July 23rd, 2008: New Eyes Part II

“We are going to 100-yen shop,” she told us. Earlier, we had made the suggestion to visit the shop, the equivalent of an US $.99 store. I spoke with her as we waited at a crosswalk. Shoko-san was very sweet and her speech, in both English and Japanese, held a gentle manner. Her light-complexed face had a quality that seemed cherub-like. I found her to be innocent and yet, profound in thought when she addressed others.

I talked to her about America and the Odawara delegates, passing colorful signs in kanji, katakana, and hiragana. I was amazed at all of the stores we passed, and finally, Shoko-san directed us to the 100-yen store.

It was on the third floor (sankai) of a posh-looking building, and upon reaching our destination, Shoko-san announced she needed to return to the International Lounge to help prepare the party. I was held responsible for getting the group back. We were on our own to explore the stores. Chris and Jason disappeared inside the racks of the 100-yen store while Kelsey and I explored the clothing areas.

There were shirts that were imported from America and China, and racks of in-style fashion swayed from racks. You couldn’t tell where one store started and one ended.

Kelsey and I joined up with Chris and Jason, and at the 100-yen shop, I made my first purchase 2 handkerchiefs and a belt key chain. I paid in coins the 382 yen (less than $3.82) and we made our way to the exit.

Along the way, we noticed a Lolita clothing store. The store was cloaked behind a black wooden wall, its only store display and an unlocked door indicating its existence. We didn’t know how we missed it, seeing that it was the only store on the floor where a door had to be opened to enter, but we marveled at the immediate change in atmosphere once we entered.

The store had everything and anything Lolita, gothic, and punk. Unfortunately, everything was expensive. Kelsey recognized the song playing in the background and asked the store clerk about it. He responded the best he could in English.

We left the store, disappointed at the costs, and exited the building. We took pictures walking back to the International Lounge, looking at everything with a newborn sense of excitement. After walking past the building, we stopped at a magazine shop. Jason purchased an anime magazine, his second purchase of the day.

Soon, we returned to the International Lounge, the room filled with City Council member, host families, and past and present Odawara delegates.

The time for the celebration began and we were seated at the front of the room with everyone watching our emcee. He greeted everyone then introduced a City Council member for his speech. He thanked everyone and formally welcomed us here in Japan.

We each stood up and introduced ourselves in Japanese, before the emcee moved on to introduce host family members. Finally, we were instructed to eat food. They served a brigade of food! Different types of sushi, dumplings, tempura, fried lobster, and shrimp, and red bean rice became our dinner. While we ate, we mingled with everyone.

The atmosphere wasn’t rigid at all in spite of the courtesy bows and attention to politeness. It was tranquil, like a soft family function, as we ate and drank. Surprisingly, beer (biiru) was stationed at the table with beverages and desserts, but hardly anyone took any of the canned Kirin liquid. In America, the beer would disappear within the first five minutes, desperately trying to slurp away reality.

We played a group rock-paper-scissors game in teams, trying to collect as many names as possible. Mitsukawa-sama, Jason’s family host, had the most names on her paper. Chris’s team won the most names in a group and they collected a giant wealth of chocolate and biscuit snacks that was distributed to anyone who asked.

The Welcome Party went on to a formal closing by the Odawara delegates and everyone began to make doggy bags from the leftover food. Everyone helped to clean up the room and return tables and chairs to their original states. A group of formal delegates played rock-paper-scissors to win trays of food.

Soon enough, the room was rearranged back to its former glory and all of the guests began to take their leave, taking each one of us away. Mama-san and Eriko lead me towards a nearby train station, the bunny ears I was given by Haruka’s sister-in-law and the bottle of my favorite drink my arms.

As we walked around, I noticed how many people glanced at me or stared at me. I felt like I was the only black person in Japan, but I knew this would happen. Japan isn’t highly diverse in ethnic backgrounds like California.

We waited for the train in a waiting room, a room with several chairs that was cooler than the waiting chairs outside. Eriko asked me about her closing speech. “What I said, ‘I will do my best to be a go-between for Chula Vista and Odawara,’ was that ok?”

“For ‘go-between,’ we use ‘ambassador,’” I explained as plainly as possible. “Or you could use a French word, ‘liaison.’” I slowly reiterated the word and she sounded it out carefully. “It is a business word, a big word. But ‘ambassador’ is fine.” When we boarded our train, she pulled out her translator and I spelled ‘ambassador’ for her. She seemed amazed at the new word.

The train ride was brief. The train in Japan was littered with ads up ads on the ceilings and sides of the inside of the cars. The train we boarded was a Women’s train. Between 7:10 to 9:30 am, the Odayo line and the Chidate line became a train only for women, men with disabilities, men care attendants, and children under 12. I heard about these trains before, but I was amazed at being inside one.

We exited the train at our stop and walked to Eriko’s house. While we walked, Eriko’s mom explained that she was off work tomorrow and she would clean my room. I learned that Mama-san didn’t like to cook or iron. I promised I would make pasta for them if they liked.

We entered the house, and after extracting my shoes, I hurried to my room to put down my gifts. I discovered a huge spider on my ceiling and immediately informed Eriko. She and Mama-san grabbed a bottle of bug spray and proceeded to spray the spider. It took some time to kill and Mama-san fearlessly disposed of the spider.

“Daishobu,” Mama-san said to the fear etched across my face in spite of the spider’s death. I went about, preparing for my shower. When I returned downstairs, Eriko and I discovered two more spiders, one on the goza—tatami summer rug—and one on the wall. Mama-san bravely disposed of them and Eriko told me that more spiders trekked in this ear than last year. It was because of the lack of rain, her mother explained.

I decided to take a shower, looking at all corners of each room in search of any arachnids. Thankfully, the rest of the evening was short.

After my shower, I returned to my room to write, and fell asleep between paragraphs. At 11:15 pm, I turned on the fan and turned off my lights before falling into a deep sleep.

July 23rd, 2008: New Eyes Part I

Today was such a hectic day, but it yielded many rewards for the whole delegation. I tossed and turned the night before, trying to force my body into an exhausted sleep stage because of the time change, and succeeded in getting 8 broken hours of Dreamland. I woke up at 8:30 am, my mind set on organizing my temporary room as I gathered my disorientated thoughts whilst driving away any residual fatigue.

The small room accommodated for what I unpacked. I placed clothes on hangers, folded socks together, and withdrew gifts hidden amongst the suitcases. I placed my luggage close to a space beneath the window seat before heading downstairs with 2 more gifts steadied quietly in my arms.

Eriko was already awake, her translator and paperwork neatly covering the table top, as I approached. She greeted with questions of a good hostess.

"Would you like something to drink?" I accepted the tea, and once breakfast was established with different flavored breads- pan with sesame, pan with raisins--we began a conversation about the different aspects of our lives. She asked about cereal and I asked about her family as I skimmed over translated pieces of her speech for later on.

It was very peaceful, enjoying great bread and bananas and sharing stories about my life.

At 11 am, we set up the iron, and as I ironed my business attire, she watched curiously, asking me questions about my life and sending me smiling when she thought of a word she couldn't translate. At 11:30 am, we separated to change and pack our things together for our big trip to Odawara's City Hall. We set out at 12:30 pm towards Chris, another City delegate like myself, whose host family was nearby. They drove us to City Hall, and from there, we began a lengthy tour of the building.

We met Shoko, an able and devoted member of Odawara's International Friendship Association. She went through our schedule for our stay in Odawara before we went to meet the mayor and the council members.

At first, I assumed the mayor was one of the three older people seated at the head of the long table. The real mayor entered shortly after, and I was taken aback. The mayor looked quite young, especially when he broke into a smile. He was quite handsome, with his smoothed black hair, small black eyes, and broad shoulders, and I was immediately smitten.

He understood much English, though limited in responding, and after introductions to the City Council, we introduced ourselves in Japanese. I was the first to go.

I introduced myself with my name, age, and school in attendance before bowing, and the introduction was one I would have to repeat 2 more times later on. The mayor gave us gifts, traditional wooden sweet plates, and we imparted a small box of chocolates and a T-shirt to him.

Soon, we were being ushered into a smaller room and repeated the same process, accepting gifts from the vice chairman of the Assembly. We left to tour the rest of City Hall, and soon enough, we were off towards the International Lounge, our destination for the Welcome Party planned by the Odawara delegates. We helped set up, moving chairs and tables to make the room look more presentable. I was impressed with the girls. They held a blueprint for the tables and chairs. I felt more reassured by the preparedness.

As more people from the City Hall came to assist we were called by Shoko-san to follow her. We traveled down the stairs and onto the streets in search of a shoe store. The shoe store we stopped at was filled with brown and black colored shoes. It had few sneakers, but an immense amount of semi-formal and business casual shoe wear.

Shoko-san approached the store clerk and politely asked for indoor shoes. Indoor shoes are shoes used to walk around inside buildings. We would need them for our volunteering activities the following days. The store clerk returned with several boxes in her arms. Kelsey and I wore the same size and Chris and Jason wore large sizes. In Japan, shoe size is in centimeters. We had to look at the current shoes we were wearing to locate the tag with our shoe size in it. I ordered a pair of blue and white indoor shoes and Kelsey ordered red ones. The entire time we went through shoes, the store clerk serviced us mostly on her knees in a polite, waiting manner.

She watched us speak in English, and when we finally decided what shoes we wanted, she hurriedly collected the many boxes and shoes already sprawled out in front of her and awaited us at the counter.

Shoko-san purchased the shoes, which were cheap--only 8,000 yen per shoe or less than $8 in American money--and she trekked us past the buildings we exited earlier.

July 22nd, 2008: Getting to Japan! Excitement!

When we landed, the excitement built up again inspite of the 11-hour flight and the warning ache in my stomach. Once the plane made an anticlimatic landing, we set foot on the Land of Japan. We followed the masses over flat escalators for 200meters before climbing down stairs to go through our passport check-in, and finger-printing and photo. We claimed our luggage and made a quick trip through customs before wheeling our bags out into an immaculate hallway and a clearing of people looking for their loved ones. Eriko and Risa ran up to us, holding out signs with our names on it.

"Kochira wa..." and I went on to introduce everyone else in Japanese before we exchanged our US dollars for yen. My $370 yielded 38,000 yen for me. We left and went straight through the trains that stemmed like roots from underneath the Narita Airport.

We spent another 4 hours waring through Japanese people, most of which were businessmen and a few yukata-clad festival goers. We talked to the two girls as we held round plastic rings for support and swayed with the trains many stops and go's. Eriko, an English major, held a better grasp of the language, translating the long explanations of certain questions in Japanese to Risa whenever possible. Risa, with her bright smile, was quite the fashionista out of the two girls. She wore white high heels that seemed to be pulled out of a fairy bridal magazine, a brown tunic, and black shorts that peeked out from the tunic's chocolate material.

The trains weren't packed like I assumed. We simply rode, watching lights zoom past our eyes with pictures and Nihongo splayed across billboards and signs. There was nothing disinteresting to look at. On our last train ride on an express train, we snacked on sandwiches with the crust cut neatly from the rest of the bread. It was good, but the long trip over the Pacific Ocean and the multiple train transfers began to take its toll on me. I napped between stares out the window, enjoying the feel of my body succumbing to the fatigue.

After the last train, we hurried down several stairs to be greeted by a group of Japanese people, all happy to see us. There was a lot of commotion, and I'm certain we made passerby head turns. We introduced ourselves, becoming excited from the bubbly energy from the crown, and nervously introduced ourselves with the knowledge that our train-bouncing had ended.

Many pictures, laughter, and introductions later, my host family--Eriko and her parents--lead me to their car and loaded my two bags into it. We chatted as Eriko's father, Papa-san as I call him, wounded down the narrow streets of Odawara, driving on the left hand side. It was completely different driving in Japan versus driving on the right side in America.

Arriving "home", I took off my shoes when I entered and followed Eriko up to my room with my luggage. They had prepared a small room for me, equipped with a futon, a flower rug, small drawers, a small bedside table, and an electric fan. I unpacked the gifts I brought and gave them to the family. I gave the parents a bottle of American wine, Eriko a few small gifts, and T-shirts I designed, and See's Candies lollipops to all. Apparently, See's Candies is a highly expensive brand in Japan, and it is a common gift to Japanese people from both tourists and Japanese alike.

Once the gifts were exchanged, Eriko showed me how to use the shower. It was very different to say the least, from an American shower. You sat on a plastic bench and switched the water between facet or shower modes. I stood up to accommodate the rather awkward seating. I was in desperate need of a shower after 48 hours since my last one.

In the Japanese shower, once finished scrubbing and washing my hair, I dried myself with a small thin towelette before entering the room attached holding a regular towel to dry everything. I felt at ease and warm after my shower and proceeded to talk to Eriko about the next day's activities. Soon, her mother announced that she was retiring to bed and before long, Eriko was showing me how to turn on the fan for 3 hour timing, if needed. I finally drew the thin covers they supplied with the futon over my body, and once my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

Countdown

One more day. One more day until I met my counterpart in Japan for a two-week escapade of cultural immersion, language interpretations, and Hello Kitty.

Somehow, I feel calm about the trip. Other people are more excited than I am sometimes--"Take me with you!", "Buy me some shoes", "The Land of Hello Kitty"--that I'm almost compelled to deviate from their happiness by feeling calm and tranquil.

Money, money, money is making my life a bit stressful, and overall, takes away from the full excitement of this trip. I don't think people realize this, but going to a different country costs $$. Not one $. Not two $$. Excessive $. I only add this in because it is something for those going abroad to think about. It costs money. But if you really want to do it, money shouldn't stand in your way.

You know, there was no way I was going to go to Japan unless it was study abroad, and that takes forever to go through at my school. I'm glad this opportunity presented itself to me, amidst the chaos of campaigning and student organizations and other activities known as my life.

I spent most of yesterday revising the presentation. It's pretty straight-cut, like homestyle french fries, but it's classic and simple. It's just about packing now--where the hell are my panties? I could had sworn I had at least 20 of them--and picking out what shirts to wear, what pants to bring, what dress might work. It's all about guessing and logical thinking (that negates itself, really).

Today, after church, I picked up the T-shirts. They looked good, better than the first design I did because they couldn't use it. Now, I just have to figure out how I'm going to wrap it and all that good jazz. Apparently, when giving gifts in Japan, Japanese people really love gifts, well, gift-wrapped, no matter how small the item is. I have to do that today.

Plus, my mom is buying me a digital camera today! Hooray! We're upgrading from our broken, $50 Radio Shack dealt, digital Casio camera. I wanted a Digital SLR, but lo and behold, they are mighty expensive, and I don't have time to bid on Ebay and wait for snail mail to deliver the goods.

I just need some more time to steady myself because the preparations are toying with my mind. Don't get me wrong. It's there though, the excitement, buried underneath the hustle and bustle of preparations.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to clean my room (because no one else will) and find more of my missing panties.

Electrical Plugs and Family

One of my electrical sockets looked like it had a black eye. Several months before, I had placed a DC output plug into the unsuspecting socket and returned to find the innocent electrical outlet with its left prong hole browned from burning.

Luckily, like a good American, I covered the ugly scar with a cheap makeover. Thank Home Depot for supplying people who charred electrical sockets.

Looking at what I have now, my trip to Japan is proving to be very pricey, even with only paying for half of a thousand dollar flight and spending money for the time in Japan.

Just preparing my room is taking its toll on my financial status. I've lived with my mother and younger brother since I came to California, and we've always met the short end of the monetary stick. My father skimped on the child support and my mother had to start from scratch in careers. I don't even remember how my mom managed to bring us up one rough year that only made $10,000 in one year, and feed all of us and keep a roof above our heads. The situation isn't the same, but this recession has hit us hard. I don't factor in food whenever I budget. It's not like I've never starved before. I'll make it somehow.

So, this trip has to be my focus point and I have to throw everything into it because then, the money wouldn't matter. It's funny how people say, money doesn't matter, but we really can't find much happiness if money is the only thing to get us what we need. I don't honestly believe that happiness stems from dollars, but still, as capitalistic as this country it is, it's only natural to strive to get as much as possible.

Although, I wouldn't use it as a way to say, "Hey, I'm more successful than you because I have more zeros behind a number."

I guess the most fun I have is with my family, especially my brothers. My older brother always embellishes his stories that are outrageous and funny. My younger brother's humor is more subtle but it's still roll-on-the-floor funny.

I wonder if I'll get to enjoy that sense of family with my Japanese host family. I'm paired with the oldest Japanese student, who is 20, and she has a younger brother. I don't know if she'll like any of my gifts, but hopefully, everything works out.

Reading

I'm always on the run, always moving, once I get a momentum. Go to work. Call the store. Meet the clerks. Get a quote. Worry about money. Think about mileage. Call someone else. Raise my voice at a customer service assistant unintentionally. Compose myself. Work through some money issues. Worry about money.

And then, once I get a chance to take a break and become bored, I'm already being rushed off somewhere else.

Everyone asks me how I do it all. I really don't know. I just know I have to be busy to get things done. I don't tend to think, "How am I going to get it done?" I normally think, "How much can I get done?" Somehow, God blesses me with the ability to complete tasks as best I can and as efficiently as I do.

But I admire the moments when I force myself to step outside of the computer, the TV, technology in general, and move, dance, peel myself away from things that are just so trivial when you really think about it. That's what makes me feel like I'm alive, and alive for reasons of my own. It's my chance to be selfish.

This trip, this adventure into the unknown called Japan, is my selfish trip out of America into somewhere that's, well, I don't know. It's just another place. I can travel their by books, like Shizuka's Daughter, but I can't set my feet down on the earth in that land.

Between the calls, money issues, studying Japanese, and bouts of boredom and business, today, I read a chapter from Three Cups of Tea. It's a book that I have wanted to read since someone from KPBS told me about it. They gave it to me for free for a short commercial, and now, I'm hooked. I read one chapter today. I took myself out of the Japanese, the dollar-signs, and the multiples of problems upon problems to read it. I turned off the TV, the computer, and sat on the stoop that served as a miniature porch and read. It calmed nerves that I didn't notice were tense from the rampant blows of my life.

Finally, when the chapter ended, I went inside and returned to reality. It seems rather comical at how I switch modes completely.

Yesterday, I was ready for the Union Tribune, the photo shoot for the paper, and the multiple questions and listening ears of the City Commissioners. I was nervous beyond reasoning, just to give one presentation, as usual, and once it was over, it was almost as though a weight had been lifted.

I dread presentations. I used to have an anxiety disorder, and finally, after high school, I broke through it. My speech is always too fast, in spite of my mind telling my body to calm down. I tend to move my hands to calm nerves, and it helps, but I still feel my heart beat in my ears and the heat in my body become intolerable. I only believe that I am a good speaker and move on with that. If I get stoned for bad speaking skills, then so be it, I tried.

I think that the presentation was childish, in my opinion. We selected pictures from the photos all of us took and made a DVD slide show out of it. We spoke over the pictures, but because we didn't bother practicing with the slide show, of course, the slide show was off from our adlib. We talked about 5 categories: food, culture, shopping, recreation, and education in the City. Why was I the only one who didn't read off of anything? I felt that the essays everyone else wrote--minus one of the two males of the delegation--were too long winded and too fancy. Well, that's what you expect when it's 3 recent high school graduates versus a college senior. I took a backseat to leading the presentation off, but now, I'm going to have to take some more leadership on this.

I do consider myself a leader, not because I know how to lead, because I really doubt that ability, but I know how to follow. I would hope to believe that I am a servant leader, and I am adamant in teaching others to believe in themselves. I mean, it's the only way you'll really figure yourself out, once you realize that you need to love yourself before you can love/lead others.

Of course, these are just my opinions. I only wish to enjoy the life God has given to me. I hope that everything will turn out all right.

Marketing and Promotions

I didn't really think of going to Japan was a big deal. But then again, if things weren't a big deal, I wouldn't have my phone dying as people from the Union Tribune call and email me. The funniest thing is that we're not even done with our presentation and we give it today.

I'm not really surprised. After all, besides me, everyone else is a recent high school graduate. I can be a procrastinating college student, while the other three could be procrastinating high school grads. Still, it's no excuse for us to not be done today, and that's something I believe more time would have taken cared of.

I bought T-shirts yesterday from American Apparel and Pink Zone so that we can get them printed with the design I created. I'm happy to make shirts. I want to start my own T-shirt business this year, hopefully, and this is a great start. I've done T-shirts for other events too, but they were just on campus. Now, I want to branch out a little bit more...

Well, seeing that I have to go to work before meeting up with the other City ambassadors, I'm off. Short and sweet, ne?