Ahoy, matey! GGGRRRR!

We all live under one roof so trying to plan anything while keeping it a secret is almost impossible. Especially when we're trying to keep it from George, the All-Seeing, All-Knowing eye of the Ohmeikan. The theme for George's 2.1 was 'Pirates', so Emma kidnapped George, blindfolded him, dressed him in his pirates gear then handed him the first clue for his treasure hunt. Meanwhile, Sarah was heading around Nagoya sticking the tea-stained riddles and clues onto the destinations. A lot of preparation had gone into it, we had spent all night making pirates costume, sewing skulls and crossbones onto our t-shirts and making bandanas and eye patches. Sarah and I had even found a sail and mast for our 'boat'!

I was supposed to be meeting Sarah at the TV tower in Sakae but I got distracted by the most amazing dress, which just happened to be on sale at my favourite shop. I was rushing to the TV tower and who did I bump into while I was not in costume? The pirates crew, of course! There was much 'Grrrrrrr! 'Right me matey!'

Dinner was at 59s, a restaurant/bar in Sakae, where we attracted many a-curious glances. Gaijins dressed in strange get-ups brandishing swords...the Japanese were probably thinking 'it could only be gaijins!'

I'm a mean pirate, me

Sarah is wearing: bandana: model's own; scarf: model's own; short-sleeves t-shirt: Jusco's, 680yen; skull and crossbones fabric: Jusco's, 480 yen p/m; long-sleeves t-shirt: model's own; sword: 100 yen shop, 105 yen (!).

We spent ages sewing the design on the back, I finished at 3.30 am but Emma and Sarah didnt finish until the crack of dawn! Then, Sarah jokingly asked if we could dress up as frogs and ducks for her birthday which is coming up next week. We nearly died at the thought of more sewing...ohhhh, the nightmare!

a very original costume

Antonio desperately wanted a skull-bra on his t-shirt but the poor love has appalling sewing skills (or so he said. Im sure men only say such things to get women to do it for them!!). He was making sad eyes at me, so I gave into the Italian charm and dusted the cobwebs off my GCSE D&T skills to produce this bad-boy of a t-shirt. Aaah, the ol' gal still has it in her!

Its the fashion, love!

A while back I did an entry on the extravagant hairstyles that the Japanese girls will spend hours creating. I havent been able to get a picture until now, so here is what I mean. Very big, very long, huge curls coming down both shoulders and a lot of make-up! I can't even begin to imagine how long this look would take to cultivate but Im sure its probably more time than I would spend on my hair in a month. Of course I am a strange specimen of the female of the species since I actually dont even own a comb or brush. What do you mean you didnt know that?!

Naked Festival

Well, not quite. It should have been called the 'Almost Naked Festival' or the 'Lots of Bewildered Men with Wedgies in the Winter Chill' festival, but the attention grabbing credentials won, and the 'Naked Festival' was born.

Its February and one of the coldest, chilliest days that I have experienced in Japan, and what does a group of a hundred or so men do? Strip off, don buttocks-baring loincloth, aka. the fundoshi, to protect their modesty, run through the streets carrying a pole, climb up it , take it to the temple, and then fall over each other to reach the completely naked man.

I hear you asking 'why?!!'. Dont worry, I asked the same question and luckily, a Japanese lady was nearby with the following explanation: back in the early 16th Century, priests at the temple distributed an amulet which proved to be highly effective and so men began to queue up outside for one. Priests began to throw them out into the crowd and the men would clamber about trying to get one. The naked part I am not sure about, but the festival is supposed to be a purification process, a rite of passage, and simply a macho display of brute and masculinity. Alas, men will be men.

Officially, women are allowed to participate though I dont think a woman has actually ever stepped forward for the challenge. Its ridiculously cold even in clothes let alone sporting nothing but a flimsy loincloth. Brrrr! Did I also mention that part of the purification process involves having barrels of iced water thrown over them as well? Jonathan, Frank and Jan took part in the Naked Festival, but I dont think anybody had told them about that part of the procession either.

does my bum look big in this?

Japanese Way of Life (Vol. 3)

An apt subject for the month of Lurrve: Love Hotels.

This is a view of the infamous Yamate Inn from my balcony, its a stone's throw from the Ohmeikan and until recently, I didnt even know that its actually a love hotel. I'd thought that it was just an ordinary inn, and so did George. In fact, George nearly booked Emma's parents into the Yamate Inn when they came to visit because of its convenient location near the Ohmeikan. George had visited the website to check for room information and had mistakened the 'S&M Supaisu'* as a private gym. Bless the poor love, he hasnt been able to live that one down for ages!

Love Hotels have fantastical rooms, which are hired out by the hour for your own private uses and needs, if you know what I mean. They can be completely over-the-top, like in Tokyo where the Love Hotel district has anything ranging from Arabian boudoirs to Grecian palaces. The idea is that the proprietor will cater for whatever sordid kicks you might be into. Now, I have never actually visited one *halo forms* but this is what I have been told:

The entrances to Love Hotels are obscured and difficult to find in order to guarantee the anonymity of the guests; once inside, the main desk will have a screen displaying the different styles of rooms on offer and after you decide, you will then be given the key and taken to the room. The reason you are not left to navigate the corridors alone is because they're designed to be confusing so that you dont 'bump' into anyone that you dont want to.

Apparently, salarymen and their mistresses often frequent these places while the salarymen are supposedly 'away on business'.

* Translation: Space. The Japanese alphabet consists of a, i, u, e, o vowels and these are combined with consonants to make the basic sounds, thus you rarely find consecutive consonants apart from the 'n' sound. Dont worry if this makes no sense whatsoever, just be grateful that you'll never have to learn the language!

Dear Mr I-have-had-a-haircut-and-now-I-think-Im-too-important-to-email-Chinky-Girl-in-Japan

Also known as The Owner of 'A Guide on How to Rule the World'.

Hands up, guilty as charged. A belated birthday message to my favourite Chilean/Spanish/English/Whatever amigo. I demand a picture of this refined haircut that has caused said ex-girlfriend to go gaa-gaa. If anybody has any luck with the 'redevelopment' campaign then its you, I have complete faith in you. So get those banners, placards and Swampy if need be, and good luck! It was lovely chatting, though Im still waiting for that little email *deep growl*. Anyway, Happy Birthday darling! xxx Miss Birthday-Forgetter

Valentines Treats

Call it whatever you like: commercial exploitation; sentimental drivel; forced emotional displays of affections etc. but I love Valentines, its just a little excuse to go all out romantic and do something for somebody you care about. In a world full of cynicism and an increasing emphasis on individualism, we have a day reminding us of all those we love, and how could anybody fault that?

Sadly, the person I would have spent Valentines with is not in Japan so I had dinner with some close friends instead. Kevin, Alex, Frank, Liz and I went to dinner at the local Italian restaurant- Italian food seems fittingly romantic for Valentines Day- and whiled away the evening trying to get Alex to give us all the goss on the girl that he likes. He kept schtum, the killjoy, and refused to comment although from what we gathered, she'd sent him something. How sweet!

The Japanese also celebrate Valentines, though their traditions are slightly different to ours. On 14th February, the girls present the boys with something, which usually turns out to be chocolate. The Japanese guys would secretly complain about receiving chocolate since they'd prefer something a bit more masculine but unfortunately, chocolate is what they'll get. The gesture is not exclusive to couples, girls can give it to any boy(s) that she just happens to like. Then, on 14th March, the boys will give the girls something back in return and the etiquette is that this has to be more expensive or grand than what the girls have given the boys. Poor boys! Even if the boy doesnt like the girl, its only polite for him to give something back. Occassionally, a popular boy will end up becoming penniless after 14th March.

Lena received the box of allsorted cakes from a student she is teaching Russian to and she shared it out with us, which was beyond generous. So what did I receive? One heart-shaped lollipop ring, two cards, a computer virus (thanks Maple!) and the knowledge that O-farto loves me too.

Finding a Kebab in Nagoya

I really didnt think that I would be able to find a kebab van in Nagoya but one exists! I asked somebody on a whim, thinking the answer would blatantly be a 'no' but it was standing right around the corner from iD. I havent had a kebab in over half a year, so this was a moment to treasure. Unfortunately, they didnt have any garlic sauce :O nor was I asked 'oniontomatosaladchilliketchupmayonnaisechillisauce?' but it still hit the right spot. Alex and I were contented souls.

Dancing the night away

Alex has never been to iD and he's leaving at the end of March, everybody who has lived in Nagoya needs to have the iD experience at least once. It was Alex's turn to lose his virginity.

We were joining a large party of Ohmeikan and International Residence people who were already there. Trying to find people is an impossible task, but somehow we stumbled on the others among the sea of grinding couples. I havent been out clubbing for ages and God forbid, there were songs that I didnt recognise!! I had such a good dance, it felt like being back in comeplay (boy, how I miss comeplay), though without the half-hour assault course to reach the bar.

A Natural Blonde

Happy Birthday sweetheart! I know you will get stupidly drunk again but try to remember some details, and keep away from the likes of Claire Bailey! Make sure Andy has those paracetamols ready xxx

Chinese Ben's Leaving Party

Another week, another leaving party. Chinese Ben is the sweetest guy, he's one of those people who always seems to be happy and his attitude is infectious, it really rubs off on the person he's speaking to. His party was so big that it had to be split into two events, and I ended up going to the later party because I woke up late and was running behind schedule. Everybody brought along a contribution to the meal, and we ate in the lobby while listening to some God awful cheesy music that Frank had selected for the occassion.

I've received some emails asking in confusion if all the leaving parties meant that Im going home too. Im not returning to our fair shores until late September; the people who are leaving have either only applied for one semester or have been here since March last year. So sorry loves, Im still here for the time being.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Chinese New Year at home is a huge colourful event, its the biggest celebration in the Vietnamese/ Chinese calendar. In Japan though, its a different story. The Chinese hosted a New Year Eve's meal which was a lot of fun. They all made us make our wishes and then sing songs in our various languages. On the day itself though, I wanted to have a proper dinner with everybody to mark the occassion but with Olivier in France; Emma, George and Sarah in Hokkaido; Jan in Tokyo; Ben in Hawaii, Brandon in US; Chinese Ben et al in Osaka, and all the people who have already left, in the end dinner was a small affair. Emmanuelle, Liz, Alex and I sat down together with some chicken stir fry (mine), Creole-style rice (Alex's), fruit salad (Liz's) and a bottle of wine (Emmanuelle's). It was a lovely, cosy event and food was delicious, though completely lacking in authenticity. Usually, I get a little red envelope from my mum with "lucky money"- its a tradition that adults give children money for New Year in shiny red envelopes. Instead, I got a phone call from mum wishing me Happy New Year, and a message to say that the money has been wired into my account. Modern technology, indeed!

The Fab Four

I have been meaning to write the four months report for over a week so its a little late coming. Sorry, but here goes.

January proved to be a mucho busy month for the tiny one. The trip to Hong Kong was a much needed break, only because I was so afraid of feeling awful during the festive season, more due to the fact of missing home and the strangeness of being in a foreign country thousands of miles away. I was also glad that I'd signed myself up for the homestay, because that was a really educational experience and gave me a little glimpse into Japanese domestic life. My host family, the Tsuji, were lovely and really made me feel at home.

The Hatachi Seijinshiki was just completely surreal! It was an amazing opportunity to be part of Japanese traditions, though I was so nervous about what I was expected to do. I nearly died when I found out that there was over an hour of conversational time while we were expected to mingle and chatter before the official ceremony. Thank God for Yuki-san and her boyfriend for taking me under their wings and keeping me company.

After that, it was a matter of one exam after another, with all the deadlines thrown in too just for fun. So, head down, laptop on, while I wrote a lot of jibberish just to get the submissions in. The biggest achievement is that I passed Japanese with 74 percent in my final exam! I am thrilled, over-the-moon. I worked damn hard for that. And I got 90 percent on the history finals!

Emotionally, January was a brilliant month. You know the ol' saying, what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger. Making it through Christmas and New Year was a real accomplishment, and I never felt the depths of despair that I was fearing. Sometimes I really do think I worry too much for my own good! It was so much fun to spend time with everyone because we knew many of our dearest friends were leaving. We had to eek every last drop out of every moment, well, I guess a bit like life really. So, t'is with great sadness that we bid adieu to Sven, Felix, and Carl. Japan will not be the same without you, darlings.

Carl and Felix's Leaving Party

Aaargh, more people leaving! I really hate the idea of people leaving, the impending doom of the NUPACE group as our numbers dwiddle down smaller and smaller. This week, two of our most loved boys will be heading home, Carl to US to graduate and Felix to Germany to become a dad. They were leaving on the same day, 2 hours apart, so we had their leaving party together at Soda Pop, which is a bar about 15 minutes walk from the Ohmeikan. I was stuck in bed, sick as a parrot for the most of it until I got fed up of feeling sorry for myself and dragged myself to the party.

Living in Chastity Towers is grande most of the times because there are no smelly boys making a mess of everything, but when you're sick and need a bit of company, its lonely as hell. The farewell party was in full swing, lots of banner-signings in between games of pool and chatterings. It was soooo lovely to see everyone together and to be out of bed. It was definately a good move. I had a good ol' chinwag with Felix and Henry, who is leaving too though not until the end of March, and even managed to force myself to eat something. For the last few days I couldnt stomach anything more than a couple of slices of toast so this was progress.

Cross-Dressing Felix

Felix mistakenly grabbed my coat as we were leaving and was in the process of putting it on when he realised that it wasnt his at all. So he carried on nonetheless, and managed to pull off the eskimo look very well!

A Locket Full of Love

Warning: A Violin Story coming up.

Im sick. I have achy muscle; everytime I swallow it feels like Im swallowing shards of glass; my voice is practically gone; coughing fits come with regularity and completely take my breath away; the headache feels more like a war being faught out inside my head.

I desperately need some Lockets, but I can only get hold of poor Japanese substitutes though the pharmacist did give me some yummy liquids that I mix with hot water to drink. It tastes heavenly though doesnt seem to do much. Sleeping is difficult because everytime I lay down, a fever creeps up and my temperature soars so I end up being all hot and bothered. Then, instantaneously, I will switch to cold again, and no matter how many layers I put on and how high I turn the heater up, I am still freezing.

Coping with a pseudo-flu is all fine and well, but its a bitch with an essay deadline looming. Try understanding the finer points of UN Resoultions S/1304848BH776E or something like that when your body is in a state of turmoil.

I need some soup, I need some Lockets, I need to be tucked in bed with Diagnosis Murder rather than trying to type a ten-page report on everything I've learnt this semester.