Something Old, Something New; Flowers to Eat, Flowers to View

Well, this post is well overdue. (Well, halfway through writing this, I realize that I have already written about this when I wrote about the McDonald's incident. Oh well, this version has pictures and seems to be better written, so you get both.)

So, for sakura season, we went hanami-ing. Flower-viewing. About as exciting as it sounds. Fortunately, I had two chances to view some flowers (not that I couldn't see them everywhere anyway).

There were a few hanami parties, but I decided to go to the nearby Kitakyushu one across the channel since my friend I haven't seen recently invited me (despite this, we barely talked). My new American friend (I met in passing at a train station [we shared a common friend though apparently]) and two of his friends were doing some stuff in the morning in the castle town which I wanted to see, but I didn't end up going for some reason. Maybe because I was lazy and didn't want to wake up, I forget.

We eventually found the place and met a bunch of people that were apparently just meeting each other now as well. Which was kind of really weird since they all worked in the same job in the same prefecture. They were kind of boring, but fortunately my friends arrived eventually. Next to these JETs I was hanging out with were some hardcore people. They had roped off their area, then proceeded to put down tarps, boxes for cushioning, covered with more tarps. 

Look at that, professional flower-watchers right there.

Also there was a tigerman playing guitar.

And a town mascot. Everything in Japan must have a mascot!

Also unlicensed material

So, yeah, eventually my friends came and took a ton of photos with their fancy cameras. It was nice to hang out with them, especially since the American was leaving soon and the Korean girl's name is literally pronounced "yum". Also because I was able to date the Chinese girl later, which is pretty cool. She also has a fun name - Cho Cho.

Eventually while talking to one of the larger JETs, some old man came up and began to talk about and then play with the JET's fat. The guy didn't understand Japanese and was rather uncomfortable about the whole thing, but the old guy invited us to his company's party near our own so we went over and joined them for some reason.

It was some kind of electric company and they were very nice, as random Japanese people tend to be, and gave us food and stuff. I then tried to give some of their food to the neighboring party of girls, which gave the young company president a chance to go over and talk to them.

Eventually more of my friends came and joined the fray. One of the electricians talked to us about how he wanted his daughter of like 3 or something to start learning English and if we had any tips.

So eventually I wandered over and joined the girls (and a boy or two I think) and talked to them. Nothing came of it and even though I said we should hang out again, when I asked for someone's contact info, they were surprised what I said was serious.

So, later was the second hanami party with my students. It was also April Fool's Day. Thanks to the janitor, I was able to whip up this spring snake. He was super helpful, and construction was hilarious and fun. It is still sitting on my desk, fully armed, waiting for someone to bump into it and accidentally set it off.

Fortunately, the flowers were still in bloom (this is outside my school). Hanami season ends quickly, unfortunately. It is supposed to occur around entrance ceremony time, hence why it lines the entrance to the school, but with the season happening earlier every year because of global warming, they didn't quite make it this year.

I also brought my toy snake as a joke prank. Who would possibly be pranked by this? ...I thought.

He is guarding my two pecan pies the club helped me make. They weren't perfect, but they were still pretty good. The club was horrified by the amount of sugar required. And one girl was upset that I added so many pecans because she didn't like them. Which is confusing because it is a pecan pie.

I also made deviled eggs for no good reason. ...I do a lot of things for no good reason.

I got to leave the office early to go secure our spot in the nearby park. Which was unnecessary because it wasn't really all that crowded.

Eventually the English club and teacher joined me. A few of them out of uniform, which was strange to see. Surprisingly, the snake in a can surprised people as it made its way around to all the students. They must not have been paying attention. The fake snake was also entertaining to them, but one student in particular flipped out. And not just once, but every time. One person accidentally even made her cry with it. Aside from making someone cry, most people had fun with it. One student in particular took a liking to it and wanted it.

The highlight of the event was that the other ALTs were coming (and one Japanese person that randomly came with one of my friends), JET and non-JET alike. I had invited them ahead of time as an attempt to make the students more excited about English. My friends happened to live only a few seconds from the park, so we were able to use their house for all kinds of failed food preparation when the grill wasn't really cutting it. 

It was a few people's birthdays so we celebrated with my precious Reese's supply.

The grilling was less than successful, but we made do. All in all, the event was a success. The students were very happy to meet the new foreigners and everyone had a good time.

Also they made me eat this. It tasted as bad as it looks.

Also, the flowers, despite being a popular flavor in random things, do not taste good.