The past weekend saw me & thirty-one (no kidding) friends in faraway Nagano ken (長野県, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics) to ski / board. As usual, the trip was pretty well organized. About ten people took care of chartering a bus, making the lodging reservations, arranging meals, lift tickets, equipment rental. It was also the one of the first signs that I was now part of the group, because guess what--I was given the task of preparing a "dance event" for the evening's entertainment (!)
Taking everyone's fatigue into consideration, I decided to teach them..... heehee.... the Macarena :P
Yes, very exciting, I know, but do read on...
On Thursday night, I met Aoi (葵) and Ryuuichi (龍一), armed with a Macarena CD, to prepare the dance. The Macarena was very simple, as you know, so the plan was to teach everyone that, and then divide everyone into teams to choreograph their own dance using the same music.
To make sure we were doing the Macarena right, we had to open up the curtains to see our reflections in the living room windows. I'm sure that night any neighbors who happened to be looking at their apartment had a great time.
Anyway, on Friday, I showed up at Jonathan's (a family restaurant near Takadanobaba station (高田馬場駅) with my gear and boarded the bus. I was glad to see Joe, a junior from Washington state, because he's a really funny guy. Very much a Californian dude, in a way. Franciska, a German girl and Rebecca, a Taiwanese girl were also there. All of them were spending a year at Waseda (早稲田).
Most of the other people, I had met before during volleyball. Some of the guys, despite not being able to go, actually showed up to send us off. That, is a strangely heartwarming thing to see, because somehow it reminds me of secondary school days, where friendship was expressed in those ways.
Of course, everyone arrived within two minutes of the meeting time. That punctuality is something I grew to love. The bus driver said hi, announced where we were going, Ryuuichi gave out neatly folded hand-made schedules to everyone and with a loud "Onegaishimasu!" ("お願いします！") we set off!
After a grueling 7-hour bus ride (I'd hesitate before attempting that again), I woke up for the umpteenth time to a winter wonderland. 真っ白！(truly, completely white!) is what we called it. This is Nagano, former Winter Olympic site and I could certainly see why. It was amazing how the bus driver could maneuver the huge vehicle so deftly.
The hotel was interesting--basically 3 huge tatami rooms with futons and comforters and nothing else! Meals were served in a common dining area. But none of that--we were raring to hit the slopes!
The day turned out perfect. After a few worrying minutes of cloudy skies, the sun showed up and cleared the way for a powder-filled day of wondrous snowboarding. It was the kind of conditions where one just boldly plunged down any slope, secure in the knowledge that the powdery snow would cushion any fall.
The day got better and better because we also went to an onsen next to the resort to soothe our aching muscles afterwards. It wasn't very big and one was subject to the unusual sight of naked men standing in line waiting for their turn at the shower. I was stupid enough to pick a shower station right next to the door leading to the outdoor pool (露天風呂) and everytime someone opened it (once every 10 secs?) a Siberian wind will sweep in and freeze everyone's toes off. I hastily showered and headed outside into the pool. Snow was falling and the feeling of soaking in an outdoor onsen was simply indescribable. Halfway through, one guy suddenly leapt out of the pool and dived headfirst into a nearby snowbank, egged on by everyone else! I was like, what the heck...?! And then in the next second, everyone else joined him! Except me of course, still wondering how anyone can survive the sudden 40 to 0 C change in temperature and wondering if I can run and get my camera in time.
-- to be continued --
- reku
- twins
- trunk stop
- psycho tests
- speeches
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