In retrospect, Saturday morning was rather depressing. I missed people, I missed talking and laughing, I missed making friends and I didn't enjoy the usual enjoyment of a night at the club, and it left me feeling empty and overheated. With added lack of sleep, it wasn't a cheerful combination. I almost wasn't motivated enough to go to the Working Holiday party, but I'm glad I did.
I arrived half way in, and spent the first few minutes recovering from not drinking anything all day with a big carton of レモン水. I tried to look up the word "phased" in my dictionary, but failed and settled on "unconscious". At this party was a guy from Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent, who was the most English person I'd met since arriving. We chatted for a while, but soon one of the students I had met the previous week arrived, with two more friends. It was fun, because her friends didn't speak much English, so I had to call upon my limited Japanese skills to converse, and it reaffirmed my confidences and I felt a lot better about speaking than I did yesterday. But the party didn't last long. After the official party finished, everyone went to an "izakaya" (居酒屋), a kind of restaurant, and had a huge selection of authentic Japanese food thrown at us. This time, I tried more 鯛 and more eel, with some Okinawan fried vegetables thrown in as well. Due to fate and seating arrangements, I was seperated from my friends and I sat at a table with three people, all called Miki. Two spoke very good English, the other communicated through extraordinary origami, and she gave me a beautiful rose, made from part of a receipt.
Towards the end of the meal, people started moving around, and my friends once again rejoined me. We spoke and chatted, and arranged to sing karaoke together. While everyone left the restaurant, I spied Yoko, for the first time all day, mind, and she informed me that the likelihood of getting back to Namba in time for the last train was low. But to be honest, I probably would have stayed even if I could have made it. My new found friends invited me to go along with them, and so I did. The girl I had known the longest of them was called Yayoi, and while we went looking for another place to eat, I met another one of their friends, Yutaka. He works at Universal Studios Japan, and in learning of its entry price, only ￥5000, as opposed to Tokyo Disneyland's ￥10000, he made me eager to visit.
One girl, Kaori, had to leave then and there, as she had a funeral today, but the rest of us found another izakaya, and ordered some octopus and salmon sashimi, as well as the best sake nigiri I have ever eaten. After that closed, which by now is around midnight, we found a small drinking establishment that stayed open late, and we sat and talked over some drinks and a few green beans. While one by one the others had to leave, Yayoi and I talked until 5AM, which was when the trains started again. We talked about the difference between R and L, we spoke about toung twisters in both languages, and she tested my vocabulary by pointing to things she could see, as well as demonstrating her amazing drawing skills. Last night was exactly what I had been needing, and I can safely regard last night as one of the best nights I've had in my life. Whereas yesterday had a dreary and lonely cycle ride home, today had a cycle ride home full of memories and thoughts of the wonderful time I had just had.
Granted, I miss all my friends and I miss hanging around with them, but I made a wonderful set of new friends, and I am very happy by it. It was the most shining example of the practically universal friendliness that this country offers. We'd known each other for a few hours but it was like we'd been friends for ages. We are meeting again on Monday to sing karaoke and look at Osaka, and hopefully again before I leave for Tokyo. I was unhappier than I let on in my last entry yesterday, but right now I am happier than I can explain.
While finding photographs is difficult, one image that has shaped my visit here is this one.
I also remember who I forgot:
Helgi: I'm glad you got to go home, it'd been too long. Have a fun remaining holiday and stay cool.
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