Oh my God oh my Gawwwwwwd, Awa Odori starts this Wednesday!! I’m so nervous!!!

o________O;;;;;

Our last practice was tonight.
I’ve been practicing really really hard!
So hard, that I pulled something… my right leg is all screwed up, as is my lower back. I have to stretch really well every day just to be able to do normal stuff. Ow ow ow. いたいいいい

But oh my goodness is it ever exciting! I can’t wait to wear my purple kimono and my giant taco-shaped hat and dance like nuts! Every day now I wear geta when I’m not at school.

And speaking of not being at school…
Today I woke up, and it was typhooning. We were getting hit by the edge of tropical storm Etau, and it was amazing!!! So much rain, so much lightening and thunder!!! Nature is really really powerful!

I thought to myself, “Oh, I can’t be bothered to go through this storm just to sit pointlessly at my desk”. So I mailed my supervisor to ask for holiday leave. Stupid! I should have said “Oh no, a typhoon! Abunai!”

But now I have to take one of my holiday days. Mottainai! What a waste!!

Although, it did clear up and I could have gone in for half a day, but I am a lazy bum and couldn’t be bothered.

Yesterday I saw an amazing musical play put on by a local musical theater group. One of my students was in it, surprisingly.

The (original) story was about three girls who meet two girls who may or may not be magical, and for some reason, they decide to go back in time on a flying broom (one of the girls is a janitor, one is a makeup artist, and one just likes history for some reason?). So they go back and meet somebody who may or may not be Genghis Khan, and help some people get a scroll and a princess, and then there was a huge song and dance number.

Then, they went to America to try and stop Kennedy from being assassinated. For this half the play, almost everyone spoke a ton of English, and they were all pretty dang good with their accents and so on. The girls made a jazz group, and performed for Jackie O, and tried to warn her. Jackie O said she would tell Kennedy, but she lied! (for some reason, she was a complete bitch, and she couldn’t see the two magical girls. Who knew?)

Undaunted, the girls use their showbiz connections (3 more extremely tall girls in sparkly Supreme’s style dresses) to get an audience with Kennedy. They warn him about getting shot, but he says that danger is part of being President, and the people of Texas are his people too, so he can’t avoid the trip. Realizing they can’t stop him from taking his path, the cast sings “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory” in a very moving style, giving Kennedy one last performance.

In the audience, we had already looked at each other several times to say “No way”

But wait, there was more to come. John and Jackie got on their car and were on the motorcade, and the girls came and stopped time, to try and save him again. They told JFK that they were from the future, and that we had a black President, and that there was a bullet in his future. But JFK said that he was the President of the United States of America, and he was going to do his job.

Then he was shot. (In the audience, we looked at each other and said “No Way” again).

Then the janitor girl held up a flag in a spotlight against the curtain, and the Supremes stood in the balcony and sang something along the lines of “Where have you gone, JFK”. (I’ve been unable to figure out what song they actually sang).

Then they went back to the present time, accidentally inspiring young Steven Spielberg to invent E.T. THE END.

Like I said. It was amaaaaaaazing. Not often am I really weirded out and very moved at the same time.

File that under “Oh, Japan”.

I am, indeed a dancing fool.

It’s ok. I can live with that!

So, as I said, I went to Komatsushima Matsuri. At first I was in a bit of a mood because it was very hot, and humid, and the people I was to meet didn’t show for an hour. I don’t like being made to wait, and once I DO start waiting, I don’t like to break my solitude when everyone else shows up! It’s a silly cycle.

My friends appeared and we got down to the business of watching the thing that were going on. I had already seen 40 minutes of hula dancing, so while we listened to a bunch of speeches from dignitaries and navy guys, my friend (The Fashionista) and her Japanese guy friend (City Boy) went to look at some of the booths. I stayed in the shade and waited for the next attraction, which was going to be the gaijin (foreigner) Awa Odori dance competition.

I knew there was trouble when I saw the Fashionista talking and gesturing with some guy wearing a fair badge. City Boy walked back and told me that the Fashionista was now entered in the contest. Then they all started gesturing at me, and suddenly I realized that I was entered in the contest too.

Oh boy.

Only for a minute did I think “Oh heck no”.

Then I thought “Oh heck yes, I am going to kick ass and dance hard. And I am all out of ass. Let’s do this!”

We danced round and round a stage, lots of college students from China, Mongolia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Colombia. And two chicks from America. We danced Otoko Odori (men’s dance) which was newish to me, and what the heck, I danced HARD CORE.

And I won the whole dang thing!! 7 prizes, and I got the top one!!! Which was an ice-cream maker / blender. HECK YEAH!!

The trick to winning? Putting all your gumption into it, grinning like a dancing fool, and just being totally willing to dance in front of an entire town / video cameras. Hopefully it will end up on the news or something har har har.

My only regret is not shoving my camera in someone’s hands before I climbed up on the stage. Boo!

Chalk it up to another “Oh Japan, you so awesome” moments.
(I love dancing Awa Odori!)

This weekend, come hell or high water (or in Tokushima’s case, wind and rain) we have Hana Haru Festa. It’s a matsuri, with a grade of a C or a B- in my book. It’s got all the things, such as singing and dancing and takoyaki, but there is a lack of festival spirit and interactive opportunities. Still, it is indeed happening right outside my window, and I enjoyed some very nice Awa Odori dancing the other day.

The thing about any sort of matsuri or festival is that it puts one in a right old festival spirit. It came out really wonderfully for me last night.

Having gone out on Friday night for a charity concert and later karaoke, I was already tired (no matter how late I go to bed, I will wake up by 7:30 at the latest. It is unbelievable). But after a day of quietly being about town, I slowly built up to the night: a nap, a bus ride, some shaved ice, dinner, and finally a cab ride to the city.

We began at Casanova’s, a horseshoe shaped karaoke bar where free wine is usually on the platter and we were the only patrons. We had our fill of puffed wheat and songs, and went off in search of the next adventure, which was chatting outside a very loud dance party that… well, it made me a bit nervous and overwhelmed when I was inside the bar, so outside was really quite preferable.

Lounging about, well past midnight, I decided it was high time for something more substantial than bar-snacks, and headed down the street to the combini. But I never made it, because I began chatting with a woman from New Zealand who was busking in the alley with a guitar. She was great! We talked it up and then sang a bunch of songs together, chatted and danced with various people walking buy, and someone bought us takoyaki from the stall down the street and we sang a Beatles song specifically for him. She’s been in Japan for 20 years, and was just the friendliest darn person ever. Apparently, she, or someone else, busks that alley every Friday and Saturday.

When I walked away, I felt light on my feet and glad in my heart.

So today, the weather is sunny and the wind is high, and Awa Odori music has been slamming through my windows since 8 am. But I don’t feel bad for not going out and participating, because I had my own matsuri in a midnight alley, and it suited me just fine.

The last time I went to the dentist was a total wash.

I was a sophmore in college, and had a horrible popping pain in my jaw. I did some research and concluded that I should seek professional help. Professional help let me down. The dentist sat me in the dentist chair, told me there was nothing he could do, and charged me $30.

Three and a half months ago, the most excruciating physical pain I have ever felt in my life began. One of my teeth had broken, all the way down to the nerve. It hurt when I ate. It hurt when I didn’t eat. It hurt for basically no reason at all, simply because it was an exposed nerve, and that’s what exposed nerves do.

I did nothing. I put up with it. I didn’t take any medication, I didn’t seek any help. I brushed and kept food away from it. Eventually, the pain dulled and faded. It was replaced with a lesser pain whenever food or pressure or cold or sweet came into contact with it.

Weirdly enough, I can easily think of the positives that came from the whole thing. For instance, I stopped eating sweets and drinking sweet soda. I paid much more attention to the rest of my teeth. My pain threshold is significantly higher.

But eventually, I decided that enough was enough, and I should do something. My JTE made an appointment with her doctor, and I got lost and it was a complete fiasco and ultimately the day that I finally cracked and had a culture shock breakdown.

I got directions to another English-speaking dentist, but I never got up the nerve to make an appointment.

Last night, when dropping off a friend after A Very JET Thanksgiving, I noticed the dentist, as it was right next to her apartment. It had a happy penguin sign on the door.

Today, I thought, “I know exactly where it is, I basically have no excuse not to go down there an make an appointment, despite my fear and loathing of dentists”. So after school, essentially on a whim, I went.

If my mindset had been anything other than a whim, I would not have gone. Planning to go to the dentist is terrifying. Going with a happy, “oh gosh why not” attitude is easier.

So I went. The nurse was nice to me, and filled out my forms in Japanese. Only the head dentist spoke English, but that was ok. I sat in the chair and explained the problem. They all looked at my mouth. They all nodded wisely.

“You need a root canal.”

And really, there was no arguing with that. I needed a root canal. And so I got a root canal. I also got a lot of anesthesia. It was really one of those “Well, this is happening now I guess” experiences.

It was fast, painless, and cheap. I’m going back on Thursday for… a filling, I guess.

Thanks, Japan.

Hooray! It’s Saturday! And I have internet, so I can blog from the comfort of my floor! I am wearing super comfortable sweats. I bought them in a 2-piece gray set, the kind where you just get a bag containing pants and a shirt for cheap. I bought them in size LL, and the check-out man asked me if I was sure I wanted that size. Don’t be such a kidder, Japan! We all know I don’t fit your sizes anyway!

Size LL, I’ll grant, is a little large. But it’s not TOO large, just nice and roomy. I look like a complete Ojii-san (grandpa) in the sweats and my house slippers, but they feel wooonnderfulll!

Today, I am going to the zoo! I will take a lot of photos, I hope. Until then, here are some photos from things I’ve done recently. Please enjoy them!

Here is the beach where I went swimming all those weeks ago. Isn’t it great? We pondered swimming out to the rocks, but they were far away. In the distance, we could see land…

My typewriter! I love it. Also pictured is a monte blanc cake, which I bought from a little bakery over by the mountain. Mmm, it was delicious. I’m addicted to monte blanc cakes, they are made with chesnuts and lots of fluffy cream and soft cake. Even the weird ones from the combinis taste great!

This is when I went on a long ramble towards the ocean (but didn’t quite make it). Right past this bridge was where the sidewalk ended, and I had to scramble along the side of a highway and make my way past all these shipping warehouses. From a distance, the bridge looks horribly bent, like an arch that’s getting ready to spring up in the air and fling all the cars into the bay.

Last weekend, the park by my house had a Cow Festival! You could come and pet the cows and see cows in a semi-natural environment and take cow quizzes and learn about cows and eat ice cream and drink milk. WOW! The park is seriously the best. Every weekend I stick my head out on my balcony and look, and SOMETHING is going on. The week before Cow Festival, it was some sort of woodworking “build-your-own” get-together. Before THAT, I enjoyed listening to various indie punk and rock bands hack at guitars and scream in front of disinterested but fancifully attired youth.

Yeah, baby cows!

These cows were very interested in what was going on around them. All the fair cows I’ve ever seen before have been very chill and bored, but these guys were all going “Hey, what’s happening? Let me stick my face at you!”

And of course, no festival in Japan would be complete without somebody dressed up as something. Viva la Cow!

So that’s that, basically… I’ve had a busy week at school. In brief:
I played lots and lots of Halloween Bingo and Halloween Memory (the flip-it-over card game)
I graded about a zillion papers
I saw half of a super-great documentary about Bob Dylan, and ate delicious pasta with a home-made vegetable sauce.
Upon finding a wild CD featuring my friends from home in my mailbox, I danced and sang in my kitchen.
I paid $30 for a postage stamp. Don’t laugh, it’s for my re-entry permit!
I watched The Fall, which was a pretty neat film. Sometimes I thought it was trying too hard, but visually it was very nice.

They sell books that are just photos of people’s dwellings. Each book has a different subject, such as “Children’s Rooms in Belsk”, or “Couple’s Apartments in Paris”. Why are they so enjoyable? I don’t know. I bought “Petite Apartments in Paris”, and I’m lusting after “Apartments with Color in Paris”. Some of them are very lovely or eccentric or quirky. I don’t know why I like looking at the arrangements and styles of people’s apartments. I just do.

It’s a gorgeous Saturday here.

Love
Emily

Ok, everyone…

At home, I typed up the long version what happened to me this weekend, and it ended up being a 5-page word document. Frankly, this is one of those stories that “reads” better when it is told aloud, because then I can do things like add crazy emphasis and build to the “and to cap it all off, he _____” punchline.

The short version is: this weekend, I was sexually harassed (but thankfully not assaulted) by a creepy park pervert, and ended up turning tail and running when he made a scary lunge at me when I was trying to make a polite (ie no screaming and cussing him out) escape.

The next day, I went to a shopping mall with a guy I met at cooking class, which was a dumb idea nine ways from Sunday, but came about because of my inability to say “no” and my unfortunate nature to be a complete and utter doormat when people are pushy and my brain fails on the “good excuse” front. It was like when Elizabeth Bennet can’t think of a polite excuse to not dance with Darcy, except this did not end up with me having witty British banter while dancing at a ball. What happened was that he creeped me out enormously by “hoping” that we would be “close friends”, and trying to guilt me into inviting him to my home. Don’t worry, guys, I was wearing my running shoes and had a JET on speed dial who knew where I was and that I might phone for help if I had to run away. I also had all my senses on full alert and was kind of being a bitch (which, considering that I was talking to a near-stranger, not that bitchy. I’m always polite to people I don’t know, and feel free to be more honest and stern with people when I am more comfotable with them. Why? I’m never going to see this guy again, if I can help it. Why should I care what he thinks?)

He was pushy and full of double-talk, twisty logic and layered agendas (all of which I had been warned about… I was on my guard). My whole point for talking to him was to make it clear that I didn’t want to be friends, and never in a million years was I going to invite him anywhere near my home. Upon hearing that, he decided to lecture me on why Islam is the best. It was, in a way, worse than the relatively straightforward creepy park guy, because mental attacks come at you sideways, and use information about you to make you horribly uncomfortable and susceptible to whatever the other person is trying to get you to do. This was one of the few times in my life I’ve ever told someone (that I didn’t know well, and am therefore more worried of offending for some reason) a flat-out “No” to what they were asking. It was an absolutely nightmare of a social interaction. I escaped at the train station, ran home, and unplugged my phone.

Later, I bought a used ukelele. This was the best part of the weekend. No, I cannot play the ukelele. But I am certainly trying.

Oh! And today I taught for the first time at my deaf school. It was pretty great… the kids are very energetic and involved, the teachers are very nice, and I’m picking up sign language already.

That’s all I’ve got for today… I’m a little fatigued right now. The stress of the Rotten Weekend is still on me (as are the lessons I learned) and I still need to make awesome worksheets/plans for tomorrow’s classes. Tonight’s dinner: spaghetti!!

love,

emily

P.S. I do not yet have a cell phone charm. I have decided it’s an elephant or nothing, and wouldn’t you know it, an elephant charm is very difficult to find (I did find a few, but they do not look anything like elephants, no matter what the shop girls say). Sorry, Nick, I’m not putting a mog charm on, because I don’t know what the heck that is.