STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 7

OCTOBER 13

Finally bought my Halloween costume! I went with Tigger, since I love the characters from the Hundred Acre Woods, aka Winnie the Pooh. It was about 4000 yen, but it’s a full suit or one piece rather, with a hood and tail. Juvenile? Maybe. But these kinds of character costumes are fairly common in Japan. They’re fun and easy. So, in one go, my costume was set.

I also bought a black T-shirt with Wile. E Coyote on it. There was English, but unlike many shirts with infamous engrish, it was grammatically correct, and cheap. We also found a Mister Donuts (donuts were on sale!), and in the same building there was a Round 1. Round 1 is one of the famous entertainment chains throughout Japan. It usually has karaoke, bowling, a game center, and then depending on the location, a choice of archery, baseball, tennis, fishing… the list goes on.

I finished off the day with Level 5 curry. It wasn’t spicy. At least, not compared to the Level 4 I ate recently. Maybe it was a different cook today.

OCTOBER 14

By chance, I ran into Kentaro and Yohei in the Mini Stop while on my chocolate run. On the 26th the ESS (English Speaking Society) was going to hold a Halloween-themed party, but they said they couldn’t go to it. We are going to try and plan something around the 31st.

Today, there was also International Cafe! It’s fun to talk to new people, but it gets tiring when you have to keep leading the conversation. I was running out of questions to start conversations amongst the group. Usually it’s one or two international students in a group with four or five Japanese students. Many of them are freshmen, and compared to the upperclassmen we know, very shy. Afterwards, a few of the girls wanted to go take a picture with us in a purikura booth. (That reminds me I still need to take my solo shot for the report!) We ended the day by going to Sushi-Ro for dinner. It was a good day in my book.

OCTOBER 15

Not much happened today, at least nothing incredibly new.

I cut my finger this morning try to cut up the fat end of a carrot. It tried to escape, and used my finger as a shield. It really wasn’t a bad cut, but I did have to buy Band-Aids before I went to class.

During the class period we were set free to start taking surveys. The minimum is 10, but I’m aiming for at least 30 people. Today I managed to finish half of my goal by asking random people in the library.

We ate lunch in the classroom, and then went to the library for a bit. Supposedly, another typhoon was coming, so I left for home a bit earlier to prepare for dance practice. Unfortunately, it was pouring as I left the apartment. Going my bike saved me time, but I was drenched anyway. Despite the rain, people showed up faithfully. Our practice area is shielded a bit from the rain, and there is a roof overhead. The few members of my group who showed up learned the rest of Mai’s choreography with me. Then I came back home in the still pouring rain. No umbrella would have saved me anyway.

OCTOBER 16

Today was far more eventful than I thought it would be. Classes were canceled because of the typhoon, but really it was just windy. Initially, it was just the morning classes, so we went to the library anyway. Then we found out that the afternoon classes were canceled as well. It turned into a free day, but there we were, hanging out in the library.

Kentaro came to campus to work on his thesis, so the group of us talked for a while. It was a little late for lunch, but none of us had eaten yet. We decided to go to Mos Burger. The burgers there were tiny, and any of the “beef” patties were really a mix of beef and pork, so I decided to have the chicken teriyaki burger. We stayed there for some time just chatting, trying to figure out plans for the Halloween party and for that evening.

Joy, Rachael and Totoro went to Round 1. I would have gone, but some of the guys were going to try and play basketball, so I waited for that. Kentaro and I were waiting for Yohei to show up, but as time passed, we could no longer play basketball, and many of the others went to a seminar. However, as it turned out, there was a small dinner party after the seminar which we were indirectly invited to. After Yohei showed up, the three of us headed to the party— we got lost because the place was on some small back street. It was a fancy little place though, and by little I mean there were just enough seats for the three of us. We ended up sitting at different tables, so once again, time to string up a conversation and make new friends.

Coincidentally, one of the two girls I talked to was a member of BPM! I’ll have to keep an eye out for her from now on. The party lasted a couple of hours. Of course I didn’t drink, but I indulged in the snacks that were placed at every table. All of the dishes were small, just enough for each person to have one piece of the set, but there were many different kinds of foods, like shrimp, cheese sticks (actually good, melted and battered cheese!), sushi… When the bill came, I happened to glance at the total. 75000yen: that was about $750 for a party of 20 people. I panicked a little on the inside.

Had the bill been divided evenly, it would have been about 3500 per person. However, the host graciously put in a large sum, and it became 2500 yen per person. Since I didn’t drink any alcohol, I was allowed to pay just 1500.

The night didn’t end there though. It was only 9pm! Eight of us, including Yohei, Kentaro, and the two new girls I met, went to an Irish pub, where one of the girls worked as a part-time job. In my quest to order something new I accidentally ordered Perriere, which is just mineral water, and therefore it was a disappointment. The cheese and crackers (once again, real cheese) made up for it. The others drank and we all talked and shared dessert, and then as it came close to closing we got ready to leave. I had prepared to pay for my portion, but the others would not let me. They said it was because I didn’t “drink”. True, but I ate! And there was the Perriere. No amount of arguing would convince them.

This has happened a couple times now. I can’t understand why other people insist so strongly to pay for everything, and when they don’t insist it’s because they secretly paid ahead of you. It only happens when we go out to eat/drink. One day, I will get the jump on them and pay them back!!

OCTOBER 17

It was a regular day for the most part. Bought fruit for breakfast, ate curry rice for lunch, and got ready for dance. We started later than usual because the upperclassmen, who usually lead the warm-ups, were MIA. Danced, bought some groceries on the way home, and hung out in Joy’s room to avoid working on my presentation for tomorrow. Eventually, she decided she should finish her own presentation, so I came back to my room and worked on my presentation regarding the Japanese confectioneries which complement the traditional Tea Ceremony. We’ll have a chance to experience the ceremony ourselves in a couple weeks. I can’t wait, because I love the sweet potato sweets they make. As long as we don’t have to eat the hard candies, or sugar blocks shaped into seasonal motifs, then I’ll be a happy camper.

OCTOBER 18

I had worked on my presentation until 11pm last night, and then I woke up early this morning to finish it. I was set to be the second to last presenter today, but time ran out! So I’ll be presenting next week, despite all the last minute preparations I did. At least it’s done.

I met Yoshimi again for lunch, and then came home to clean my room. Most of us have a metal frame bed that can be almost folded up. So, that’s what I did, I folded it up to use as a clothes rack, and now I have my futon on the floor. My room feels much more open now.

Later, I met Mark, Jason, Long and Taigen at Mexigan Bar in Sakae. I tried their so-called “vegetable colored nachos” which were delicious. Not the same as corn or flour tortilla chips, but I would definitely order them again. Recently, the five of us have hung out regularly. In my mind we are affectionately called “the cool kids”, as I have no idea where the others are, or why they don’t join us. We just chill out and talk, usually in the library, but sometimes we eat out too, like tonight. The guys ended up drinking too much, so it was interesting walking them back to the apartment at 2am. I was on foot, but they had their bikes. It was mostly slow going, haha. Maybe we shouldn’t have stayed out too late because tomorrow/today we are going to a matsuri (festival) in Toyohashi!

OCTOBER 19

Even though it was a late night, I got up this morning around 8:30am to go play futsal. The field was conveniently located right next to campus, so there was no chance of getting lost. The free play time for our group, which was Kaori, Yohei, Kentaro, me and 11 other guys I didn’t know, was 9-11am. It’s been 5 years since I played indoor soccer, which is the closest experience I have to futsal. I also didn’t have the right shoes, just tennis shoes, but it was so much fun!! I will have better shoes prepared for next time.

As soon as futsal was over I hurried home to shower and meet with the others heading for the Toyohashi matsuri. The actual festival activities didn’t start until about 7pm, but the groups from our university were told to come earlier to wear kimono and practice the festival dances. From the Toyohashi station it was a short walk down memory lane until we reached the International Center (I remembered the location from my visit two years ago). Once we arrived, the girls were dressed in yukatas; mine was a deep blue with yellow and orange butterflies, and light blue lanterns. They guys, who we thought would receive yukatas as well, only received festival masks— we actually received masks too, and we decorated the plastic faces with markers. It felt like an activity prepared for kids, and we also received free bagged lunches with sandwiches and juice. I’m not complaining though. That was awesome.

(International Exchange Students in yukata)

From around 4pm, the dance lessons started. There were three different short dances that we were taught to do while at the festival. Our teachers were a couple of very energetic, and tiny, Japanese women. Originally, I thought we would be performing these dances on a stage, or at least as a group in front of people, so I practiced diligently. Others were not so enthusiastic and watched from the sidelines, taking pictures and occasionally joining in on the dance circle.

Finally, as evening rolled around, it was time to join the festivities. The entire street was blocked off and lined with various groups of people, similar to our International Center group. We had a sign board and everything. We may have been the least organized group, with our formations frequently breaking for pictures, or simply falling out of step. The groups all paraded down the street, and then circled back to their original starting positions, during which we cycled through each of the three dances in order. They whole process took an hour and a half, and I persevered. I danced the whole time, despite the tiredness in my legs from last night’s walk home. I didn’t even notice the tightness of the yukata until we changed back into our normal clothes.

Junko and Marina met us after the festival ended to eat dinner. We went to a small restaurant near the station and enjoyed a meal set called “Autumn Festival”, with pumpkin and other fall delicacies. It took a long time for the food to come out, but it was well worth it. Not only that, but it felt good to just sit down. I was so tired that when we got on the train to go home I rode half of the way with my earphones in and no music playing. I literally forgot to start the music.

Tonight was the first night I decided to take an actual “bath”. The tub itself was a bit narrow, but I sat down in it and let the water fill up slowly. The only reason I got out was because I was falling asleep, and I preferred to do that in my futon.