Hello there.
Hello there, welcome to my blog!
The name's Tessa. I see this blog as a platform for me to express and chronicle my pursuits of my multiple interests.
I love to study languages. Having grown up in Singapore I had the opportunity to study both English and Chinese in school, but my everyday language is Singlish (a hybrid language testament to the country's varied racial population). I began studying Japanese a few years ago and have been enjoying it very much. An unexpected, almost impulse decision to study for half a year in Korea led me to study the Korean language too, and I have since fallen in love with it. I am working towards achieving high levels of proficiency in these 4, and will try my hand at European languages some day. In this blog I write a fair bit about my journey studying these languages, especially about the rigours of learning via translating.
Travelling is another of my passions. As a child I was blessed to visit a couple of places on my parents' dime and decisions, mostly in America and Australia but the best of which is still New Caledonia. My first entirely self-funded trip was to Japan in June 2010 with my sister and I have been poisoned by the travel bug ever since. The past 2 years have been marked by rather extensive travel in Japan and Korea, which I chronicle in much detail. My experience in Japan though, is possible only through the graciousness of my dear sister who lets me stay for free at her apartment. As such, I try to show a slice of everyday life in a non-touristy area of Japan through my blog too. I am grateful but far from finished with my travels in Japan and Korea, and hope to visit more of those countries and explore more of the world, especially Europe in the near future.
Some of the things I indulge in as I travel are cosmetics and fashion, and food. I am quite the makeup junkie and have always been fascinated by the wondrous effects well applied face paint can mete out. I have a preference for Japanese and Korean drug store cosmetics, but dabble in the occasional counter brands from time to time. Recently I have been splurging on skincare too. The cosmetics section of my blog has grown exponentially over the past year or so, and I hope to expand it even further. I love to dress up too and my frequent trips to Japan have triggered in me a love for lolita and punk brands. In complete opposition to my love for cosmetics and fashion is my passion for food. I believe that eating is an art, and have an adventurous palette to boot. I write a fair bit about my eating adventures, especially the theme cafes I visit in Japan.
I enjoy music in all forms; creating it, performing it and listening to it. I had the advantage of studying the piano, cello and classical singing, and thoroughly enjoyed my experience playing in string orchestras and singing in choirs throughout my schooling years. My father and sister exposed me to the likes of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith at a young age, but it was only in recent years that my interest in Rock and Metal developed.I now eagerly anticipate Yevgeny Kissin's Chopin performance as much as I love headbanging in the front row to Galneryus.
On that note, I see my preference Jrock as a conflation of the aforementioned interests (maybe not food). I love to participate in the Jrock communities on livejournal though sadly, most of them are not as active as they were a few years back. I have contributed to the communites with translations and reports too. Here is a summary:
Guitar Glare School June 2010 Issue -Leda Feature Translation
Fool's Mate August 2010 -Deluhi 'The Farthest' Feature - Translation
Translation: DELUHI Yahoo Japan Gaboo! Special
Fool's Mate Issue 6 June 2011 Leda's Last Interview Part 1
Fool's Mate June 2011 Leda's "Last Interview" Translation Part 2
Translation of Aggy's Blog Entry
Translation for Sujk's Blog Entry 12th August - DELUHI
Translation for Leda's Blog Entry - 11.8.7
Translation: Fool's Mate October 2011 Juri's Words
Translation: Rock and Read 36 - Leda
Translation: Kyan Yutaka Rock and Read 38 Interview - Part 1
Rock and Read 38 Kyan Yutaka Interview Part 2
Rock and Read 38 Kyan Yutaka Interview Part 3
Translation: Fool's Mate April 2012 - Ruiza
Rock and Read 038 Hiroto Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Rock and Read 043 Nao Part 1
Thank you for reading my long introduction!
Feel free to add me if we share any common interests!