fuck you guys

when i first approached the photography club president and explained that i was interested in joining, she filled me in on the first meeting, a photo shoot kind of thing on the 29th. i asked around and found out that the "photo shoot" was actually this annual day-long event called haru no kodomo kai where orphaned/abused kids would come to kobejogakuin and basically hang out and play games. for some reason i have a hard time translating haru no kodomo kai, but literally its something like "spring kids meeting."

so on the 29th i got up bright and early at 6 and bent over to pick up this basket where i kept my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. (i didnt want to clutter my host familys shower/bathroom), and my back hurt like a motherfucker because of gakupa* practice the day before. remember this. itll be important later. (*gakupa is basically a dance routine. participation is required. period. each grade picks out their own songs, choreographs their own routine, and sets up their own practices. practices are usually held every day for a solid month before sports day and are taken very seriously, even though seniors always come in first, juniors always come in second, etc.)

anyway, since moegi didnt have to be at school that particular day it was agreed upon that id go to school by myself. moegi offered to go with me anyway to make sure i got there in one piece, but i assured her id be okay, even though i didnt exactly have the routine down pat.

my host father gave me a ride to the train station. i was really excited about my first time navigating the train network alone because i think you essentially become independent once you master a countrys public transportation system. but it wasnt meant to be. i was heading up the stairs (the pick-up/drop-off area is under the station) when this teenage japanese girl caught up with me and introduced herself as one of moegis friends. turns out she was on her way to kobejogakuin for volleyball practice, so when she found out i was meeting the photography club at nishinomiya-kitaguchi station (which is on the way to school) she suggested that we go together. i was a little disappointed, but peeko ended up being really sweet. and her english is flawless to boot. i guess shes been to australia for a summer exchange program and vacationed to canada with her family.

peeko had me listen to busted, a band from the UK. all of their songs were about girls. like, one song was about staring at this girls ass. another song was about the lead singers girlfriend, and how she cut her hair short and was borrowing his clothes so she could be just like him. i was kind of laughing, and i asked peeko if she understood the lyrics. she said she looked them up online, so she pretty much knew what the songs were about.

at one point she asked if i had any plans for the long weekend. i told her i was thinking about doing some shopping in sannomiya on saturday. she gave me her cell phone number in case i wanted someone to go shopping with.

i met up with the rest of the photography club at nishinomiya-kitaguchi station, and everybody had back pain from the previous days gakupa practice. it had ran for something like three hours. i was pissed at the gakupa leaders for pushing us so hard. in retrospect i have to laugh, because a month later they were scheduling like 5-hour weekend practices and girls were literally passing out. now i cant believe i was actually upset over a back ache, but whatever.

anyway, once all the photo club members showed up we all headed to school. we took the long way through the front gate since they close the east gate on weekends. it was kind of annoying, but on the plus side i got to see the mysterious shinto shrine. its mysterious because i dont know why theres a shinto shrine at a christian school. my guess is that it has to do with the fact that the japanese dont really commit to one religion or philosophy, which is why in japan theres a mix of shintoism, buddhism, and zen. in america on the other hand, christianity blows every other religion away. or maybe its just because none of the students at kobejogakuin are actually christian. who knows.

we got there a little early, so i warmed up by taking pictures of the campus, even though you dont have to be much of a photographer to get good shots. kobejogakuins campus is absolutely gorgeous, with mission-style architecture and beautiful gardens.

and fucking huge bees.

a little after 9 kids started pouring in, as well as staff and student volunteers from both kobejogakuin and kansaigakuin, the boys school.

there were boys all over the place. it was a little overwhelming. for a month id been attending an all-girls school and as a result had had virtually no contact with boys. it got to the point where id stare unabashedly at boys my age on the train and hope theyd strike up a conversation. not because i wanted a japanese boyfriend, but because i missed having male friends. the girls are kobejogakuin are nice and everything, but boys are just a different flavor.

midori pointed out one boy in particular, a tall foreigner, my age, with dirty blonde hair. at first i thought he was an american, because i generally assume that all foreigners are american. this is probably because i secretly want them to be. the japanese will never be able to fully understand me - my viewpoints, my behavior, etc. - but an american, even one who is my polar opposite, will be able to understand me on some level simply because he/she is an american.

but then i got a good look at my foreigner and saw that he was wearing skin-tight jeans and red bowling shoes. at that point i was 100% sure he was european.

i also saw another foreigner who looked like he was in his 40s. i guessed he was a teacher at the boys school since i hadnt seen him around.

i got a few pictures of the kids getting their name tags pinned on, and then everyone was herded into the chapel for the opening ceremony. after kansaigakuins band played a few pieces, haru no kodomo kai was kicked off.

the first half of the day consisted of playing games outside. basketball, tug-of-war, relays. each kid was paired up with a high school student, but the kids definitely called the shots. a lot of kids didnt participate in any games and instead picked dandelions or climbed trees.

i pretty much wandered around taking pictures, half-following my foreigner. when the kids saw me pull out my camera their little faces lit up and they smiled big and posed for me.

after a few hours i started getting bored. i asked miki if she wanted to ride the tiny tricycles set up for the relays with me. miki hopped on and started pedaling, no problem. but my legs were too long and i couldnt get my feet on the pedals. im sure i looked fucking ridiculous. oh well. i gave up and miki and i tried potato sack racing instead. she totally kicked my ass. no contest.

later i ran into the 40-something teacher. he said he was from sweden. and he said, "hannas is from sweden, too."

and because im a genius i said, "who? oh, you mean the tall blonde kid?"

and he said (with a straight face), "yes. the tall blonde kid." oh.

speaking of being a genius, at one point this really messed up kid got my attention and right off the bat started asking me questions in japanese. i missed like 90% of what he said, which did wonders for my self-esteem. 3 years of japanese classes and a month spent actually living in japan and i cant keep up with a 5-year-old? to quote the puppy on jackies livejournal, "man, fuck you guys."

anyway, the kid got so frustrated that i couldnt answer his questions that he gave up on me. later he caught up with me again and offered me a bouquet of dandelions. flattered, i thanked him and reached out to take them, but he said, "mite dake." look only. that totally threw me for a loop.

then this little girl named megumi walked straight up to me with more questions that needed answering. except this time i could halfway keep up with her. when she found out im from america she turned to mimiko and asked her if she was from america, too. mimiko looked startled.

then megumi asked why my hair was blonde. if it was supposed to be like that. midori said something in japanese, laughing a little, and the whole time megumi was staring wide-eyed at my hair. she reached up and starting running the ends of my hair between her fingers. i leaned over a little and she ran her hand down the length of my hair, over and over. for the rest of the day she followed me around and touched my hair whenever possible, so i did my best to avoid her.

anyway, then she said, "atama daijoubu?" is your head okay? she went around and asked each of us several times, so finally i pointed at her and said, "atama daijoubu?" she stopped asking after that.

guys, wear condoms.

around noon they started handing out bag lunches. photography club members were served first, so we could finish early and get pictures of everyone else eating and having a good time.

i took a little break and lied down on a bench. stretched out and looked at the sky.

fast-forward. somehow im standing next to my foreigner and he turns towards me and suddenly hes talking to me, because i guess some kid wanted to hear him speak english. hes living near osaka, i think. hell be here till january. and then he was gone. the entire exchange took like 5 seconds.

the rest of the day is kind of blurry because by that point i was running out of film and dying to talk to my foreigner again.

after lunch the kids played games inside. folding and flying paper airplanes, crawling through mazes, shooting targets with rubberbands. i walked past a mirror and saw that my face was a little burned. i completely forgot to put on sunscreen and id just spent three hours out in the sun. i wondered how bad itd get.

at the closing ceremony dandelion boy came up behind me and started hitting me in the head for no particular reason. i think i gave him a dirty look or something. what the shit?

the highlight of the closing ceremony, though, was the candy necklaces they handed out to the kids. they came in a bunch of different colors, and they handed them out indiscriminately. i noticed them giving pink necklaces to boys and expected all hell to break loose, so i was surprised when the boys who received pink necklaces didnt make a big deal out of it. it was really refreshing. im sick of american teenage boys and the constant threat that the color pink poses on their masculinity. and the girls (the seniors!) in my A.P. psych class who thought a rainbow prom dress on sale at the mall was dirty or something. i shouldve caught it on tape: a boy receiving a pink candy necklace and NOT TURNING GAY.

speaking of gay, i was flipping through this book on kansai that my mom sent me, and the japanese call homosexuals "rose people." thats so fucking cool.

anyway, after the ceremony i caught up with my foreigner and the following conversation took place:

me: so do you have any contact information?

him: sorry, i already have a girlfriend. actually, i have a date next week. i dont want to be a player or anything.

(silence)

me: i already have a boyfriend! (i dont actually have a boyfriend. i think this was a desperate attempt to embarrass him as much as he had just embarrassed me. besides, i was shocked that he thought i was hitting on him.)

him: wait. what did you say before? contact...?

me: information.

(silence)

him: um, well, do you have a keitai (cell phone)?

me: no.

him: sorry. iranai. (iranai means "[i] dont need ~," so i have no idea what he was trying to say, or why he was speaking to me in japanese in the first place.)

me: okay. well, maybe ill see you around or something. nice meeting you.

and then he proceeded to get his picture taken with like 10 japanese girls. after that he asked a different group of girls if they were going to mondo-yakujin station. this is another question mark, because mondo-yakujin is the only station within walking distance of school. its a good 20 minutes away. anyway, the girls went apeshit.

and thats how my foreigner came to be known as hummus instead of hannas.

i went to the locker room to get my stuff and checked myself out in the mirror. my face and arms were badly sunburned. undoubtedly the worse sunburn ive ever gotten. the last time i was sunburned that badly was in san francisco after alkatraz, 2 or 3 days before i first met pat "in real life" (so 3 years ago). i was really embarrassed about it. i didnt find out until later that hes colorblind. i could easily write an entire entry about all the crazy coincidences like that thatve happened between him and i. its surprising that i dont write about him more often considering what a big role hes played in my life.

i left in a shitty mood. i got turned around at sannomiya station and had to ask for help. and now that i was twice as conspicuous, blonde AND sunburned, people stared. for the first time it pissed me off. up until that point i had been enjoying the attention, but enough is enough. so im blonde. get over it.

my host mother bought me a tube of cooling lotion. over the next few days i made sure to liberally apply lotion to my sunburn, and as a result i didnt peel or blister.

at dinner i was having a hard time picking up a potato with my chopsticks, and i ended up dropping it and splashing soup all over myself.

i was in bed by 8 because of the next days ensoku. i plugged ensoku into my electronic translator and came up with "picnic" and "outing," so at first i was totally looking forward to it.

but then i found out the picnic was on top of a mountain.

and that it was 3 hours both ways.

fuck you guys.