2 Months +

Already more than two months! I can't believe how fast they went. And sorry, I've been reprimanded for not updating.

Observation: People go all out dressing for whatever activity they're doing. A while ago I went to an acorn cookie-making thing with Mayuko, my oldest sister, and Yuzuki, the 10-year-old, at a really big park at Osaka. It was fun, we went on a short walk and collected acorns, then made cookies out of them at picnic tables with tabletop grills. The weather was awesome. But anyway, the walk was like 15 minutes, mostly on a sidewalk, but at one point going about 20 feet off trail onto some grass. Not intense. But people had full out hiking gear, like boots, khaki hiking pants, big backpacks, and those hats with neck flaps. Goodness. I've noticed this a lot with running, too. Almost everyone looks like they're dressed for a 20+ mile run, which maybe some are but I highly doubt everyone is. Even when it was hot out, many people had long sleeve tech shirts and tights under tech running shirts and shorts, and lots of various leg braces. And then full running belts or even Camelbaks. I feel very plain in my shorts and cotton t-shirt, but they work just fine.

Soo what have I been up to? A lot apparently since the last post... my bad. First there was the acorn-cookie thing in the park. After it was over we walked around the park and found a "free market" (although we had to pay to get in), which was a large parking lot full of people with tarps and tents, selling pretty much anything, like a giant yard sale. Lots of old clothes, shoes, accessories, toys, crafts, and other random stuff. So that was interesting, it seemed more like things I've seen in other countries, not something I'd expect in Japan. After that we found a little place in the park that gave free 10 minute hot lavender water foot soaks. We had to wait a little bit, then were given the choice of a pretty outdoor pool or a hut with a trough in it. We chose the hut because it was sunny out. So that was also cool, and felt really nice :)

My class returned from France! Yay. They brought me chocolates, cookies, and sweet chestnut paste ^_^ It seemed very fun, but they were all tired. There were mixed reactions to the food; everyone loved the bread, but most people weren't big fans of the other things, some recognizing that while it was probably good, they weren't used to it. They visited a school and were surprised by the lack of uniforms and said that everyone was very expressive. Unfortunately there was apparently a fight between the girls in my class, not open but the subtle girl kind. So now they're friendly on the surface, but don't eat lunch all together like they used to, which is annoying because now I have to keep switching around to still be friends with everyone. Drama. It's nice though, I'm starting to form more actual friendships, not just the initial, "yay an American!" ones. And my Japanese is steadily improving, so it's getting easier to communicate. Now I can understand a good amount of what people are saying to me, because they use easy Japanese. I still can barely understand when they talk to each other, though, but I can sort of grasp the subject.

The following weekend was the main weekend for danjiri festivals, although I think they'd been happening in different areas for the past few weeks. Each neighborhood or something, I'm not quite sure, has it's own festival, which I believe celebrates it's founding? Feel free to look it up, I don't have wifi at the moment. Mine ran for three days, Friday through Sunday, and I went Friday and Saturday nights. Mainly, there are wooden floats carried on poles by about 30 guys, who look like they're dying from the weight. I think I noticed a rotation system to give them some relief. I've also seen pictures of other festivals where the floats were on wheels and pulled by ropes. There are four children in the float, beating a drum, and a couple people on top. I'll get pictures up on Facebook at some point. Each float has a large entourage, with girls following behind with big fans, people to keep the crowd back, and maybe some other random people to help chant. Everyone wears a special outfit, with traditional-like pants and shirt and cloth rubber-soled shoes with a split separating the big toe from the others. Each float has different patterns on their clothing, and I think different outfits on different days. All the girls' hair is super intense, cornrowed and braided and teased. One of my classmates said her hair took four hours. I was surprised by all the dyed hair, since Kenmei doesn't allow dyeing, and I guess I haven't seen large gatherings of young people elsewhere. Along with the spectrum of brown to blonde, there was green, blue, orange, red, purple, and probably more. It was like a rainbow of heads. I felt kind of left out, until I realized that my hair is already light. At one float, two of the lifters were Westerners who were head and shoulders taller than me, and I was blown away by their height. I forgot people could be that tall! Most people are at most half a head taller than me, but I don't really notice because everyone is and I can't see myself in comparison. These guys looked like giants.

On Friday night, each float paraded through the streets and ended in a small square a block from my house. There they chanted and lifted the float up and down and moved in circles, which I think they also did periodically while they were parading. Then each moved into a large cubby for the night, followed by confetti, streamers, balloons, or smoke. Afterwards, all the people involved helped sweep up, and somehow seeing all the guys with little brooms struck me as very Japanese. On one side of the square there were also a handful of old-fashioned and well-used looking booths selling food, toys, and old-fashioned games. I played one where I had to catch as many goldfish as I could with a paper scoop before it fell apart. The guy took pity on me and gave me a second free one and some tips.

On Saturday, I think they paraded throughout the day. They were out practicing when I left for school and a number of my classmates were absent. They had been practicing for weeks. Hannah, the girl from Florida, said she lives right next to a building where they practiced, and she could hear the drums and chanting when she woke up and when she went to sleep. On Saturday night the floats were all in a circle drive area, and they moved around and did the same things as Friday, lifting up and down and turning around. Also, the people on top threw towels out to the crowd (I'm telling you, they're everywhere). Some people gave speeches, too, but I had no idea what they were saying. We didn't stay as long on Saturday because the weather suddenly changed, getting cold.

Around this time I discovered my great love for omu-rice. It's tomato sauce-based fried rice with an omelette on top, served with ketchup. Not strictly Japanese but soo good.

That Saturday I also had my first traditional tea ceremony lesson. I think Yuzuki was also a beginner, and we mostly learned how to accept someone else serving us and how to fold some cloths that we'll use while making the tea. My host family is so great at giving me all these cultural experiences.

On Sunday, I went to Universal Studios Japan with the other Rotary Inbounds and Rotex. I found that one of the Rotex actually goes to Kenmei, so that's nice. It was fun and great to spend time with them, but a busy day to go to USJ. We only got to two rides, both with two hour lines. It's amazing how standardized these places are all over the world, it looked so American. I'm sure I'll go back; it's a main place to go in Osaka.

The next week was test week, where the students took two or three tests in the morning, then left by lunch time. This seemed kind of mean right after their France trip; I think they should have switched them. It meant a fun week for us exchange students though! The first two days we played a surprisingly fun role-playing game with one of the American teachers. Thursday we watched Princess Mononoke and Friday we actually worked, which is kind of a first when we're all in the English Lounge together. We wrote responses to Princess Mononoke, in Japanese, and it was actually kind of fun. And then there was a two day weekend, hooray.

That week I also had a wonderful visit from Suma, a family friend, who had a workshop in Nagoya and was nice enough to come see me in Osaka. She stayed a night with my host family, and it was a fun evening for everyone. Yukiko performed the tea ceremony, Yuzuki did her odori routine (traditional dance), and Suma gave all the females henna, which they loved. My classmates were all very interested in mine, so I taught them about it, too. She also brought stuff from home, so now I can make a pumpkin pie with the canned pumpkin she brought :)

On Sunday, Hirona, Yuzuki, and I went to a special program about dolphins at Osaka's big aquarium. It was cool, we watched them being fed and got to pet and feed them ourselves. We also made toys and then threw them all in the water hoping the dolphins would bite them and drag them around, which they sometimes did. The trainers can't really instruct them to play, though. But still, I pet a dolphin!

This week wasn't terribly eventful, but everyone got their tests back. I think tests are harder here... I don't know about the other subjects, but the class averages for the math tests were about 40, and I think the other subjects were similar. So it was considered good if the score was in the 50's, and really good if it was higher. Scores in the 20s and 30s were common. It was weird because at Uni, most people get at least a 70 on tests, and many people in the 80s and 90s. So I don't know what's up with that.

Tomorrow is Kenmei's bazaar, which I don't really understand yet, but should be fun! These school events, like the shureisai, are apparently the prime time for romance, which I noticed at the shureisai, but now am really noticing. Like the two weeks leading up to an event I guess is just a good time to confess to your love, and new couples form. It's great, Gabbi and I are thoroughly enjoying all the drama. Her friends do things like eating their bentos during the morning break so they can go buy bread at lunch, just in case their third year sempai crushes see them there. Hannah actually got a boyfriend, and apparently the teachers saw them holding hands and they're all very worried for her because she's an important person. I did my best not to crack up as one of them was telling her about their concern.

I felt my first homesickness the past couple weeks, as the weather got colder and reminded me of fall things. Again, morning is always the worse, but then like magic everything always gets better by lunch time. And there's always someone to hug. So, still doing ok.

Sorry for the lateness and length!