Gosha Shrine's summer festival

Heeeeeeey, everyone.  It is grossly hot here.  It is so hot that I am literally dripping in sweat.  There is literally swear dripping off me.  IT IS DISGUSTING.

Anyway, have some random purikura pictures from a million years ago (I'm really unclear on why Blogger highlights things randomly):

(These were taken during Louki's birthday.  Someone had the smart idea of picking the ~sparkly eyes~ setting, which, uh, made our eyes sparkly.  These are some of the less disturbing results.)

(Also, for anyone who can't read Japanese, our names are written on our foreheads, so we have:
Meredith (purple), Gitari (pink; that's his nickname), Ashley (light blue), Grace (blue), Hali (yellow), me (green), Louki (red), and Mariko (dark purple-ish).)

(Also, I totally stole this picture from Mariko because I am a THIEF.)

ANYWAY, Sunday was the summer festival at Gosha Shrine!  And I am all about summer festivals, so I headed on over.

Fortunately, it wasn't raining!
Unfortunately, that meant it was about a million degrees at 8:30 in the morning and everyone just wanted to go home and hide in dark holes.

A bunch of stands were already set up when I arrived:

They had a stand selling a bunch of used clothes and dishes and books.

Taikoooooo.

This, by the way, is the shrine office where I have calligraphy class!  And since the doors were open, you can now see the beautiful interior~

There was a short purification ceremony that mostly only the soudai and the performers participated in, and then a girl sang a song and then Nakano-san's daughters (who are the shrines' miko) performed a dance.

And then the main performances started.

Taiko!

So this was at about ten in the morning.  As you can probably tell, it was CROWDED.

The next group of performers were a bunch of little girls from a baton-twirling school.

They were kind of adorable, in the way that small children who never turn the correct way generally are.

There was also a group of older girls who were performing.

(This was the oldest group of girls.)

Tambourines are batons, right?

And then the little kids came back with pom-poms...

This was literally all that I could think of...

The next group of performers was a storytelling troupe...

They set up a tent so that they wouldn't die in the baking sun.

Unfortunately, their entire audience was dying in the baking sun instead...

Unfortunately, they were having some serious microphone feedback issues...

They told the story of Susanoo and Yamato no Orochi and also the story of Okuninushi and the rabbit.  Definitely the best version of the Yamato no Orochi story I've ever heard.  It was so exciting!  (Apparently I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed it, 'cause a bunch of middle schoolers told Nakano-san that it was boring.  Ohhhh dear.)

One of the older women at the festival turned to me after the story was over and said, "...are you actually interested in these kinds of stories?" to which I had to respond, "YES," because who ISN'T into stories about Susanoo fighting a giant dragon with his future-wife-turned-into-a-comb in his hair?

So then I bummed around the shrine for a bit longer, talked to some people, and got some ice cream so I didn't die of heatstroke did research on festival food.

A bunch of kids were shooting each other with water pistols, much to Nakano-san's consternation.

These kids are super ball fishing, which is the more animal-friendly version of goldfish fishing.

This random guy was selling vegetables...?

These kids were selling homegrown grilled corn.

...this was the line for ice cream.

It was really hot, okay?

Aaaand here's the front of the shrine, where all the special lanterns were hanging.

So, yeah, that was the festival!

On Tuesday it was Pay 1,000 Yen for Movies Day, so I went to see the new Spiderman movie!  It was interesting.  I feel like there were some things that were definitely better than the old version, but there were things that were definitely worse.  It's much closer to the original canon, which...isn't...necessarily...a good thing.  I also feel like it didn't come together as well as the old version, 'cause there were some things that were giant question marks at the beginning and still giant question marks at the end.  Gwen is kind of amazing, though (although I have a lot of FEELINGS about her last scene, bah).

I had calligraphy class yesterday, and Itou-san dropped by,* which led to the largest concentration of Shinto-nerding I have ever seen in a small single room.  We had a big, long discussion about how kids weren't considered human until they turned 7 in the Edo period, and how that led to a lot of interesting stuff like legal infanticide and shortened funerals for kids.  Hurrah for interesting discussions!

And then I went home and submitted all my papers for Fulbright except for my research paper, which is 15.5k and still growing uggggggh.  I need to turn it in within the next week, so I'm just trying to clean up what I have right now and hoping that it turns into something semi-coherent.  I think right now I'm only missing the conclusion and some transitions in the middle, so it's not a huge amount of work left...

In final news, remember how I decided to fly out of Tokyo so that A) I could have my exit interview face-to-face rather than over the phone (I HATE PHONE CALLS, especially extended ones; it's so hard for me to figure out what's being said without being able to see the other person) and B) I could FINALLY go see the Ghibli Museum?  Well, within the last 24 hours I just found out that Dr. Satterwhite, who does the exit interviews, will not be available when I was planning on being in Tokyo, so I have to do a phone interview, AND that the Ghibli Museum is sold out of tickets until mid-August.  AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.  Excuse me while I flip over the UNIVERSE.  I am fairly sure that I am going to wind up going to the Ghibli Museum when I'm a million years old at this rate.  WHY?  WHYYYYYY?  So now I'm trying to figure out when to go up to Tokyo.  BAH.
</drama>

Well, I should get back to my paper...gosh...

*Why she dropped by is a long story involving a guy giving her a bunch of calligraphy sets years and years ago and telling her to give them to foreign students...?  Oh, and then she's supposed to take a picture when she gives them to the foreign students and send him a picture so that he knows that the set is going to a good home.  And apparently she hasn't managed to pawn all of them off yet, so when she found out that I've been taking calligraphy she was like, "YOU ARE TAKING ONE OF THESE."  So I got a calligraphy set!  Thank you, mysterious benefactor man!


EDIT: Oh my gosh, I just went to check keywords people have used to find my blog, and, uh:

"break up with boyfriend to become fulbright scholar"

I'm crying from laughter here.  Why was someone searching that...?  DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY QUOTE ON THE TECH HOUSE QUOTES PAGE?  'CAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE, YOU GUYS.

I have now occupied the same room as the emperor of Japan. It's probably all downhill from here.

Hey, guys!  Guess who's still sick! YEP, IT'S ME.  I...feel really bad for everyone I have come in contact with, because I sound like I'm dying of some horrible wasting disease (I actually only have a cold that's being aggravated by my asthma).  I just want to apologize to everyone, but that would probably be weird.
Also, I forgot to bring my camera card converter, so even though I have pictures I can't upload any of them BAH.

Anyway, yesterday I headed up to Tokyo, dumped all my stuff at the hostel, changed into ~CLASSY CLOTHING~ and then took the subway to the Imperial Hotel.  Good grief, that hotel is CLASSY.  It is probably the classiest hotel I have ever been in, and potentially the classiest hotel I will ever be in.  Anyway, I met up with Karen and Sara there (they were the only two other Fellows who came), and Sara schmoozed like a pro (to be fair, she IS studying political science) while Karen and I stood around awkwardly.  It probably doesn't help that people usually flee (well, suddenly remember that they have someone else they URGENTLY need to talk to) when I tell them what I'm studying...and people just nod awkwardly and run out of things to say when Karen tells them what she's studying (zebra fish!  I know so much about zebra fish and sectioning zebra fish now; I even know how to correctly pantomime sectioning a zebra fish!).
Also, it was weird but they made a huge deal about how INCREDIBLY TIGHT security would be, and how we would have to present our invitations and some form of official ID, but, uh, they just let us in.  I don't even know.  And then we were all given name tags with ribbons on them, and we spent the entire evening trying to figure out what the ribbons meant and finally asked someone and she didn't know so I guess it will haunt me to the grave why I had a yellow ribbon but Karen and Sara had pink ones.
...also, we weren't allowed to take pictures because we didn't have press passes; SORRY, KIM AND LOUKI.

ANYWAY, the imperial couple came about thirty minutes after the reception started and stayed for about an hour, so I can now say that I have been in the same room as the emperor of Japan.  I didn't actually get to talk to either of them, although I could have tried to fight through crazy crowds of people to do so.  I'm not sure what I would have said, and I'm also fairly sure I would have screwed up my honorifics, so perhaps it is for the best?
Anyway, there were a bunch of SPEECHES about FRIENDSHIP and CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION and also the ambassador to Japan was there and Senator Fulbright's widow and a bunch of other important people, which is maybe why almost everyone ignored us (the Fellows) the whole night.
Although, I did have a couple of people make incredibly odd assumptions about me, including:
- I am a professor at Nanzan University.  (WHAT.)
- Despite doing research in Japan about a subject that is particular to Japan, I don't speak any Japanese.  (WHAT.)  Oh, and Karen and Sara don't speak any Japanese either.  (WHAT.)
But I did meet a cool history professor from Alaska, which was exciting!

So, yeah, that was the reception.  The food was INSANELY GOOD, and it was nice to catch up with Karen and Sara, especially since Karen might be leaving for the States in mid-June.
Also, as we were leaving the reception, we decided to politician-entourage around Sara.  It makes more sense in context, I swear, but it was kind of great.

Today I tried to buy tickets for the Ghibli Museum ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT THEY ARE CLOSED UNTIL JUNE FIRST SO THEY CAN PUT A NEW EXHIBIT IN AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  Seriously, this is now the fourth time I have been prevented from visiting this friggin' museum: the first time the tickets were sold out, the second time I had no time because of the Fulbright orientation, the third time I got insanely sick with allergies, and this time the FRIGGIN' MUSEUM IS CLOSED FRIG.  FRIG FRIG FRIG FRIGGIN' FRIG.
So, yeah, that was disappointing.
I guess I will just have to come up a day early for my exit interview so I can VISIT THE FRIGGIN' MUSEUM.

So instead I went to visit some shrines Nakano-san recommended: Hiei Shrine and Yushima Tenmanguu.  By a stroke of luck, Yushima Tenmanguu was having a festival today, so I got to see some mikoshi and taiko drumming and flute players and had Showa-era vanilla ice cream.  It was pretty cool!  Pictures coming when I have my card reader.

And then I went to Yoyogi Park, 'cause I'd never been before, but everyone talks about it all the time.  It was really nice!  Definitely one of my favorite spots in Tokyo, and not just because of the sheer number of random people there doing dance routines and that dude who was waving around a SPEAR.  Okay, maybe that was slightly related.  But it is a nice park!

So then I headed back in the direction of my hostel, grabbed dinner at the really cheap tempura place, and now I'm back here writing up this post and feeling pretty exhausted, so hopefully tonight I won't have trouble getting to sleep.  (I think I finally fell asleep around 3 a.m. last night...)

Anyway, I have one more day in Tokyo, and I have to figure out something to do because I was planning on going to the Ghibli Museum, but that's not gonna happen APPARENTLY.  I guess I will go bug Geoff for suggestions...or maybe I'll hit that history museum in Ueno...  The problem with Tokyo is the opposite problem with Nagoya--there are TOO MANY OPTIONS.  Oh well.  I'll figure it out.

Recap: Life after the S-As' departure

Last time traveling post for now, so might as well enjoy it while it lasts!*

Some stuff that has happened since Nick left for home:

1. My new suitemate came.  Her name is Louki, she is Dutch, and she cleans things when she is bored.  Needless to say, we get along well.  Also, our suite is significantly cleaner and sometimes I don't have to wash a sink full of dishes every time I want to make dinner.

2. The semester ended.  Our Monday and Tuesday classes were definitely not parties.  I could see how an outside observer might think they were parties, but that outside observer would be wrong.  Definitely very serious classes.

3. Tuesday-sensei apparently knows someone who wants an English conversation partner, so he said he'll put us in touch.

4. I finished my graduate school applications.

5. I wrote an article for The Fulbrighter.
5a. I found out my article is going to be published.

6. I set up an interview with a priest at Ueno Tenmanguu for next Tuesday.  Hopefully it will go well.  I'm trying to type up and revise my interview questions so that I make sure to hit all the important points in a single sitting.

7. I was told that I must have been Japanese in a previous life.  (This is the standard response when people can't figure out why the heck I would be interested in Japan.  Never mind that it's interesting or anything.  I MUST have been Japanese in a previous life.)

8. I read Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan, which convinced me
A. I really don't want to join a millenarian movement
and
B. I really don't want to engage in any research where my research subjects are likely to try to murder me.

9. I tried Dutch licorice.  It is...really odd.

10. Itou-san invited me (and my roommates, so Louki is coming with me) to a Thing at Nagoya University tomorrow.  It involves mochi and foreign students aaaaaaaaaaaaand that's pretty much all I know.  But it should be fun!

11. I had penmanship class and somehow managed to screw up the kanji in my calligraphy name as well as the stroke order for pretty much every kanji ever.  MY SHAME IS UNBEARABLE.
It got to the point that Nakano-san would be chatting to the other ladies, and it would sound like, "Oh, did you hear that Suzuki-san is STROKE ORDER, DANA-CHAN moving to Hokkaido?"
11a. On the upside, Nakano-san gave me two children's books that are published by a publishing company that is associated with a shrine.  Needless to say, they're supposed to teach kids about Shinto.  The one I'm currently reading is about a hinoki (Japanese cypress) tree growing up in a forest.  Thus far in the story, the wind has taught the hinoki about the kami and how everyone has a meaning in life and the hinoki's best friend (a dung beetle) dropped dead from the cold.  It...is kind of morbid yet happy?

12. I bought a tea pot!  So now I can drink SO MUCH TEA.

13. I developed a minor addiction to kinkan, which my dictionary tells me means "kumquat" but is definitely not a kumquat.  Or at least what we think of in the states as a kumquat.  It's about twice as big and DELICIOUS.  I would eat a million of them every day if fruit wasn't so darned expensive.

14. I found out that the Fulbright mid-year conference is going to be on March 22, so I will be in Tokyo March 18-23 at the very least.  Might be there longer, depending on whether some other things pan out.  I'm definitely going to try to hit the Ghibli Museum and Washinomiya Shrine (the Lucky Star Shrine) while I am there, though.
14a. I found out that at the conference I have to give a presentation on my research...that is 3-5 minutes long.  I AM GOING TO GO INSANE.  How can I say anything worthwhile in that space?  lskjskhekrhaea
14b. I'm going on a tour of Nikko, sponsored by the Tokyo Fulbright Alumni Association, March 18-20.  It should be cool.

15. I apparently caught Steven's post office curse**, because when I went to the post office to get a customs declaration form so I could send (really late) Christmas presents home, they were convinced I actually wanted a box.
"I need the form you have to write the contents of the box on." 
"You mean a box?" 
"No, it is paper. If you put noodles in the box, you write 'noodles' on the form." 
"You mean a box?" 
"NO, it is a FORM for WRITING WHAT IS IN THE BOX. You post it on the box when you send things out of the country." 
 "You mean a box?"
PLEASE LISTEN TO THE WORDS COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH.

So, yeah.  It hasn't been all that crazy exciting, but I've had some time to sit and read and do all the things I wasn't doing while I was traipsing all over Japan.  Tomorrow I've got the mystery mochi thing in the evening, and then Friday through Sunday is the fieldtrip to Izumo Taisha.  Updates will come...when updates come.

*I totally had this stuck in my head about a week ago, so now I will INFLICT IT UPON YOU MWAHAHAHA.

**Every time Steven goes to the post office, it inevitably ends in disaster and suffering.  Last time he went, their ATM malfunctioned.  Clearly the post office curse is contagious.