Sawakai

~It's hard to believe that I've been in Japan for over three months! I'm here on a one-year contract, which is now over 25% complete. Although my days at work seem to last forever, in retrospect the time has really flown by. Anyway, seeing as how I've been here for over 100 days, I figured that perhaps it might be a good idea for me to actually learn some useful Japanese. Therefore, yesterday was my very first Japanese class, which is held in the Civics Center in downtown Nagaoka.

The class was taught almost entirely in Japanese, and consisted of me, the instructor, and three Brazilians who spoke incessantly in Portuguese. There are normally more Brazilians, but the Brazil-France World Cup match was on the night before, so you can imagine why most of the students were absent. The instructor kept saying, "Nihongo, Nihongo!", which is Japanese for, well, Japanese. The lesson itself consisted of some hiragana and katakana practice, followed by how to ask and answer the question, "Whose _____ is this?":

The lesson was vastly amusing to me because only one day before, I taught the exact same lesson in English to a group of Japanese students. I found it very enlightening to be on the receiving end of a lesson taught in a different language, and to feel the same way my students must feel when someone is trying to teach them in a language that they understand only a small fraction of.

On the other hand, my older students have supposedly been studying English in school for years now, so they really have no excuses for ignorance.

After my class, I attended an event in the Civics Center called Sawakai, which was a hands-on Japanese Culture workshop (for only 100 yen!). The first thing I did was get dressed in yukata, a sort of informal, lightweight cotton kimono worn in the evening:

^ Actually putting on a yukata is quite difficult, and I needed some assistance to do so. The trickiest part was the obi, a wide sash-like belt that has to be tied off in the back.

^ Here are us guys, waiting impatiently for the Presbyterian Church to issue us our lightsabers (obi = Obi Wan Kenobi?). Seriously though, I liked the wave pattern on the lower part of the yukata.

^ A picture of everyone who wore yukata, and the people who helped us put them on. Note that the color and pattern of the yukata worn by the girls is different.

~Once everyone was in traditional Japanese attire, we were treated to a presentation on sado ( 茶 道 ), which is the art of Japanese tea ceremony. The ceremony itself is extremely complex and ritualized and dates back over a thousand years, encompassing not only elaborate tea-making but also how to serve it, when to serve it, etc. Today, tea ceremony is very popular and is studied/practiced by millions, both men and women, including the (female) manager of my school.

If tea ceremony sounds boring to you, perhaps a bit of history will help you understand: the art became very popular during a particularly peaceful time in feudal Japan, because it was something complicated that people could do without killing each other. This is similar to how modern society obsesses over sporting events, because it's a (comparatively) peaceful way of venting social aggression rather than outright violence.

^ A Japanese woman demonstrates tea ceremony. She wore traditional dress and used the same items used in tea ceremony for centuries. That is, except forthe hot-water cooker. I'm guessing there's a regulation in place against open flames in public buildings.

^ Everyone watching as the tea ceremony went on. Note how some people are sitting cross-legged, while others are kneeling.

^ I tried to kneel, but after ten minutes or so my legs were killing me so I reverted to sitting cross-legged. It's just been too long since kneeling meditation in those karate classes in sixth grade.

^ Mmmmm! The prepared tea was formally presented to us, each with our own ceramic cup. Although it looked like green sludge, it was actually not half bad. While drinking it, I kept hearing the voice of an English knight saying to me, "He chose...poorly."

^ After the tea ceremony, it was time to take off the yukata. Again, this was more difficult than you might think. It turns out that they needed to be folded in a very precise way before they could be put away, a process that took quite some time.

^ In the end, I did manage to get mine folded properly. With a little bit of help. Okay, so I mostly just sat there and watched while one of the event organizers folded it for me, patiently stopping my clueless attempts at assistance.

~ After the tea ceremony, the event became less formal:
^ We were treated to live music and singing courtesy of some Brazilian musicians. These guys were great!

^ There was also food: "traditional" Japanese chocolate cookies! Also, I partook in the tradition of writing your hopes and wishes for the year and tying the paper to the branches of a tree (you can see it in the background of the above picture). On my paper, I wrote, "I want to learn Japanese and make a lot of new friends in Nagaoka. I also want to visit many places in Japan and have new and exciting experiences."

In case you were wondering, I wrote it in English. Does this mean my wish won't come true...?

~For the ladies, there were some very nice kimonos to try on:

^ I convinced my friend Hiroko to try one on! Notice the interesting dragonfly pattern on the kimono, and how it's much more colorful and elaborate than the everyday yukata we were wearing before.

^ Japanese girls love having their picture taken. Guys, pay attention: that's something to remember if you ever find yourself in Japan...

^ ...and from the back. Notice how much more colorful the obi (belt) is on an actual kimono. As the Japanese say, kawaii! (That means "cute").

Wow, there sure were a lot of Japanese words in this post. Just for fun, try to use one of them in a conversation. That's all for today; remember, please leave a comment if you have something to say. ~Oyasumi!