So I wake up around 11:30 - a customary time for a Saturday rousing back home, but almost unheard of for me here - and begin my day with a healthy mix of TV, cereal and, and emails. Whilst online, I learn that a friend of mine in a neighbouring city who hasn't been feeling all that well for the last little while has shown no signs of improvement. And in the most snap of moments, I decide an action plan for the day.
I tell her, "brb" via AIM as though I'm going to do my laundry or some such, hop into the shower, dress, and quickly prepare of an emergency sick kit complete with Buckley's, Tylenol, and the movie 300. Faster than lightening to Emerald City, I'm on an express train to five minute away-town (amen, express train). I get off the train, and immediately see one of my students waiting by the station. I small talk with her for a bit, learning that she had a band practice today (Bear in mind that this is Saturday noontime, still), and asking her for advice on where to get some O.J. I was directed to the grocery store just behind the station, so in I went.
Imagine my surprise when I learn that the lady behind the counter is none other than one of the lunch ladies @ my base school. She's an awesome lady - I teach her a new word or two in English every time I see her. We both exclaim in Japanese @ one another and then strike up a conversation. I eventually get my O.J. and while checking out she tells me that there's a festival that day from two to six. I politely inform her that I don't know if I'll be in town that long but that I'll try nonetheless, and with that, I take my leave.
I finally make it to the house in question and we proceed to play a few games of Risk. The sounds of drumming and chanting and loudspeakers soon filled the house, and we both decided that we simply had to head down and check it out for ourselves. Thus, we struck towards the road going towards town - which was usually deserted - and came upon a filled thoroughfare of moving shrines and people. And it seemed as though all eyes within sight immediately fell upon us as we turned the corner. Nerts.
Winding through the crowd, my friend and I encountered a number of our students here and there, who seemed to get a big kick out of saying "hello", then running off giggling. Some of hers, some of mine... And it was while taking a breather from the kids on the sidelines that the coolest thing of the day (@ least for me) happened:So we're watching the events unfold while leaning on a house, my friend and I are, when an elderly gentleman standing with his wife made what I can only describe as a, "Oh", and pointed at my friend’s OJ in her pocket. After several points, she took it out so as to display it, and following a quick scrutiny, he seemed satisfied, which we gathered from another "Oh". But oh, no, it didn't end there. He then made another "Oh" and then, with sheer curiosity in his eye, he walked forward and proceeded to pat my head. Needless to say, this was probably one of the most unlikely things that I could have imagined to happen at this point in time and space, so I could do nothing but freeze and ask myself, "Is this really happening". A few pats and he seemed content with his pseudo-afro contact; he returned to where he was standing and continued to watch the festival. Now, in retrospect, I know that this sort of thing was bound to happen and also that he was simply curious, but at the time, it's one of those moments when you have absolutely no idea what to make of what's going on, and WTF flashes brightly like a neon billboard across your mind. My stupefaction now over, I shook it off with a laugh, and went on watching the thoroughfare.
While watching a few more dances, I hear my name called – a surprise in a small town like Koge that someone would know my name – and a lady whom I'd met a few weeks prior calls me over. As it turns out, she and her family lives on this little street that I often walk down, and she invited my friend and I to watch the activities from in front of her house, which we happily accepted.When everything was winding down, the lady invited us to gather potatoes that she'd planted in a nearby field. Next thing I know I'm standing in between rice paddies trudging through waist-high foliage to get at sweet potatoes buried in the ground. And these are big badboys, mind you, probably as big as my foot. After bringing in the harvest, and herding the cattle and raising a barn (no, those last two didn’t happen), they gave us a bag full of sweet potatoes, eggplant, and cucumbers to say thanks. My floored friend and I could only sheepishly say thanks ceaselessly for several minutes.
Deciding that this was enough excitement for one day, we high-tailed it home for dinner (of potatoes, eggplant, and cucumber, of course), and then I back to Tottori. Granted, all and all, this could actually be considered a fairly normal Saturday in Japan; it certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I just had it in mind to drop by a friend’s place to deliver some medicine.
4 comments:
Haha, that sure was a random day. I have day like that too where someone I just met will poke and pinch at my belly, or play with my soul patch, or my spikey hair (people in Canada used to do that with my hair in any case.)
Sounds like a pretty sweet day! My friend here has an afro and I think gets a lot of that sort of thing.
Great story. Thanks for sharing!
As for old man: I'd never put up with that here, but I can understand over there, with the level of homogeneity. In my short time there, I never saw a single representation of a black person, that was a real black person. There were caricatures, sure, but not even a photo of a real person (although there were actual black people around, I think there is more power in a mediated image). If you see anything that happily contradicts these observations, please share them as you encounter them!
PS. A lot of girls asked me about my hair, often adding they liked it. The only person I rebuffed has the ganguro girl who asked me. I'm not dishing out any hair secrets to her...
One could say that you are "the man about town"...your popularity is only surpassed by your good looks!:-)
The potato harvest sounded great! Ray, it sounds like your menu for supper that evening met my full approval.
Re the "afro" contact, somehow it is important that "the people" are understanding of unacceptable behaviors. The Japanese are very strict with what is seen as acceptable and what is not in their everyday life.
A quick, "no,no" to the elderly man after your initial shock would have been a very important message to have communicated....for future reference.
This was a great day where random acts of kindness went both ways for you.
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