So this weekend I went to my first soccer game! On the top of a hill in Shimizu city, amid rice paddies and not much else, the stadium was a sea of orange, the color of the home team, Shimizu S-Pulse. I think Japanese love to be fans. Everyone was decked out in orange jerseys, and they all knew the chants and dances for each player. We were standing at the end of the stadium, where all the hardcore fans are. We didn't even notice when the game started, b/c everyone around us was so busy chanting and singing. The most memoral moment: when the team scored a goal, they rolled down a huuuge orange tarp over the entire bleachers (that included me too!), partied under it for about ten seconds, then the tarp was rolled back up as quickly as it came. Talk about efficiency.
On Sunday I painted my kitchen. From buying supplies to finish, it all fit quite nicely in one afternoon. It took me awhile to buy the paint, as I tried to explain to the saleswoman what "primer" was, but apparently it doesn't exist here. The paint job came out well without it anyway. I have to give myself a pat on the shoulder here. The kitchen looks a lot brighter; with the wood panels gone, it feels a lot less like a cave.
Monday night as I was walking up to my front door from a birthday dinner in Numazu, I ran into Kawashima-sensei, my JTE! She said she was running out ot get some drinks and snacks, and that my neighbor, Mr. Miyagi was having a drinking party at his house. House party??? Sweet. I ended up hanging out with my teachers for an hour or so, drinking beer and eating food they kept insisting I try (even though I'd just eaten dinner... errr...). It was nice to see the teachers so relaxed and friendly, as I was starting to think they all never wanted to see each other after work. And, as per the unwritten rule, no mention of the goings on the next morning. ;)
So following my kitchen improvement, I decided to get my hair cut today. A little place near the Tokura Bridge, called Crunch Hair. I know that sounds like a terrible name, and I shudder to think of the days when I had a perm and actually heard that sound from my own hair. But the place is actually very cute and very recently renovated. It also tickles me that after the girl washed my hair (twice), or had me move from the chair, everyone in the salon said "Otsukaresama deshita!" ("Good job!") to me. Oh Japanese service... Anyways, I'm not crazy about the cut, but that's been the trend for the past two years anyway. It's not bad though, and a lot better than the grown-out remains of the butchering my hair received three months ago. It was time for a change.
And I guess that is the whole theme of this past week. Change in my immediate surroundings, my appearance, the weather, and in part, my attitude. It must be the season... Though most of the week it's been grey and cool, today the temperature really plummeted and turned from sweater weather to coat and scarf weather (at least for a wimp like me). So soon? : ( I hope not. It's not even November yet! Always at this time of the year, I wrestle with the inevitable cold weather and my own stubborn denial. As if not wearing a winter coat would delay winter itself. Still, I am not ready to have my feet frozen to the shower floor, or wake up in the morning and see my breath.
PS- I watched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" tonight. It was the new version, and it was terrible.
PPS- Japanese children either possess no fear or are very slow to catch on to traffic rules. It was proven today when I saw a little girl walking close to the road barely flinch (or notice) when a huge truck barreled by not two feet from her. And she merely meandered to the side right before I nervously passed by on my bike. Seriously. Zombie children of Japan! Wake the hell up!
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