Sat. Sept. 6 – Under the bridge

So, I crashed at about 7 a.m. I got a phone call from home pretty early that morning, too. It was really nice to hear from my parents, but I was mad tired.
That night, I ended up hitching a ride from B. He drove me and L. to Aizu Wakamatsu, a picturesque city located about two hours away from my place. It was pouring rain, so it made the drive a little tricky for B.
The all-night, outdoor techno party was being held under a bridge. (Imagine partying under a Queensway underpass. Hobo-chic? I think so.) Our tents were scattered amidst the tall grassy field right underneath it. A DJ booth was set up, with people spinning tunes throughout the evening and following morning. A nearby convenience store was ideal for bathroom breaks, plus buying more drinks and midnight snacks. The store clerk was an old dude with a really bad comb-over, ha.
I remember brushing my teeth, and simply spitting into the field the next day. (I am not an outdoorsy-person, so this was pretty foreign to me). And it was the first time I tried eating a heated breakfast burrito from the combini (convenience store). Mmm… breakfast of champions. And interestingly enough, a herd of Boy Scouts also decided that morning to clean up the area underneath the bridge – they looked a little surprised to see a bunch of people puttering around, too! Stay classy, Japan.

Fri. Sept. 5 – “This is too strenuous” – Sports festival and all-night karaoke

When I was a kid, I remember we had a big bookcase full of encyclopedias and educational children’s books. In one of those books, I was introduced to the Japanese custom of holding sports festivals at school. I don’t quite remember the story, but it was something along the lines of a kid finishing a race after he fell down. I remember the colour illustrations showed a Japanese boy wearing a bright headband.
On Friday, my school held its own sports festival. It kicked off with opening ceremonies, where the students filed into the gym as per usual. This time, they were wearing their school gym uniforms, which include navy blue basketball shorts paired with a navy blue or white t-shirt emblazoned with the school logo. Once again, I had no idea what was going on. It was one of my third-years who motioned me to join the teachers seated on stage, ha.
Each student ties a coloured band around their head, corresponding to their homeroom. It seems like they all compete in at least one sport that day. So, I was able to watch them try their hands at: basketball, volleyball, baseball and soccer!
Sitting on the sidelines, the kids fully cheer on their fellow classmates. They yell things, such as: “Ganbarre!” (Let’s go!) One student was perched on chair, and was enthusiastically cheering on the girls during their volleyball game. He looked over at me, and sighed, “This is too strenuous!!” First of all, where did he learn the word “strenuous”? And could he BE any cuter? I have dubbed him Munchkin #1, because he is one of my favourite pint-sized third-years. He also has a buddy who is also the same size – he shall be Munchkin #2.
I was reminded to wear gym clothes to school, so I opted for my blingin’ Adidas track jacket with the golden sequins. The school gym teacher used his limited English to express his fascination that Adidas is popular in both Japan and Canada, lol. And one of my JTEs said I looked like I stepped out of a magazine, hahaha.
Being different at school does have its perks. Every day, I feel like I get showered in compliments solely due to my inherent uniqueness. The girls often tell me that I’m “kawaii” (cute), or even say, “You look very beautiful today.” And I guess my perfume has drawn some added attention, which could be a good or bad thing. One of the rather macho-looking boys said that I smelled nice. He also asked where I bought it… awkward! The third-year girls even think it’s funny to stop what they’re doing, and smell me.
That night, I went out for coffee with D. We ran into one of our BoE dudes at the same café, which was a little weird. I guess that is what happens when you live in a small “city” of 30,000. He offered to get us pizza, but we politely declined. (He’s the one that I called “cute” by accident.)
I jumped back on the train, hoping to unwind after a long week at work. But I ran into my fellow JET girls from England, who invited me to party with them in Koriyama. I was easily convinced, and stayed on the train. The plan was to stay out all night – the last train back home takes off pretty early. We ended up at a reggae night with other JETs, (Japanese reggae – who knew?). And we gracefully ended the evening with karaoke from about 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Our group of gaijin (foreigners) slowly trudged back to the train station for the first train back. I’m guessing we looked pretty haggard, because we got a lot of stares from the junior high students. (Kids in Japan are, literally, always at school. You can tell, because they need to wear their uniforms to enter the premises. I’m guessing they are studying, doing their club activities or hanging out. But I was quite surprised to see that they even go into school on the weekends! I only started doing that in university, when I’d roll out of bed and sometimes head to the library or use the editing suites.) I also forgot to set aside money for cab fare, so I had to walk home from my train station.

Thurs. Sept. 4 – Nihongo ga wakarimasen (I don’t understand Japanese!!)

My supervisor carefully penned my address in kanji (Chinese characters for me), as I wanted to send off my application for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I will be writing some tests in December, which will measure my Japanese abilities. I’m a little overwhelmed by the test content, seeing as how I currently can’t speak, read nor write in Japanese. Right now, I know how to say some of the important greetings. Oh, and I can order beer and three apples. (Ringo mittsu o kudasai!)
I had my first Thursday evening Japanese classes this evening. Basically, each student is matched up with a tutor. I feel like I’m in the remedial class, because I was graced with the presence of three tutors. (I am definitely the token beginner in my mixed-level class). I am pretty stoked to have some structure in my Japanese studies.

Tues. Sept. 2 – Domo arigatou, Mr. Roboto

Lining up in front of kyoto-sensei’s desk, the speech contest girls said their ritualistic good-byes which were capped off with the greeting “Ittekimasu.” (ie.
I am leaving right now, but I’ll be back). It was merely 7:30 a.m. when we all had to meet in the teacher’s room for this deal.

The girls, my JTE and I then went outside, where kocho-sensei said something meaningful in Japanese; then the girls bowed to him. A big nine-seater taxi van then picked us up. Before we piled into the cab, the students dropped their school bags, and bowed while saying some Japanese greeting. I can’t remember if it was “Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu” or something to that effect. I’ve seriously got to learn how to bow, ha ha.

The actual speech contest ran the entire day. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t opted for a seat near the front row. I definitely had to stifle my giggles when some kid performed his speech in this hilarious robotic voice. His speech was about some robot, so the intonation and everything fit the story… but it was just too funny, I had a very hard time keeping myself composed.