春パ

A video from my dance event. The big pay off so to speak, but I don't have the whole thing, so when I get it, I'll be sure to upload it again.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: 6/15 Here's the whole video!!!





The event, Harupa, was at Studio Coast in Shin-kiba, aka Ageha where I've partied with several of the G-Splash exchange students before. It was a blast. A very loud, very long, very visually assaulting blast. It started at 1:30 and we were the first group to go after a short opening dance act that involved half-naked men. Unfortunately, I missed that one, but....

As you can imagine after watching the video, it all went by really really quickly. I see now why they made us practice it so many times. With all of the lights and the adrenaline and the crowd, all thought quickly vanishes from your head. I'm pretty sure all of us got through that dance solely on muscle memory.

After we danced, we quickly ran back out to the audience area to cheer on the rest of the group and watch the dance as well. All in all a superb experience. The rest of the day, we could spend as long as we liked at the event watching other groups. Several of the members in G-Splash were in second groups. Jen and I were pretty amazed by that. I was sitting next to her at the time and we couldn't help remarking on how crazy their lives must be being in two dance groups. We thought G-Splash took up a lot of time, but imagine that doubled.


I'll take a moment here to backtrack about how much time G-Splash actually filled during our weeks. The first two weeks that we joined, we had practice everyday and then an :"audition" at the end, where everyone proceeded to be accepted. Then we had to choose our genres, either hip-hop or pop and lock, and we had practice for these twice a week. After a while we had the regular practices plus a second extra mandatory practice that we all had to go to. Then as the date for Harupa drew nearer, we had practice everyday and on Saturdays from 11 to 8 or something ridiculous.

So, all of those members in other dance groups did all of that, plus whatever crazy commitments they had for their second dance group. Insane, I know.

There were several really good performances, however. One about a train stopping post (the word in English escapes me right now) who falls in love with a school girl who always crosses the tracks. But she's in a relationship with this jerk. So some magic guy gives the post a potion to drink and he becomes human only to sacrifice himself for the girl's jerkish boyfriend who nearly gets run over by a train during a big fight with the girl. Because he wasn't really human to being with, the post turns back into a post, but at the end of the dance, the girl gives him back his hat, a prop that was central to the story, and kisses him on the cheek. It was all really cute, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have a video of that one.

The night of Harupa, we had a nomi kai and it was really cool. We got to chat it up with our sempais who are usually really distant and strict. Turns out it was all a facade. The picture to the right is of me and my sempais A-ko and Tombo. His nickname comes from Kiki's Magic Delivery Service. If you've seen it, you know he looks like the Tombo in the movie and he sounds like him too. I mean, we knew they seemed really cool, but after talking with them, we knew it first hand that we were in the presence of some pretty cool kids.

Although, our G-Splash experience to date has been really intense, I think Harupa and the nomi-kai afterwards, made it all worth it.

Oh Boy.... (Part II)

(Warning: This post is pictureless.)

After Friday's night of fun, I had Kempo on Saturday. Usually we have practice from 3-8 every Saturday, so a really intense sort of workout. But this Saturday was the 入門式/nyuumonshiki, a welcoming ceremony for the ichinensei/一年生 or the newcomers in the group. We had to give a self-introduction to the group and then listen to a speech by two of the masters. There was also this ceremonial part (well, it was all pretty ceremonial) where we had to drink rice wine out of these teeny tiny, delicate bowls, which I thought I was going to drop and smash on the ground. Luckily, I didn't.

We had this ceremony in the upstairs gym and then practice led by one of the masters in the downstairs dojo. It was really intense, I'm pretty sure it was the first time I ever broke a sweat during kempo practice. Thankfully, it ended early so we could all go drinking with the masters and such.We all had to dress up for this practice, so we looked like a pretty smart bunch in our suits and for Mia and I, our skirts and sweaters.

If you haven't deduced it by now, Japanese people are completely different when they drink. They take the word "uninhibited" to a whole new level. So during the nomi-kai we all had to talk to the masters. Conversation went well, I mean, it was nothing special, I didn't feel like I made a distinct impression on them. At the end of the party, however, the most senior master came up to me and told me, in Japanese and several times, that I had a good body. It was super awkward and all I could do was smile and say thank you because of the rules of politeness.

Before then, I had never been hit on by an 80-year-old man, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

More Pictures....

....From Shorinji Kempo Taikai and Kempo Camp

I didn't put up all the pictures from those two events in the earlier post, so here's this post to finish the job. If you remember, I went to a Shorinji Kempo Taikai or intercollegiate tournament during Golden Week, the week everyone has off of work. It was really cool to see everyone perform. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself. (Oh, there's also a new post below this one. Part 1 of a very crazy weekend.)







Two members of our Kempo group


The train ride to Kempo camp.


From left to right, top row: Abe-sempai, Quentin, Gan, Ari. Bottom row: Hunter and Mia.


I allegedly made this face at someone. I don't believe it.


The campsite!

Oh Boy.... (Part I)

...what a weekend.

Several things happened last weekend, and all of them involved some... funny, interactions we me and boys. Well, some interactions were funnier than others and some have turned out to be downright creepy. It all started on Friday night....

As I mentioned before, in a very roundabout way not everyone understood, I'm a member of a dance group on campus called G-Splash. They have 5 genres, hip hop, girl's hip hop, pop and lock, house and break dancing. We have a performance on June 7, and all of the first years, along with all of the members, are performing. As first years we could only choose from two genres to perform, hip hop or p&l. I chose hip-hop mostly because it's something I've always wanted to do and have found interesting, but also because it's something I don't think I'm good at naturally. I think it's good to have to work hard for something every once in a while; if not you just get lazy and cocky. And boy am I working hard, we had a practice the other day where I sweated straight through the shirt I was wearing. Straight through it, the thing was soaking wet at the end of that 3-hour practice.

But even though I was spending a lot of time with this group, I wasn't really making friends with the Japanese ichinensei/first years. As a result I didn't feel wholly part of the group. This all changed on Friday when some of the first years organized a nomikai.

I'm not sure if I've explained this before, but nomikais are basically drinking parties. The drinking culture is very big here as it allows people to say and do things they don't normally get to say or do because of the very strict cultural codes. In Japan, you don't want to stick out. You want to be a part of the group. In earlier decades, teachers used to punish unruly children by excluding them from the group either physically or indirectly. There's a Japanese saying that sums all this up: "If a nail stands up, it's nailed down." But when people drink, they're allowed to be rude, to stand out and to say and do what's on their minds without thinking of others. This doesn't mean what they're saying or doing is negative, it just means that they're thinking of themselves first instead of the group.

So I didn't quite know what to expect from everyone. I did hope that it would be fun and that I would get to meet a lot of people. Both of those hopes were realized. I had a really great time. It was such a fantastic night and I wish I could travel back in time and relive it second by second. We arrived at this izakaya in Shinjuku and were seated at two large tables. Very delicious food items were brought out and they brought drinks by the pitcher for each table. At first most people were sticking to their small groups formed and strengthened from long nights of practice. But as the drinks flowed and cups emptied out we all began to move from table to table mingling with the other members. I made a lot of new friends and had some great discussions, including one about honne and tatemae, which led to a very interesting moment.

Tatemae can be translated as a facade. It's basically, the face Japanese show the public. It has nothing to do with what they're feeling or thinking and is often a smile or a generic positive expression. Because of tatemae it's really hard to tell when someone doesn't like you. I was talking about this with two guys, the topic brought up when they asked me what the difference was between Japanese and Americans.

Me: Americans show whatever they're feeling on their face. If someone doesn't like you, know it. With Japanese, if someone doesn't like me, I have no idea.

Guy 1: Which one do you like more?

Me: Definitely the American way because then I don't waste time working on a relationship that's not going anywhere. And I don't bother people who don't want me around anyway.

Guy 2: (He reaches for my hand. I think he's going to shake it and he does — at first) I like the way you think.

"I like you," he says kissing the top of my hand.

I honestly didn't know what to say or do. So I just laughed. I'm not sure that was the best reaction, but it was the only one I had available at the time. There was then another awkward moment later on when they were talking about how pretty I was. And then Guy 2 says something to the effect of how he doesn't really like his face or body, I can't remember exactly. But my oh so classy and witty response was, "Pshaw, you're fine."

Nice, Jeannette. Good job.

Regardless of those two funny moments, or maybe because of them, it was a great and memorable night.




But with this as the start of my weekend, I knew it could only get better and crazier. And boy did it ever.

The Picture Post

You know, all of this writing business is taking too long. It's hard to keep on top of it. No lie. So this is the picture issue; captions included. FYI, there are about two new posts before this one, so further down the page.



My time in Tokyo is going by so quickly. I've already been here for a month and a half, almost two months and I don't feel as if I've accomplished anything yet. I really wish I could stay longer, really get better at my Japanese and make some Japanese-speaking only friends.




I have met some really cool gaijin here, however, so all is not lost in the way of making connections. We all went out one night to a club called Ageha. It was so much fun and prior to going I didn't think the Japanese guys were too fond of me. But after Ageha, I know better.




I'm not just hanging out in the city though. During Golden Week, Mia, Hunter and I went camping with the Kempo club. Kempo Camp! It was... an interesting experience. There are some personalities that I just don't like in Kempo. They're not the Japanese people but some gaijin. I don't want to get into it because it's just better to leave the negative in the past; there's no need to let it... percolate, so to speak.




The weather was pretty gloomy on the way there but despite the cloud cover, everything was still beautiful.

Natalie has a cool haircut...

...and we followed a cute guy down the street after eating at Mos Burger (yum)!

It wasn't creepy though because he was going in the same direction we were, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

So today was the first day of classes after Golden Week. Luckily it was a Wednesday, which means that I only had Japanese class today and nothing else. And because the Shorinji Kempo Taikai was this past weekend as well as the welcoming camp, we didn't have any practice today. Yay! And no G-splash practice either. All in all a pretty free day and a fairly non-stressful one.... or so I thought.

After Japanese Mia and I got lunch and then we went to get gelato for ¥100 or roughly a dollar. It was amazing; I got mango, chocolate and coffee nuts. I wanted to take a picture but that probably would have been totes inappropes. Le sigh. After that delicious break, Mia and I returned to the library intent on doing some work. She did some, but I did see her fall asleep for a good bit. And I got all my Japanese homework done, but then I started to stress about my anthro work.

Remember the one where I have to write an ethnography. well it was giving me some major problems. I didn't have any contacts and I didn't know where to start. See, a lot of gay bars in Shinjuku, the hub of the Tokyo gay scene, don't let in women or foreigners and I'm both. So I was really desperate to find a way in. But luckily, Greg's friend Jonas has a friend named Karsten who happens to be gay and a regular at some of these bars so next week he's taking me to one. Exciting, going to a bar for homework. Only in Japan.... Or maybe not. :-/

Major Recap

It's the Major Recap Show where I recap all of the wonderful things that happened in April! W00t! So for a little preview: G-Spalsh, Kempo, Classes, Yokohama — and a video!

1. G-Splash!!!!

I have a new love it's name is G-Splash. G-Splash is wonderful, it pops and locks, and hip hops and breaks... Oh G-Splash, my life was so empty before without you. And you really made me sweat: 3 hour work outs everyday for two weeks with an audition and nomihodai/飲み補題 (all you can drink) at the end. G-Splash, this, us, it's forever. Or at least until August when I have to return to the States. The pic you see to your left is of me and my two friends D-Bang (Diana) and Stephanie waiting for our audition results. We were quite nervous.

2. More kempo!!

So I've kept with kempo. Like I said it wasn't going to shake me. No way, no how. It's getting really fun and I feel that if I was ever attacked in a dark alley or even in broad daylight, I could kick some serious ass.

3. Classes

And they're super easy! Which is why I'm able to be in two circles/clubs and not lose my mind. I'm taking two anthropology course, one on individual culture and society and one on digital technology use in Japan. For the latter I have to write an actual ethnography and I'm researching digital communication patterns in the gay community here in Tokyo. Both of those courses are some of the best I've taken, ever. I'm also taking a history course and it's probably the single most boring course I've taken, ever. I've fallen asleep every class since the first day. Even caffeine is no match for my teacher's monotone. And to round it all off, I'm taking Japanese. It's definitely less intense than I thought a Japanese class in Japan would be, but that's probably for the best.

4. Yokohama! (Here's where the video is!)
[Geez, do I have enough exclamation points in this post?]

So a bunch of us went to Yokohama to see the port and, most importantly, to see Chinatown. I know, you're probably thinking, Jeannette, you're going to a Chinatown in Japan? Something about this does not seem right. But it was so right. I had bubble tea and coconut water from a coconut (yum ^_^) and a delicious dinner. And the weather that day was just perfect. The sun was out and everything just looked new and wonderful. But don't take my word for it....


       



Some of my friends here in Tokyo; most of them live at DK with me and we all go to Sophia.






This really charismatic street performer. He's the one in the video. I totally thought he was going to burn himself.



Hey it's me....






And now that you've made it to the end of the post, you get a video reward. Yeah that's right. Enjoy!

Except you would have, but I can't upload it. Boo.