An action-packed weekend
Friday, as I was writing that last post, Chris and Stu were begging me to go meet them in Shinjuku. They were pretty persistent, so I finally did, even though I was still on a high from class and wanted to do the reading. I got there about 8:20; we were supposed to meet at 8:30; they showed up at 8:40, and 
humbly expressed their apologies for making me wait in the cold. We (Chris's friend Tomoko too) went to *surprise surprise* 一休, as it was the 9th of the month (half-price on the 9th, 19th, and 29th days of ever month... I think it's a pun - 9 being [kyuu] and 一休 being [ikkyuu]), and ordered food and drinks. I think (I'm just guessing) my presence was so deeply desired by Stu so that he wouldn't be a third wheel and by Chris so that he wouldn't have to share too much of Tomoko's attention with Stu. But in the end, Stu sat across from Tomoko and I from Chris, and, as if that weren't enough, I think Tomoko was the one feeling bored or left out in the end, as Stu and Chris seemed most interested in discussing the band with me.
The band, by the way, is called プリモのレクイエム [purimo no rekuiemu] (Primo's Requiem). *sigh*
Anyway, the best or at least most interesting part of the night was the train ride home. When we left 一休, it was near time for the last trains, so we headed on home. I guess everyone else in the city had the same idea, because that was my first time crushed between so many bodies like that. It's a good thing I didn't have eyes in the back of my head, or I think I would have been a little freaked out. As it was, in the beginning I was pressed up against this South Asian-looking stranger and a handlebar (dug into the bone, kinda hurt) - don't know who was pushing me into them (everyone in the train, it felt like), as I couldn't really look around. I eventually managed to maneuver myself between the South Asian guy and Stu, which was a little more psychologically comfortable. Stu, slightly inebriated, and being his usual half-serious "Yorkshire is the center of the universe" self, spoke loudly and at length the whole ride home. The South Asian guy was trying very hard (and failing) not to laugh. It was a bit embarrassing but 1) I didn't see any point in making a scene trying to get Stu to shut up, 2) Stu wasn't hurting anyone and therefore it didn't seem right to stop him from being himself, and 3) I figured if nothing else, everyone else on the train was having an out-of-the-ordinary commute home about which to tell their families and coworkers. In the crush I missed my stop, but managed to get out when Stu and Chris did and catch the train back East. No problem.
Saturday was the ITO Foundation party. I put on the dress I'd sewn over break, grey tights, boots, new earrings, and my new coat and headed out. I just want to say again how *awesome* it is that the dress has pockets. I took the bus to Mitaka and the train to Shinjuku, then got a bit lost trying to find the hotel but managed to arrive about a minute before the event was scheduled to begin. Yamoto(Yamato?)-san told me my new haircut was かっこいい [kakkoii] (cool); Ueno-san (with whom I ordinarily correspond) was surprised and pleased to hear me chat in Japanese, even with the other fellows who spoke English. The whole event was quite cute. Ueno-san and the other office staff sang "Silent Night" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" while playing ukuleles. Some of the words were wrong, but it was cute. We even played Bingo. ^_^ The food was *amazing* - raw, cold meats (I never knew it could be so tasty), o-sushi, hot dishes of various sorts - I wish I'd eaten more, but I filled up quite quickly, possibly because I was so nervous and tired. I did alright chatting in Japanese. It was the speeches and presentations I had real trouble with. I tried quite earnestly in the beginning, but after no success, would eventually zone out. Very dismaying to be the only one in the room not understanding/laughing at the jokes. :-( And by the end I was fairly mentally exhausted.
I also met another fellow, also from America, who is studying not only Japanese film, but also Anime from the 50s and 60s. So, since I was interested in hearing about his work and he was interested in hearing about my *ahem* plans, after the party we went to a coffeeshop to talk. He was actually rather helpful, suggesting places I need to go and things I need to do, and I hope to get more information from him about programs and advisors in the near future (as I need to make my plans for next year as soon as possible). But on the whole it was a pretty depressing experience because there's so much I don't know and have yet to do... I couldn't even intelligently express what I wanted to him. I just felt so... useless.
We parted at Shinjuku station, and I walked up the stairs to buy my ticket. As I was turning from the ticket machines toward the ticket gate to enter the station, I was practically attacked by two little old Japanese women. Their excitement plain on their faces, they asked what my home country was. I don't know why I'm still surprised by questions like this. I dealt with them often enough in America, and I should have expected Japan, famous for its "Us/Them" mentality and not a little xenophobia, to be even worse about it. Anyway, I of course told them that I was from America, but... when I do this, I always feel like I'm breaking their hearts, so I follow it up with "but my parents went to America from India 30 years ago." The woman who did most of the talking spoke rather quickly, so I had trouble catching it all, but I think she said something along the lines of "When we saw you we thought 'what a fantastically pretty person! I wonder where she's from' and we just had to ask." So at least I got a compliment out of it. They then, if I'm not mistaken, invited me to their church to pray. I have no idea where this came from, and I'm sure we misunderstood each other a bit. In the end I told them today (Saturday) was bad for me, maybe next time, and escaped as fast as I could. I really couldn't understand it. If they weren't inviting me to their church, why were they telling me about it? If they were inviting me, why were they inviting me? Did they think that I, being Indian, clearly needed saving? Or did they hope to bring me as a show-and-tell item? Or were they simply being "good Christians" or even, God forbid, nice people by inviting a complete stranger into some personal aspect of their lives?
I got home around 5 or 6, quite exhausted, and fell asleep around 7 or 8, planning to wake up in a couple hours and start homework.
I woke up at 4am. heh.
humbly expressed their apologies for making me wait in the cold. We (Chris's friend Tomoko too) went to *surprise surprise* 一休, as it was the 9th of the month (half-price on the 9th, 19th, and 29th days of ever month... I think it's a pun - 9 being [kyuu] and 一休 being [ikkyuu]), and ordered food and drinks. I think (I'm just guessing) my presence was so deeply desired by Stu so that he wouldn't be a third wheel and by Chris so that he wouldn't have to share too much of Tomoko's attention with Stu. But in the end, Stu sat across from Tomoko and I from Chris, and, as if that weren't enough, I think Tomoko was the one feeling bored or left out in the end, as Stu and Chris seemed most interested in discussing the band with me.The band, by the way, is called プリモのレクイエム [purimo no rekuiemu] (Primo's Requiem). *sigh*
Anyway, the best or at least most interesting part of the night was the train ride home. When we left 一休, it was near time for the last trains, so we headed on home. I guess everyone else in the city had the same idea, because that was my first time crushed between so many bodies like that. It's a good thing I didn't have eyes in the back of my head, or I think I would have been a little freaked out. As it was, in the beginning I was pressed up against this South Asian-looking stranger and a handlebar (dug into the bone, kinda hurt) - don't know who was pushing me into them (everyone in the train, it felt like), as I couldn't really look around. I eventually managed to maneuver myself between the South Asian guy and Stu, which was a little more psychologically comfortable. Stu, slightly inebriated, and being his usual half-serious "Yorkshire is the center of the universe" self, spoke loudly and at length the whole ride home. The South Asian guy was trying very hard (and failing) not to laugh. It was a bit embarrassing but 1) I didn't see any point in making a scene trying to get Stu to shut up, 2) Stu wasn't hurting anyone and therefore it didn't seem right to stop him from being himself, and 3) I figured if nothing else, everyone else on the train was having an out-of-the-ordinary commute home about which to tell their families and coworkers. In the crush I missed my stop, but managed to get out when Stu and Chris did and catch the train back East. No problem.
Saturday was the ITO Foundation party. I put on the dress I'd sewn over break, grey tights, boots, new earrings, and my new coat and headed out. I just want to say again how *awesome* it is that the dress has pockets. I took the bus to Mitaka and the train to Shinjuku, then got a bit lost trying to find the hotel but managed to arrive about a minute before the event was scheduled to begin. Yamoto(Yamato?)-san told me my new haircut was かっこいい [kakkoii] (cool); Ueno-san (with whom I ordinarily correspond) was surprised and pleased to hear me chat in Japanese, even with the other fellows who spoke English. The whole event was quite cute. Ueno-san and the other office staff sang "Silent Night" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" while playing ukuleles. Some of the words were wrong, but it was cute. We even played Bingo. ^_^ The food was *amazing* - raw, cold meats (I never knew it could be so tasty), o-sushi, hot dishes of various sorts - I wish I'd eaten more, but I filled up quite quickly, possibly because I was so nervous and tired. I did alright chatting in Japanese. It was the speeches and presentations I had real trouble with. I tried quite earnestly in the beginning, but after no success, would eventually zone out. Very dismaying to be the only one in the room not understanding/laughing at the jokes. :-( And by the end I was fairly mentally exhausted.
I also met another fellow, also from America, who is studying not only Japanese film, but also Anime from the 50s and 60s. So, since I was interested in hearing about his work and he was interested in hearing about my *ahem* plans, after the party we went to a coffeeshop to talk. He was actually rather helpful, suggesting places I need to go and things I need to do, and I hope to get more information from him about programs and advisors in the near future (as I need to make my plans for next year as soon as possible). But on the whole it was a pretty depressing experience because there's so much I don't know and have yet to do... I couldn't even intelligently express what I wanted to him. I just felt so... useless.
We parted at Shinjuku station, and I walked up the stairs to buy my ticket. As I was turning from the ticket machines toward the ticket gate to enter the station, I was practically attacked by two little old Japanese women. Their excitement plain on their faces, they asked what my home country was. I don't know why I'm still surprised by questions like this. I dealt with them often enough in America, and I should have expected Japan, famous for its "Us/Them" mentality and not a little xenophobia, to be even worse about it. Anyway, I of course told them that I was from America, but... when I do this, I always feel like I'm breaking their hearts, so I follow it up with "but my parents went to America from India 30 years ago." The woman who did most of the talking spoke rather quickly, so I had trouble catching it all, but I think she said something along the lines of "When we saw you we thought 'what a fantastically pretty person! I wonder where she's from' and we just had to ask." So at least I got a compliment out of it. They then, if I'm not mistaken, invited me to their church to pray. I have no idea where this came from, and I'm sure we misunderstood each other a bit. In the end I told them today (Saturday) was bad for me, maybe next time, and escaped as fast as I could. I really couldn't understand it. If they weren't inviting me to their church, why were they telling me about it? If they were inviting me, why were they inviting me? Did they think that I, being Indian, clearly needed saving? Or did they hope to bring me as a show-and-tell item? Or were they simply being "good Christians" or even, God forbid, nice people by inviting a complete stranger into some personal aspect of their lives?
I got home around 5 or 6, quite exhausted, and fell asleep around 7 or 8, planning to wake up in a couple hours and start homework.
I woke up at 4am. heh.
posted by Bibhatsu at 05:21
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