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Jul. 13th, 2008 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flameravenSo, I did mean to go to Oarai yesterday and... then I sort of didn't go to sleep until two am. My alarm went off at seven-thirty, and while I did get up, after about twenty minutes of stumbling around my apartment like a zombie, I realized that there was no way I was going to catch the train, gave up, and went back to sleep. I think I finally got up around... eleven? Twelve? Something like that.
I ended up just going to school and hanging out on the internet for awhile; caught up on all my e-mails and such. (I think I had some intention of working on that paper for Iijima, but... yeah. Not so much.) I left around five to go get supplies for our party, and pick up some dinner. Thus began a lot of bicycling around town. I went home, dropped off my laptop, then biked across the bridge to Marche to get everything needed for s'mores (paying a truly outrageous sum in the process...) then went home again, put the supplies away, and headed out again in pursuit of food.
I went to the kaitenzushi nearby, which was packed even more than usual. Fortunately since I was alone I didn't have to wait too long to get a spot. They actually had a lot more variety of sushi out, probably due to peak hours or something, so I had my usual 2-3 plates of shrimp, some salmon(?) and octopus, and then splurged on the 400 yen plate for the crab sushi. It was totally worth it though. Totally stuffed with sushi, I went back home, and hung out for a few more hours, playing taiko and such.
At about quarter to ten I gathered up my big bag of food (all the s'mores stuff, some chips and salsa, pretzels, and a bunch of snacks I'm not going to be able to eat on my own), and headed out. Originally I had told Chris and Brian to have everybody meet up in front of Hakuoh, but I got a text from him right before I left that said he, Yoshiko, and the Chinese students were all going to go to the river directly because it was closer. I went to the river as well, although I ended up waiting for a good fifteen minutes because they actually went to the Mini Stop first. There was also some confusion because I'd thought Chris was with Brian and the rest, but actually he was waiting at the gates for a little while before he came and found us.
Still, everybody got there in the end. We set up under one of the little picnic areas. Brian had bought a tiny little grill at the 100 yen shop to use as our campfire, and they'd gotten charcoal from somewhere. We actually had quite a difficult time getting the fire to burn properly (I maintain this was because Yoshiko and the others tried to simply dump fire-starting jelly on the charcoal and burn it, which is no way to build a fire), but we managed it in the end.
It ended up being a bit confused, though, as everyone started lighting fireworks while we were still working on the fire, so actually I kind of missed out on that part of it. The fireworks were also being lit only a few feet away, and they wouldn't move them, despite my constant yelling that it was dangerous. Tch. Sorry if I'm being a little paranoid guys, but come on. Basic safety, please.
Anyway, we eventually got the fire going to a point where it was actually possible to cook things over it, so we started with the s'mores. This was sometimes entertaining (Kyuu was astonished that we were using sticks to hold the marshmallows, and would not believe us when we said this was how you were supposed to do it) and sometimes frustrating (when they were asking us how long the marshmallows should be cooked, and I was unable to explain how to tell when it was done. Brian kept advising them to wait until the mallows were on fire.) We did get several s'mores made in the end, and I think just about everyone tried them, but between the difficulty with the fire and the general confusion and a little bit of arguing (Yoshiko and Brian got into some disagreements over the fire in particular), it was a little more chaotic and a little less fun than I'd hoped for. Still-- s'mores!
Later on most everybody ended up drunk, except for me, Brian, and I think Okei, and everyone, for reasons I never did understand, sort of clustered on the track, away from all the food and the drinks, and simply stood and talked. Chris in particular was quite drunk, and I actually ended up talking to him for awhile, back near the campfire. Later on they called me over to the main group, and I hung out for awhile, and ran a couple races for no particular reason, but overall I couldn't really get into any of the conversations, and I was tired anyway, so I left. It was about 1 am.
I talked to Chris later, and he said they stayed out until three. I don't think I could've managed that long. While I did enjoy the party, I think it was a little difficult, reconciling the two groups, and for me at least, rather awkward. Or maybe I just miss the parties at home, where there are video games and geeky jokes and terrible old movies to watch, instead of random small talk in another language (or two).
I don't know. I did have an interesting conversation with Chris, though, or half of one. (Likely because he was wasted, his attention kept wandering on to different things, so I was partly talking to myself.)
We were talking about Hakuoh, and what I'd thought of my trip, since I'm leaving so soon... and I have to say, I think I'm about ready to go back. I'm a little disappointed, because I didn't get to travel as much as I wanted, and I'm sad that I'll miss some of the really cool events my club is doing, like the festival in Nikko in September, but I'm also really excited to go home, and go back to proper classes, instead of this kind of lame excuse we've had for class all summer. I mean, I'm starting Illustration this semester! Something I've been waiting to do for years now. And, you know, I already had a year in Japan with the Rotary, and in some ways I think that was the better experience. This trip... this was enough, these four months. I rediscovered a lot of things to like about Japan (and was reminded of a lot of things I dislike), I learned some more Japanese. I didn't learn to play taiko, like I wanted-- but I learned Yosakoi dancing, which is arguably just as cool or moreso. Despite the issues I had with the classes, I got the credits I needed for my major.
It's been a good trip. Like anything, there were good and bad points, but overall it was good. I think I can leave this time, and... not regret. Last time when I left, I was full of regrets; I kept thinking of all the mistakes I'd made, all the chances I missed. This time, I think, it was enough. I'll go home, and when I travel again, it'll be to someplace else. I'm sure I'll come back to Japan again, but when, I'm not sure. It's not as important. I don't think I'll have that pressing need to go back, though, once I'm home again. I think I achieved what I wanted, basically. So for now... it's good.
I ended up just going to school and hanging out on the internet for awhile; caught up on all my e-mails and such. (I think I had some intention of working on that paper for Iijima, but... yeah. Not so much.) I left around five to go get supplies for our party, and pick up some dinner. Thus began a lot of bicycling around town. I went home, dropped off my laptop, then biked across the bridge to Marche to get everything needed for s'mores (paying a truly outrageous sum in the process...) then went home again, put the supplies away, and headed out again in pursuit of food.
I went to the kaitenzushi nearby, which was packed even more than usual. Fortunately since I was alone I didn't have to wait too long to get a spot. They actually had a lot more variety of sushi out, probably due to peak hours or something, so I had my usual 2-3 plates of shrimp, some salmon(?) and octopus, and then splurged on the 400 yen plate for the crab sushi. It was totally worth it though. Totally stuffed with sushi, I went back home, and hung out for a few more hours, playing taiko and such.
At about quarter to ten I gathered up my big bag of food (all the s'mores stuff, some chips and salsa, pretzels, and a bunch of snacks I'm not going to be able to eat on my own), and headed out. Originally I had told Chris and Brian to have everybody meet up in front of Hakuoh, but I got a text from him right before I left that said he, Yoshiko, and the Chinese students were all going to go to the river directly because it was closer. I went to the river as well, although I ended up waiting for a good fifteen minutes because they actually went to the Mini Stop first. There was also some confusion because I'd thought Chris was with Brian and the rest, but actually he was waiting at the gates for a little while before he came and found us.
Still, everybody got there in the end. We set up under one of the little picnic areas. Brian had bought a tiny little grill at the 100 yen shop to use as our campfire, and they'd gotten charcoal from somewhere. We actually had quite a difficult time getting the fire to burn properly (I maintain this was because Yoshiko and the others tried to simply dump fire-starting jelly on the charcoal and burn it, which is no way to build a fire), but we managed it in the end.
It ended up being a bit confused, though, as everyone started lighting fireworks while we were still working on the fire, so actually I kind of missed out on that part of it. The fireworks were also being lit only a few feet away, and they wouldn't move them, despite my constant yelling that it was dangerous. Tch. Sorry if I'm being a little paranoid guys, but come on. Basic safety, please.
Anyway, we eventually got the fire going to a point where it was actually possible to cook things over it, so we started with the s'mores. This was sometimes entertaining (Kyuu was astonished that we were using sticks to hold the marshmallows, and would not believe us when we said this was how you were supposed to do it) and sometimes frustrating (when they were asking us how long the marshmallows should be cooked, and I was unable to explain how to tell when it was done. Brian kept advising them to wait until the mallows were on fire.) We did get several s'mores made in the end, and I think just about everyone tried them, but between the difficulty with the fire and the general confusion and a little bit of arguing (Yoshiko and Brian got into some disagreements over the fire in particular), it was a little more chaotic and a little less fun than I'd hoped for. Still-- s'mores!
Later on most everybody ended up drunk, except for me, Brian, and I think Okei, and everyone, for reasons I never did understand, sort of clustered on the track, away from all the food and the drinks, and simply stood and talked. Chris in particular was quite drunk, and I actually ended up talking to him for awhile, back near the campfire. Later on they called me over to the main group, and I hung out for awhile, and ran a couple races for no particular reason, but overall I couldn't really get into any of the conversations, and I was tired anyway, so I left. It was about 1 am.
I talked to Chris later, and he said they stayed out until three. I don't think I could've managed that long. While I did enjoy the party, I think it was a little difficult, reconciling the two groups, and for me at least, rather awkward. Or maybe I just miss the parties at home, where there are video games and geeky jokes and terrible old movies to watch, instead of random small talk in another language (or two).
I don't know. I did have an interesting conversation with Chris, though, or half of one. (Likely because he was wasted, his attention kept wandering on to different things, so I was partly talking to myself.)
We were talking about Hakuoh, and what I'd thought of my trip, since I'm leaving so soon... and I have to say, I think I'm about ready to go back. I'm a little disappointed, because I didn't get to travel as much as I wanted, and I'm sad that I'll miss some of the really cool events my club is doing, like the festival in Nikko in September, but I'm also really excited to go home, and go back to proper classes, instead of this kind of lame excuse we've had for class all summer. I mean, I'm starting Illustration this semester! Something I've been waiting to do for years now. And, you know, I already had a year in Japan with the Rotary, and in some ways I think that was the better experience. This trip... this was enough, these four months. I rediscovered a lot of things to like about Japan (and was reminded of a lot of things I dislike), I learned some more Japanese. I didn't learn to play taiko, like I wanted-- but I learned Yosakoi dancing, which is arguably just as cool or moreso. Despite the issues I had with the classes, I got the credits I needed for my major.
It's been a good trip. Like anything, there were good and bad points, but overall it was good. I think I can leave this time, and... not regret. Last time when I left, I was full of regrets; I kept thinking of all the mistakes I'd made, all the chances I missed. This time, I think, it was enough. I'll go home, and when I travel again, it'll be to someplace else. I'm sure I'll come back to Japan again, but when, I'm not sure. It's not as important. I don't think I'll have that pressing need to go back, though, once I'm home again. I think I achieved what I wanted, basically. So for now... it's good.
