on my skin, my make-up, my look, and she told me he does that to her too. He’d say that she is too tall, or that her frame is too big (which is of course, not true. She looks so tall and slender lor!)
She said that to her, it is a form of harassment. *gasp* Also in her own words, she told me, “Maybe he is very confident about his own style and look. But I don’t see that he’s that good.”
But of course with that kind face. Haha. I must master that way of communication ne.
I said I don’t really know how to respond to JB and she told me, “You don’t have to respond.”
Damn cool eh. Haha.

Dinner tonight was with a colleague who was originally from Korea, and another colleague who was also JB’s subordinate before he came to Singapore. She was so straightforward, she told me she was angry with him for making the insensitive comments. Haha.
Anyway we talked quite a bit. From the colleagues in the Singapore office, to the way we speak English, to the different characteristics of Japanese, Korean and English language.

It’s 9pm Singapore time, and already 10pm in Japan.
Another long day (and cold day) tomorrow. Hmmm.