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Holy scha-moly again..well, we had a nice long week off from last Wednesday to this
Wednesday.. and right smack in the middle of it, was my birthday.
First off.. the beginning of my break was filled with lots of sleeping in, hanging
out with people who didn't get to go to exotic places like Guam, Bali, Singapore,
etc. and reading. The beginning of my break saw a call from Paul inviting me to hoop
it up out in Zemylak's part of town. So we headed out there, Paul, Grant and I to
play some basketball for a few hours. When we got there, we walked to the place where
the court was supposed to be..it was an elementary school playground. The rims were
nine feet up, instead of regulation ten. And the ground wasn't paved, or even black
top. It was gravel. Loose gravel. Anyway, the students were just getting out of
class, and we weren't sure whether we should use their court. So we did anyway, and
just figured that if someone said anything, we could always leave.
Well, we played a bit and soon, every kid on the playground was gathered up around the
court, cheering when we made big moves(even though most of them were unsuccessful).
We decided to let some of them in on the game, and invited 4 to play. Instead, about
20 kids joined, and it soon became more a rugby game than any kind of basketball game.
No kidding, these kids were tackling each other, and even had perfect rugby passing
form. Eventually, after we got tired of lifting the kids on our shoulders and trying
to get them to get the ball in, we said "Game's over." and made them all stop.
Sadly, despite the fact that I am 6'-3" and Zem is 6'-4", neither of us could dunk
on the 9 foot rim.
Two older kids did join, however, and we played with them for a bit while a bunch of
6th grade girls came and cheered and stared. They started asking us all kinds of
questions, like "Do you have a girlfriend?" and "Do you play professional
basketball in the United States?" We just laughed, and finished up the game. As
soon as we were done, they came over and asked for our autographs. We all signed,
Paul signing his as "Steve Robertson."
On a side note, sometimes my elderly host mother forgets my name, and refers to me
as Steve. The first time I met her, I explained that Chas is short for Charles. She
likened this to Steve being short for Stephen. For some reason, that stuck more than
Chas did.
My host parents' daughter from Tokyo visited, and brought her 3 year old daughter
with her. They stayed from about Wednesday to Monday morning. This little girl was so
excited to meet the big America-jin, but as soon as she saw me, she got really shy
and embarassed. She was so scared of me. However, by the end of dinner, with me
making faces at her, and entertaining her as best as I could, she was quite taken
with me. She even called me by "onii-chan," which is a familiar term for "big
brother." (No, this has nothing to do with George Orwell.)
Thursday of my break witnessed my second "date." Now, keep in mind that I am still
not sure whether the first one, which took place in December, was a date or not. It
doesn't matter, I figure. So I called her up, and we went out to do some karaoke-ing
for a few hours, then caught a round of kaiten-sushi(the conveyor belt kind). That
night I had sushi for the 3rd time in a one week period.
Afterward, we went to a coffee house and talked a bit more. Unfortunately, I still
wonder about what's going on in this girl's head. What a great gift that would be,
to read womens' minds.
I got home early enough to do some more reading of Tom Clancy's "Clear and Present
Danger" and make an origami pig for the little girl.
Saturday was my 20th birthday. In Japan, the legal age for adulthood: drinking,
lottery, voting, etc. is 20. So I was excited. However, in Japan they also don't
celebrate birthdays much after the "little kid" stage. So I got to eat some cake
that my host mom bought to celebrate it.
My friends, on the other hand, thought differently. I received a really cool set
of wax-crayons and a linen-covered sketch book from Courtney, who spent her break
in Guam. Meghan organized a gathering at the Hard Rock Cafe(a favorite of ours,
because of the 1000yen discount coupons they give out. It makes for a reasonably
cheap American meal..or a coupla drinks.)
I woke up Saturday morning early(I went to bed late, on account of the book I
couldn't put down) and opened the presents my parents sent me. I was overjoyed to
get my new Converse Chuck Taylor shoes on, especially since Converse is filing
bankruptcy. I also got some much needed underwear and guitar picks. (Nobody reads
this thing anyway, right?)
I soon got a call from my mom, with whom I talked for about an hour and a half,
with two interruptions. Now, here's a lesson in culture differences.
The daughter of my host parents came up to tell me something(in Japanese, of course)
and I thought I understood both times. But I didn't get the real meanings. She
came upstairs and told me that she had to go pick up her husband at the station,
and when I was done, I should take the phone downstairs right away. She said she
would make lunch after she got him. I said ok.
Real meaning: We are waiting for my husband to call so I can go pick him up. Please
hurry up and bring the phone downstairs.
Half an hour later, I took the phone downstairs. Where I was met with the upset stares
of my host family. Hmm.. things don't look so great suddenly, I thought. I met the
husband, who spoke enough English(actually, quite well) to explain why I was the
biggest idiot in all of Japan and why I should shrink into a little hole and disappear.
My words, not his. Definitely not. I felt terrible about it the whole time, and still
do. We had lunch, I took a nap, finished "Clear and Present Danger" and I went off to
meet Paul and the other Notre Dame guys that were in town. Alex and Pyfer had trooped
off to Bali and Singapore for resorts and sun. So I met the remaining guys downtown,
where we headed off to pick up a coupla Cuban cigars and go to the Hard Rock Cafe.
Paul and I had a coupla Coronas and took our cigars outside to enjoy Fidel's
forbidden contributions to the world. Two of the best cigars we've ever had,
we decided. Only smoked half of them before heading back inside to take a short
break. We had a few more drinks as other people showed up and we all sat down to have
some food. A grilled chicken breast sandwich was my choice of Americana, and enjoyed
every last bit of juicy, flame-licked, tender chicken. Mmmmm....
My Japanese lady-friend gave me a really cool little clock and another friend, John
the Brit, gave me something I can't really describe. Strange, and cool.. Meghan gave
me a puzzle of Mt. Fuji, and made sure that I wouldn't have to pay for my bill. (The
best gift of all, perhaps?)
After I ate, I headed outside with Paul again to finish up our cigars. While we were
outside, we heard the familiar Beatles celebratory "Birthday" song.. they do this
thing at the Hard Rock where they play that song and give the birthday person a piece
of cake or brownie, a little gift pin, and take their picture. However, I was outside
smoking my Habana, and hoping that it was someone else's birthday... nope. John came
out looking for me, and I ran back in to find the music still blaring and the lights
still going(or was that the cigar/Corona combo that I remember?) I sat down, and a
confused Hard Rock waitress gave me a piece of cake and ice cream, while they gave me
a pin and let me blow out the candle on the slice of cake. Meghan still hasn't forgiven
me for the whole incident. (She's sitting right next to me right now, I had to say that.)
After that, I rejoined Paul to finally finish it up, and a waiter came out to take my
picture. If you look very carefully, you can see part of my hand. In it, which you
cannot see, is a Cuban cigar.
Next we all went to karaoke for a bit, causing me to miss my bus home and spend an hour
walking and listening to a blues CD included in my birthday presents.. Albert Collins..
live from Japan.. ohh yeahh..
Sunday morning, a little dehydrated, I woke up bright and early to join my host parents'
daughter's family on a trip to Ise Shrine. At first, I thought my host parents were going
to go as well, but they didn't. They did, however, have reservations about me going. They
were afraid that if we got in a crash, then my family and I would sue them, and they said
that they "didn't have the yen to pay" us. I said that's ridiculous. Not every American
is a lying, cheating, back-stabbing, money-hungry, vicious, heartless, etc...
Just most of us.
:) So we went to Ise, the three year old and I in the back seat. She in her car seat,
I in a big-kids' seat. About a two hour trip away, I spent a chunk of it sleeping. I
needed to recuperate from the last few days, and my lack of sleep. When we got there,
we realized that it was a national holiday. Foundation Day. And this shrine was very
famous for its role in the foundation of Japan.
As legend has it, the first man and the first woman came together. The woman said,
"Hey, I am missing something. You have something extra. Wanna put them together?"
So they did. When the first child was deformed, the man blamed the woman, pointing
to the fact that she spoke first. They did it again, and created successfully.
Out of them came Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Anyway, they were having ceremonies for
these things/people/goddesses/extra parts when we got there. After a stroll around the
grounds and a quick moment to pray/toss money at the temple, we headed back to the car
and drove on to Kashikojima, a bay famous for being the first place to have artificially
started oyster-pearls. A nice boat ride around the bay, and headed back.
The ride home was kinda fun, since I got to keep the little girl occupied. I like kids,
and this was just more fun. I do all kinds of really dumb magic tricks, faces, voices,
etc. So for a few hours, in between short naps, that's what I did. When we got back that
night, we had sushi for dinner. (Fourth time in one week. My personal record.)
The father had a bit to drink, and soon we were all laughing and having a good time.
The little girl had me draw her portrait, which turned out less than successful, if you
ask me. She was thrilled, however. They had been so nice to me that I felt as if I should
show some kind of appreciation. However, they were leaving early the next morning.
So I gave them a pastel I had done. It was the second one I had done, the first going to
another friend. However, this was something I was really proud of, so I felt that they
would see that in it. When I gave it to them, they were taken aback. The father, a little
hazy in his mind, I'm sure, became an instant art critic and lavished compliment upon
compliment concerning my technique with the blending, the colors, the way the sliver of
sunset even reflected into the water and everything. We all got a kick out of it.
At one point, he said that "one day, I will go into a museum, and see your work. And I
will have an autographed piece of yours, and I will be rich! RICH!!"
We should have videotaped him. It was all too funny.
I went to bed, and when I woke up the next morning, they were gone. Monday, I got a call
from Paul. (That rhymes) After seven minutes on the phone, I hung it up and my host mom
told me that she wanted to use the phone but couldn't because I was on it. She lectured
me about hogging the phone, and how her old host student had a cell phone and when she
wanted to make a call, she would go and use the pay phone down at the convenience store
which is inconveniently located about a ten minute walk away. So I went and bought a
cell phone that afternoon. My number is 09083333005 if you want to call it. But keep in
mind that any costs you incur are incredibly raised when you call a cell phone(especially
a Japanese one.) I spent almost 5 dollars talking for about 10 minutes the other day.
The next few days, I just went around, read, partied a bit, and ended my break with
laundry, cleaning and homework. I read Tom Clancy's Bio Strike. Written by someone else.
I don't recommend it.
Valentine's Day in Japan is much different than the Western version..first, only the
girls give stuff to the guys. And they give small stuff to co-workers, etc. They are
obligated to give them something. For the people they really like, however, they give
something more substantial. On the converse(my favorite shoe) there is a day about a
month later or so, called White Day. This is where the guys return the favor to all the
ladies. What a strange strange country, I tell you.
Well, I am all out of books to read. However, I am keeping occupied with playing guitar
and singing(lots of karaoke lately, and my voice is improving). Also, I am trying to
scrape together equipment for a bit of recording in my dorm room next year. If anyone
has links to a mixer, or some quality microphones, or any other equipment, I would
greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Sorry for the length on this one, and I'll catch you next week! Happy Valentine's Day,
or as some have termed it, Happy Singles' Awareness Day!
Chas