Okayama: A Place to Belong, Part Three

Waking up this morning was not fun. To start with, my back and shoulders hurt like nothing I've ever felt. Aftermath of carrying a shrine around. It also provided me with the most horrifying nose-blow of my life - the tissue was black as soot. The result of the other shrine-carriers' cigarettes, as well as all the dirt we kicked up. And I was suffering from pre-departure loneliness, meaning I felt ready to go, but sad that it was over. These feelings evaporated the moment I got downstairs. Yuna was watching TV, and Rika was playing with her. Risa made a simple breakfast, fried egg, salad, toast and coffee. Rika took some pictures of me and Yuna, although the poor girl doesn't like me much - I don't think she likes guys with glasses in general. Ringo was out for golf, so I didn't see him today. When Satsuki got up, she told me to hurry and get ready so we could go see another event at the shrine. I had really wanted to see horseback archery, but that's not happening until tonight, after I leave. So instead, I went with Satsuki, Rika, and Yuna to see the horses run around to warm up, which was cool. They were some badass horses, and the riders were super suave looking. It took all of 10 minutes, but my camera ran out of batteries before the end. At least Satsuki took some good pictures!

Afterwards, we took a drive over to a nearby city. It took us past the ocean, which was beautiful in today's weather. We parked, and walked over to the matsuri where Satsuki was volunteering. It was not a traditional matsuri like yesterday; rather, it was a Genki matsuri, help to cheer up handicapped and depressed people. When we walked in, they were playing a May’n song from Macross Frontier. We walked around a bit, but the festival hadn't started yet. Satsuki ran across yet another of her friends, who actually thought I was Rika's husband. The mix of me being perceived as older than I am, and the prolonged youthfulness of Japanese women tends to do that.

We watched the opening ceremony, during which awards we're given to elders 80 and older who still had all their real teeth. Kind of strange, but whatever, right? I also got to do mochitsuki, making mochi. I hit it a couple times before they told me to hit it with more power. They showed me how to bring it all the way up and strike without missing. I copied them, and smashed the rice cakes for a while. Although you're supposed to pay for them, they gave me some mochi for free. The benefits of foreigner-hood. Just then, a familiar intro started playing, and I froze. They were playing one of Choucho’s songs. I was thrilled, and I told Rika how I had seen her first live just last week. Afterwards, Rika found some things she wanted at a garage sale, and we bought my Joyo host parents a cake. Risa came to pick us up. On the ride back, we talked about my nerdiness (sparked by them finding certain photos on my Facebook), with me finally coming clean about my interest in Japanese pop culture, especially a certain kind of synthesized computer music. They really understood where I stand – how I like it among a vast variety of other things. It’s nice when you have people who can really relate to you. On the drive back, we got this strange ice cream made with eggs. It was actually really tasty.

Returning home, I gave Ayumu and Rui these bamboo propeller toys I got from the festival. As I relaxed in the family room, I spoke with Norio a bunch regarding Nico Nico Douga, Vocaloid software, and the benefits of consumer-generated media. After packing my bags, Satsuki gave me some fantastic gifts for my real parents, and took us out to lunch at a ramen shop. I played with Rui a bit, until my ramen and gyoza arrived. Having finished that, I said my goodbyes to Norio and Ayumu, who returned home, and continued onwards to the farewell party. Walking in, I felt this strong desire to show my family off to everyone. The feeling that I would soon have to leave was near impossible to bear. Yotsukura-sensei gave another short speech, after which we all had some snacks, and I introduced a few of my friends to my host family. Me and Satsuki thanked Yotsukura-sensei for making the trip possible, and expressed our desire to see this program continue. Most importantly, my host family asked me to come back for お正月 (New Year’s). This is kind of a big deal, but I also REALLY want to go. I’m probably going to go back before December to visit again.

There were some group songs, which didn’t feel all that out of place. Once again, I surprised everyone because I knew “Sakura, Sakura”. During the song, Rui caught this mega-size grasshopper. Kids here love bugs. He looked so happy to have caught it. Before we finished singing, though, it escaped. Finally, the conversations and photos were cut short by the announcement that we had to go home. I stifled my impending tears to say goodbye to everyone, and gave everyone hugs. Still, climbing up into the bus and seeing everyone waving goodbye was too much for me, and I cried a little bit. Nishimata’s prophecy came true: it would be me who shed tears this year. Hell, writing this is making me tear up again. I waved until everyone was out of sight, and then took a few minutes to recompose myself.

As a side note, it really sucks that every time I make a real connection with a host family, to the point where I feel like I finally belong, I have to leave. Still, on the bright side, I have yet another fantastic host family that I can be proud of. While I was initially resistant to go to Okayama, I’m now so glad that I had this opportunity. And as best as I can, I will keep this family in my life from now on.

And so we returned home. There’s really nothing more to say – not like anything is new around here. This week, I turn 21. There are still some important things for me to do, and do them I will. Luck be with me.