STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 34

APRIL 20

I slept really well in the hotel’s fluffy bed, so well that I didn’t want to wake up to catch the train, but we had already decided to meet before 11am. I woke up before the others, left my room and headed to the station first. They all arrived at the platform just in time to catch the train with me, which was much better than riding the hour there alone. A lot of the day was spent waiting, on the train, then in line, and then waiting for everyone to gather again.

To my shock, I happened to run into Ami, a member of BPM outside the station. Her crew was actual performing in the showcase event at noon. I knew she was a good dancer, but her crew was amazing. Their hip hop was strong and on point— if I had the time, that’s the kind of crew I would want to be part of.

After her showcase, I wandered around the event watching various performances and battles until it was time for the finals to begin in the main hall. Our group had grown since we arrived, now there was six women aside from myself and my one guy friend. The seating arrangement was actually very interesting because the hall was originally purposed for sumo matches. Rather than having traditional seats, carpeted squares were sectioned off so viewers could really sit back at their own leisure and observe the event.

Each battle was more intense than the last, and there were also incredible showcases before the final rounds. I’m really running out of words to describe the impact that this event had on me. You could feel the music, and the emotion from the performers: this wasn’t any club showcase, this was so much bigger. Simply said, I found my happy place. All the little things that led up to this moment finally have meaning. This was something I was meant to see.

(Unfortunately, capturing any moment on camera during the finals was impossible, due to the lighting and sheer awesomeness.)

APRIL 21

I’m not ready to go back to real life. My friend and I came back from Tokyo this morning. He was exhausted from the past couple days, and it didn’t help that last night when it was all over we still had to take the train and hour back to our hotel. We should have thought that part through a bit more, but I suppose it could have been worse. Since he was so tired I didn’t speak to him much on the way back, thinking he would rest, but he wouldn’t, which made me uncomfortable. I was confused as to whether or not I was supposed to interact with him or not, especially after the confusion from everyone we met. Can’t we just hang out as friends? Why do we have to label everything?

The good news is, I managed to stay under $500 for the whole weekend, and that includes the hotel for $60 dollars a night, and the bullet train, which was the most expensive cost at $200 round trip. I’ll try the night bus next time I head out that way.

It was raining as I started to walk home from the station. Then, when I actually got back to my apartment I had to go back out to the post office to pick up another package from my mom. There was so much candy, too much in fact. I had only asked that she send me some Reeses Pieces, and Starbursts to give to the other students. I ended up with a huge box of all kinds of candy. Looks like I’m going to be making up some Goody Bags.

APRIL 22

Today during our survey class we had to present on something in Nagoya for the new students. I presented on Shirakawa Park because I go there so often. It’s not just for dance though; there are also the huge field grounds, as well as a basketball court, soccer court, tennis courts, skate park and playground. That and it’s also right outside the science museum and nearby Osu. It’s an all-around great place to hang out and make new friends.

That was about the extent of my studies for the day. Once again, it was back to dance practice, but this time with a new drive to dance the way I want to dance. It was mostly hip hop style, if you have to call it anything, but I was focused; I knew what I was doing, and I was excited to think of new things. In fact, I was so wired after a few hours of practice that I had to take long walk just to calm myself down. Yay for midnight walks~

APRIL 23

One more day of Business Japanese down and several to go; I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. My listening scores are improving, and I can follow the professor’s lecture a lot better. We’ve started doing role plays, which aren’t that hard, but we literally have two minutes to look at a prompt and come up with an appropriate skit. That’s a bit hard, not just for me though. The only thing that’s tripping me up still is all the business kanji. If we have to read in class, no matter what, I always have to read something, and usually it has kanji that I am unsure how to read. In that case, the Chinese and Korean students send whispers my way, which I’m grateful for. From now on, I’m going to try and prepare for the kanji by writing down the readings ahead of time. If I can do that, then things should go a lot smoother.

APRIL 24

Another day of dance, only this time it ended in a cypher! I didn’t see it coming, which is probably why I was actually able to participate in it with little resistance. I had simply been in the mood to dance, and during one of those highs I happened across a small group practicing a freestyle dance battle. During my first move, I think I was too jumpy because I literally slipped out of my step and fell down. However, I took that as part of my entrance into the six-step, so they all thought it was on purpose. It was not, but I went with it anyway.

After a while though the songs started to change and become jazzier, in other words, my energy wasn’t so driven by the music anymore. The music that’s playing still makes a huge difference in the way I dance. That’s one reason I don’t want to do a break dance battle; the music doesn’t fuel me the way hip hop does.

APRIL 25

Just bumming around today and watching some movies. I’m sure there is plenty of things I should do, like homework, or work on my manga. But, not today.

APRIL 26

This morning we, the international students, were all invited to a Bar-B-Que down at Odaka Ryokuchi Park, also called Odaka Greens. We rode the Meitetsu train down to the nearest station, Sakyoyama, and walked into the park expecting a direct view of the BBQ location. There was only empty trails leading off into the woods and a large map that put us at the far east of the park itself. We followed the trail along the road, with little guidance towards the BBQ grounds, but we eventually found it at the end of the winding road.

(Frying up the first round of meat at the BBQ pit.)

The BBQ was being thrown by our upperclassmen, some now graduated students, Yohei, Asami, Kaori and others. There was plenty of snacks to eat, and I brought some of the marshmallows that mom sent me in the mail. A few of us started to kick around a soccer ball as we waited for the food to be cooked. The guys were having an interesting time trying to figure out how to light the charcoal, but once they got the first started we were able to snack on some meat. I say snack only because I only had a few pieces before I left for training.

It was only a couple hours into the BBQ, but if I didn’t leave when I did, I would have missed the train completely. Since I needed to go to Gamagori, I had to catch the JR Line, so I couldn’t go back to the station that we had arrived at. That said, when I looked at the GPS on my phone, the station did not look that far away. It seemed as though it was just on the other side of the park, which was maybe a twenty minute walk. Just in case, I left much earlier and started my way towards Odaka Station. It was a lot farther than I thought. From the opposite park entrance I could see the tracks, but not the station itself. The map only showed me that it was north of my location before it froze my phone. On a whim and a prayer I followed the tracks north for another twenty minutes before the station came in sight. I was able to make it just in time for the train, literally with one minute to spare. For once, luck was on my side.