the ring

2004 was full of wonderful memories and surprises for me. i guess you can call it my year. the following are just some of the highlights:

• my cousin treated me to a world of adventure and fun at disneysea in february
• was granted a multiple entry US visa (tourist and business) valid for 10 years in march
• attended a conference in washington with classmates and managed to visit some friends in 3 other states of america in april
• gave myself a very special and expensive birthday present in may
• got myself a 'ga in july and together we explored the kansai region (enjoyed the rides at the universal studios japan in osaka, went sightseeing in kyoto and nara)
• co-owned a car in august
• made a trip to malaysia and singapore with my niece in september
• and most of all - went home for christmas and got myself engaged!

(hey, if you can't stand all this blogging and bragging, back off! this is MY blog).

however, i only got to wear my ring when i came back to japan this january. i never realized wearing this kind of ring is such a big deal here. weeks ago, in one of my school visits to hirokami higashi elementary school, 5 girls asked me in unison during lunch:

kekkon shite imasu ka.

their question caught me off-guard that i just smiled (and besides, my japanese is so bad - i have forgotten everything i've learned especially now that i have stopped taking nihonggo classes). eyeing my 'ga and looking so kilig, one girl proceeded to ask:

dare desu ka (or was it dare to desu ka, am not sure now...).

i wanted to say, 'isn't it obvious, yeah?!', but i opted for a polite answer instead. at this point, another curious girl blurted out:

robu-robu desu ka.

confused, i muttered to myself, 'now what the heck does this mean?'. fortunately for me, my 'ga, who was just nearby, replied to them:

hai, robu-robu desu. romantiku robu (romantic love) desu yo.

thankfully, the girls then directed all their questions to him and left me in peace.

kekkon shite imasu ka.

well, to omoimasu...