Day 116 - My First Reggae/Jamaican Event in Japan (Sunday, July 13, 2008)
Day 116
On my way to church this morning, I smelled some smoke. I then saw the smoke at the front of my car bonnet. My eyes then caught the hot and cold metre thing and the needle was on HOT!!! I had to go on the soft shoulder for a while and turn on the hazard light. After parking for about 5 minutes, I drove to church very cautiously while watching the needle. After church was over, I asked the Bible study lady`s husband to look at my car. He called for help and got the pastor as well as this other member of the church to come along. They discovered that my radiator was in dire need of water and that it was also faulty. So the radiator on both my cars is faulty... Bwoy I need to change from Mitsubishi. Shortly after all of this, I ate then drove to a hotel and parked my car there.
I then bought a train ticket to Okayama which cost ￥2600. I was supposed to meet up with some other Jamaicans there for us to go to a "Jamaican Reggae Concert" that was organized by some Japanese in my prefecture (more on this later). So after getting to Okayama, I am now to take another train to get to this area name Bizen-Tai. The ticket to here cost only￥560 yen BUT it also took a hour to get there... This train was sort of empty but before I got in there, the never-ending stares had already started. When I saw some people looking at me, I just wave to them and smile. some waved back, while others turned away their heads. I remember waving to a bunch of girls and they had this very excited look on their faces, they then waved back frantically with a wide smile.
After arriving at Bizen-Tai, I called my friend and he said to wait on a taxi. The taxi cost ￥1900 and it took about 15 minuets to get to the area... As you see, taxi prices here are just ridiculous. The taxi dropped me to an area known as Desaki Beach where the "Jamaican Reggae concert" thing was keeping. On entering the premises, there was this big figure of a rasta man and a ton of cars parked there. So I was excited and expecting to see a whole bunch of Jamaicans... (HISS TEET!!!) I got there about 4:30 pm and my two Jamaican friends who I met in Hiroshima last week Saturday, had to go back home because they needed to catch the last bus going to their city. So the taxi that I took there, they took it back to where I was coming from, hence we only met for 3 minutes.
They were lucky to catch their last bus going back to Hiroshima... If they missed that bus bwoyyyy it wudda rough pon dem. So, my other Jamaican friend who told us about this concert thing and I were on the beach and looking at what was going on. He then introduced me to this Japanese guy whose wife is from Kenya. I then walked around the beach and even though this was a Jamaican Reggae concert.... while I was there, me and the Jamaican guy were the only Jamaicans and black persons in sight. And to top it off, everyone was still looking at me strangely, as if to say, "what is this guy doing here??" As much as I was in my Big Jamaica T-Shirt, everybody still staring mi down when mi walking. These people have up all kinda drawings of black people on their stalls and some even trying to look and act like black people, but when they actually see one, they stare and are in shock.
Well I decided that I was going to be troublesome today. So I walked along the beach side and told a couple a persons hello/konnichiwa. The ones who smiled, I stopped and talked to them and asked them if they understood English (eigo wakarimashita ka?).. I promised about 3 of them that I would teach them English. Most of the people who I went to, were open to knowing an actual Jamaican, a few others were just scared it seem or extremely anti-social. But yet they really loved Reggae music. The music playing in the background was some ska old hits business that the Japanese were attempting to dance to....
I met a couple a persons who were fascinated by Jamaican music but were meeting a Jamaican for the very first time. There is this 1 group of people though, of which, 1 of the guys got married to a Jamaican girl and he currently lives in Steer Town, St. Ann. I was shocked out of my wits when I heard him talking Patois. He said he just came back from Jamaica yesterday and will be going back in September. He also said that he owns a store in Okayama and he sells old Jamaican music to people all over the world. He said his wife died recently though (February this year) from Cancer :( :( .... there was also this married couple who said they spent their honeymoon in Jamaica, also this past February. A video is at the end of this blog showing the people talking (or attempting to talk) Patois.
After the whole meeting people thing, I then headed home and ended up seeing one of my ALT friends at the Okayama station. We took the train together back to Niimi, where this drunk lady sat in front of us. She was telling us some stuff that she has 3 children and her grandmother is Canadian etc etc... I could not believe that this lady is 31, with 3 children and she is still absolutely beautiful without anything to show that she has 3 children... Me and my ALT friend started to have some conversations about South Africa, Jamaica and about different races etc etc...
I got home at about 12:00 midnight. and went to bed.... Yow likkle more....
On my way to church this morning, I smelled some smoke. I then saw the smoke at the front of my car bonnet. My eyes then caught the hot and cold metre thing and the needle was on HOT!!! I had to go on the soft shoulder for a while and turn on the hazard light. After parking for about 5 minutes, I drove to church very cautiously while watching the needle. After church was over, I asked the Bible study lady`s husband to look at my car. He called for help and got the pastor as well as this other member of the church to come along. They discovered that my radiator was in dire need of water and that it was also faulty. So the radiator on both my cars is faulty... Bwoy I need to change from Mitsubishi. Shortly after all of this, I ate then drove to a hotel and parked my car there.
I then bought a train ticket to Okayama which cost ￥2600. I was supposed to meet up with some other Jamaicans there for us to go to a "Jamaican Reggae Concert" that was organized by some Japanese in my prefecture (more on this later). So after getting to Okayama, I am now to take another train to get to this area name Bizen-Tai. The ticket to here cost only￥560 yen BUT it also took a hour to get there... This train was sort of empty but before I got in there, the never-ending stares had already started. When I saw some people looking at me, I just wave to them and smile. some waved back, while others turned away their heads. I remember waving to a bunch of girls and they had this very excited look on their faces, they then waved back frantically with a wide smile.
After arriving at Bizen-Tai, I called my friend and he said to wait on a taxi. The taxi cost ￥1900 and it took about 15 minuets to get to the area... As you see, taxi prices here are just ridiculous. The taxi dropped me to an area known as Desaki Beach where the "Jamaican Reggae concert" thing was keeping. On entering the premises, there was this big figure of a rasta man and a ton of cars parked there. So I was excited and expecting to see a whole bunch of Jamaicans... (HISS TEET!!!) I got there about 4:30 pm and my two Jamaican friends who I met in Hiroshima last week Saturday, had to go back home because they needed to catch the last bus going to their city. So the taxi that I took there, they took it back to where I was coming from, hence we only met for 3 minutes.
They were lucky to catch their last bus going back to Hiroshima... If they missed that bus bwoyyyy it wudda rough pon dem. So, my other Jamaican friend who told us about this concert thing and I were on the beach and looking at what was going on. He then introduced me to this Japanese guy whose wife is from Kenya. I then walked around the beach and even though this was a Jamaican Reggae concert.... while I was there, me and the Jamaican guy were the only Jamaicans and black persons in sight. And to top it off, everyone was still looking at me strangely, as if to say, "what is this guy doing here??" As much as I was in my Big Jamaica T-Shirt, everybody still staring mi down when mi walking. These people have up all kinda drawings of black people on their stalls and some even trying to look and act like black people, but when they actually see one, they stare and are in shock.
Well I decided that I was going to be troublesome today. So I walked along the beach side and told a couple a persons hello/konnichiwa. The ones who smiled, I stopped and talked to them and asked them if they understood English (eigo wakarimashita ka?).. I promised about 3 of them that I would teach them English. Most of the people who I went to, were open to knowing an actual Jamaican, a few others were just scared it seem or extremely anti-social. But yet they really loved Reggae music. The music playing in the background was some ska old hits business that the Japanese were attempting to dance to....
I met a couple a persons who were fascinated by Jamaican music but were meeting a Jamaican for the very first time. There is this 1 group of people though, of which, 1 of the guys got married to a Jamaican girl and he currently lives in Steer Town, St. Ann. I was shocked out of my wits when I heard him talking Patois. He said he just came back from Jamaica yesterday and will be going back in September. He also said that he owns a store in Okayama and he sells old Jamaican music to people all over the world. He said his wife died recently though (February this year) from Cancer :( :( .... there was also this married couple who said they spent their honeymoon in Jamaica, also this past February. A video is at the end of this blog showing the people talking (or attempting to talk) Patois.
After the whole meeting people thing, I then headed home and ended up seeing one of my ALT friends at the Okayama station. We took the train together back to Niimi, where this drunk lady sat in front of us. She was telling us some stuff that she has 3 children and her grandmother is Canadian etc etc... I could not believe that this lady is 31, with 3 children and she is still absolutely beautiful without anything to show that she has 3 children... Me and my ALT friend started to have some conversations about South Africa, Jamaica and about different races etc etc...
I got home at about 12:00 midnight. and went to bed.... Yow likkle more....
Comments
heheheh
You mean Honey Moon - lol