After talking with this dude, I realized I didn't update on the weekend. Yes, it needs updating.
I bought my return ticket home Friday. It was by far the cheapest ticket out there... until taxes. The taxes on the ticket ended up being almost as much as the freaking ticket itself. It was still a good price, but I think Hooter's Air would've been more worth it. On Saturday, I met up with a new trainee from the Osaka LC(as opposed to mine of Kobe) in the southern part of Osaka, AKA Namba. I didn't get to place till after 10PM. I just wanted to say hi to the man from Germany. We grabbed a Guiness. His train home left at 11:45PM. I stayed. I got invited out by his two teaching buddies from Texas. 5 hours of karaoking later, I finally headed home, voiceless.
Sunday afternoon (my body thought it was still morning) I met up with Ric, the new guy from Germany, again. This time we met in Kobe with the intention of going to this thing called Illuminare. At the time I thought it was just a bunch of lighted buildings. No Japanese person cared to explain the significance of it. Anyways, Ric gives me and some of the Kobe @ers a short presentation on Germany. Then we leave for the Light show. 90 minute queue in the near zero temps. OK. The queue was actually as wide as the street itself. And it was packed. Crazy packed. to see Christmas lights. The beginning felt very weird. Both Ric and I felt like we were about to walk into prison or something. It also was a little weird as I was again (Japanese theme) the tallest person in the crowd. It did help for taking pictures though, even if everyone within 30 feet would stop and stare at me.
OK, 60 minutes later, we finally reach the Illuminare. It was awesome. What the @ers failed to mention was that the festival is a tribute to the Great Earthquake that crumbled the city of Kobe in the early 90s. It wasn't a normal memorial in that it was bright and beautiful. I liked it. It was a celebration for the city of what they have gone through. It was like honoring the past through living. I took many pictures, but I won't post any until I can hook my phone up to a computer and get them all at once. The best part I think was seeing so many people with smiles on their faces. Not that Japanese people aren't happy, but in public most people have very straight faces. And people always cover their mouths when laughing as if to make sure no one sees that they are enjoying themselves. This was treat for me to see so much excitement painted on faces. It was especially cool seeing all the little kids staring up in awe at the monument. A tragic event commemorated in happiness.
I bought my return ticket home Friday. It was by far the cheapest ticket out there... until taxes. The taxes on the ticket ended up being almost as much as the freaking ticket itself. It was still a good price, but I think Hooter's Air would've been more worth it. On Saturday, I met up with a new trainee from the Osaka LC(as opposed to mine of Kobe) in the southern part of Osaka, AKA Namba. I didn't get to place till after 10PM. I just wanted to say hi to the man from Germany. We grabbed a Guiness. His train home left at 11:45PM. I stayed. I got invited out by his two teaching buddies from Texas. 5 hours of karaoking later, I finally headed home, voiceless.
Sunday afternoon (my body thought it was still morning) I met up with Ric, the new guy from Germany, again. This time we met in Kobe with the intention of going to this thing called Illuminare. At the time I thought it was just a bunch of lighted buildings. No Japanese person cared to explain the significance of it. Anyways, Ric gives me and some of the Kobe @ers a short presentation on Germany. Then we leave for the Light show. 90 minute queue in the near zero temps. OK. The queue was actually as wide as the street itself. And it was packed. Crazy packed. to see Christmas lights. The beginning felt very weird. Both Ric and I felt like we were about to walk into prison or something. It also was a little weird as I was again (Japanese theme) the tallest person in the crowd. It did help for taking pictures though, even if everyone within 30 feet would stop and stare at me.
OK, 60 minutes later, we finally reach the Illuminare. It was awesome. What the @ers failed to mention was that the festival is a tribute to the Great Earthquake that crumbled the city of Kobe in the early 90s. It wasn't a normal memorial in that it was bright and beautiful. I liked it. It was a celebration for the city of what they have gone through. It was like honoring the past through living. I took many pictures, but I won't post any until I can hook my phone up to a computer and get them all at once. The best part I think was seeing so many people with smiles on their faces. Not that Japanese people aren't happy, but in public most people have very straight faces. And people always cover their mouths when laughing as if to make sure no one sees that they are enjoying themselves. This was treat for me to see so much excitement painted on faces. It was especially cool seeing all the little kids staring up in awe at the monument. A tragic event commemorated in happiness.
posted by Bruhaha at 6:46 AM
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