SNOW! What is this craziness!? It is hard to believe that it has been warmer in Bennington, VT than it has been here in Tokyo. Cold winds, rain, and now (god forbid) snow. Enough of this, great 神様! March ended, and it seemed the weather was looking to be getting warmer and warmer. The cherry trees were beginning to bloom, and the whole baseball field was surrounded by white-pink. To any non-Japanese, a cherry tree blossom is no more than another pretty flower. However, the Japanese look forward to the two weeks of the year when all the tree in Japan are in full bloom. The blooming of Cherry Trees, or Sakura, are associated with the beginning of spring, school, the new fiscal year, and life itself (in case you didn't know the Japanese school year does not begin in September, but in April). The Japanese get together in groups and "picnic" underneath rows of sakura, drinking, eating, and generally being merry. This "picnic" is called Hanami (花見 はなみ）and literally translates as "Flower Watch". So what? We in America are famous for picnics! You may even claim we invented the picnic (you would be incredibly misguided in this thought however, as the invention of the picnic is attributed to England).
What makes Hanami so different from its western counterpart, I experienced first hand. During all this sakura blooming, there is a week before classes start called Freshman Week. During this week, all the clubs and circles try to recruit new students to join. Usually the pitch goes something like this:
"Hey you would you like to join _______ club? It's super-awesome!"
"Uh... maybe... I did do ______ in high school..."
"Cool! Then you should come to our Hanami we are doing today!!!"
"ok..."
Yes, we lure the new students in with a drinking party. The issue is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, are doing hanami. Clubs, circles, regular folks, etc. So to secure the ever important hanami spot, Myself and other 2nd year members of the baseball team (kohai) were asked (told) by the senpai to camp out to save our hanami place. We got to the row of trees next to school at around 6pm, spread out our tarp, and proceeded to drink. We had all night to just relax underneath the sakura, and they are beautiful at night too. In fact, some Japanese people prefer Night Hanami, called 夜桜. After a couple of hours I went back to my apartment real fast to talk with Marie on skype (leaving the other 6 guys at the spot). I grabbed a blanket on my way back, and to my dismay saw it had rained while I was talking with Marie, but everyone was still up at the hanami spot so I manned up and went back. Upon arrival to our humble tarp, I immediately felt something weird in the air. When I had left, everyone was smiling, laughing and drinking. Now, there is silence, one is sitting on the wet tarp, another is standing up looking at them, and the rest are all off to the side watching them. I could feel the tension dripping in the air, so instead of going "Hey guys!!" all cheerfully, I walked up to the four standing off to the side to hear what the hell had happened in the 35 minutes I had been gone. The story as I was told goes like this: A brought his new girl friend to the tarp after I left. B made an off hand comment about A being a "player". A was convinced that his girl friend had noticed the comment and was really upset about it. I had conveniently returned right as A was confronting B.
can you say 気まずい？
B apologized, and this made A even more upset, so much so that he ripped the umbrella away from B and pushed him down, holding his throat while POUNDING the ground next to his head. To complete the image, you must know that A weighs at least 200, most of which is muscle. B? poor guy weighs less than me.
We pulled them apart, and they went back to staring. Then to throat gripping and ground pounding, and back to apart, repeat. For what felt like HOURS. Must have been 10 minutes in reality until the enraged A was led away, and I took B back to my apartment.
Overall a wonderful night. The next day we recruited, and than drank, and did the same the next. It was an exhausting week of handing out fliers and drinking, and it was capped off with the CIEE trip to Kyoto; a one night, over-rushed excursion to a beautiful city. Got to see some pretty Sakura though!
When we came home we had two days until classes started. The first day? Rainy and cold. And thus has been the weather since.
ON another note, I am coming back to the USA!!!! For two weeks! Monday the 26th to May 4th!! I will be in Bennington from Wednesday the 28th until the 3rd of May! I am coming to see Marie's sr. dance show, and I can't wait to see what she has accomplished!!!!!
That is all for this month, see you next time!
P.S.
My friend and bartender Souta.
