People Leaving and Christmas

So last Tuesday was Donny and Elina’s last day at school. They are both leaving for their countries on the 7th next month. It’s pretty sad that they are going and I can’t believe it’s only been… what, 4 months now? Yeah. So many good times with them, mainly in the exchange room just talking about the weirdest stuff. And Donny’s runny nose. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that very disturbing moment in my life. And the strange calligraphy classes. Calligraphy is going to be so boring now. Drew and Pailin are still here, but they will be leaving in a couple of months too I think. And then it will just be me and Tiffany. So so weird.

So, Christmas wasn’t all that big of a deal. I saw the White Illumination in Sapporo a few times, went the German Christmas Market about four times. We never set up a tree in our house, but I didn’t mind too much. I don’t think I’m a huge fan of Christmas anymore, but usually its everyone else’s excitement that gets me excited for it. And Christmas over here is basically for couples. But I did have a Christian guy try to convert me. Twice. That was interesting.

Hmm… What else. Had a sleepover with Tiffany. First person I’ve had at my host house since I came to Japan, and I think the first sleepover at my house in a good year or two (or actually maybe three or four). And yesterday I went out with Donny, Ippei and Eri to see a movie. Met up with Donny first for a little bit, did puri kura then found the other two. We watched Avatar, the same movie that I saw with Tiffany two days before. But that’s fine, it was a really good movie. Then we had supper and went to Odori to the White Illumination because Donny still hadn’t seen it yet. That was fun. We had snowball fights, and made a snowman. Well, actually it was already half made. We just finished it.

Drama

So I joined the drama club on Monday. I was really sceptical at first, because I had heard that the drama club was pretty bad and honestly the idea of the whole thing kind of scared me. But it was my idea in the first place. I had already checked out the tea ceremony club, the art club, the koto club and got a slight whiff of the flower arranging club but none of it seemed for me. And if you really know me you will know that I have a serious problem with commitment and routine. However, since being in a club, as Donny put it, is likely the best thing you can do to improve friendships and Japanese I figured I’d give it another shot. And, also as Donny put it, Drama club is the best of all them for getting good friends and greatly improving in the language. It makes sense. In the past, it seems my only real close friends ever came from drama-related things. And I’ve come to the conclusion - if I ever find myself in need of friends, I need only surround myself with Very Strange People (a.k.a Drama Geeks). For the record Donny, who is argueably my greatest friend here, is also a drama geek. So I think that makes it a Scientific Fact.
Anyway, the first day of drama club I already found two great people that I can see myself becoming pretty good friends with. There’s Eri, the girl who I talked to about the club before actually going into it. And then there’s Pi. He’s quite strange. He sometimes breaks out into random song in awkward silences, he has the greatest facial expressions, and whenever I ask what in the hell he’s doing he usually replies that it’s ‘Japanese culture’. For example, he was cold because he forgot his sweater (and had his arms pulled into his shirt, and was moving side to side so the sleeves flapped around) so one of the other guys and a girl both gave him their sweaters. He took them and instantly balled them up under his shirt and said it was Japanese culture. Then a whole thing about him being pregnant with Eri’s baby started up but that’s a whole other story. Oh and his name isn’t actually Pi. I gave him that nickname, coming from the word ‘opai’. I think his actual name is ‘ipei’ or something…
So yeah. Surround myself with strange people and there you have it. Instant friends. Just add water.