天気：雨天
It was a dark, cold, and rainy walk back. Luckily, Carly got some umbrellas from the CIE. When we got back, Diego and Jess were here; they shortly went out for dinner. I went up and cooked stew; didn't eat it until about 9 though. After that, Carly and I went up to keep Amber company for a while. Her Dad had visited her this weekend and we watched the video of her belly dancing, and another of the cheerleaders. The stunts they performed were absolutely incredible; they even made kanji out of thier pompoms! They were true athletes. Now feeling very tired. Tomorrow morning will be lazy, and then the afternoon will be karaoke and yakiniku with the koto club; it's going to be a lot of fun...
Today was... tiring!!! Woke up at 8:30 and got ready to be there at 10. It was another freezing day, and on top of that it was cloudy. I dropped my kimono stuff off in the room and then went to find "Finding Jero", my singing booth; though this is the first time in this journal I've referred to them as that. Jero is the name of a popular singer in the Osaka area. 
He's an American who sings enka (a relatively new music style that resembles traditional music). Anyway, found the members in the CIE building. Before we started singing, we had to go out and advertise. We weren't able to pull in a crowd as large as yesterdays though; I think the weather put people off. So today, singing was just for fun, and we all sung English songs, me included. Since we had the time, they played the all of every one's songs. Of course, I hadn't learnt the all the Japanese lyrics for Kiss from a Rose, so I just sung in English. It was a bit repetitive but oh well. We had one more group sing (skater boy), and then Niky and I had to rush off to get dressed. Sempai's mum and Hashimoto sensei (I think that's her name) were so helpful and supportive throughout the day.
He's an American who sings enka (a relatively new music style that resembles traditional music). Anyway, found the members in the CIE building. Before we started singing, we had to go out and advertise. We weren't able to pull in a crowd as large as yesterdays though; I think the weather put people off. So today, singing was just for fun, and we all sung English songs, me included. Since we had the time, they played the all of every one's songs. Of course, I hadn't learnt the all the Japanese lyrics for Kiss from a Rose, so I just sung in English. It was a bit repetitive but oh well. We had one more group sing (skater boy), and then Niky and I had to rush off to get dressed. Sempai's mum and Hashimoto sensei (I think that's her name) were so helpful and supportive throughout the day. After I'd been dressed and payed for my zori and tabi, I asked if I could buy the obi they had lent me, and Hashimoto sensei gave it to me as a present. I was so grateful; I wish I could have conveyed my thanks better in Japanese. The performance went really really well; I was glad I got to stay and watch the whole thing this time. I recorded all of the songs bar one; both times they performed it, I was too busy serving or making tea. I was amazed at how popular we were. In the third session we had almost 40 customers! It was great. We ran out of cups and water and Mark had to duck over to the convenience store to get water while Chiharu sempai went to get more cups. Deigo, Jessica and Carly came during the third session when I was performing; I got Diego to record me. Apart from the huge crowd, a memorable moment was when Chiharu sempai accidentally whacked Midori sempai in the head with a koto; ouch!!! She was fine though. I thought the girls, and the rest of us, all did a really awesome job today.
In the last session, after a reprise of Sakura sakura, Sean persuaded me to perform Hanagoromo with him. We both made a few mistakes here and there but overall it was really good; I was proud of myself for being able to play it! We got a lot of group photos, then the girls went up to get changed, except for Chiharu sempai, who helped us international students p
ack up. Since Mark and I needed to go to the INFES closing ceremony, we went up a little early. Saki sempai's mum folded my kimono for me; was so awesome. Saying our final goodbyes (and see you tomorrows), Mark and I went down. Since the weather had turned nasty they had moved the event into the CIE lounge. It was about 5:30 at this point. First on the agenda was the winners of the Karaoke competition; first and second place. Before the announcements were made, they asked us if we were okay with singing our song again if we won, and all I could think was, "oh no, I'm going to have to sing that song again!!!"
ack up. Since Mark and I needed to go to the INFES closing ceremony, we went up a little early. Saki sempai's mum folded my kimono for me; was so awesome. Saying our final goodbyes (and see you tomorrows), Mark and I went down. Since the weather had turned nasty they had moved the event into the CIE lounge. It was about 5:30 at this point. First on the agenda was the winners of the Karaoke competition; first and second place. Before the announcements were made, they asked us if we were okay with singing our song again if we won, and all I could think was, "oh no, I'm going to have to sing that song again!!!"True to my prediction, I won the competition; I still couldn't believe it though. I was so overwhelmed at that point, tired, and mentally unprepared to sing; but I did it. I messed up pretty bad. I was again disappointed in myself; everyone was really supportive though. I could feel my face glowing afterwards. Oh well if I didn't do that great, it's not the end of the world; I'll get over it. The prize was 6000円 worth of visa gift vouchers! I'm going to put it towards presents for people. After a slide show of photos from the day, and some final speeches, INFES was officially over; I had a great time. I never did get to try that deep-fried ice cream though...
It was a dark, cold, and rainy walk back. Luckily, Carly got some umbrellas from the CIE. When we got back, Diego and Jess were here; they shortly went out for dinner. I went up and cooked stew; didn't eat it until about 9 though. After that, Carly and I went up to keep Amber company for a while. Her Dad had visited her this weekend and we watched the video of her belly dancing, and another of the cheerleaders. The stunts they performed were absolutely incredible; they even made kanji out of thier pompoms! They were true athletes. Now feeling very tired. Tomorrow morning will be lazy, and then the afternoon will be karaoke and yakiniku with the koto club; it's going to be a lot of fun...
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