Tottori International Festival

Sunday morning I literally struggled out of bed bright and early. I really don't know how I managed but I did. Tottori city is an hour and a half away from me by train and the event started at 11am. I had to be there early to help Simone set up the booth.

The event is called "The Time Festival" and it features a little bit of something from various countries around the world. There were about twenty or more booths showcasing the cultures, food, books and crafts from each country in attendance. People from all walks of life, young and old alike, visited the Trinidad and Tobago booth that we were sitting at. Two older ladies stand out in my mind. They were so cute and wanted a piece of everything. They bought some coconut drops, fudge and one of them bought one of the handcrafted earrings I made. That wasn't enough for them, they literally pulled us to come and take pictures with them.

Everyone got particularly excited by the carnival costume headpiece that was on display. They got equally excited when they realized they were free to try it on. It was a hilarious sight. I caught some good laughs listening to people who had never heard of the twin republic, try to figure out where Trinidad and Tobago could be in the world. The funniest guess was America to which Simone replied in her thick Trini accent "no man, no man, come come come" and showed them to the map. I found it interesting the number of people that asked if we speak English in T&T, but I guess when you don't know you really don't know.

We wasted no time at the end of the day with packing up and leaving. I had to catch the train back to my city or else I'd have to wait two hours for the next. The service is not as frequent on a Sunday.

The event was a huge success, I really enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've been around so many people from different countries so it was refreshing to say the least. It almost makes me want to try and start up an event of its kind in my little city.

Pictures

Hula video courtesy of my cell phone

Bounenkai & Mochi Making

This past Saturday I was chillin' in my apartment when my cell phone rang. It was my neighbour Manabu from down the street. He can speak a little bit of English, but he struggles here and there so the convo was pretty funny. He started with "hello Amanda, what are you doing?" I told him I wasn't doing anything, just relaxing. He struggled with explaining that he was at a Bounenkai, tried to explain what it was about, that he was drunk and that he and his friends wanted me to come out. I asked him if the event was inside or outside and he told me it was half and half. Now, I asked because I went to a reggae event with him before and it was outside and I froze! He sent his friend Sogihara to come and pick me up and when I got downstairs the first thing he asked me was if my clothes were warm and if I had any more. I was wearing 2 fleece jackets and a scarf, then went back up for my winter coat. If you know me well you know I HATE & DESPISE the cold.

Anyway, we got to the event which was at the same OUTDOOR place and I wanted to strangle Manabu. Luckily there were heaters and a fire going inside the tarp tent.

I had no idea what a bounenkai was, but thanks to good old wikipedia I was able to make sense of what Manabu was trying to explain to me. In a nutshell it is a party to say good bye to the year that has gone along with all the worries, stresses and strains that it may have brought usually with alcohol. The alcohol drinking was tame here thank the Lord, but for those who did partake, they slept in tents over night. Japan has a zero tolerance blood alcohol level.

I watched the mochi making process in awe. I don't like mochi at all, or at least the kinds I've tried. I don't really think it has a particularly appealing taste. I mean how tasty can rice gluten really be? Nonetheless, it was so interesting to watch.

Sogihara drove me home around 1:30am. Usually that would be no problem, but I had to get up the next morning to help my friend Simone at an international festival. All in all I had a really enjoyable Saturday night.

Pics

Video 1-Mochi making part 1


Video 2-Mochi making part 2