The Meetup
I'm glad for the @beingtokyo event's diversity, gender mix, different backgrounds, ethnicities & reasons for being in Japan... pic.twitter.com/Kw4zmodFPT
- Fernando Gros (@fernandogros) September 29, 2016
I've been pretty active on twitter during my stay in Japan. I might have mentioned it here earlier, but for some reason twitter just makes a lot more sense here. It might also be because now I'm finally in the same time zone as most of the people I follow, so I can actually interact with people in real time instead of just catching up.
I started following @beingtokyo before even leaving for Japan. It's a rocur account, which means the owner hands the reins over to a different person each week. The one thing they have in common? They all live in Tokyo. It's been pretty foreigner centric during the time I've been following it, but it still gives you very interesting insights into Tokyo life.
Even with all my twitter activity this year, I did not think it would be a platform for making real life connections. Turns out it's pretty good for that kind of stuff too.
Moving to another country by yourself without a network of contacts in place can be really scary, it can also get lonely. I've been doing fine so far, but I guess I always knew that at some point I'd have to venture out and actually... meet new people. So when @beingtokyo announced they were going to have a get together, I figured, why the hell not.
I've never done a meetup like this before.
No, I don't think you understand. Even when I go to events that encourage social interaction (geek conventions, roller derby matches, photo exhibitions, concerts ... you name it), I stick to myself, look at stuff from a distance, get the fuck out of there. It's not that I don't want to make friends or acquaintances, it's just that I'm scared I'll say or do something that'll ruin the experience not only for me, but for the other people as well. Whenever people do speak to me, I usually freeze up, nod my head, and leave as quickly as possible. It's an irrational anxiety thing, I am well aware. I've been dealing with this shit since primary school, but it took me until upper secondary school to realise what I was doing wasn't quite normal.
But @beingtokyo announced this thing, and I figured I needed to try something different.
It was held at a tiny hipster bar. Great. Yet another thing I'm no good at. Bars. You know, this is actually the first time I've gone to a bar by myself?
I walked past the bar, twice, before finding the courage to step inside.
Once inside, I just wanted to run back out. I realised I had absolutely no idea what any of the twitter people looked like. AND I COULDN'T TURN TO TWITTER TO TWEET ANGSTY RANTS. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE.
Thankfully the bartender nodded me over to the bar. I got myself an overpriced drink and started talking to the girl next to me. The bar was filled with non-japanese people only. I figured everyone was there for the twitter thing.
Me: Hey, are you here for the twitter meetup?
Girl: Oh, someone else mentioned that. No, I'm just here for me.
Me: .... WELL. NICE TO MEET YOU.
I literally just turned around and scanned the room desperately.
I was now in the far corner of the bar, and the bar had completely filled up with tall foreigners. I could no longer see the door or make my way over to the one person I thought I recognised. I must have looked pretty lost.
Bartender: You looking for someone?
Me: .... I'm here for the..... twitter..... thing
Bartender: You've come to the right place!
Two guys standing behind me rescue me and engage me in a wild conversation filled with snark and hilarity. These were 100% my kind of people.
And then I was in. And I was able to calm down. I ended up staying for 3 hours, I even ended up in a selfie with a former @beingtokyo curator (I introduced myself by saying "I RECOGNISE YOU" .......).
Don't let me near any celebrities ever.
The Twitter meet up tonight
Part Two! @writersinjapan @twiss @mbmelodies @LKP48 pic.twitter.com/jsWQc5Ixfr
- アシュリー・Ashleigh (@pandomi) September 28, 2016
What made this event interesting was the variety of people. The only thing connecting us was the city and ... twitter. Listening to people's reasons for coming to Japan, why they're staying, why they're leaving... it was all different, it was absolutely fascinating. We had people of all ages, and from a bunch of different countries, with all sorts of interests and hobbies, all engaging with each other and enjoying each other's company.
It was a pretty unique experience. I made a whole bunch of new followers on twitter, and I sincerely hope it won't be too long until I get to meet them again!
Will I do other meetups during my time here? Who knows. There are still things about the expat community here that irks me, but I know I shouldn't let it get in my way.
This was a good experience, I just feel weird for being such a fucking spaz about it.