Sunday, June 05, 2005

Haus der Begegnung

Kyoto International Student House or more commonly known as 'Haus der Begegnung (HdB)' is a dormitory where students from different continents and cultures, of different races and colors, different social strata, religions and outlooks live together. It is a 'House of Encounter' as its name 'Haus der Begegnung' indicates. Currently, students from 14 different countries are living together.
40th anniversary (251)
Established on January 10th, 1964, we celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. A former resident of the dormitory, the Iraqi professor was invited to give a talk about Iraq before and after US invasion and the rebuilding of the country.
40th anniversary (153)
A humble celebration of its 40th anniversary. Quite a lot of food and alcohol actually.
164-6418_IMG
Welcome Party is held once in the starting of each semester - both spring and autumn to allow new residents to adapt easily to their new environment. These foods were all prepared by residents including the house parents - very presentable indeed.
164-6420_IMG
Common meals are held on every alternate Fridays. Residents take turns to prepare food, which are either from one's country or any nice food that one is confident of preparing.
100_0004
One of the biggest events of the dorm, the International Food Festival is held annually to promote cultural understanding. Residents organize themselves by country , and prepare a traditional food dish that is representative of their native country. Last year, I took part in preparing roti canai, a form of puffed bread served hot with curry. (From left; unknown, Yuya, Qoo and Yasuyo)
DSCF0136
Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31st. Halloween celebrations tend to be associated with children - trick-or-treating, but it is a good excuse for a party nevertheless.
DSCF0099
There wasn't any fancy dresses, neither was there any spooky make-up. But how about some cute Halloween desserts ?
DSCF0031
What does it take to get some christmas spirit ? Make your tree shine with christmas spirit ! It was quite an ugly tree, probably the ugliest christmas tree decoration I have ever seen.
37910029
Held twice or three times a year, seminar focuses on specific areas. Facilitated by several specialists, last year we enjoyed a perfect introduction to japanese tea ceremony. The tea ceremony (Sado) is a ritual way of preparing and drinking tea. Many Japanese who are interested in their own culture, take tea ceremony lessons with a teacher.
DSCN7287
During the spring and autumn semesters, we organize overnight weekend trips.
IMG_0850
The trip conducted during last year's spring semester was designed to give residents a greater opportunity to experience the skills and outdoor fun of Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture - a canoe trip.
52420108
Quite a nice dormitory - made many friends and a few really good friends. But sometimes too much gossips and occasional backstabbing, which I don't quite like. Above is the garden and neighbourhood scenery viewed from my room during mid-winter.

19 comments:

Lrong Lim said...

'gossips and occasional backstabbing'... package deal loh... part of the 'price' in minggling with people...

Anonymous said...

I went to the garden of Heian Shrine. Anyway, let me know if you can join us on Tues or not. around 7.00pm?

Unknown said...

Irong's right. Its all in the package :)
Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

Agreed....relationships are filled with the pros and cons. Unless you want to be a hermit for the rest of your life...
Ai Ling

Patrick Leong said...

well, men seldom get together to gossip or to bash one of their other friends, do they ? do good friends gossip behind each other backs ? perhaps i am thinking on the negative side, therefore i'd said it backstabbing. i must admit at times i am really no good in keeping friends. just can't make everyone happy.

Anonymous said...

you can't make everyone happy. never. unless you are willing to sacrifice yourself to the extreme which I will never do cause I love myself too much. Selfish? Yeah, if it means that I would live my life being happy rather than miserable. That said, there are some people who are worth the occasional 'putting-up' with the attitude. They are your friends for life. True friendship are those tht stood the test of time, backstabbings, learning to forgive and forget...I guess the whole forgiveness and learning from mistakes is the most important part in a relationship, be it a friendship or love.
Ailing

Anonymous said...

In other words, you are a person who does not like hypocrites! dammit! me too.

charlene.

Acrix said...

The party foods look good! I like the last photo :P

Patrick Leong said...

ailing : i do agree with you. sometimes i feel like i make such a big effort to put up with people (attitude) until i am not myself - sort of lost my own identity.

charlene : well, not that i am perfect. at times i feel i am such a loser and so pathethic. i always try to be forgiving - to myself, and others. but at times, people just take advantage of it. i have to love myself more (like ailing).

acrix : yea, i have a nice scenery from my room. it has been awhile since i checked your blog. back soon. have a good week.

pinkylicious said...

Wah...you know how to make roti canai?? Though i am a girl and have been living in Malaysia since i was born also dont know how to make.

P/s: It feels so good to live at a place where the scenery outside is sooo beautiful. **Envy**

zbjernak said...

wah nice ddorm u have there...
wish mine were as good as yours...
i mean the food...
hahahahahahahha

anyhow... backstabber or bullshitter, they are part of our life's syllabus... one have to go through it... i bet no one can skip this module of our life...

well just go with the flow...

zbjernak said...

err... to promote my picture blog..

www.1pic4all.blogspot.com

all are welcome...comments will be much appreciated

tq

Primrose said...

I laughed at the Christmas tree pic. Oh, how I agree! The ugliest decoration ever. Eee, not nice lah!

Patrick Leong said...

emotionalistic : yea. it was my first time. copied the recipe from kuali online. i was really worried that it might not turn out as a roti canai or if no one wants to buy. but at the end, i sold 50 pieces of roti canai. rm3 per piece.

zbjernak : ok. ok. will check your photoblog from time to time.

primrose : hey. welcome back princess.

snaars said...

Where do all these great photos come from? Do you walk around with a camera all the time?

Even the ugly Christmas tree looks good on your blog!

Reading your blog makes me want to visit.

Patrick Leong said...

snaars : thanks for compliment. i just love photography and traveling as well. japan is a beautiful country. hope you can make a visit here some day.

pinkylicious said...

Wah....RM3 for one?? So expensive.....i mean in Malaysia. So what do the Japanese think about the roti canai?? Do they like it??

Patrick Leong said...

emotionalistic : i think they like it. i made three flavors - roti kosong, roti cheese and roti banana. not bad actually but of course, if i were to sell them in malaysia, probably no one will buy. a little hard and less puffy. i didn't know how to flip the dough as the mamak.

Anonymous said...

I also used to live at HdB about 10 years ago. Even with the backstabbins and all, it was muuuch better to live there and meet interesting people than live alone in your own apartment.

Oh, my memories of HdB, or "Swiss Mission" as we used to call it back then are 99.99% terrific!