Capoeira Surprise

Norie had offered to bring me one of the new t-shirts of the capoeira group. (I had asked for one as a souvenir.) Somehow she turned it into a dinner. And her husband and some capoeiristas also showed up. It was a wonderful surprise. And it was a great evening. If I'd only get to keep a handful of memories from Japan, then I'd definitely choose tonight as one of them. 90% of the conversation was in Japanese, and despite their not so good English together they always managed to keep me informed of what they were discussing using gestures (which was particularly fun considering that we were at a public restaurant), facial expression, and a small electronic dictionary. It was great :-)

I learned that most of them have toilet seats with buttons (to stand or not to stand while peeing was also an interesting discussion we had), we also talked about that they've never seen a Kabuki play life, don't like cosplay at all (btw, I learned that I've been mixing up some different things, not everything that looks like cosplay is cosplay) and think that only a handful of Japanese teenagers are interested in it. Somehow tonights topics also included body hair. (No, it wasn't me who brought it up...) One of the girls did a great job of explaining with her hands, arms, legs,... what and how girls in Japan deal with body hair (Now I know a lot more than I ever wanted to know, but it was hilarious.) We also talked about Brazilian girls, breast implants (I think all of us guys were embarrassed while the girls were happily chatting and using pantomime to communicate their ideas.). we talked about facial operations, my big nose, Japanese food, and a lot more. I think I used more Japanese words today than I ever did in one of the Japanese classes. For sure I used more gestures than I ever have in a game of pantomime :-)

(Just in case you are wondering... no, we didn't drink any alcohol at all. Only green tea.)

Norie, her husband, and the capoeiristas are some of the most relaxed people I've ever met. They are very casual for Japanese standards (but very polite), open minded, interested in foreign cultures, and some of the kindest. For example, they would go very far out of their way to do something kind, and then insist that it was on their way anyway. Although, as far as I can tell, they are very alternative for Japanese standards, it's not hard to sense that they are 100% Japanese, and that they are very proud of their culture. Having had the chance to get to know them has had a big and very positive impact on my overall impression of Japan.

Btw, yesterday I also had a farewell lunch with my work colleagues. It was a wonderful Japanese lunch. Japanese food is one of the things I'll miss most. I think it was also the first time in my life I've received flowers as a gift. Anyway, I still got about 200h hours of work to do in the next 7 days so I think I'll finalize my impressions from work some later time.

Tomorrow I'll get to see my parents and Sally again :-) Having done some sightseeing with them in Tokyo and Hakone last week was great. This week they traveled around by themselves (while I was busy finishing up some work). They're flying back the day after tomorrow.

Btw, I'll arrive in Vienna (after a long flight with two layovers) only 36 hours before I depart to Nice :-/ In that time I need to get rid of my jetlag, un/repack all my stuff, organize what I need for France, get some administration stuff done, and then attend some work related meetings (which I'm really looking forward too). And I'd also like to see as many friends as possible... I don't know when my next chance will be :-/