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So finals are over for us SILS students in lovely, freezing, Japan. Its been snowing on and off here in Tokyo for the last couple of days to the amazement of my okaasan, and while I hate the cold (my body refuses to retain anything resembling heat), I absolutely love the snow. The usual crew and I met up at Baba to play in it the other day. By play in it I mean we found a nice coffee shop to sip hot liquids and watch the snow outside. Recently our group has claimed a nice out-of-the-way café called Café Rapport as our own little greaser malt shop (greased lightening rarely makes an appearance). Maddy dubbed it the Beatles Café since, in an effort to be international, they played Beatles music nonstop the first few times we visited. It has now become the BC. After our delicious coffee at the BC we trooped to a nearby billiards hall and proceeded to suck royally at pool. What’s interesting is we all sucked in distinctly different ways; which I emphasized on the chalkboard where we tallied scores. Maddy was the Shark due to her number of victories: 0. David was Mr. Smash, later Mr. Angry Smash, due to his strategy of violent aggression; a ball actually flew off the table at one point. Ken was The Scratch King due to his astonishing ability to scratch, especially after a declaration against such action. I was The Accomplished Scratcher due to my consistent scratching while sinking desired shots. Kevin and I were paired at the end as The Incompatibles because whenever we interacted during any game we were immediately incapable of sinking any shot. In a recent conversation with Clay and Ken, in which many philosophical questions were discussed and never answered, I brought up the impulse in us all referred to as The God Complex. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a colloquial term used to portray a person who acts so arrogantly that he or she might as well believe he or she is a god. It is also the only reason I think I would ever have children. I explained to the guys that this complex pops up sometimes when I’m at my job (I am currently tutoring a middle aged couple in English). I find myself inappropriately tempted to insert flaws into their English learning. Like, instructing them to pronounce the ‘g’ in words like reign (resulting in ‘re-gin’). It’s a method of immortality really; their speech forever marked by my teaching. I’m always successful in resisting this impulse of course, especially since the couple I teach is so nice and friendly. However, they have a bad habit of keeping me over the two-hour mark. They did it again this last weekend when I was feeling particularly exhausted, so I knocked their CD rack over in a fit of rage. Even though it’s a tad dated at this point Ill relate what happened the week after our return from the Kyoto trip. First, the Japanese New Year. This is basically their Christmas, so they eat a lot of food, have loads of people over, and engage in smaller celebrations for the following week on specific days. The food was absolutely amazing, but I didn’t know most of the people that came on New Years day. Following that was week of sickness which I wont go into other than to say that it sucked and its over now. Classes started back up and my life became busy as finals charged around the corner. But there was an amazing weekend where Maddy invited us to her host father’s fireman party. He and a bunch of other firemen and their families greeted us at this cool restaurant in…I forget where…far from where I live basically. The food was great, the families were super nice, and we were able to practice Japanese all night. A good time was had by all; especially when we all went to karaoke afterwards. Firemen sure can put away a lot of booze. However, when the nice 40 something Japanese fireman who spoke pretty good English and was delighted by American culture tried to get Clay and I home via a shortcut, he instead forgot that the trains stopped running earlier for his chosen line. So while Clay was able to get relatively close to his home, I was stranded far from home and looking at a taxi bill that had me seriously considering walking. But, the fireman felt terrible over his mistake, and offered to put me up for the night at his home with his family. And, since I am in Japan to experience new things and meet interesting people I agreed and reassured him that it would be fine and that I would email my okaasan to let her know I wouldn’t be home. His house turned out to be a menagerie rivaling farms back in America. His wife, who was also his high school sweet heart (they’ve been together for over 20 years!), greeted us at the door, and while they offered me glasses of wine I took in the living room. The walls where lined and stacked with tanks of fish, snakes, lizards, mice, hamsters, and various other small furrys and long scalies. In the center of the room was their ferret cage, which didn’t smell by the way, and at one point I looked to my immediate left and their was a foot and half in diameter turtle sitting in what looked like a modified catbox. He also had three dogs, one of which was a Burmese Mountain Dog. Seriously though look this dog up, its HUGE. His sons were upstairs with some friends playing video games, but they did come down occasionally and took the sight of a strange foreigner sitting in their living room with relative ease. I cant even describe how nice this family was to me. They set me up in one of their sons bedrooms, gave me sleeping clothes, a toothbrush, let me use their shower and toiletries, took me out to breakfast the next morning, and even drove me home. I got to practice Japanese while he practiced his English, which was really quite good. I cant wait to meet up with him again this Friday for the Fireman Nomikai (the fireman party where there is a booze buffet basically). I’m especially looking forward to the “young firemen” that he said would be coming this time. Well my study group is trailing in now, so I should get to work. But, Ill be better about updating now that spring break has started. Ja matta! -Spork |
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So yesterday we all went to Disney Sea, much like the Disney Land adjoining it but with a nautical theme, and I have to say that it truly was a ‘magical’ experience. I haven’t felt such a sudden infusion of nostalgia in years. Upon entering the area reveals a large wharf/dock/Vienna like bay surrounded on all sides, unobtrusively, by the various attractions. Maddy, Ayumi, Nozomi, Yuka, and myself went to the Indiana Jones ride first which was such a blast that we went on it again before leaving, then we trekked on over to the Raging Spirits ride, a roller coaster that barely deserves the name since it only features on 360 loop, resulting in a terrified Maddy and the trio of Japanese girls laughing at my excited exclamations of “mouikkai!” (one more time!) They found it amusing that I love scary rides and thought it strange that I thought the monster in Journey to the Center of the Earth ride was beautiful. It so totally was, aside from the scream-like roars it produced, it was a rainbow assortment of reds and golds, vivid green eyes, had a burnished shiny appearance, and was about 30 feet tall. What else would I call it? We ate lunch at Ariel’s Mermaid Kingdom, which was this amazing ‘underwater’ playground. It even had a huge whale with a blinking eye housing the gift shop. We ran around the kids playground, tumbled into all the netted enclosures, and climbed all over the Prince Erik statue like good role models. The outside of the Kingdom was this amazingly elaborate shell/seaweed/jewel encrusted monstrosity that towered over you as you entered. Every section of the park was intricately detailed. Aladdin’s Palace was an actual palace allowing you to walk around in the courtyard, sit at the fountain, and browse the movie-like market place. The Tower of Terror had a nifty trick at the top of the elevator ride wherein a vista of the park was revealed to you, displaying how high you actually were before dropping you like dead weight all the way down the ‘hotel’. The whole experience was topped off after dark with a beautifully done ‘ancient story’ acted out with entrancing music and water jets followed by the ‘fire creatures’ appearance from the firework shooting volcano and his flame throwers accompanied by heavy drums. This all took place in the center bay area and I can honestly say, despite myself, that I was completely taken in. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Maddy and I were also able to practice some hard core Japanese all day with the trio. I made some new friends at the huge gift shop near the entrance before leaving. They were standing in front of the intimidating collection of Pooh Bears that swayed drunkenly when you clapped near them. These two Japanese guys that looked about my age would glance at me, smile, and provoke the Pooh Bears into another round of swiveling. Such charming behavior had me approaching a nearby display of Donald Duck hand puppets, to which one of the guys responded by inserting his hand into one and gesturing at my face saying “herro, herro”. I can honestly say that I’ve never been hit on with a hand puppet before, but I found the attempt so endearing that I reacted on my first impulse. I stuck my hand in the nearest hand puppet brought up to his face and said “konbowa” (good evening). We giggled and ‘handpuppeted’ to each other until they were distracted by the return of the third member of their party, and I slipped away to find Maddy in the throng. Writing about this today, I find myself in a slight daze of intense exhaustion. Walking around all day in albeit nice weather is incredibly tiring. Using this excuse, I will cute this update short and end it here. Next time: Fireman Nomikai the sequel! Ken’s birthday Nomihoudai (all you can drink)! And finally, Poker at the BC! Ja ne -Spork |