Hello Steemians!! ^^
Do you remember my previous post regarding my Japanese friends?
If not, you may check it HERE.
In the previous post, I didn't mention their names nor shared their photo because I didn't ask permission yet. However, in this post I can gladly introduce these two lovely ladies to you. Yes! Permission granted! ^^
From the left, that's Yuri-chan, Aina-chan and me... <3
This photo was taken last October 27, when we were having our dinner in Jollibee, one of the biggest fast food chains in the Philippines. Yuri-chan really loves Jollibee and she missed it a lot, so we decided to eat there. It's Aina-chan's first time in the Philippines, by the way.
So yesterday, October 28, I invited them over to our house. It's Yuri-chan's second time in our house since she was able to visit here three years ago. She's actually close to my parents and our dog, Arashi. ^^
I met them in a certain mall near my area and since they wanted to ride tricycle (a local transportation in the Philippines), I decided give them the chance to do so.
IMAGE SOURCE
Above is an image of Philippine tricycle. I actually took a picture of them with the tricycle and tricycle driver, but I think we used Yuri-chan's phone that time, so I have no copy of it.. ^^
SOUVENIRS OVERLOAD
I received a lot of souvenirs from these lovely ladies. As I've shared before, Aina-chan gave me some Matcha KitKat which I and my father really loves. Cookies and cream Pocky belongs to my mom, 
And as for Yuri-chan, she gave me really cool stuff!
As you can see above, these are stuff I can use to study Japanese. I have always been in love with Japan and of course, part of it is their language. Yuri-chan has always been very supportive of me studying their language. So I'm really grateful for it.
This book actually with a CD, so it's really useful. This gift is a sign for me to become more serious in studying their language. Well, not very "serious" because I'm enjoying it at the same time. ^^
Ohh... There's another cool thing! I've seen this from some of my students in the past and found it really useful and interesting. So, when Yurichan gave me this thing, it made me really happy. ^^
Isn't it cool??? When I covered the page using this red thing, the English translation and explanation as well as the Hiragana and Katakana, everything written in red, disappeared! What's left are the things that I need to translate... and it's in Kanji without the Furigana... <3
Okay.. to give you an overview of the Japanese writing system, here's the thing...
私 (わたし) の 名前 (なまえ) は シェイ です
- KANJI (these are like Chinese characters) - for me, and even for some Japanese, it's the most difficult to write, however, according to one of my Japanese friends, it's really important. It can help people distinguish the meaning of a certain sentence more easily.
- HIRAGANA - is like the original Japanese writing. I heard books for kids are usually just written in Hiragana... (I want to read!! haha)
- KATAKANA - is usually used to write foreign words.
- FURIGANA - is Hiragana written near a Kanji, to help you read it more easily.
- ROMAJI - using the English alphabet to spell out Japanese words.
So, in the sentence I wrote above, I made use of all the Japanese writing system. ^^ I hope I was able to impart this stuff correctly... hihi... For my Japanese friends here, feel free to correct me, or add some inputs on the comment box below... ^^ Thanks...
Here is another gift. I have never tried ORIGAMI, so I was really grateful for this. Actually, when we were having our "bonding" in my room, we were just having some "GIRL TALK" while doing some Origami... Yuri-chan is a really strict teacher! hahahaha xDD That's why, it was a bit scary.. lol.. xD
Folding the paper for this was both complicated and fun, but connecting this was a bit troublesome. However, I'm really happy to complete it. They challenged me to complete this piece by myself, so I'm really happy when I succeeded! <3 Aina-chan made that cute strawberry bellow.. hihi ^^
I forgot the name of this piece, but folding was easier than the first one. Yuri-chan completed this piece, though. ^^
I will forever treasure these Origami pieces... <3
GIRL TALK
Aside from Origami and food, the highlight of yesterday's fun bonding was the girl talk. We talked about our future plans, boys, experiences, etc. It's amazing how we could really enjoy talking with each other despite the language barrier. They can speak English, but not that well yet. I can speak Japanese, but in a very low level. So, we really tried hard to make each other understand what we want to say. <3
Of course, I also mentioned STEEMIT to them. They were very interested, but still in two minds due to some reasons, language barrier and busy schedule. They're still studying and only had the luxury to travel this time because of vacation time from University. However, they're going to consider making STEEMIT account sometime in the future. ^^ They were also very happy to know that there's a Japanese community in this platform. <3
I also helped them plan out their schedule for today. They actually went to the beach! Yaaaay~!!! ^^ As much as I wanted to join, but my schedule for work has been in jeopardy due to being sick the other week, so I need to catch up with it.
SADDEST PART
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They're leaving the Philippines tomorrow... T_T Of course, it makes me sad but we promised each other to meet again. It's either they come back here, or I visit them in Japan. Being with them was a lot of fun. Not only did we enjoy, but also learned about each other's culture. We even had English, Cebuano and Japanese language session! I really really really love these girls! So, I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the future. <3
This pretty much sums up my experience with these lovely Japanese friends. I hope you all enjoyed my story as well. ^^
ゆりちゃんとあいなちゃん、本当にありがとうございました！また会いましょうね～！とても、大好きです！！！ Have a safe flight tomorrow!!!! <3 <3 <3
