I have awesome friends
So Sunday I went to Osaka to hang out with my friends Ryu and Yuko. I've known Yuko for about a year via X Japan fandom, and I met Ryu (Yuko's friend) at the Gackt concert I went to with koneko. Yuko has often lamented the fact that I do not live in Osaka and so I decided to spend half of silver week with them because I did want to hang out with them.
Sunday we went to karaoke for three hours. We sang a lot of X Japan. Yuko's friend Akippe also came. Everyone had either a hide plushie, or a Yoshikitty, and as my smallest representation of X Japan is the Starlight Yoshiki doll, I brought him. We found out that the crimped parts of his hair FALL OFF if you shake him too hard. But he still has plenty of hair and I really don't mind hahaha.
Then we had yaki niku and it was delicious. We had a lot of fun just talking, and Ryu learned how to say "outside" because the place we went to specialized in internal cuts of meat (like you know, tongue, liver, stomach, whatever) and so each time something new went on the grill she would proclaim "outside outside" if it was an outside cut (like the flank, or breast). We eventually got to talking about personalities based on blood type and I really couldn't understand because that's not a Western concept. But what they described of an A blood type person certainly fits me so I did find it very amusing.
After yaki niku we went and took some purikura which was a lot of fun.
After that we ate ramen at a very famous ramen place. Ryu knew which places to go to because she's spent like her whole life hanging around the cool parts of Osaka and she also seems to know everyone. She's only two years older than me. She is also a drummer in a band and a full-time system engineer. And she looks like T.M.R but currently has Gackt's hairstyle. She is like...my secret hero, for sure.
And then we decided when to meet up on Monday and went our separate ways.
Monday we started early with me and Yuko at Takashimaya, where we oggled the overly expensive Yoshiki jewelry, and talked a lot about sumire-gumi (which is what the Japanese call YoshikiXToshi). We went to a musical instrument store where she played various X songs for me on the pianos there before we went to meet up with Ryu and Akippe for lunch.
We ate at First Kitchen, which is often shortened to FaKing in Japanese and was the source of amusement because they know the American reaction to "Let's go FaKing!" is "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! D8<"
Sadly, Akippe had to leave after that and the three of us went off to look for Yoshikitty. We did find it but no mugs were to be had, so we then left that part of Osaka to go to Nipponbashi.
Ryu is secretly a big video game, anime, and manga nerd. A closet otaku if you will, because she gives off a sense of being far too cool for all that stuff, and yet we were standing in the middle of a street, eating ice cream, trying to explain how awesome Hetalia is to Yuko. She then took us around to all the good shops, where I bought, in no particular order:
-2 America collectible hanging placards (the phrases on them are just too cute.)
-The trading card binder.
-A box and 4 packs of trading cards - I only need 5 to complete my collection and have a lot of doubles to sell/trade.
-A collectible charm - I got England's.
-The plushie for Japan. (I WANT AN AMERICA SO THERE CAN BE FUN TIMES.)
-3 doujinshi - 2 USAXJAPAN, and one gag one where everyone is a pirate and America is a SPACE PIRATE IN A FREAKING UFO. YEAH. I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
-and the first 2 drama CDs.
YES ALL OF THAT IS HETALIA RELATED.
While looking at shiny Pullips and Barbies in a case next to Sailor Moon items (one awesome thing was this BEAUTIFUL statue of Super Sailor Moon but they wanted like $700 for it.) I spotted those old mini X Japan plushie key chains - they only had hide and Yoshiki and they came as a set but Yuko was like OH GAWD DO WANT and she bought them and was thus happy for the rest of the day. I sadly could not find my Geass figures and will have to return to auction hunting I guess.
Since all of us were beat we decided to go to a really nice Maid Cafe and chill for a bit where we discussed how selling on ebay works because that's what Ryu does apparently and how glad we were with our finds of the day.
We dawdled in one of the big electronics stores because Ryu wanted to find something but she didn't find it and we ended up drawing on the Wacom tablets. I just doodled but Yuko took photos of them anyway because she liked them. Being praised by Japanese people for how well you draw can feel really good especially when your style is influenced by anime and manga.
We then had sushi for dinner where they ate twice as much as me because my stomach just isn't big enough.
After that we went to a game center where Ryu kicked ass at all the music games and won me a small Stitch plushie. She won it first then was like "Here. You can have it." Yuko and I failed at Guitar Freaks together aaaaaah.
We then took more purikura and stopped for ice cream and then went home for the night.
Tuesday we got together at 11 for lunch. Raeanna came in all the way from Taka to hang out for a few hours, and Yuko's friend Miyo showed up with her adorable little baby Aika. We passed the Aika test, though it took her a while because we are not the standard "human" face but she took to us and she let me hold her a lot and I was happy. She did however break Yuko's Yoshikitty strap and drooled all over Stitch (I figured soft furry toy is better than hard plastic toy no longer attached to string). She also ate her weight in udon and rice - that baby KNOWS how to grab her food and put in her mouth. She also enjoyed shoving her cute little fingers into my mouth, and gumming my arm and there was much kissing of this cuter than cute baby. I very nearly stole her but Yuko refused - she considers Aika to be her adoptive baby.
After lunch we hung out outside before meeting up with Ryu before I had to go to my bus.
Oh and Yuko got me the Yoshikitty mug and strap I wanted so yea!
The buses ride to and from were uneventful.
Really, I had a lot of fun. Like...so much fun. It makes me wish I DID live in Osaka, just so I could see them every weekend. But it's like Raeanna pointed out, it's not a vacation or special if I get to do it all the time. I also am not 100% happy with working in Japan. Yes, it was fun. Yes, I love my friends and they love me. But...can I give up the mental happiness, the instinctual happiness I feel when I am in the US? I've tried, several times, and always at the end I curse my stupidity for ever leaving. But I always leave again. I guess I test my limits each time. How much can I handle on my own? How much change and unfamiliar can I take on without the support system, without the social aspects? A year seems to be the limit.
Sometimes I think it makes me weak. To say "I can't stand living in Japan." Then why did I major in Japanese? But...but I'm not weak, am I? No one ever said I had to be strong enough to live in Japan and take it. It's just me saying it.
Yes, I love the people, the culture, the food, the material items, my friends, the unique places. I do not love how they live life. I can not adapt to it. That is ME. There should be NO shame in not being able to fit in as well as those foreigners who do stay forever, or do marry a national and make Japan their home. Maybe Japan fits them better than their countries of origin.
For me, it's the US. And it hurts to have to say "I am leaving in April" to friends who so eagerly wish to see me, to be with me, but I also look forward to it. It gives me an end goal. Get home alive. Get home with all your stuff, with money, with job experience.
It wasn't 3 years, no, but a year and 7 months isn't bad either.
And that totally should have been where this post ended but I would like to point out:
-I am on season 4 of Doctor Who. I LOVE THIS SHOW.
-EPISODE 35 OF HETALIA. OH MY GOD. POOR POOR CANADA. THEY GIVE HIM THIS BREATHY, SOFT VOICE AND HE'S SO HARD TO HEAR BUT BUT HE DOES LOOK JUST LIKE AMERICA, AND HE GOT BEAT UP BY CUBA. MY POOR CANADA.
Reasons Yuko is awesome:
-she holds my hand. In public. Mainly, it's because I think she's afraid she'll lose me in the crowds but it's still very touching. I haven't had my hand held in a long time so it felt awkward. I need more human contact.
-She will jabber about sumiregumi with me in English AND Japanese.
-She constantly kept paying for me. I obviously have enough money to go on trips, and play, but she just would say "No! Don't worry about it!" and pay before I could. It's something that I have seen before with my friends, mainly those raised in Japan, but also very kind, laid back people. It reminded me of Allyn and Mei-chan and Airy. Maybe it's some polite manner I wasn't raised with. But it leaves me feeling bad because I am used to paying for ME and I dislike having debts. I know I don't have to pay them back but at the same time I am wondering what must I do in return when the time comes for me to be the host? I wouldn't mind paying for them as it wasn't huge amounts, but will they refuse?
-She is just awesome.
-She also squeed when she obtained tiny Yoshiki plusihe keychain. I felt a bit proud.
Reasons Ryu is awesome:
-She knows how to play the androgynous card. She dresses like a male rock star but is obviously a girl due to her figure. But her hair is like Gackt's and she SERIOUSLY LOOKS JUST LIKE T.M.R WHEN HE WAS 26.
-She LIKES HETALIA. Enough said.
-She also likes sumiregumi.
-She knows where everything that is to be seen and done that is worth being seen and done in Osaka IS.
-She gave me Stitch.
-She's a FUCKING DRUMMER.
-She's just really really cool and I am pretty sure I have what I call a "friend crush" on her.
Reasons why Aika is awesome:
-CUTEST BABY EVER.
-NEVER CRIED.
-LET ME HOLD HER LONG TIME.
-LET ME KISS HER.
-ENJOYED LICKING MY ARM.
-LAUGHED A LOT.
-WAS TOO DAMN CUTE.
OF COURSE AKIPPE AND MIYO AND RAEANNA ARE AWESOME BUT I HAD TO JUST JOT DOWN WHY THOSE THREE WERE REALLY AWESOME.
Okay, I should get ready for bed. Damn work.
And I swear I will post pictures eventually, I just now have to obtain photos from like...4 different people gah!
AND ANY TOSHI TRANSLATING WILL BE DONE UH AT A LATER POINT IN TIME. I NEED TO WORK ON MY RESUME TO URGH.
Sunday we went to karaoke for three hours. We sang a lot of X Japan. Yuko's friend Akippe also came. Everyone had either a hide plushie, or a Yoshikitty, and as my smallest representation of X Japan is the Starlight Yoshiki doll, I brought him. We found out that the crimped parts of his hair FALL OFF if you shake him too hard. But he still has plenty of hair and I really don't mind hahaha.
Then we had yaki niku and it was delicious. We had a lot of fun just talking, and Ryu learned how to say "outside" because the place we went to specialized in internal cuts of meat (like you know, tongue, liver, stomach, whatever) and so each time something new went on the grill she would proclaim "outside outside" if it was an outside cut (like the flank, or breast). We eventually got to talking about personalities based on blood type and I really couldn't understand because that's not a Western concept. But what they described of an A blood type person certainly fits me so I did find it very amusing.
After yaki niku we went and took some purikura which was a lot of fun.
After that we ate ramen at a very famous ramen place. Ryu knew which places to go to because she's spent like her whole life hanging around the cool parts of Osaka and she also seems to know everyone. She's only two years older than me. She is also a drummer in a band and a full-time system engineer. And she looks like T.M.R but currently has Gackt's hairstyle. She is like...my secret hero, for sure.
And then we decided when to meet up on Monday and went our separate ways.
Monday we started early with me and Yuko at Takashimaya, where we oggled the overly expensive Yoshiki jewelry, and talked a lot about sumire-gumi (which is what the Japanese call YoshikiXToshi). We went to a musical instrument store where she played various X songs for me on the pianos there before we went to meet up with Ryu and Akippe for lunch.
We ate at First Kitchen, which is often shortened to FaKing in Japanese and was the source of amusement because they know the American reaction to "Let's go FaKing!" is "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! D8<"
Sadly, Akippe had to leave after that and the three of us went off to look for Yoshikitty. We did find it but no mugs were to be had, so we then left that part of Osaka to go to Nipponbashi.
Ryu is secretly a big video game, anime, and manga nerd. A closet otaku if you will, because she gives off a sense of being far too cool for all that stuff, and yet we were standing in the middle of a street, eating ice cream, trying to explain how awesome Hetalia is to Yuko. She then took us around to all the good shops, where I bought, in no particular order:
-2 America collectible hanging placards (the phrases on them are just too cute.)
-The trading card binder.
-A box and 4 packs of trading cards - I only need 5 to complete my collection and have a lot of doubles to sell/trade.
-A collectible charm - I got England's.
-The plushie for Japan. (I WANT AN AMERICA SO THERE CAN BE FUN TIMES.)
-3 doujinshi - 2 USAXJAPAN, and one gag one where everyone is a pirate and America is a SPACE PIRATE IN A FREAKING UFO. YEAH. I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
-and the first 2 drama CDs.
YES ALL OF THAT IS HETALIA RELATED.
While looking at shiny Pullips and Barbies in a case next to Sailor Moon items (one awesome thing was this BEAUTIFUL statue of Super Sailor Moon but they wanted like $700 for it.) I spotted those old mini X Japan plushie key chains - they only had hide and Yoshiki and they came as a set but Yuko was like OH GAWD DO WANT and she bought them and was thus happy for the rest of the day. I sadly could not find my Geass figures and will have to return to auction hunting I guess.
Since all of us were beat we decided to go to a really nice Maid Cafe and chill for a bit where we discussed how selling on ebay works because that's what Ryu does apparently and how glad we were with our finds of the day.
We dawdled in one of the big electronics stores because Ryu wanted to find something but she didn't find it and we ended up drawing on the Wacom tablets. I just doodled but Yuko took photos of them anyway because she liked them. Being praised by Japanese people for how well you draw can feel really good especially when your style is influenced by anime and manga.
We then had sushi for dinner where they ate twice as much as me because my stomach just isn't big enough.
After that we went to a game center where Ryu kicked ass at all the music games and won me a small Stitch plushie. She won it first then was like "Here. You can have it." Yuko and I failed at Guitar Freaks together aaaaaah.
We then took more purikura and stopped for ice cream and then went home for the night.
Tuesday we got together at 11 for lunch. Raeanna came in all the way from Taka to hang out for a few hours, and Yuko's friend Miyo showed up with her adorable little baby Aika. We passed the Aika test, though it took her a while because we are not the standard "human" face but she took to us and she let me hold her a lot and I was happy. She did however break Yuko's Yoshikitty strap and drooled all over Stitch (I figured soft furry toy is better than hard plastic toy no longer attached to string). She also ate her weight in udon and rice - that baby KNOWS how to grab her food and put in her mouth. She also enjoyed shoving her cute little fingers into my mouth, and gumming my arm and there was much kissing of this cuter than cute baby. I very nearly stole her but Yuko refused - she considers Aika to be her adoptive baby.
After lunch we hung out outside before meeting up with Ryu before I had to go to my bus.
Oh and Yuko got me the Yoshikitty mug and strap I wanted so yea!
The buses ride to and from were uneventful.
Really, I had a lot of fun. Like...so much fun. It makes me wish I DID live in Osaka, just so I could see them every weekend. But it's like Raeanna pointed out, it's not a vacation or special if I get to do it all the time. I also am not 100% happy with working in Japan. Yes, it was fun. Yes, I love my friends and they love me. But...can I give up the mental happiness, the instinctual happiness I feel when I am in the US? I've tried, several times, and always at the end I curse my stupidity for ever leaving. But I always leave again. I guess I test my limits each time. How much can I handle on my own? How much change and unfamiliar can I take on without the support system, without the social aspects? A year seems to be the limit.
Sometimes I think it makes me weak. To say "I can't stand living in Japan." Then why did I major in Japanese? But...but I'm not weak, am I? No one ever said I had to be strong enough to live in Japan and take it. It's just me saying it.
Yes, I love the people, the culture, the food, the material items, my friends, the unique places. I do not love how they live life. I can not adapt to it. That is ME. There should be NO shame in not being able to fit in as well as those foreigners who do stay forever, or do marry a national and make Japan their home. Maybe Japan fits them better than their countries of origin.
For me, it's the US. And it hurts to have to say "I am leaving in April" to friends who so eagerly wish to see me, to be with me, but I also look forward to it. It gives me an end goal. Get home alive. Get home with all your stuff, with money, with job experience.
It wasn't 3 years, no, but a year and 7 months isn't bad either.
And that totally should have been where this post ended but I would like to point out:
-I am on season 4 of Doctor Who. I LOVE THIS SHOW.
-EPISODE 35 OF HETALIA. OH MY GOD. POOR POOR CANADA. THEY GIVE HIM THIS BREATHY, SOFT VOICE AND HE'S SO HARD TO HEAR BUT BUT HE DOES LOOK JUST LIKE AMERICA, AND HE GOT BEAT UP BY CUBA. MY POOR CANADA.
Reasons Yuko is awesome:
-she holds my hand. In public. Mainly, it's because I think she's afraid she'll lose me in the crowds but it's still very touching. I haven't had my hand held in a long time so it felt awkward. I need more human contact.
-She will jabber about sumiregumi with me in English AND Japanese.
-She constantly kept paying for me. I obviously have enough money to go on trips, and play, but she just would say "No! Don't worry about it!" and pay before I could. It's something that I have seen before with my friends, mainly those raised in Japan, but also very kind, laid back people. It reminded me of Allyn and Mei-chan and Airy. Maybe it's some polite manner I wasn't raised with. But it leaves me feeling bad because I am used to paying for ME and I dislike having debts. I know I don't have to pay them back but at the same time I am wondering what must I do in return when the time comes for me to be the host? I wouldn't mind paying for them as it wasn't huge amounts, but will they refuse?
-She is just awesome.
-She also squeed when she obtained tiny Yoshiki plusihe keychain. I felt a bit proud.
Reasons Ryu is awesome:
-She knows how to play the androgynous card. She dresses like a male rock star but is obviously a girl due to her figure. But her hair is like Gackt's and she SERIOUSLY LOOKS JUST LIKE T.M.R WHEN HE WAS 26.
-She LIKES HETALIA. Enough said.
-She also likes sumiregumi.
-She knows where everything that is to be seen and done that is worth being seen and done in Osaka IS.
-She gave me Stitch.
-She's a FUCKING DRUMMER.
-She's just really really cool and I am pretty sure I have what I call a "friend crush" on her.
Reasons why Aika is awesome:
-CUTEST BABY EVER.
-NEVER CRIED.
-LET ME HOLD HER LONG TIME.
-LET ME KISS HER.
-ENJOYED LICKING MY ARM.
-LAUGHED A LOT.
-WAS TOO DAMN CUTE.
OF COURSE AKIPPE AND MIYO AND RAEANNA ARE AWESOME BUT I HAD TO JUST JOT DOWN WHY THOSE THREE WERE REALLY AWESOME.
Okay, I should get ready for bed. Damn work.
And I swear I will post pictures eventually, I just now have to obtain photos from like...4 different people gah!
AND ANY TOSHI TRANSLATING WILL BE DONE UH AT A LATER POINT IN TIME. I NEED TO WORK ON MY RESUME TO URGH.