GIDAISAI

Gifu Daigaku Matsuri

Hey hey!

Well, a gloomy “you have to write a mass email” cloud was looming above my head, for 2 weeks has passed since the University Festival and I still hadn’t typed it yet, so in a effort to banish this cloud, I’ve opened the PC….and here I am typing. 

I will however keep this email short cause I’ve just returned from teaching and am BUGGERED! So I’ll entertain you with the attached photos…

GiDaiSai was held over a 3 day period (31^st Oct, 1^st and 2^nd of Nov) and it was excellent. The main area of the university was all decorated; stalls were set up by various university circles and various bands and dance groups performed on stage. The Mikoshi Parade was held over Friday and Saturday. The circle I am a part of called “Ryugaku Love” and 5 of so other circles entered their handmade mikoshi into the parade. If you look at the attached photo, it’s basically a boat with people from different races riding on it. I like the call it “Pirates of the World” hehhehehe  Anyhoo, if you also notice from the pictures, everyone is wearing a white t-shirt, GUESS WHAT! That’s my design! Yah! (See brother dearest, you’re not the only one that has a gift for T-shirt designing, hehehhe.) Yeah it’s a pretty crap design aye, though people liked it at the time, it must have been my over simplified English explanation of the meaning of the design. It went something like this, “This is a person, this person has a heart, this person is holding the world, it says “Ryugaku”…. “RYUGAKU LOVE!” yay and then you clap and go woohooo! and then everyone claps and goes woohooo and everyone likes it. But then an idiot at the shirt printing company, obviously unfamiliar with the roman alphabet left the “A” out of ‘RyugAku” so the T-shirt reads “RyuGKU” and therefore it doesn’t make any sense and we still had to pay $30 for it. So anyway enough about the t-shirt…we paraded our float on Friday in Yanagase (Gifu City) and on Saturday around the university. Being a competition as well, we were placed 3^rd overall and won a $150 beer ticket which we spent that night on food and alcohol for the ‘nomikai’ (drinking party).

 In addition to the Mikoshi parade, I Jolene Choo made her debut (hahahah) in her first Japanese drama production called “Odoru Inu Sosasen” which translates to “The Hunt for the Dancing Dogs” or something like that. My role, Dancing Dog 6, the dog that had a grand total of 4 lines! WOW. Actually make that 8 cause I had to say them in both Japanese and English. I was pretty hesitant about saying my lines in English cause it pretty much STOPS the flow of the play but you know in Japan, say anything in English and you’re met with shouts of “Kakoii! Kakoii!” (Cool! Cool!). So my seminar classmates and I performed on the Saturday to a packed house and it was a great experience.

Once the play was over, the rest of Saturday was spent cruising the food stalls, eating, watching bands and dancing on stage and then at night we had a circle party, where we spent the night eating, talking, drinking and skanking/dancing away to Japanese Ska music. (well it was only me and about 5 other people skanking, everyone else watched, but it was so much fun! heheh)

Well that’s it guys! Till next time! CIAO!

Love Jo

My design! "This is a person, this person has a heart, he/she is carrying the world, it says "Ryugaku"...."Ryugaku Love!" yyyyaaaaayyyy

"Pirates of the WORLD!"

The "Ryugaku Love"

Parading the Mikoshi in Yanagase

  The After Party (L-R: Shiho, Marcus, Catherine, Me, Rodrigo (back), Me, Hiroshi, Yasu (front))

2 Dancing Dogs and 2 Police