Just Another JET Blog

Well! It’s been so long since I updated that I actually forgot where I kept the file where I usually write these things. Don’t worry, I just found it now.

Last weekend I went to a Japanese wedding. You get to hear about it! Everyone shows up in there super formal wear (men in black suits / white tie (like grad) and women in kimonos or formal dresses. It doesn’t matter that it’s 35 degrees, sunny and humid… the first thing we do in our full formal wear is walk around a shrine area before going inside. It’s sort of like a parade, with people lining up behind the bride and groom. When you get to the shrine, you go inside and select people are given a chance to watch the ceremony. This is the actual wedding, I guess. 4 people sit on each side (4 from the bride’s side and 4 from the groom’s) (I was one of the 4 for the groom (it was my adult student’s son’s wedding)). And about 50 people sit in the back watching. Everyone else has to stay outside in the heat. In the middle is the bride and groom, looking stiff and scared. In front are two shrine maidens on the girls side and two Shinto priests on the right. There’s various ceremonies, the most interesting being when the bride drinks from the grooms cup, the groom drinks from the bride’s cup. When they raise the cups up to drink they have to raise it 3 times and then drink (late, all of us drink together (turns out it’s sake!)). Also, the father of each of them has to bring a tree branch to the middle of the shrine. They exchange rings. A priest also waves a branch on people. And then at some point it’s over, and its picture time. The bride is at this point in outfit #1, which is a white kimono and big hat.

Then we all take off to the hotel for photo session #2, big group shot. Bride is in outfit #2, same kimono but a different hat. This hat is interwoven with their hair in a complicated way. Then we all head down to relax to the reception. Bride and groom enter to the song “Beauty and the Beast” in English. I’m not making this up. “A Whole New World” was saved for later in the reception. Bride now has outfit #3 which is a complete new hair style and some fancy new stuff sticking out of it. Very cool. We also get to eat French-Japanese food at this point. A strange combination of cultural foods that turn out to taste really well together! There’s various speeches, people cry a lot, people laugh a lot, and a lot of people get pretty drunk. The bride and groom leave at some point and re-enter in new outfits, this time completely western style wedding dress (and a new hairdo (#4 for those keeping track at home)). There’s cake cutting, lighting candles together, pouring two drinks together into one cup that turns into a glowing liquid when the two drinks mix. In case you hadn’t caught the idea yet, two are becoming one here.

And my most memorable moment of it? In the bathroom. There I was, washing my hands, when a big Japanese man in MIB style suit shows up, looks at me and speaks into his microphone <He’s here (in Japanese)>. Then says to me (in English), “You. Speech”.

Oh

Yup, he led me back to the reception where I got to stumble over a speech… something about how great Japanese weddings are and the symbols are beautiful. Afterwards the guy next to me told me it was nice. He was lying. I told him so, and he just laughed. At least from that point on our conversation wasn’t as stiff as it was before, since my terrible speech had broken down any formal walls between us. That’s the good news, I guess. The groom’s mother came up to me after the speech and told me to go talk to the bridesmaids. I told her that I couldn’t because they were following the bride around everywhere taking pictures. The guy to my then said my new favorite phrase, “No good. This is not NANPA place.” Nanpa means to hit on, or flirt. I nodded my head vigorously in agreement. After that, the wedding was over and I escaped to an ALT karaoke party.

Yesterday I got up early and rode a bus with my school’s students to be part of the cheering party (ouendan) for my school’s baseball team. It was absolutely amazing. If EVER, anyone EVER offers you to be part of an ouendan, take it. It means you get to sing and scream at the top of your lungs for 9 innings of an intense baseball game. Like everything else, Japanese people take cheering seriously. It’s a full work-out, all under that hot Gifu sun. Unfortunately, our team lost… but I felt like there was some sort of spiritual victory for me as I watched almost every student in my entire school (almost all 250 of them and most of the teachers!!) cheer their hearts out. It was beautiful and moving. I love this country.

I suppose this is my last post before I head off to Korea for a week. When I come back, Will, the other ALT here in Kamioka, will have already left. It’s strange for me to think about that. Some new stranger will be living in my friend’s place. Both figuratively and literally, since this new person will be taking over everything from Will. Job, phone, apartment, car… all the same. Only the person will change. Being a JET is a bit of a strange thing. At least the constant changes promise that things never get old, I suppose. For my own sake, I find myself wishing that Will would stay another year just so I could keep hanging out with him. But, his experience in Japan has been different from my own, and going back is definitely the right choice for him. All I can say is that I’ll miss him and wish him luck from here on out.

He has his own blog, by the way, and reading about his life out here in Japan can give you another perspective about Kamioka, JET, and Japan. It’s really well written, so I recommend a look at it.

http://lethain.com/life/

And I guess I’ll update next after Korea!

Peace!

Thing I love most about Japan today: Japanese cheering parties!

Thing I miss most about Canada: cheap hot dogs.