Two Days Until Tokyo!
Oh man, where should I start...
Well, after the seminar I came down with a nasty cold, (at first I denied I had a fever, refused to go to the doctor, and worked myself too hard afterward, so it got worse before it got better, but still, nothing so bad as the death flu of 2008.) so I took two and a half days off. I kept on trying to do stuff while I was supposed to be resting. Even watching anime all day feels more productive than sleeping. Besides, it was sunny the whole time, so I would have had a hard time sleeping during the day anyway. I was disappointed that I missed both hanami with my company and then hanami with my sensei because of it, and then hanami with Kaihatsu was rained out, so we went to a yakiniku restaurant instead. However, that weekend, a friend invited me to a hanami party in Saijo, and we put on our GothLoli outfits (well, I borrowed one of her dresses) and went together. that's where my current facebook profile pic comes from. So, for all the obstacles and disappointments before that, I was glad I finally got to go to hanami when it was most fun and comfortable.
I did an English speech on the 17th. I worked really, really hard to write it well, to show people how important the topic was to me (I wrote about the benefits of enjoying fantasy, even as adults we can get a lot out of it, here's why, etc etc, lots of examples. It was fun to write, but it also took a lot of effort because there was so much I wanted to say and I wasn't sure how to organize it.) and hopefully make it interesting to them as well. Because I am completely sick of talking about my relationship with Japan, and how it's different from America. I wish they had asked me for this thing in Japanese, because even though it would have been harder to prepare, at least they might have understood the point I was trying to make. I did the speech in English, and then the lady who asked me for the speech said she would translate it into Japanese and give them a printout, for them to review later. Oh great, I thought, no one's going to even bother listening now. And I was right. Some tried to listen, but the rest definitely just followed along with the Japanese, which I did not even have a chance to review for myself before I made the speech, so I have no idea if the translation even matched what I wanted to say.
I spoke slowly and clearly, and many people said they were impressed. But the questions!! I think I got maybe one or two questions that were actually intelligent, but still they should have been able to get the answers just by listening to what I had said. Then someone who already knew me told everyone that I cosplay... which I had not mentioned in the speech because there hadn't been time to weave it in properly, so I wish she had saved that for later. That created a big buzz, so everyone asked about that instead. Then, I got people asking me, since I mentioned movies, how much a ticket to see a movie costs in America, and even whether or not all Americans eat popcorn at the theaters. (!!!) I think I stared at that lady for a few seconds afterward like, "Um, yeah, just like you guys do. God." I was really disappointed at how it turned out. I should've known it would have been like that, but I hadn't expected quite that shallow of a reaction. I got free lunch afterward, though.
I did another morning ceremony thing last week. I didn't have the speech memorized quite as well as the last, but it still went well. This time I talked about Easter. I always like telling them about Catholic stuff, since none of the other interns were religious it's all really new to them.
I went to kabuki last Saturday and that was fabulous!!! I'm so glad I got to go. They gave me explanations of the three short acts in English, so even though I didn't understand all the words at the time, the tone and gestures helped while I was watching, and thanks to the elaborate and varied costumes and makeup, I was able to tell who was who after a bit. And then once I read the explanations after, I was like, "Oh, okay, totally got that part, cool." There were some very acrobatic parts, lots of flips and stuff, and the fight scenes were more like a dance than a convincing stage fight. I wasn't close to the main stage, but I was fairly close to the hanamichi, where many of the actors entered and exited from. They were so close and the costumes and makeup were so huge and dramatic, it was almost like otherworldly creatures were entering and leaving our world as they went along the walkway. I also got to the see the trapdoor technique in action for one scene, where a slug disguised as a beautiful woman (hey, could this be where the inspiration for the slug ladies in Spirited Away came from?) just rose up out of the walkway and appeared on stage. Really cool.
Also, I could tell I was in a high-class place, since there were women-young and old-wearing kimono to this thing. It made me feel like I'd entered a different time period, it was pretty cool.
Too bad pictures weren't allowed inside. It was really very nice, and though we were all crowded together on tatami mats, we were allowed to eat inside during the intermissions, so it was quite homey in a way, just setting up camp and hanging out instead of having to run to some place where you were allowed to eat and drink and then hurrying back.
I stopped by a temple pretty much next door that was very crowded and had lots of stairs going up to it. Still, the weather was lovely and I was all dressed up, and the stuff at the top was quite nice to look at. Pictures will be up probably after the Tokyo trip, but since I was by myself I don't have many posed pictures though.
Yesterday I did my last speech about Japan and America, at the Engineering branch of the company, in Matsuyama. 20 minutes that was miserable for both me and the audience, these poor factory workers who were more or less getting cheated out of the second half of their lunch break to listen to me talk. Even though much of the material was directly taken from my March speech, I had forgotten a lot of it. I hadn't practiced enough, especially for the stuff I added, and ended up reading the speech more than I would have liked. The higher-ups seemed to like it though. Before that, they gave me a quick explanation of the company... in English. That was the first time anyone decided to do their presentation almost entirely in English. It was certainly awkward, especially when the presenter had each of the other higher-ups in the room introduce themselves in English as well, but by now I'm really tired of trying to understand really technical terms in Japanese, so I was grateful for it.
There was a brief tour of the factory (they design and make boilers for ships there) and then Fujita-san and I drove back to Niihama. On the way, we stopped by the Betty Crocker Cafe, which specializes in cakes and pies and such... I had a banana-chocolate cream pie that was to die for. Plus, the place looked like an old-fashioned American house, brick walls, homey wooden furniture, lots of little knickknacks, natural light, etc, so not only did I get to have some nice, healing dessert after all that build-up about the speech, I got to enjoy a setting that felt a bit like home. It reminded me of this teahouse/cafe back in St Louis that my mom and I used to go to, it had this really antique, lacey, girly feel to it and the food was really good, very dainty. Anyway, after all that, I returned to work refreshed and with only an hour to go.
I finally finished drawing all over my shikishi (you know, the thing I made for the seminar closing ceremony, where I chose the word "creativity"?). It's not perfect, but I'm still quite happy with it. I tried to take pictures of it, which of course didn't go so well. I'll have to try and scan it soon.
Okay, I think that's everything. Here's hoping that after I get back from Tokyo (OMG I'm so excited!!!), things'll settle down for a bit. I need a break! Oh, but I am thinking of buying tickets to see some takarazuka in July, and that's my chance to go to Nagasaki as well... and take the JLPT. Plus, there's a speech contest in June (this time I'll be talking about cosplay). Oh well. Better than being bored.