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Well kids, this will probably be my last entry before Christmas break.. but that's
all right.. I will be coming home this Thursday..
Hmm.. last weekend, I went to a friend's birthday party.. he's 26 now. Anyway, I met
a nice Japanese girl there, and asked her if I could take her to dinner on Saturday.
She agreed. (Kylie was going around telling all the Japanese girls that I was all
abunai.. which means "dangerous" in Japanese.) Err...
Well last Saturday(it is Saturday as I write this now) I wrote a paper for my
politics class. That was all day. At least, until my date with that Japanese girl.
Suddenly, as I began to think about this date thing more, I got very worried.(I have
a terrible habit of thinking too much about things like this and get this way every
time I have a "date" going.) I started wondering if it was a date or not, and whether
she thought it was or wanted it to be and started asking myself the same questions.
Well I got all worried, but still went to meet her. The whole time I was at the
station waiting for her, I was worried about what she looked like. Now that might
sound superficial to you, and in the context of my worrying about whether I wanted
it to be a date or not, it probably does. But you must realize that I met this girl
the night before, and when you're in a darkened bar at night packed as it is, and
you don't remember what she looks like but you know you're supposed to meet her,
you definitely should worry about what she looks like.
All these people go by, and I keep recognizing faces that I've never seen before
but I swear that every one of them was making eye contact and showing recognition
of my now overly confused face. I am frantic, and when she isn't exactly on time,
I suddenly freak out, thinking.. "maybe she saw me and I didn't show any sort of
recognition when I looked at her, so she just walked on by..she's probably
thinking, 'ha! that will teach him' (but in japanese, of course)"
Then I saw her, and completely recognized her, and we left. She was three minutes
late, and I was no longer nuts. (Well..)
I took her to this really nice Italian place. She had spaghetti with a butter
sauce, and I had fettucine with a spinach and shrimp sauce. They were really
expensive, and really small portions. I pretended to speak Italian to her. I
understood the Italian on the menus better than I understood the Japanese.
I almost ordered a whole bottle of wine, but then explained that I only wanted
a glass. She had orange juice that was blood red. It tasted just like normal
orange juice, though. (No OJ simpson jokes from me)
After dinner we walked around and ended up at the Jusco department store.
We found the pianos for sale there and I played her a song I had written on
the piano. She seemed impressed. We walked to the subway station and we talked
for another 15 minutes. I kissed her on the cheek and she went home.
I still wonder if it was a date. You never know what these Japanese girls are
thinking. I went home and read Albert Camus' "The Stranger." Incredible book.
Still makes me think. Sunday I worked studied and did the whole week's worth
of homework.
This week I had to give a speech in Japanese. Three minutes. I did it ok, but
the last six or seven days I have been a little sick. And it has gotten worse.
The sore throat made my speech practicing a little difficult. But it was fine.
Last night, I went out with a few friends from England and some Japanese girls
(including last weekend's "date"). We had sushi at the Jusco(same one) and then
went to a nice pub-style bar nearby. We sat and talked over cocoa and various
drinks. Madonna videos were playing on the TV. I wanted to hear jazz.
We had planned to go to a jazz bar earlier in the night, but it had a 1000 yen
cover charge, and since I only had about 1700 on me, I couldn't afford it. No
one else wanted to shell it out either. The place only charges that for the
live music, and they had some lady singing and playing piano. One day I will
treat myself to a night of jazz at that place. Looked really cool.
I had to settle with reading more of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and
listening to a jazz CD I brought. I was pleasantly surprised by the mention
of Dean Moriarty(a main character in the book) and his trip from out west
to South Bend, Indiana to see Notre Dame beat California. He had to hitch-
hike all the way there and back. I cheered in my head.
Today, I wrote my religion paper(the role of women in Japan's new religions)
and I'm typing this up. As soon as I finish, I am going to Kylie's for her
"Goodbye-Japan" party thing.. she and a few other friends are leaving Japan
in a week or so, and not returning. It will be sad.
This week I have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of finals. Thursday I come
home. I still have loads of shopping to do, and cram in between my various
study sessions/classes/finals. I can't wait to come home and see all you
crazy kids, have some great times, see the snow, and eat some American
food. Gimme a call at (219)257-1690 after Thursday, or toss me an email if
you'd like to get together, or just to say hello!
Gotta go, must be going.. of course I must.. I bought a whole bag of mikan
(mandarin oranges.. very popular and very good here in Japan) and ate them
in about an hour. Still didn't fix my cold/throat problem. Peace, kids..
see you when I get back!
Chas