Aug 2008

Almost all travellers agree that the best part of travelling is the people you meet. On my travels, I have had the good fortune to meet a few special people on my way:

Eric, from the Democratic Republic of Congo
One night, I was walking home after work at 1am when I heard footsteps behind me. Then a voice - 'hey man, how's it going?'...What?! English?! Here, in my home town?! I didn't know foreigners existed this far out of the centre of the city (except me, coz I'm special). He seems friendly though, so we stand and chat for a while, both equally amazed at finding another foreigner so close to home. His name is Eric, he is 28 years old (which doesn't faze me a bit, I'm yet to find someone my age in all my travels so far) and comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He started off in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he went to school. He speaks three languages from growing up there - French, Swahili and another African language used in the Congo region. I know nothing about the Congo except that it has a scary jungle, but to my disappoint Eric tells me he did not grow up in the jungle with 30 foot anacondas, he grew up in the city and has never even been to the jungle. Dagnabbit.

He spent a year here in Japan in his youth, loved it but never really planned on coming back in the near future. He went to university in Canada so that he could learn English (his classes were a mix of French and English), and then decided to come back to Japan to do his masters degree here. His Japanese was fairly good from his previous visit, but nowhere near enough to study International Relations at a post-graduate level, so he spent a year here in language school. It paid off; he gained his masters degree despite the language difficulties, and his Japanese is the best I have heard of any foreigner. I tallied it up; he speaks English fluently (most of our conversation was in English), he speaks Japanese fluently (much more fluently than I), and speaks French, Swahili and his Congo language at native level. Five languages?! I'm jealous.

He is a very laid back person, and a very relaxing person to be around. He speaks slowly, and a contended grin is his default expression. His laid-backness doesn't fit too well with Tokyo culture though; he works with all Japanese people, who's tireless work ethic and disregard for sleep and rest he simply cannot match. He loves to sleep; every night he goes to bed at about 8.30pm, in order to get up at 7am. On the weekends, he catches up with friends, and sometimes goes to the beach, while his co-workers are probably still in the office working overtime. He has no desire to emulate them though; he's happy with his life the way it is, and the smile on his face is good proof of that.

Elder Holmes, a missionary from Utah
I run into Elder Holmes at the local Matsuri. As the only foreigners in a sea of thousands of Japanese, we naturally stop to chat. Dressed in a long-sleeve shirt and tie, I can imagine he would be not so comfortable in the hot summer sun, but he seems to cope with it very well. He is from the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons). Not only that, he is a bona fide missionary, on a posting here for two years to spread the word of god. I am very interested in the idea of a Christian missionary in Japan, which seems to have a much more ambiguous religious outlook. For most Japanese, religion is a matter of a vague belief in spirituality, grounded in the idea that each different part of nature has its own spirit. There are the wind spirits, the tree spirits, sky spirits, as well as the spirits of those who have died. Some people have shrines in their house, and nearly everyone attends festivals (matsuri) at set times of the year to go to the local shrine and pray to spirits/gods for good luck. To most Japanese people, this type of religion is all they need - not a strict coda of beliefs, but just a generally concept of the divine and otherworldly. How then, would Japanese people react to Elder Holmes' efforts?

He tells me it is indeed difficult to work in such a different culture, and he meets a wide variety of reactions. Most people are happy to listen, but shy away from direct questions about religious belief, which sometimes frustrates and confuses his efforts. He encounters the same problems every foreigners meets when speaking to a polite Japanese person - it is almost impossible to tell whether the listener agrees with what you are saying, or disagrees. The language is another difficulty; When St Frances Xavier arrived in Japan hundreds of years ago, he declared that the Japanese language was an invention of the devil designed to prevent the spread of Christianity. Elder Holmes doesn't quite go that far, but he does find it difficult at times, although he has developed a large Japanese vocabulary of religion-related words I have never even heard before. He does end up talking to me about god (hey, he is a missionary after all), and I can attest to the passion with which he preaches when he tells me his own personal stories of how he found god; if he is succesful in converting people in Japan, I would say it is his eyes, not his words, that convinces them.

Vanessa's aunt, the pianist
One day while I am at Vanessa's house playing with Vanessa, her two aunts come and visit. They tell me that one of her aunts is a pianist. I am impressed. Then they tell me that she is a famous pianist, and plays solo at Suntory Hall in Tokyo in front of two thousand people. I am very impressed. Then they tell me that she owns a piano played by Chopin. Wow...

She plays a song for me on the piano (just a regular one, not played by anyone famous), Fur Elise. I don't know a lot about pianos, the playing of pianos or how piano songs are meant to sound, but it is still amazing. I've heard the song played many times, but she added a whole new dimension to it. The song flowed like a river from one note to the next, with some notes heavy and powerful and others light and carefree. It was a beautiful thing to listen to, I can completely understand why people would pay a lot of money to go and hear her play. When she finishes I am stuck with the problem of trying to convey that she really is truly and absolutely spectacular, in a culture where you are expected to compliment even the most basic level of talent. 'You...the...amazing! It's...beautiful!' I garble. I think she gets the idea anyway.

Amy from Washington D.C.
Amy has probably been my most closest friend here in Tokyo. She is a Sophomore at The George Washington University (aka 'GW'). Yes, it was founded by THE George Washington. She lives a few blocks from the White House. Yes, THE White House. Everytime words like 'George Washington' and 'White House' come up, I am completely star struck and feel like I am on the set of an American TV show. Even more so when on Friday over pasta and salad at her house, she and Pat (another American friend, who lives in Japan) have an argument about politics, with both sides mentioning the Bill Of Rights, The Constitution and various amendments. I sit quietly in my chair happily soaking up the American-ness of it all.

Amy has been my buddy for most of my nights out in Tokyo, as she lives practically in the middle of Roppongi. She was born and partly raised here in Tokyo, and as a result knows far more Japanese than I do, but she is also over the gimmickyness of foreigners speaking Japanese so all our conversations are in English. We eat sushi at the park, and watch scrubs together. We go out to the nightclubs, and set new standards for ridiculous dancing. Amy (I know your reading this you blog stalker you), out of all the people to share my adventures with, I'm glad I found you!

I realize I haven't been blogging much lately. Between working, applying for my Chinese Visa (which requires a mountain of paperwork at the moment due to the olympics) and sitting on trains, my blogging time got progressively smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely. Now I have a bit more time on my hands, so I'm in the process of gathering together all the happenings of the last month or so into one tasty blog series...Bon Appetite!

On the weekend, my town has its summer 'Matsuri', a three day long festival held in the local park. Naturally, I decide to go along, and am rewarded for my adventurousness - it is a travellers paradise, with Japanese culture leaping out at you at every turn. Kimono-clad women dance with paper fans and lanterns, men march through the streets with giant shrines on their backs and the beat of the giant Taiko drums fills the air. And that's just the parade; off to the side, there is a whole maze of street food offering everything from ridiculously cheap beer and syrup-covered ice to traditional Japanese food like Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), Yakitori (Charcoal-grilled chicken skewers) and Takoyaki (Grilled octopus).

I spend a whole day here, soaking up the Japaneseness of it all. When the sun sets and darkness falls, and I am so full of food I can barely move, I head off to meet my host family at the park. There are thousands of people here already, organized into little groups sitting on tarps around food and drink. The Matsuri nights are a chance for old friends to exchange gossip, to reminisce about the last time they sat in this park together, and to exclaim how quickly the year goes. There are at least 10 people on our host families tarp, and a mountain of food in the centre, of which I cannot possibly eat a single mouthful of. Suddenly the lights are extinguished, and we are left in pitch darkness. Then...BOOM! The fireworks have begun! Even though we are a small town, the display is spectacular, and lasts an hour long. A very important part of Japanese culture, fireworks are one of the most symbolic summer activities, and as well as being a family event it is also considered one of the most romantic occasions of the year. Boyfriend and girlfriend couples dot the landscape everywhere you look, dressed in traditional summer kimonos and holding hands. The scene lit by the fireworks is one of tender togetherness. The young lovers stand and sigh; the families and old friends gossip and laugh; the whole neighbourhood sits together in the local park, enjoying the night together.