Friday, December 15, 2006
Even though we'd taken the Japanese final the previous day, we still had to come to school for one last final thing. We all recited our Japanese compositions, and my class had to do ours completely memorized. Mine was fine, whatever, and then afterwards we had a little goodbye party (with food!) in the Meikai Club restaurant just like they'd had for us at the beginning of the year. It was fine, we said goodbye to our teachers and then I left with Deborah, Yuki, Trisha, Casey, Matt, Joe Kim/Riidaa and Adam (aka my Meikai Crew--I'll really miss eating with them after class, ahh!). We sort of puttered around the Daiei outside the station before separating. I went to the 300y store in Shin-Urayasu Station one last time to pick up some more presents (it's such a good place to find good, cute presents!) and then went home.
Aly was already there, and Brette got there later, and we mostly just spent the afternoon packing. Then around 4:30 we left for the Sayonara Party, which was of course in Kaihin Makuhari--in the Sumitomo building IES is in, no less, on the 14th floor or so where the cafeteria place (to which I still have a card with 640y on it that I never used up--arrgh) normally is. The Sayonara Party was pretty nice, I ran around getting just about everyone I'm friends with to sign my yearbook and take a picture with me. Matt Farrell was in charge of the slideshow that was supposed to be all nostalgic and awesome, but of course he forgot it, being Matt, and we were deprived of that. I'm sorry, I'm a huge sucker for watching a nostalgic slideshow at the end of something, and I don't like when it gets taken away from me because people, however much my friend they are, are irresponsible. grrrrr
This whole getting pictures of my friends with me thing is the same thing I did at the end of senior year in high school. I didn't get every single person I considered my friend, but I got a lot of them! Allie and I
Marius and Yuki
Ishikawa-san and I
Yuriko and I
Deborah and I
Atsumi and I
SHIN-SANNNN!
Yukiiiii
Marius, hahaha
Naoki!
hahahaaaa Audrey
Melissaaaa!
RYAN LEARY! I'm doing my impression of the Ryan Leary face, which Ryan of course does naturally
Adam hahaha
ENDO-RYO!!! ♥ beautiful roommates Brette and Aly
Sogo 2!! Most of my wonderful Japanese class ♥ I think Riidaa is the only (important) one missing!
J.Lo!! Jeffrey Logan-san!! yeaaaaahhh!
Hyung-Hye
After that, some people went to Shinjuku but most of us went to the Carrefour food court. We were there for an hour or two, I spent most of it talking with Melissa Nylander and Ryan Leary and sometimes Naoki, since I hardly ever got the chance to talk to them! Then the food court was closing and a policeman told us to leave, and since I was tired I just went home after saying several goodbyes.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
I was so exhausted, I hadn't had a full night's sleep for several days, but since this was the Butler Cafe Day, I couldn't sleep in as I so desperately wanted to. I got up very early for some reason, said my last goodbyes to Aly who was leaving that day for Thailand (bye Aly! wah) and made my way over to Ikebukuro. When we rolled into Ikebukuro, I was delighted to see that there were SUICIDE BARRIERS there. AWESOME!!! The suicide barriers crack me up. Of course I had to take a picture.
When I got there, I was early so I was the first one there, so I wandered around to find where the butler cafe would be. I found the general direction we needed to go in and went back to wait for the others. Matt F, Priscilla, and Allie showed up, but no Lisa. It was 11 and our reservation was 11:15 so we had no choice but to leave without her. We found the butler cafe successfully, where there was a line of women going up the steps, who all looked astonished to see a group of foreigners intrude on them. I didn't know what the line was for, so I barged up to the front and told the butler there with a clipboard that we had a reservation (only I didn't use the right word, 'yoyaku,' I said 'yakusoku,' which is more like 'appointment' [usually 'promise'], ahhhhhhhh. I regret this entire action in general) and he looked so taken aback and told me to "shoushou omachi kudasai" (wait just a little please). We got in line. When we got closer to the front, he asked my name. Now, the night before I had re-examined the email they sent me and saw that there was a link for "confirmation" of my reservation. And I could not recall if I had confirmed my reservation within the right time frame or not. If I hadn't, my reservation would have become invalid. Uh... oh. So yeah, I already knew there was a chance we weren't getting in. Plus, when I made the reservation, I only put down my email address. No name. So of course, my name wasn't on his list. I started trying to ask about email addresses, to see if THAT was on there, but he didn't really get it--I bet when you "confirm," you put your name down.
Anyway, so he keeps checking his clipboard list, going away to confer with other staff on his headset, coming back to ask me if I'm sure I have the right day and time, to which I know I have the right day... but we're all really doubting if we're going to get in now, since they have no record of our reservation (anymore). :/ Of course, he is busting OUT the keigo (Japanese super-formal language), which I guess more or less thanks to JSL I pretty much have down by this point. He also takes down my name, which I give as "Sara" and he repeats as "Sara...-sama" which is pretty amusing (it's a highly formal name suffix). Sara-sama!!!! (he also couldn't pronounce my last name so I had to write it down for him in katakana on his little clipboard. hahaha)
So then ANOTHER butler comes out and starts to talk to me in English. I'm pretty surprised and respond in Japanese, so he then SWITCHES TO JAPANESE for the rest of the conversation!! What was even the point of having him come out?! I can't believe Mr Bouncer Butler was all "Oh no, the reservation isn't here, so clearly it's because she's a foreigner and someone has to speak in English to her! Despite the fact that we've been communicating just fine in Japanese this whole time, and she even wrote katakana on my clipboard!" Like seriously, I was understanding him perfectly and vice versa. How insulting. But I do love that English-Speaking Butler switched to Japanese, HA HA. (I've heard stories of people speaking in perfect Japanese to a Japanese store clerk or whoever, who will reply with "Ahhh, no speak English"! ahhh what the heck) Anyway, at first he was going to take down my cell phone number and see if they could squeeze us in, since I could tell they felt so bad about our reservation getting lost, but in the end he was like "We just don't have any spots left, we are so sorry, moushiwake gozaimasen." That's RIGHT moushiwake gozaimasen ("it's inexcusable")... oh weeellllll.
So we didn't get to go inside the butler cafe, but we got pretty darn close, I know exactly where it is now, and I talked to butlers in Japanese. What more can I ask, really. Next time I come to Japan I'm gonna make those reservations properly and I AM GOING.
Then we just wandered around the area some more, browsing shops and such, and after that Priscilla had to go, so we said our FINAL GOODBYES to her, and then went to go get something to eat at Saizeriya (in the more normal part of Ikebukuro). Ahhh, Saizeriya, you're so great. After that, we said goodbye to Matt F (another goodbye!!) and Allie and I went to go see ERAGON. It was 1800y because movies in Japan are way expensive and we had ASSIGNED SEATS (what is this madness), but I did get to have the experience of seeing a movie in Japan, which was cool.
BYE PRISCILLA!
Matt and I before he left!
I had already decided that afterwards I was going to go to Meiji Jingu Shrine in Harajuku, because I hadn't been and had been really wanting to (Aly always raves about it), and Allie accompanied me because she was meeting some of the guys in Omotesando to go to the Brazilian meat place later that night. We took Yamanote down to Harajuku and it was freaking PACKED full of people--like, we're talking even worse than usual. We could barely get up the hill towards Yoyogi, the people were packed so thick. It was insanity. We found out later there was a show at Shibuya-AX (so THAT'S where it is!!! Across the street from Yoyogi by the old Olympics buildings) so a lot of people were there for that. And of course, as soon as we get to the Meiji Jingu entrance... they're CLOSING THE GATES. It like, never closes!!! I don't even understand it! That was sooooo frustrating. The one thing I came there to do and it was my best and only chance to do it! So that day was a day of doing some things I'd been wanting to do for a while... and not getting to do some others. D: Oh wellll...
However, we had a very acceptable alternative. Yoyogi Park was, after all, right there. So Allie and I went for a very lovely walk around Yoyogi Park as night fell. We found a group of people battling with lightsabers (oh, that's a new one), the homeless people's tents, the drum circle people, beautiful fall foliage (FINALLY!!) and many other things. I love Yoyogi Park so much, and I only wish I'd gone more often. We had a lot of great discussions, and it was just amazing :D
Me in the park!
We left the park around the back end of Shibuya-AX (I can't believe Shibuya-AX is in HARAJUKU! Who knew?!) and found ourselves in Omotesando. And there was a LeSportsac! Of course we had to go in. And there was this awesome print with owls and forest creatures on it, so of course I had to get a pencil bag with it on it. OWLS! And porcupines! I love LeSportsac so much.
Then we could see Shibuya, so we walked over there so I could go to Tower Records. This is like the third or fourth time I've walked from Harajuku to Shibuya, I'm pretty good at it now. We browsed around there for a while, and I bought an album, wishing I hadn't left my Tower Records point card at home... oh well.
After that, Allie walked me back to Shibuya Station, since I had to start heading to Shin-kiba to meet Lisa. Allie also took the subway with me, riding it ONE STOP to Omotesando hahah, and that is where we said our last goodbye! So saaaddd! I continued on my way to Shin-kiba, where I met Lisa and we had some Lotteria Burger while waiting for her host sister and her friends to get there. They did, and we went over to the restaurant where they were having this "Christmas party" dinner thing. They had reserved for like 25 people, and AT LEAST that many showed up, definitely more. So yeah, a bunch of Japanese people + me and Lisa. A looottttt of explaining why we were here, demonstrating our ability to speak Japanese (so a lot of typical surprised remarks following that. By that point I had reached my personal threshold with that kind of behavior, so that wasn't the best thing for me to be having to experience at that point...), a couple requests to teach some English right then (another personal threshold there, I DO NOT TEACH ENGLISH/EXIST FOR YOU TO PRACTICE YOURS), etc. It was fun but yeaahh... our presence was not required like Lisa thought it was going to be. Oh welll.
After that Lisa and I said our last goodbyes and I went home at last... to continue the packing. Oh, fun times!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Got up, said final goodbyes to Brette who was leaving that day for the airport, then waited around for the ABC people to come by and pick up my bigger bag that I was going to forward on to the airport. Umm, yeah, due to a combination of the address on the sheet of paper IES had given me way back at the beginning of the year having errors and the supposed "English-speaking staff" woman not, actually, speaking very good English, they got the address wrong and couldn't find the apartment. Kanako-san had arrived by that point, and we needed to get to the Disney Hilton by a certain time to see Nanase perform, so it was like AGH and I had to ask Endo-san to sort it out and she sounded so annoyed when she was correcting the address, like, "Oh, of course Sarah got something wrong, she can't do anything right" and was just being really rude to me overall and I could tell was not sad to see me go at all when the guy finally did show up and we could leave. Same here!!! I loved Endo-ryo and my roommates but that woman... I hope to never see her again.
So Kanako-san and I drove over to the Disney Hilton (and I was really sad I hadn't bothered to dress up and was just in a shirt and jeans, I really wanted to look nice while I was there and didn't realize I wouldn't get a chance to change!) and went into the dinner area, finally! Oh, delicious lunch buffet and dessert buffet. IT WAS AMAZINGGGGGG. Suuuuch gooood fooooddd! mmmm. And one of Nanase's fellow chorusmembers is a girl who's a "half/haffu"--half Japanese, half American, and her American father was there and talked to me in English (later I summarized the conversation in Japanese for my host mom, hee. She was all "It went so fast!"). He's from Florida and is a MAGICIAN who's worked for Disney for a while... and my Japanese accent is better than his, strangely enough. He also speaks with his wife in English, which is weird to me!
So we got food and watched the show and it was adorable, again, and then afterwards we went into the same backstage area where I just kind of hung around and waited for Na-chan to finish changing out of her costume and be done. In addition to the elementary-school-age kids in the chorus (Mickey's Junior Chorus--awww), there were a few junior high age girls too, and I was just hanging out with Na-chan when one of them comes up and says some stuff to Na-chan and then says "Hey, introduce us" so Na-chan is all "Okay, this is gaikokujin no Sara-chan [Sara-chan the foreigner]." THANK YOU, NANASE. I LOVE YOU TOO. I made a big show of being all offended... ohhhh, oh Na-chan. I have known you so long and I am still just that strange foreigner. It is not her fault though, it's just the Japanese People Way.
I also have a sound clip of them singing, which you can hear here.
And two very short but cute movies I took:
"Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" in Japanese (lyrics & explanation). Nanase is on the far left, front row
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" in Japanese (lyrics). Nanase isn't in this one.
Later I was introduced to some of the other girls a bit and found out that some of them had been drawing some ridiculous conclusions about me--the word my host mom used was "sutaa/star" but I highly doubt they went that far! I just wish in these situations, even though it's impossible, that I could just be approached and asked, instead of everyone assuming I don't speak Japanese and drawing all kinds of other assumptions. --Which are then always negated when they talk to me, and I speak it just fine, and I get the usual "Oh, what jouzu [skilled] Japanese!"--directed either to me, or to my host mom, irritatingly enough, as if I can't understand DESPITE THE FACT THAT I JUST SPOKE TO YOU IN JAPANESE. Yeah. Um. I got kind of sick of that. Although the girls I talked to were definitely cute and everything.
After that we went to the grocery store and got some pasta and stuff for dinner. I think we used the same delicious sauce as that one time before... I really should have purchased a lifetime supply! Mmm, it was so good again. ♥ Then it was time to "yukkuri nete kudasai"--ahh, the most beautiful words ever. "Please take your time sleeping." As I had not gotten a full night's sleep for the past, oh, 5 nights or so, I was so happy to be able to do that, and in that lovely futon to boot.
Na-chan playing with my cat earmuffs, hahah
Monday, December 17, 2006
So sleep in I did... but unbeknownst to me, Na-chan had said she was too tired to go to school, and that she wanted to stay home (the added benefit being that she could play with me one last time). So I had kept sleeping until 11 or noon, Na-chan had not known what to do and called her mom to tell her I wouldn't get up, and poor Kanako-san had to come home from work to get me up! So I got up, Kanako-san left, and Na-chan and I had lunch together and then played together the rest of the day. We found some plastic bow and arrow sets and shot arrows up into the loft to see whose could go farthest, something that drove Koron CRAZY and he ran around barking madly trying to bite the arrows we'd drop down. It was pretty amusing. Then Kanako-san came home and she took me to the post office so I could mail a box of stuff that wouldn't fit in my suitcase. It was pretty expensive to mail it and I accidentally withdrew too much money at the ATM ($500 as opposed to $50... oops), but ohhh welll. Then we went to Ito Yokado and Na-chan and I looked at toys while Kanako-san went to order New Year's cards. I found some really cute stuff in that toy section and got some more presents for people there. :)
Then we went down to the grocery store and got things for that night's dinner. They asked me what I wanted and, remembering a particularly delicious meal I'd had at their house back in January, requested hamburger and corn soup. :) So we had hamburger, rice, and corn soup, along with edamame-mochi (again!) and strawberries for dinner. Mmm, so good. They also had some pink "child's champagne" that we had with dinner since it was my last night there! Aww, so nice! And then after dinner I took a bath with Na-chan. YES, A REAL BATH--NO SWIMSUITS THIS TIME. Back in January they asked me to do the same thing, but at that time I had never even been in an onsen before, so I was really freaked out and did it wearing my swimsuit, which was weird. This time, while it was also not my first preference, I could more or less do it no hesitation. We had fun playing in the bathtub together with her toys ("Zurui yo~!" whenever one of us did something unfair, hahah).
Tuesday, December 18, 2006
Got up; last day in Japan!! We all got up pretty early and Kanako-san took the morning off work so that she could take me to the hotel where I was going to catch the bus to the airport (so nice!). We ate breakfast and took Na-chan to the house across the street where she would stay until school started (my last words to Na-chan: "Sayounara, Na-chan! Mata aeru yo ne! [Goodbye, Na-chan! We'll see each other again, okay?]" Of course, the neighbor woman was then prompted to comment to Kanako-san on how good my Japanese is. sigh). Then Kanako-san and I loaded all my stuff up in the van and she drove me to the Oriental Hotel, whose shuttle bus I was going to take. I could have ridden the train to the airport, but that would have meant like 3 transfers, and just no. It was only 2200y anyway. So we sat on a bench and waited for the bus to come, chatting about what we'd done so far, and Kanako-san was totally crying. I was pretty sad too. I know I'll be back, but when? Who can say? ahh...
Then the bus came, so I got on it (waving goodbye to Kanako-san as it pulled away), and we got to the airport, where I sat around until I could get my other bag back from ABC. Then I checked in (I hate those check-in lines), went through security, waited again for the plane, uneventful flight back (I did, however, have not only a window seat but no one in the seat next to me. yess!), and then my mom and sister were there to meet me at the airport! And we went home.
BYE JAPAN! I had a truly amazing semester and I just hope that I've learned from the experience and can successfully integrate it into my life in the U.S. (as opposed to either forgetting all about it and closing the chapter completely, or spending all of my time yearning for it unheathily). I also met some of the best people and dearly hope that I will see them again someday. ♥
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