Bunkasai (Culture Festival), A Live Blog

CULTURE FEST IS THE GREATEST THING EVER.  The energy right now is so ridiculously high.  I`m going to update as I go, so I`ll give you times since pretty much everything will be written in present tense.

9:42AM The day started out with takoyaki (baked, battered octopus).  Anyone who`s heard me talk about my trips to Japan before knows that takoyaki is my absolute favourite Japanese food.  There are few things better than fresh takoyaki.  One of these things is having fresh, free takoyaki delivered to your desk unexpectedly.

Apparently my supervisor is the alternate homeroom teacher for the class that was running that booth, so the regular homeroom teacher just came in and brought us some.  Best day ever, and it`s not even 10AM!  Morita-sensei says she might have to help out at the booth later, so I get to go with her!  I can learn how to make this most joyous of foods! 

11:02 AM Am now back in the staff room after braving the crowds in the courtyard.  Morita-sensei and I started out with a couple of the clubs.  The science club did some weird things with liquid nitrogen (like deflate and reinflate a balloon), and apparently at noon they`re using it to make sorbet.  Of course we had to do a stop in at the anime club, who sort of freaked out in the best way possible when they were told I like anime.  The Calligraphy Club had some gorgeous works posted, some of which were framed, or written on fans... It was crazy.  Then we went down to the library, where we could make our own bookmarks!  Super cool.  The librarian had two sizes of laminate pouches, a whole bunch of washi (the pretty, decorative origami paper), and then these pieces of hard plastic that you colour on and then shrink in the toaster oven to make charms.  Weird? Yes.  Possibly one of the most awesome things ever? Also yes.  After that was the tea ceremony we already had tickets for.  That was super exciting because TEA.

We were first given the small sweet (this varies seasonally; we had mochi filled with red bean paste, which still isn`t good, but this one wasn`t the worst I`ve ever had), and then served tea.

 The supervising teacher for the tea ceremony club kept a running explanation of what was happening, and what we should do (formal tea ceremony is rare, even among Japanese people, so it wasn`t just something for my benefit).  I was served tea in the best tea bowl they have, because they love me just that much.  Or because I`m the visiting foreigner and they want to impress me, but I`m going with the first one.  Anyway, it was the porcelain kind with the cobalt blue ink, in a very complicated curve pattern with many different patterns inside the curves.  Then we headed out into the courtyard, where all of the third-year classes had their food tents.  Oh my god.  Utter chaos.  We were going to stop at the takoyaki place first so I could check out how it`s made and take some photos, but then were strongarmed by a group of (loud) boys into visiting their Frankfurt sausage stand on the other side of the courtyard.  From there, it was a constant barrage of students wanting either myself of Morita-sensei to come eat their food.  I got a waffle (with chocolate sauce, of course!), and we handed in our tickets to have our yakisoba delivered to the staff room when it was ready (they were quite busy).

11:54 AM Sugiura-sensei (the science teacher with the good English) had said I should stop by to see his class`s aquarium, so Morita-sensei and I went to check it out.  It was cool, and a little bit gross.  There was a pool where you could fish for crabs (I tried, but I think enough people had already been there that the crabs were all like, "Oh no, I know how this goes.  I clamp on that thing and you pull me out of my water to flail around before you toss me back in," so I didn`t get one.

Then there was another pool where the gross factor came in.  This was the "reach in and grab a sea creature" pool, with starfish (but the spindly ones that look like failed octopods) and sea cucumbers.  SEA CUCUMBERS.  Why would you ever want to handle one of those things?!  It looks like a cross between an eel and a stool sample!  There were also some normal aquariums with different fish, including a stingray, so those were cool.

On the way back to the staff room, I stopped in to see the Photography Club display (some fantastic pictures!), the Ikebana (traditional flower arrangement) club, and headed up to the outdoor crosswalk between the class and club buildings to take some overhead shots of the courtyard.  Then I got distracted by the calligraphy club, who were doing a gigantic demonstration to music in the courtyard.  When I got to the staff room, my yakisoba was waiting, but I`m going to let it sit because I`m headed back to the anime club for.... something.  I don`t really know what, but I know I`m supposed to go back at noon.

12:37 PM So the thing I was supposed to go back for was kind of like the bookmarks.  I drew an anime character, and then we laminated it.  There was a lot of silence and awkward "oh god, what do I say?!" from the students, which was funny.  I tried to ask them questions, and I could understand a good portion of their freak-outs as they tried to figure out what to say in English.  I asked them what things I should see in Mie, and I`ve been told to check out the theme park and aquarium.  Typical teenager answers, but I enjoy both of those things, so I`ll definitely have to take their suggestions!  Once I figure out where they are...  I think we all had fun, though, and now I have a poorly-drawn, laminted souvenir of my time spent with the anime club!  (There`s a reason I always preferred working with charcoal on giant pages.)

1:51 PM I`m pretty sure I`m sunburnt now.  Haruna asked if I had seen her in the dance performance on Thursday, but I wasn`t able to pick her out, so I told her I would go again today.  The dance club was scheduled to perform again at 1:20, so I went down to the courtyard and caught the end of the acoustic guitar performance so I could get a good spot.  Dance club is still awesome the second time around, and I was able to spot her.  But yeah.  Sitting out on the courtyard in the full sun for almost an hour was not one of my smartest ideas.  I think I`ll chill inside now, since the festival ends soon anyway.