Baseball and Dancing

I did two notable things this weekend. First, I met with my friend Tomomi and two of her friends, and we went to the Nagisa Music Festival in Odaiba. You can check out the Japanese website at www.nagisamusicfetsival.jp. It took place at the foot of the Fuji TV buliding, the landmark building that has the giant sphere contructed in it, and it consisted of 8 stages and dozens of performers, mostly Japanese, playing various types of club music and covering every single sub-genre. I am more of a Neil Young fan, but it was amazing to see so much live music. I was starting to get cynical about how much art and creativity was coming out of Tokyo, compared to other global cities such as New York, Paris, or London, but I guess that is only because I live in a more isolated suburban part of the city. I mean if you end up living in the suburbs of London, then your just going to be exposed to a bunch of chavs more than anything else. But this festival really showed me how cool Tokyo really is. Anyway, about two hours in the place was filled with red-faced Japanese whirling around, and I had stepped in gum. Our group would occasionally get split up as we visited the various stages, and would reconvene somewhere else. The girls really enjoyed dancing close to the music, but I preferred more bobbing my head at the back of the crowd. The festival continued about an hour past dark, and afterwards everybody at the festival contributed to picking up all the garbage that was tossed on the ground. That was a drag.
The next day I saw the Hanshin Tigers play the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome. These two teams have a huge sports rivalry, like the Yankees and Red Sox, or the Lakers and Celtics. The stadium was almost packed to capacity, and the fans were going wild. People love cheering for there teams here, and they do it constantly, which is different from your average North American who watches the game casually and enjoys a beer. Both teams pitched exceptionally well, and the final score was a low 2-0 for the Giants. This made it difficult for my Global House friends, who for the most part have never seen baseball, understand the appeal at all. Man did they not get it...

A new place to live in Guroburu Hausu (Global House)

Well I am back in Japan, and I couldn't have returned at any better time. It is cherry blossom season, and my campus has become really pictueresque. Now, it is much nicer to walk through the city because it's like walking through a nature calender. Unfortunately I have to walk through the city because my bike was confiscated by the city for being parked for too long. Fuckers. I have changed my address. I have moved into a dormitory on campus as opposed to my homestay in Tachikawa. Saying goodbye to my homestay family wasn't to bad. The fed me for one last time, and told about the recent events in their day. When I finally left I got a hearty handshake from my homestay father, and I promised I would return again before I returned to Canada. I have to. I borrowed some coat hangers.
I now live in Global House. I have three roomates in my unit. There is Chris, an exchange student from Hong Kong, he is really nice and friendly, but tends to keep to himself, and apparantly lives of a diet of boiled eggs without the yolks. There is a first year freshman; a Japanese student. He is a little akward, but incredibly excited to be living on his own and acts really outgoing. Finally there is Jun, who is another Japanese student. I knew of him before; he thinks he is too cool, because he is a senior, and runs the breakdancing society, and I haven't said anything to him other than hello. He seems like a dick. Other than that I am surrounded by the friends that I have made through the year, and they are all really happy that I am here. Now that I live on campus I will have more time to enjoy campus life, like club activites, but I have to concern my self with my own nourishment, which is a drag. Class starts next week, and I will be taking some politics classes as a change of pace, and for UofT requirment. This weekend I am going to a Japanese league baseball game with the Giants (wiki them), and going to a music festival with my friend Tomomi.

My last post was in February. I decided to take a trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, but my mother past away suddenly and I had to return home to my family.

I loved my mother very much, and I miss her now so unbelievably. She was my biggest fan, and I know she loved what I wrote about my exchange more than anyone. I know that she tell told everbody about my jokes and stories. I am going to contiue writing for her, and I am going to do everything possible to make the remainder of my exchange as fulfilling as possible.