Sunday, May 3, 2009
Taiko Performance/Kameoka Festival
Today we performed with our taiko group for the Kameoka Mitsuhide Festival. The festival celebrates the historical lord of Kameoka. A large part of the town, including most of the schools participate in a parade where men dress up as samurai and ride horses through the town.
Two of my colleagues, Koshio-san and Fukuchi-san, came to watch us play taiko. Atsushi was working the parade so he couldn't make it but he sent a text wishing me luck the day before.
We messed up on the 3rd song because one of the women hadn't been at the practice and she thought the person who was supposed to start the song forgot, though really it was just a song with a long intro, so she called out to start it and we all got confused...But other than that the performance went really well I think.
Judge for yourselves...I'm on the far left.
After the performance we went to watch the parade and eat some festival food. While walking a little girl ran up to me and waved and I couldn't remember how I knew her til her mom told me she was from Girl Scouts...it was a bit awkward but I was really glad that she seemed so happy to see me.
The parade was really fun and actually a lot similar to American parades. The high school bands were playing familiar songs and little kids dressed as cheerleaders waved and shouted. The only difference was that my friends and I got almost as much attention as the parade. We actually knew a great many people in the parade, which was surprising. Mr. "No Hair" who comes and visits my office sometimes was one of the main samurai and some other people I worked with held fairly prominent roles.
Once the parade was over Laurel and I went to get ready for our red eye flight to Thailand!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
How to get to know your co-workers 1. Drink with them 2. drink with them
Today I had my first enkai (after work party) with my Thursday office. It was the welcome/farewell party for the people who had been shifted around during the section changes at the beginning of the month.
We met at a small restaurant not too far from city hall. At every enkai I face the same difficult decision…what to wear (gosh I'm such a girl). I get off work at least an hour before the rest of my colleagues so I get to go home before going to the enkai. They all go straight from work so are still wearing their work clothes. So I can either wear my work clothes and fit in, or wear more casual clothes which would seem strange since I have already gone home….
I tend to choose to go casual, as in nice jeans, nice top, heels, etc. This time I showed up and I was again the least dressed up…until the new young guy showed up and he was in jeans too, which made me feel a lot better.
I have wanted to talk to this guy since he started in my office. He just graduated college so he is right around my age and people like that are rare around here…or at least I don’t know many of them aside from Atsushi (the guy my boss went all Yente on me with). So I was happy when he ended up sitting just one person away from me.
At every welcome/farewell party I have been to (now 2), they begin with speeches from the people leaving and then speeches from the people joining the division. Then we kanpai and eat. All the while everyone moves around and pours each other more and more beer.
This is when things really get interesting. People who work in a different section than me, who have never spoken to me before, suddenly become quite talkative. There is a guy who I see every week but have never said more than 2 words to, who talked my ear off this time…which is good because I have wanted to talk to them since I met them. I even finally learned his name…Ueda.
The girl next to me eventually made her way around the table to pay her respects to the new people and the leaving people so I ended up next to new young guy, Nakagawa. He scoots over and pours some more beer into my almost full glass and begins by saying… “so I hear you play taiko.” Now, Shigeno-san from my taiko group had called the office earlier in the day to tell them of our upcoming performance so I figured Kojima-san had passed along the message…but when I asked him how he knew that I play taiko even though we have never met he told me that Old Man River (he’s this older guy in my taiko group who’s name in Japanese I thought was Hurukawa which means old river), is his father!!! And one of the girls is his little sister!
Nakagawa-san just graduated from Kansai University in Osaka and actually used to live in the same town I lived in when I was in Osaka 2 years ago (holy crap it’s been 2 years already!!!!!)
After a while we began talking about English and Japanese borrowed words and I taught them how to properly pronounce McDonalds, Starbucks, Vodka, etc. Though when you try to teach someone to properly pronounce your native language, and they repeat after you, sometimes you begin to wonder if you really sound like that. McDonalds became MacDaaaanalds with a very nasally tone whenever they tried to pronounce it.
The other section is called the Kodomo Mura, or Children’s Village. As far as I know they spend a lot of time outside working with kids, educating them about nature and other such things. It sounds like a lot of fun and they all seem to be some of the happiest Japanese people I know.
So because they all work with kids they have nicknames. I have forgotten what Ueda-san’s is but Nakagawa and the other new girl did not have one yet so they asked me to help….
They started talking about things and said that Nakagawa is really good at basketball. So Kojima-san suggest it be something basketball related. So they started naming off basketball related words…I’m sorry to say that they came up with
Ball
Hoop
Basket
And that was about it…so I figured I should help them out a bit, being American and therefore well versed in basketball terminology (笑). I was just playing around when I suggested Slam Dunk, which none of the older ones understood…so I had to explain it to them with a lot of gestures (apparently when they play basketball they don’t dunk)…but that’s what they chose. So thanks to me he is now Slam Dunk Nakagawa. (I call him that whenever I see him now and he turns bright red).
They tried to nickname the girl too. Apparently she hates bugs and being outside so working with the Kodomo Mura is not ideal for her. So they tried to nickname her Mukade (centipede…well a Japanese centipede which is very large and it hurts if it bites you).
So, we have now established a relationship. We have a little inside joke. One thing I have learned is that Japanese people take more time to warm up to you than maybe an American would, but once they do warm up to you it is worth the wait. Generally relationships start out at a distance and over time you get closer. That can be said of any relationship really…you rarely meet people and become close immediately, but I feel like it takes longer her…though perhaps that is only from a foreigner’s perspective. I guess when I really think about it, many of the Japanese people I have met were extremely welcoming, just a bit shy. Which of course, I am as well….
I’ll have to think about that some more.
We met at a small restaurant not too far from city hall. At every enkai I face the same difficult decision…what to wear (gosh I'm such a girl). I get off work at least an hour before the rest of my colleagues so I get to go home before going to the enkai. They all go straight from work so are still wearing their work clothes. So I can either wear my work clothes and fit in, or wear more casual clothes which would seem strange since I have already gone home….
I tend to choose to go casual, as in nice jeans, nice top, heels, etc. This time I showed up and I was again the least dressed up…until the new young guy showed up and he was in jeans too, which made me feel a lot better.
I have wanted to talk to this guy since he started in my office. He just graduated college so he is right around my age and people like that are rare around here…or at least I don’t know many of them aside from Atsushi (the guy my boss went all Yente on me with). So I was happy when he ended up sitting just one person away from me.
At every welcome/farewell party I have been to (now 2), they begin with speeches from the people leaving and then speeches from the people joining the division. Then we kanpai and eat. All the while everyone moves around and pours each other more and more beer.
This is when things really get interesting. People who work in a different section than me, who have never spoken to me before, suddenly become quite talkative. There is a guy who I see every week but have never said more than 2 words to, who talked my ear off this time…which is good because I have wanted to talk to them since I met them. I even finally learned his name…Ueda.
The girl next to me eventually made her way around the table to pay her respects to the new people and the leaving people so I ended up next to new young guy, Nakagawa. He scoots over and pours some more beer into my almost full glass and begins by saying… “so I hear you play taiko.” Now, Shigeno-san from my taiko group had called the office earlier in the day to tell them of our upcoming performance so I figured Kojima-san had passed along the message…but when I asked him how he knew that I play taiko even though we have never met he told me that Old Man River (he’s this older guy in my taiko group who’s name in Japanese I thought was Hurukawa which means old river), is his father!!! And one of the girls is his little sister!
Nakagawa-san just graduated from Kansai University in Osaka and actually used to live in the same town I lived in when I was in Osaka 2 years ago (holy crap it’s been 2 years already!!!!!)
After a while we began talking about English and Japanese borrowed words and I taught them how to properly pronounce McDonalds, Starbucks, Vodka, etc. Though when you try to teach someone to properly pronounce your native language, and they repeat after you, sometimes you begin to wonder if you really sound like that. McDonalds became MacDaaaanalds with a very nasally tone whenever they tried to pronounce it.
The other section is called the Kodomo Mura, or Children’s Village. As far as I know they spend a lot of time outside working with kids, educating them about nature and other such things. It sounds like a lot of fun and they all seem to be some of the happiest Japanese people I know.
So because they all work with kids they have nicknames. I have forgotten what Ueda-san’s is but Nakagawa and the other new girl did not have one yet so they asked me to help….
They started talking about things and said that Nakagawa is really good at basketball. So Kojima-san suggest it be something basketball related. So they started naming off basketball related words…I’m sorry to say that they came up with
Ball
Hoop
Basket
And that was about it…so I figured I should help them out a bit, being American and therefore well versed in basketball terminology (笑). I was just playing around when I suggested Slam Dunk, which none of the older ones understood…so I had to explain it to them with a lot of gestures (apparently when they play basketball they don’t dunk)…but that’s what they chose. So thanks to me he is now Slam Dunk Nakagawa. (I call him that whenever I see him now and he turns bright red).
They tried to nickname the girl too. Apparently she hates bugs and being outside so working with the Kodomo Mura is not ideal for her. So they tried to nickname her Mukade (centipede…well a Japanese centipede which is very large and it hurts if it bites you).
So, we have now established a relationship. We have a little inside joke. One thing I have learned is that Japanese people take more time to warm up to you than maybe an American would, but once they do warm up to you it is worth the wait. Generally relationships start out at a distance and over time you get closer. That can be said of any relationship really…you rarely meet people and become close immediately, but I feel like it takes longer her…though perhaps that is only from a foreigner’s perspective. I guess when I really think about it, many of the Japanese people I have met were extremely welcoming, just a bit shy. Which of course, I am as well….
I’ll have to think about that some more.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hip Hop: Japanese style
Recently Liz joined a hip-hop class in Kameoka and her team participated in a Hip Hop Festival on Showa Day, a random Wednesday holiday. We all went out to support her in the performance.
It was a very interesting festival that made me feel a bit nostalgic for the early 90s. A lot of the music choices and choreography were taken straight from the late 80s early 90s, complete with running man.
There were a lot of kids groups that were really adorable, except for the fact that they were dancing to some pretty inappropriate songs. Since they used a lot of American rap for the music they didn't always know what the songs were about...so there ended up being a lot of funny moments...like when a group of kids in Mickey Mouse costumes were dancing to songs where every other word would have been bleeped out on the radio.
There were also groups performing double dutch and karate, as well as kids groups doing hip hop battles. It was kind of awesome to see a more relaxed, hip, side of Japanese culture. Of course by hip I mean, about 10 years behind what is thought of as hip in America, but still really fun.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the guy we nicknamed "The Chess Piece." He was really into his dances and he had amazing hair that made him look like a Knight chess piece. He couldn't seem to sit still either...he was always doing some kind of dance move, even when he was offstage. He was probably the most entertaining part of the festival.
It was a very interesting festival that made me feel a bit nostalgic for the early 90s. A lot of the music choices and choreography were taken straight from the late 80s early 90s, complete with running man.
There were a lot of kids groups that were really adorable, except for the fact that they were dancing to some pretty inappropriate songs. Since they used a lot of American rap for the music they didn't always know what the songs were about...so there ended up being a lot of funny moments...like when a group of kids in Mickey Mouse costumes were dancing to songs where every other word would have been bleeped out on the radio.
 |
| From Hip Hop |
There were also groups performing double dutch and karate, as well as kids groups doing hip hop battles. It was kind of awesome to see a more relaxed, hip, side of Japanese culture. Of course by hip I mean, about 10 years behind what is thought of as hip in America, but still really fun.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the guy we nicknamed "The Chess Piece." He was really into his dances and he had amazing hair that made him look like a Knight chess piece. He couldn't seem to sit still either...he was always doing some kind of dance move, even when he was offstage. He was probably the most entertaining part of the festival.
 |
| From Hip Hop |
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A date?
Last Saturday I got a text from Miyamoto-san (Atsushi), who my new boss tried to hook me up with a few weeks ago (see Yente post), inviting me to lunch. After we exchanged info at the end of the enkai, I decided not to let myself be too shy to actually talk to him. I have met Japanese people before and exchanged info and had it come to nothing because I was too concerned with social expectations to bring about a friendship, and they are often shy as well...so this time I decided I would "make the first move" if you will. We had discussed how much we hate the morning meeting (a ritual every division goes through each morning where we recite the citizens charter and talk a bit about something going on in the world), and since he was next in line to go on Tuesday I sent him a message Monday night wishing him luck.
From there, we texted back and forth for a week. On Saturday he suggested that we get together during our lunch break and grab a meal so we could talk in person. o(^^o)(o^^)o わくわく
We set it up for Tuesday since it was the only day I was in the office for lunch. We decided to meet outside the employee entrance. The Japanese are very concerned about keeping their personal lives and their work lives very separate so he couldn't come and meet me at my division. Plus if we had, my Yente boss would have made a HUGE deal out of it and would have embarrassed both of us.
As we approached lunch time, I got more and more nervous. My hands were shaking. I have never been out with a young Japanese person one-on-one before, and there are all kinds of cross-cultural issues as well as issues with communication, etc.
I had to go down to the 4th floor because the elevator on the employee entrance side doesn't go to the 5th floor because of the mayor's office. I met up with Laurel and she walked down with me, trying to help me calm down. I felt like I was in middle school again about to meet my crush in the hallway between classes. Though I certainly don't feel like that about him, having just met him, but it was that kind of nervous feeling.
He was waiting outside when I got to the entrance. Laurel dashed off so things wouldn't be awkward, but she caught a glimpse of him and apparently she approves. Atsushi didn't say anything when I got there and kept looking over his shoulder so I think he was worried about people seeing us (not in a bad way, just in a Japanese way...if anyone were to see us it would become the topic of gossip all over city hall).
He didn't really talk much at first. I think he was pretty nervous, so I ended up making most of the conversation. We talked a bit about work and my upcoming taiko performance. I found out that he graduated from college in March and moved to Kameoka at the beginning of April, so he had only just moved to the area a few weeks before we met. He majored in Economics and is currently working for the Commerce and Tourism division of city hall.
We got a little bit lost on the way to the restaurant, since he was new to town and actually had to look up a map to the place he chose for us (he actually said he had found the map that I created on Google Maps for foreign residents ( ^_^) ). But he quickly got us back on track and we only lost a couple of minutes...plus it was nice just walking around talking.
The restaurant was really cute. It was a little cafe called Limone just around the corner from city hall. I think we would describe it as "country" in The States. Not hoe-down country, but quaint and rustic. The chairs and tables were all mismatched and the decor was all done in earthy colors. We sat at the table for two in the center of the dining area, and the little girl next to us stared at me throughout most of the meal. It was already 20 minutes past so Atsushi told them we had to hurry because we were on lunch break so we got our order in pretty quick. I looked up the menu online before we got there so I wouldn't have to take the time to read it (food words are still tough)...
Since we only had about 20 minutes to eat before we had to head back to city hall, we had to eat pretty quickly which got in the way of talking...but so did our nervousness. The fast eating thing is never good because it is hard to eat really hot food fast, gracefully, while speaking a foreign language, on what MIGHT be a date?...
He was pretty quiet at first but seemed to warm up and relax a bit. It was really cute because at one point we got to talking about winter in Kameoka and how cold it was and I complained about there being no central heating...which he of course didn't understand so we both reached for our electronic dictionaries at the same time.
I got my food after he did so I was slower to finish. Since we were running out of time he paid the bill while I finished up. I of course offered to pay, but he said that since he did the inviting he would do the paying.
When we got to the entrance we both reached for the door at the same time (awkward) so I pulled back and let him get the door. Since I went through first I got to the second door first and held it open for him, claiming, when he protested, that it was me being an American girl. He seemed shocked by this and questioned "Isn't it ladies first in America?" I felt bad telling him that under most circumstances that is an outdated way of thinking.
We barely made it back on time, I had to dash across the 4th floor and made it to my office just as the chimes announcing the end of the lunch break.
A few hours into the work day my colleague, Fukuchi-san, leaned over to me and said quietly "So, I saw you after lunch. You were with a boy?" *wink wink* *nudge nudge*
Crap. Caught.
So I smiled and just said "Yeah, he's a friend. We met up for lunch. That's why I was late."
She gave a "knowing" smile and went back to work while I tried not to turn bright red.
After work I sent a text thanking him for lunch saying we should do it again sometime, etc. He responded with a message apologizing for being quiet during lunch because he "felt shy" (*^^*)ﾎﾟｯ as it was just the two of us, but that we should get together sometime after Golden Week for dinner so we wouldn't have time restrictions.
八(＾□＾*)
Now, I am not actually calling this a date yet. I barely know him and am not sure if I am really interested in a cross-cultural/cross-lingual relationship/whatever. Looking at it from a Japanese cultural perspective it was probably a date because guys and girls very rarely go out one-on-one as friends. If a guy and a girl go out to dinner alone together it is fairly safe to call it a date. From an American cultural perspective, a guy and a girl can meet and then go out as friends. So I am reserving judgment and trying not to get ahead of myself.
(･_･?)
Though my friends here are all saying "I told you so."
From there, we texted back and forth for a week. On Saturday he suggested that we get together during our lunch break and grab a meal so we could talk in person. o(^^o)(o^^)o わくわく
We set it up for Tuesday since it was the only day I was in the office for lunch. We decided to meet outside the employee entrance. The Japanese are very concerned about keeping their personal lives and their work lives very separate so he couldn't come and meet me at my division. Plus if we had, my Yente boss would have made a HUGE deal out of it and would have embarrassed both of us.
As we approached lunch time, I got more and more nervous. My hands were shaking. I have never been out with a young Japanese person one-on-one before, and there are all kinds of cross-cultural issues as well as issues with communication, etc.
I had to go down to the 4th floor because the elevator on the employee entrance side doesn't go to the 5th floor because of the mayor's office. I met up with Laurel and she walked down with me, trying to help me calm down. I felt like I was in middle school again about to meet my crush in the hallway between classes. Though I certainly don't feel like that about him, having just met him, but it was that kind of nervous feeling.
He was waiting outside when I got to the entrance. Laurel dashed off so things wouldn't be awkward, but she caught a glimpse of him and apparently she approves. Atsushi didn't say anything when I got there and kept looking over his shoulder so I think he was worried about people seeing us (not in a bad way, just in a Japanese way...if anyone were to see us it would become the topic of gossip all over city hall).
He didn't really talk much at first. I think he was pretty nervous, so I ended up making most of the conversation. We talked a bit about work and my upcoming taiko performance. I found out that he graduated from college in March and moved to Kameoka at the beginning of April, so he had only just moved to the area a few weeks before we met. He majored in Economics and is currently working for the Commerce and Tourism division of city hall.
We got a little bit lost on the way to the restaurant, since he was new to town and actually had to look up a map to the place he chose for us (he actually said he had found the map that I created on Google Maps for foreign residents ( ^_^) ). But he quickly got us back on track and we only lost a couple of minutes...plus it was nice just walking around talking.
The restaurant was really cute. It was a little cafe called Limone just around the corner from city hall. I think we would describe it as "country" in The States. Not hoe-down country, but quaint and rustic. The chairs and tables were all mismatched and the decor was all done in earthy colors. We sat at the table for two in the center of the dining area, and the little girl next to us stared at me throughout most of the meal. It was already 20 minutes past so Atsushi told them we had to hurry because we were on lunch break so we got our order in pretty quick. I looked up the menu online before we got there so I wouldn't have to take the time to read it (food words are still tough)...
Since we only had about 20 minutes to eat before we had to head back to city hall, we had to eat pretty quickly which got in the way of talking...but so did our nervousness. The fast eating thing is never good because it is hard to eat really hot food fast, gracefully, while speaking a foreign language, on what MIGHT be a date?...
He was pretty quiet at first but seemed to warm up and relax a bit. It was really cute because at one point we got to talking about winter in Kameoka and how cold it was and I complained about there being no central heating...which he of course didn't understand so we both reached for our electronic dictionaries at the same time.
I got my food after he did so I was slower to finish. Since we were running out of time he paid the bill while I finished up. I of course offered to pay, but he said that since he did the inviting he would do the paying.
When we got to the entrance we both reached for the door at the same time (awkward) so I pulled back and let him get the door. Since I went through first I got to the second door first and held it open for him, claiming, when he protested, that it was me being an American girl. He seemed shocked by this and questioned "Isn't it ladies first in America?" I felt bad telling him that under most circumstances that is an outdated way of thinking.
We barely made it back on time, I had to dash across the 4th floor and made it to my office just as the chimes announcing the end of the lunch break.
A few hours into the work day my colleague, Fukuchi-san, leaned over to me and said quietly "So, I saw you after lunch. You were with a boy?" *wink wink* *nudge nudge*
Crap. Caught.
So I smiled and just said "Yeah, he's a friend. We met up for lunch. That's why I was late."
She gave a "knowing" smile and went back to work while I tried not to turn bright red.
After work I sent a text thanking him for lunch saying we should do it again sometime, etc. He responded with a message apologizing for being quiet during lunch because he "felt shy" (*^^*)ﾎﾟｯ as it was just the two of us, but that we should get together sometime after Golden Week for dinner so we wouldn't have time restrictions.
八(＾□＾*)
Now, I am not actually calling this a date yet. I barely know him and am not sure if I am really interested in a cross-cultural/cross-lingual relationship/whatever. Looking at it from a Japanese cultural perspective it was probably a date because guys and girls very rarely go out one-on-one as friends. If a guy and a girl go out to dinner alone together it is fairly safe to call it a date. From an American cultural perspective, a guy and a girl can meet and then go out as friends. So I am reserving judgment and trying not to get ahead of myself.
(･_･?)
Though my friends here are all saying "I told you so."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
It's cold and rainy, but let's BBQ!
The Japanese have a very different idea of BBQ than Americans. Well, I guess it is kind of similar, since they use grills and all, but when I think BBQ I think steaks, hamburgers, ribs, corn on the cob, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, etc... The Japanese tend to cook small slices of meat, octopus, salmon, etc.
The Japanese version is actually really good, except of course for the octopus, but it isn't the same as home.
Today Laurel invited me to join her and one of her teachers for a BBQ. Her teacher friend is fairly young, and she and her husband were hosting a BBQ down by the river in Yagi. Her friends were a group of very charismatic, young Japanese people who love cars. They all had...interesting...cars. Laurel's friend even had a Tuk Tuk (the three wheeled taxis from Thailand). They had apparently visited Thailand and liked Tuk Tuks so much they bought their own. There is even a Tuk Tuk owners club of Japan. Another guy had a car that rode so low to the ground that it scraped, even on flat ground.
It was cold and rainy all day so we set up underneath the bridge at Yagi and huddled around the grills when they weren't in use. As usual we got a lot of attention at first, though it was usually not obvious attention. After a while the ice was broken and we got to chat with everyone there and we had a really good time. They were a fun group. They brought along these bouncy stilt things so they could run around like gazelles...though most of them couldn't get the hang of it and they kept falling over.
After a while, two new guys showed up, one of whom apparently was quite boastful about his English skills. However, he only knew a few choice words...enough to introduce his friend as a heroin addict, an alcoholic, and an idiot (of course none of which was true, it was just the vocabulary he knew). He provided some entertainment as we warmed ourselves around the tiny grills.
The Japanese version is actually really good, except of course for the octopus, but it isn't the same as home.
Today Laurel invited me to join her and one of her teachers for a BBQ. Her teacher friend is fairly young, and she and her husband were hosting a BBQ down by the river in Yagi. Her friends were a group of very charismatic, young Japanese people who love cars. They all had...interesting...cars. Laurel's friend even had a Tuk Tuk (the three wheeled taxis from Thailand). They had apparently visited Thailand and liked Tuk Tuks so much they bought their own. There is even a Tuk Tuk owners club of Japan. Another guy had a car that rode so low to the ground that it scraped, even on flat ground.
It was cold and rainy all day so we set up underneath the bridge at Yagi and huddled around the grills when they weren't in use. As usual we got a lot of attention at first, though it was usually not obvious attention. After a while the ice was broken and we got to chat with everyone there and we had a really good time. They were a fun group. They brought along these bouncy stilt things so they could run around like gazelles...though most of them couldn't get the hang of it and they kept falling over.
After a while, two new guys showed up, one of whom apparently was quite boastful about his English skills. However, he only knew a few choice words...enough to introduce his friend as a heroin addict, an alcoholic, and an idiot (of course none of which was true, it was just the vocabulary he knew). He provided some entertainment as we warmed ourselves around the tiny grills.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A trip down memory lane
Today, for the first time since the New Years party, I went to visit my old company in Osaka. It is always a really awesome feeling to go back there because I find out just how much my Japanese has improved since being here. Being with my old coworkers, who see me only once every few months, and hearing them describe how much better I have gotten while also realizing how much more I understand now really helps me assess my progress.
Aside from that, it is also really fun just to be around them again. They are all a bit older than me, but they are a really fun group. They have a much different work relationship than what my coworkers and I have. They joke and find ways to trick their boss and have a good time while they work, even though they work really long hours.
When I got to Osaka I called Ishida-san to find out where I should meet them. I misunderstood the directions though, because Japanese is highly contextual and if you miss the context you often screw up...so instead of waiting outside the company, I waited outside the station. When I realized my mistake I had to run in order to keep from looking like an idiot (thought I probably did look like an idiot, being a foreigner running through the streets of Osaka in heels).
When I arrived, Ishida-san was waiting outside and she told me to go around the corner and wait. Apparently the company president (a man who intimidated the hell out of me when I worked there 2 years ago) had not left yet. He did not know I was coming, or that his employees were throwing a little party in the staff room.
He finally left and they brought me in the side door. When I got up there, they were setting up about 7 different cakes. I am a little fuzzy on the details, but they were celebrating something and only 9 of them were there...but there were 7 cakes.
I have never seen anything quite like it...a bunch of skinny Japanese people stuffing their faces with cake. Most of these people are pretty young, in their mid to late 20s and they all seem pretty close so they were making fun of each other a lot. They were making fun of each other for their cake choices and putting pieces on each others plates when they weren't looking. In Japan you are expected to eat everything on your plate, so they had to keep eating. One guy, we'll call him S-san since I have forgotten his name, was hilarious...not only was he trying to use English with me, but he kept stuffing his face with cake, eating with his hands and not caring if he had whipped cream all over his mouth. He was just trying to be really goofy, eating like a child. But it was nice to see...sometimes people are much too serious here.
After eating as much cake as we possibly could, Ishida-san and I went to meet Yoneda-san and Shimonaka-san for dinner. I got a ride to the station from S-san since Ishida-san had her bike. We talked about music, and he tried out more English phrases with me, constantly asking if he made sense.
When we met up with the others we started to walk around looking for a restaurant. They wanted me to choose where to go, but since I was full of cake I couldn't decide so we just walked until they found Warai, a really amazing okonomiyaki restaurant. About halfway through the meal and my 3rd beer, Yoneda-san turned to me and said...
Margaret, your Japanese gets worse when you drink.
So I punched him on the shoulder and told him that he should speak English and I should speak Japanese and we'll see how far we get. So the conversation turned into me talking and him saying
"ah...yesu"
"ah...no"
Til I said "Ok desu" and he yelled at me for using English til I argued with him that Ok has been adopted into the Japanese vocabulary and therefore it was ok for me to use...of course he couldn't argue back cuz he doesn't speak English (^_~). I should have told him he was welcome to use Japanese words that had been adopted into English (skosh, head honcho)...but I doubt those would have been helpful.
Then we talked about getting together again sometime after I get back from Thailand.
On the train ride home, I got a text from the guy I met when my boss played matchmaker...suggesting we get together for lunch sometime during the week.
Aside from that, it is also really fun just to be around them again. They are all a bit older than me, but they are a really fun group. They have a much different work relationship than what my coworkers and I have. They joke and find ways to trick their boss and have a good time while they work, even though they work really long hours.
When I got to Osaka I called Ishida-san to find out where I should meet them. I misunderstood the directions though, because Japanese is highly contextual and if you miss the context you often screw up...so instead of waiting outside the company, I waited outside the station. When I realized my mistake I had to run in order to keep from looking like an idiot (thought I probably did look like an idiot, being a foreigner running through the streets of Osaka in heels).
When I arrived, Ishida-san was waiting outside and she told me to go around the corner and wait. Apparently the company president (a man who intimidated the hell out of me when I worked there 2 years ago) had not left yet. He did not know I was coming, or that his employees were throwing a little party in the staff room.
He finally left and they brought me in the side door. When I got up there, they were setting up about 7 different cakes. I am a little fuzzy on the details, but they were celebrating something and only 9 of them were there...but there were 7 cakes.
 |
| From Drop Box |
I have never seen anything quite like it...a bunch of skinny Japanese people stuffing their faces with cake. Most of these people are pretty young, in their mid to late 20s and they all seem pretty close so they were making fun of each other a lot. They were making fun of each other for their cake choices and putting pieces on each others plates when they weren't looking. In Japan you are expected to eat everything on your plate, so they had to keep eating. One guy, we'll call him S-san since I have forgotten his name, was hilarious...not only was he trying to use English with me, but he kept stuffing his face with cake, eating with his hands and not caring if he had whipped cream all over his mouth. He was just trying to be really goofy, eating like a child. But it was nice to see...sometimes people are much too serious here.
After eating as much cake as we possibly could, Ishida-san and I went to meet Yoneda-san and Shimonaka-san for dinner. I got a ride to the station from S-san since Ishida-san had her bike. We talked about music, and he tried out more English phrases with me, constantly asking if he made sense.
When we met up with the others we started to walk around looking for a restaurant. They wanted me to choose where to go, but since I was full of cake I couldn't decide so we just walked until they found Warai, a really amazing okonomiyaki restaurant. About halfway through the meal and my 3rd beer, Yoneda-san turned to me and said...
Margaret, your Japanese gets worse when you drink.
So I punched him on the shoulder and told him that he should speak English and I should speak Japanese and we'll see how far we get. So the conversation turned into me talking and him saying
"ah...yesu"
"ah...no"
Til I said "Ok desu" and he yelled at me for using English til I argued with him that Ok has been adopted into the Japanese vocabulary and therefore it was ok for me to use...of course he couldn't argue back cuz he doesn't speak English (^_~). I should have told him he was welcome to use Japanese words that had been adopted into English (skosh, head honcho)...but I doubt those would have been helpful.
Then we talked about getting together again sometime after I get back from Thailand.
On the train ride home, I got a text from the guy I met when my boss played matchmaker...suggesting we get together for lunch sometime during the week.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Drag Queens
One thing I never expected to see in Japan: drag queens.
But if you head to Club Metro on the 3rd Friday of each month, it is drag night. For once, 4 foreigners were not the center of attention at a club. Who knew that all it would take to blend in was to fill the crowd with men in VERY bright dresses and glittery lipstick.
Club Metro is actually in one of the train stations on the Keihan line. We got there a bit early and ended up being the only ones there for about 30 minutes sitting in an empty room full of fake smoke.
At first it was just a bunch of drunk Japanese girls trying to copy our dance moves even though we were just being goofy (you'd think they'd never seen the running man before).
After a while though, the gays started filing in...followed by the drag queens. It turned out to be quite a show. Each drag queen went on stage one by one and did a little performance. They each had their own style. Some were more traditional, just wearing regular dresses, but most of them were costume-y...We had some brolitas (thanks for the word Paulette), which are men dressed in Lolita style cosplay. Others had huge flowy dresses with a ton of layers a poofy craziness. The one thing they had in common was their make-up. All of them had fake eyelashes, tons of eyeshadow, and really insanely big lips covered in glitter.
The lips were my favorite part because it drew even MORE attention to the mouths of these women (?) who were on stage lip synching to English songs...very poorly I might add. I have never seen anything funnier than a Japanese man in a dress with glittery lips trying to sing ABBA.
All in all, an entertaining night.
But if you head to Club Metro on the 3rd Friday of each month, it is drag night. For once, 4 foreigners were not the center of attention at a club. Who knew that all it would take to blend in was to fill the crowd with men in VERY bright dresses and glittery lipstick.
Club Metro is actually in one of the train stations on the Keihan line. We got there a bit early and ended up being the only ones there for about 30 minutes sitting in an empty room full of fake smoke.
At first it was just a bunch of drunk Japanese girls trying to copy our dance moves even though we were just being goofy (you'd think they'd never seen the running man before).
After a while though, the gays started filing in...followed by the drag queens. It turned out to be quite a show. Each drag queen went on stage one by one and did a little performance. They each had their own style. Some were more traditional, just wearing regular dresses, but most of them were costume-y...We had some brolitas (thanks for the word Paulette), which are men dressed in Lolita style cosplay. Others had huge flowy dresses with a ton of layers a poofy craziness. The one thing they had in common was their make-up. All of them had fake eyelashes, tons of eyeshadow, and really insanely big lips covered in glitter.
The lips were my favorite part because it drew even MORE attention to the mouths of these women (?) who were on stage lip synching to English songs...very poorly I might add. I have never seen anything funnier than a Japanese man in a dress with glittery lips trying to sing ABBA.
All in all, an entertaining night.
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