There was a giant kites festival going on and they held a homestay program in conjunction with it. Well, this is my 6th year in Japan...and people keep asking me,
"You still going to homestays?? What for?? You've been here for 6 years right??"
That, is very true. Why indeed...
Well, one day some guy came to me during a meeting, asking if anyone was interested in a homestay program. At that time, there was absolutely no reason not to join...so I did. So what if I've already seen the kites festivals 3 years ago? Nothing wrong with going to see it again right??
Anyway, there you have it...I joined the damn event. And it was surprisingly fun despite kites not flying.
There were 12 other foreigners from various countries who joined the event, Thailand, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Costa Rica, Columbia and France.
The homestay event began like any other Japanese events, with fake hand claps and warm smiles. We were then introduced to our host families and of course, the inevitable "Introduce your country" session. I was paired up with another Malaysian girl and was given like, about 5 minutes to decide what to present to them Japanese Folks.
Me and Habirah talking about Malaysia...
I talked about the same old boring stuff...you know, the one about Malaysia being a country with various races, looks different, speaks different languages, eat different food, but curses in the same language, Hokkien. Others did their bit too...Thailand doing dance, Philippines doing the put-your-feet-in-and-out-of-bamboo-sticks kind of dance while the rest used Powerpoint slides to introduce their countries.
The old folks who were kind enough to host my stay...
Anway, the hosts who participated in this program were mostly old folks. At one point, one of them asked me what my plans are after I graduate, and I answered my usual "If I can get a Japanese girlfriend, I'll stay here" . And instantly, a few of the old ladies starting giggling and said "Well, I have a 22/23 year old grand daughter at home..why don't you drop by for a visit??"
Hahaha....suddenly I was the Mr. Most Eligible Bachelor year 2010.
After the International exchange session, we moved on to the main event of the day...the giant kites festival. Along the way to the festival was shops selling various things such as balloons, toy guns, cotton candy, Kebab, Turkish Ice Cream....yup, nothing Japanese. Just because it's a Japanese Festival, don't expect it to have Japanese stuff...
Local stalls selling various things mostly made from China...
Games corner where we shoot rubber corks at toys...
A Shrine. A must have at any Japanese Festival...
We soon reach a local shrine, and right behind the shrine is a river bank, and on both sides were giant kites laid on the ground...
Giant kites of various designs were laid on the ground....
Well, as you can see, we have a big problem here.
See those kites? They are lying on the ground. ON THE GROUND!!!
They are supposed to be flying around up in the sky!!
What good are kites if they can't fly??
Sigh...apparently there wasn’t enough wind...
Oh what the hell...lack of wind isn't going to stop me from having fun!!
So, along with a crazy Columbian, David and a tiny Thai, Waen, we headed out to find our own adventure...
Once again, the event of the day was supposed to be giant kites festival, where various groups battle their kites to gain superiority in the sky. It was supposed to be windy and there were supposed to be fierce battle of kites and excellent display of kite flying skills. It was supposed to be...but it wasn't.
Anyway, we went for a walk around, took pictures of kites lying on the ground. Thank god David and Waen was around...well, they look more foreign than I do(I get mistaken for Japanese a lot), and we got treated to beer and snacks...
This is a picture of me bullying Little Waen...
Just look at her face....hahahaha...sigh, I'm going to miss her..
Anyway...if it was windy that day, I would have exhausted my English vocabulary trying to describe the day's event here, but I can't.
So, instead I'll write a short drama involving a love so great they made a kite event out of it....
Once upon a time, there was a lonely samurai who traveled to the unknown lands of Mitsuke..
One day, he met a very beautiful lady who captured his warrior heart with her beauty. "I'm in love!!" thought the lonely samurai...
But just as soon as he caught her glimpse, she vanished from his sight.
And so the warrior spent his days looking for her...
Oh, the poor samurai, now love stricken, he looked everywhere for her...
He looked around the village..he looked around the river banks...
He even went as far as to climb a tall tree to try to find her from above...
But the beautiful lady was nowhere to be found...
And for everyday he failed to find her, he wept...and he wept...
But, his heart, pure with love, never gave up trying to find the beautiful lady he saw that day...
Years passed...he grew old and his beard grew long...
But his love for her only grew stronger and stronger...such was the charm the beautiful lady had on the lonely warrior..
And one day, as he was walking the banks of Mitsuke River...he saw her!!
After all these years, he finally found her!!
With tears flowing down his cheeks, he finally found the beautiful lady among the crowd...
And she looked so beautiful to him...skin as fair as the white paper on giant kites, and lips as red as his loving heart. Years passed by but she looked as if she didn't aged one bit...
And so the lonely warrior confessed his feelings to her...
The beautiful lady, touched by the effort he spent looking for her, agreed to marry him.
They decided to get married right on the bridge spanning across Mitsuke River...the bridge symbolizing a joining of two river banks, a joining of 2 hearts..
And they lived a happy life until old age...
The people of Mitsuke city now hold a giant kites festival annually to remember the love that these two people once shared....
The end.
