Current Events / Getting Up-To-Speed

So, while I'm waiting to upload all the images for my apartment post, I'll update everyone on current events :P

Mazu (first), minasan (everyone) please go here and listen to this song, RSA's "Lifetime Respect", while reading this post.

I'm currently addicted to this song. They play it a lot in the Hyakin (abbreviated Hyakuen Mise, or 100 Yen Shop), as well as various supermarkets. Apparently it was an older song by the kashu (singer) Miki Douzan. It has a relatively new, popular version out by the J-Pop group RSP, which is this version. Very fun, happy, light song. The music video is just some random dancing, so just enjoy the music (or gamansuru (tough it out) ^_<). Every now and then I'll post a YouTube link to a good J-Pop song to try to wean some of you onto it :) I must say, though, that it is very nice to be able to listen to J-Pop, J-Rock, and hokano (other) J-Songs and not receive weird stares :P

Today (Wednesday) we gave presentations in front of our teachers, tutors, and some of the Ryuugakusei staff. The subjects ranged from the difference between American and Chinese vampires (hop hop!) to how great Naruto (an anime) is to lessons in fencing. I decided to teach the Japanese people about fraternities, so I did it on the fraternity I joined last spring, Pi Kappa Phi. I wore my rush shirt as my show-and-tell object, and the entire hyougen (presentation) went very smoothly. I'll post the entire thing, both in Japanese and in English, soon.

So, there's a big festival on the first of September here in Tsuru-shi (note that Tsuru is the name of my town, hence Tsuru Daigaku (Tsuru College), and the -shi suffix denotes a city). Us ryuugakusei were invited to participate in the parade, either as samurai or as hime (pronounced "he-meh", means princess). So, all this week we've been going to practices at night. Our job is to do the following: Step forward-left. Step forward-right. Step forward-left. Step forward-right. And, sometimes we just step left and right, without moving forward at all. Sounds fun, ne?

Well, I wouldn't be that bad, if it wasn't for the 11 ft pole that I have to carry as well. AND in my hands I have to carry a big stick with a kanji at the end...okay, sexual joke aside (shiny boxers make that joke okay /inside joke), because I'm the tallest person this side of Fuji-san, I get to hold a big, heavy, 11 foot pole with a triangle at the top, with the kanji for "mugen" (infinity) printed on it. What it signifies I'm not really sure, but what it means is that I stand alone, in front of the 6 other ryuugakusei samurai, and behind the yako-san, or servants (typical yako-san look like the Pringles guy).

Now, I was curious as to whether or not I was still a samurai, since I was more with the yako-san group than the samurai group. Turns out I'm some kind of hybrid. I'm too big for the samurai clothes, and they need the strongest guys as the ones to carry the random accessories. I was kind of disappointed to learn that I wasn't going to dress in the samurai garb, but being a hybrid has it's upsides. For example, I don't have to try to stick in motion with the other ryuugakusei, who, for lack of a better word, are heta desu (not skilled). Instead, I'm more or less by myself, in the center of the street, walking softly, carrying a big stick.

Soreni (moreover), I tried on the hybrid costume today. As one of my fellow ryuugakusei said, it looks like some kind of 70's poolside wear, with short white shorts (think pool-boy) with a little yukata a size too small. All I need is no shirt, a gold chain, and possibly a hand pipe, and I'm golden. The largest sandals they have don't fit either. I can get my foot in it, but my entire big toe sticks over. I'll have to put a few layers of band-aids or moleskin or something on it before I walk the 2-hour parade.

Also, I apparently still get a wakizashi (small sword). The ryuugakusei samurai get both a katana and a wakizashi, but the entire time they're supposed to be solemn, holding a sensu (folding fan) in one hand, their other on the hilt of their sheathed katana. So, even though I'm not a full-blood samurai, and instead some kind of dirt-blood hybrid (or whatever Rowling calls half-muggle / half-wizards), I'm happy with it. Also, the Orihime girls (the name of the princess) ended up being just chamber maids, so it's not like everyone got this totemo kakkouii (very cool) part like we had originally thought.

Side note: The chuugakkou (middle school) that we practice at has what looks like a giant Autobot icon (the good guys from Transformers) painted onto a center structure in between the gym and the pool. I took a picture with my phone, I'll upload it when I can. Knowing Japan, that symbol very may well be the Autobot's :P How cool would it be to say that your middle school mascot is Optimus Prime? I guess your rival school would have to be Megatron ^_<

Aside from the practices, not much else has been going on saikin (recently). I've been playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for my American Nintendo Wii that I brought. I'm planning on going to see the new Pokemon movie in theaters in order to receive a free rare Pokemon. I'm also planning on going into Tokyo this Saturday with John (my fellow otaku (nerd) ryuugakusei) to go check out the Costco there, as well as to go to a Japanese night club to go dance to a fusion of hip-hop, rap, and J-Pop (omg, J-Pop in a club!? Sugeee!! (Amazing!!)). We have our final practice and costume fitting on Sunday at 1:30, so we have to be back in time...we'll see how it goes, maybe stay at a hostile Saturday night.

Well, the images are all uploaded, I'm going to work on that next post and maybe another, depends on how well I can memorize my kanji for our daily quizzes tomorrow :) Ore ha, ganbatte ne!