MARCH 9
SOUL BREAK!
I started my morning out with a good breakfast,
stretching, and mental preparation. For all the good that did. At around 10:45
I went to Nagoya Station to meet with Yusei at 11am. My nerves were calm until
literally the clock struck 11am. Then all the nerves hit me like a brick. There
was also some miscommunication between Yusei and I; we planned to meet at the
Silver Clock, but for some reason he was waiting just outside the station,
probably no more than a twenty-feet from me. Once we sorted that out, we headed
to Pineapple Studios.
The studio was already full of people when we arrived,
so there was little room to warm-up and practice. I greeted other members from
BPM, shyly admitting to the fact that I was going to participate in the battle
today. Our new co-captain assured me that I would be fine since I was always
practicing, but his kind words did little to settle my nerves.
Other things that I had been oblivious to also came to
light once the battles started. Yusei and I were the third battle in Group B. As
we watched the first battle, I finally internalized the meaning of a 2-move
battle. Each member of the team would dance twice… twice! I only planned for
one move, and even that was iffy. The level of this competition was also
ridiculously high because the teams were competing to battle against BBOY
Taisuke. There’s nothing like trying to debut in a place that you don’t belong.
Our turn came quickly. Yusei and I stepped into the
circle to face our opponents; I heard encouraging cheers from the BPM members,
but I couldn’t feel them. I was too busy trying to face the situation before
me. I was resolved; listen to the music, don’t stop, don’t give up. It was a
strong mantra, but once the music started, all rational thought went out the
window.
Time seemed to pass slowly, but I jumped in first.
Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but during the move I kept slipping on the
floor, and there was just no strength in my arms. It felt like I was just
messily rolling about the floor. Then of course, our opponents with the 80s
mullets, were quite good. Three more moves passed before I had the chance to
mentally come back to the present. It was my move again. I looked at the judge
for confirmation, and he gestured for me to start. If the first move was
passable, I don’t know what to call the second move. It was mostly the same,
since I had nothing else prepared. However, it felt more emotionally taxing,
and even though I hadn’t really expected to win the ‘we already lost’ feeling
was apparent.
After our defeat, I quietly floated around the room
for a while. My brain kept replaying the battle in my head. Eventually, I went
outside to take a walk and clear my head. The walk helped. Without deciding
whether it went well or not, the fact was that I tried. Part of me wished I
could try again, just undo and reattempt the battle with a different
perspective. With that personal assurance I headed back to the Studio. The
number of people in the studio had increased as the time for BBOY Taisuke’s
battle was coming closer. Mark had also come for the same reason.
I had no interest, so I spent a lot of my time
wandering around and people watching. Dancing may not be my strong point yet,
but making new friends and simply talking to people seems to be. I made a few
new acquaintances and enjoyed the rest of the event after all. Just like last
time, we headed to Ken’s house afterward for a post-battle hang out. Yusei just
got his license, but Zawarun let him drive his stick-shift car to Ken’s place.
It started off a bit rocky, but he picked up on it quickly.
During the drive we happened to pass a Burger King
near Tsurumai! I had never ever seen one in Japan before, so I assumed there
wasn’t any. I’ll have to try to find it again one day.
We hung out, ate sushi, and played cards for a couple
hours before I had to catch the subway home. It was around 11pm or so when I
arrived back at Nakamura Kuyakusho Station, but rather than going straight home
I went for another walk. That’s one of the nice things about my neighborhood; I
can just take a walk at 11pm without any problems. It was very peaceful, and
with today done I’m ready to move to the next level.
MARCH 10
I cut my hair this morning. I think I over did it, but
thankfully I was using thinning sheers, so it was a gradual mistake. Mostly the
bangs are too short I think. Oh well, it will grow back.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to hang out with Akane. Today, we hung out in Anjo and went bowling, and then Jon won these from the arcade. It is Okazaemon, the mascot of Okazaki City.
After all that fun and excitement, I wasn’t too happy
about the fact that it was snowing again. There was even a rumor that it might
stop the trains from running! All the more reason winter should end. Things
seem to still be pretty unfortunate back home— lots of snow, low temperatures,
an unrelenting winter. Despite those rumors, the trains proceeded with no
problems, and after bowling we met with Jessica and Zi for curry. I can’t
believe Jessica’s leaving at the end of the month! We’ve barely had any chances
to hang out. Hopefully, we can get one more hang out in before she’s gone, too.
MARCH 11
The soreness lingers on. It’s bearable throughout the
day, but it’s starting to get hard to sleep. I’m not even sure what the best
approach to relieving it is. I’ve tried taking hot showers, simply relaxing,
and stretching it out, but nothing relieves it. For now, I’m just going to go
on with my life and keep going to practice.
Speaking of which, the seniors have finally finished
coming up with the choreography for their showcase tomorrow. I wish I could go,
but I have training down in Gamagori. I probably watched their final practice a
dozen times over, and I’m still just in awe of their teamwork and skill level.
We’re having a send-off party for them in a couple weeks… say it isn’t so!
MARCH 12
I really don’t want to go to the doctor, but last
night I could barely sleep at all because of the strain in my back. I naturally
rotate around when I’m sleeping, so getting stuck in one position contrarily upsets
my sleep cycle. I also prefer to sleep on my side, but that’s when I feel the
strain the most. Oddly enough there is a chiropractor on my way home from
school, and I’ve also looked up what sort of doctors are in the area, just in
case. But, I really don’t want to go. I just don’t like going to a doctor,
period.
In other news, I have committed myself to going to see
a HUGE dance event in Tokyo next month: Dance@LIVE. It’s the finals off the
competition that have been going on all year long. Remember, I went to watch
Dance@RIZE back in September to cheer on BPM? It’s the same competition. I
don’t know if anyone from BPM is going, but my friend and I are going to go for
the weekend and check it out!
MARCH 13
Dance practice Thursdays! All day from 2pm to 9pm,
just trying to improve somehow.
MARCH 14
Today, March 14th, is White Day! It’s the “answer” day
to Valentine’s Day, so in this case the men give something back to the women.
And, nothing special happened to me whatsoever. Not even some return chocolate
from the random people I gave chocolate, too. Of course, I didn’t see anyone
today except for the people down in Gamagori. That may not be a bad thing since
many of the White Day gifts are white chocolate (not a big fan) or
marshmallows, which probably have gelatin so I can’t eat them.
MARCH 15
I had another
day of training down in Gamagori. Recently, I have been helping out with the
Eiken classes a lot. Part of the reason is because I can quickly understand the
answers, without the need of the answer book. Another reason might be because a
few of the upper level students have lived abroad, or somehow are at a high
level of English recognition, so I can even explain the definition of words to
them in English. I try not to use Japanese, but sometimes I catch myself
slipping into Japanese because certain things are just easier to say that way.
The only problem with working with high-level students is that it’s hard to see
if they are progressing when most of the studying is dedicated to learning new words,
out of the two-thousand or so that are part of their current level. I have this
same problem studying by myself; there are just so many words. If I study, I
can remember them, but continuing to study is the challenge. I’m thinking about
taking the N2, the second highest level, in the Japanese Proficiency test, in
July.
No comments:
Post a Comment