anything you can do, i can do better....

It was so fantastic to see all the girls in their finest kimonos, though it seemed like there was a contest for who had the biggest hair and hair accessories. Loads of people came to the event just to see all the kimonos on display because the ceremony is a big event in Japanese traditions. There were photographers and film crews interviewing people, and I hoped and prayed that no-one was expecting me to speak much Japanese. I was on the phone when I turned around and came face-to-face with a huge black camera lens, it was literally 3 inches away from me and the guy was snapping away. Talk about invasion of personal space. We had an hour and a half of 'Conversation Time', which really tested my skills to the max. I would have been really lonely if it hadnt been for the lovely Japanese couple I met who could speak some English. So we managed to communicate through my bad Japanese and their bad English, and the time passed happily away.