It’s already November? Two odd months into this crazy year in Japan and I still feel as though time is playing tricks on me. I have little idea as to what is in store for me these coming days yet after today’s experience I know that adventures have a habit of unfolding for those who carry an open mind, flexible attitude, and good spirit.
Talking with my friends Chisaki and Amberly at last weekend’s Rotary orientation we agreed that it would be nice to get together for Halloween and maybe even find a pumpkin to carve. Well Halloween quickly fell through because both girls had school (Yes schools do meet on Saturdays sometimes here in Japan). Yet something even better unfolded. The fact that today I boarded my first train in Japan all alone with only a round trip ticket and a scrap of paper with my route on it gave me one of my biggest thrills yet. I had an intense case of déja vù looking back to the experience I had last summer on a train heading into Barcelona. Today I changed trains twice in the two largest cities in Tochigi, I boarded one train just as the doors were closing shut, I read Gabriel García Márquez’ Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada and thought of how different this experience would be if I’d ended up somewhere where I knew the language (definitely pros and cons to that whole concept I’ve decided), and on the train ride home I watched the funniest thirty-something mom play jokes on her sleeping kids. All in all the trains were fantastic. However on my return, one train did arrive 20 minutes late so I had to change my plans. But with that flexible attitude I mentioned earlier it all worked out just fine.
As for where I went – Sano City. It is Chisaki’s hometown and Amberly’s host city. To get there from my house, my host mom had to drive me 3o mins, I rode three different trains and arrived an hour and a half later. But it was well worth it! The day consisted of us meeting Amberly and her friend Ellen who is on exchange from California at the Sano International Festival. My senses were in overload. I could hear Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, and English all be spoken on some stage. The many colorful stalls and fantastic smells South American meats mixing with gyros, falafels, and Chinese dumplings made me happy and proud to be included in such an international crowd. I was excited to order in Spanish from the Argentina stand, but gosh it was a struggle not to say, “Hai, Hai. Onegai Shimasu!” (Japanese FYI). I suppose that’s a good sign though.
After the international festival we walked to a giant shopping mall where Chisaki’s family took us out to Kaitenzushi, or the sushi that comes around on a little conveyer belt. It is so much fun and the place we went today really had fresh fish, so it was delicious. We walked around the mall for a little bit and it proved once again just how gigantic the Mall of America is compared to other shopping centers. Chisaki laughed at me and then giggled as she admitted that she really misses the MOA after coming back from Minnesota this past summer! Oh Chisaki, I’m glad we Americanized you so well!
Okay you’re going to laugh when you hear what we did next and Mary Weaver is going to leave some sassy comment about what a fool I am, but I’m well prepared for it. The four of us bought tickets, popcorn, and ginger ale in preparation for the big show. Amberly refrained from buying one of the t-shirt’s on display in the entryway but said that if she were at the real deal it wouldn’t even be a question.
We went to This Is It! The Michael Jackson movie that everyone is freaking out about. Hahaha, oh my goodness was that a hilarious way to spend the afternoon. Amberly is the kind of person that laughs at everything and when she knows she shouldn’t be laughing (like in a dark theater watching a movie about a now deceased man) she laughs even harder. It was fantastic. I’ll admit I snapped this illegal pic but it was well worth it! Who knows, if you get lucky Mary I’ll frame it and ship it to you for X-Mas.
**Please note the perfect transition into the two incredibly-early Christmas pictures I took. The fact that Halloween is now done meant that Christmas decorations went up the following day. Crazy, huh? To be honest when I saw the giant Christmas tree in the mall my first thought was, “Wait, what about Thanksgiving? Oh yeah….”**
actually laughing at that last picture. made my day for sure:)
ReplyDelete