Friday's a BBQ! All night karaoke?!

Finally the day of the barbecue arrived, and Jil and I headed out with the burgers and buns to meet up with Duke at the station. One problem. We never agreed on a spot in the station to meet. Let me explain that the station is huge! Several different lines connect through that station, and it's really like an underground mall, to be honest. Luckily, Jil and I were early, so we first hung out near our usual ticket gate to see if Duke would be taking that line to the station. After a few minutes, some other kids from a different class passed us on their way to the correct train line for the day's trip. We followed to see if perhaps Duke was already over that way. On the way we slowed down and spoke to another US student from yet another class who was waiting for her group, and then we continued to the Yurakucho line to search for Duke. He wasn't there. After standing around for a little longer, we started to head back to the Fukutoshin line. On the way, we saw Duke and the girl from the other class heading toward us, hooray!

We speed-walked to the Yurakucho line and climbed on the first available train. We made it to the stop where we'd get a bus 2min before it was supposed to leave with our class... but it left already. So, we were declared late. We got on a bus with a different class after waiting a bit more. The bus was so full, we had to sit in these pull-out seats in the aisle; they were pretty awesome. All day, we were called "chikoku" (late), so we made a joke out of it. "We weren't 'chikoku'; the bus was 'hayai' (early). Either way, we made it there and the barbecuing had begun. Everyone seemed to like the burgers. Luckily, Junso-san did not eat them all. I wasn't a fan of food that day. It was too hot, so I hid in the shade of the trees a lot, away from the fire. The teachers kept asking if I was feeling okay, so I had to explain that I wasn't just being antisocial.

The Korean kids did feel some need to feed everyone though, so Teiyon-san and Teiyan-san both quite literally shoved some spicy foods in my mouth. I about died after that and chugged my water. Also, I was really sleepy, so I decided to lie down on the tarp-like thing under our back packs and lay my hoody over my face to protect from the sun. Dana kept kicking my feet and asking me if I was dead. I said I was, so she told me to stop talking. I clarified, "I'm the undead, so it's okay."

Also, at the BBQ, I had to use the restroom. There were plenty... but the toilets were the kind that are this weird hole in the ground. Not fun. I think all parks are like that. Also... no soap. What's the point in the cold water? Thank goodness for hand sanitizer! Take it with you everywhere! Also, strictly cold water seems to be typical for restrooms here. I don't see how it does any cleaning, seriously.

Once the cooking and eating was finished, we played rock/paper/scissors to see who would have to wash utensils, etc. I of course lost and had to help wash. Again... COLD WATER. It's so useless for proper cleaning. It wasn't so bad, though. Duke ended up washing too. And Haley too. So it was a group of North Americans, heh. I was, as usual, a perfectionist about it, so the teachers like that. But they kept saying the one thing was fine, when there was still stuff on it. I finished anyway.

We still had lots of time, so we moved away from the BBQ area to some more open space to play ridiculous games and the like. I taught them how to play freeze tag. XD ... With some help from Duke, ch. Whatever, I was it, and I rocked. But I got worn out too quickly, and switched with Zack. There were a lot of other games, most of which I did not play. They were rather embarrassing, and I'd rather record them than play. XD So I did.

At the end, we took a class photo... or 5 and headed back to the bus. Along the way there was a man feeding a ton of stray cats outside his truck. Interesting, I thought. In any case, we took the bus back to the station, and from there the train back to Ikebukuro. Opting to continue our day of fun, we (Jil, Duke, Matt, Jason, and I) returned to the dorm for some Arrested Development and anime watching. I barely made it through ep 1 of Arrested Development; it's a bit too much for me. So we watched the first episode of an anime, Madoka Magica. Again, I fail for not really enjoying it. So we switched shows yet again. This time we watched an ep of Kamisama no Memochou. That show I liked. XD

Ten o'clock rolled around, and we were booted from the common room. Sad. Well, Jason had been begging for all night karaoke all day, so we finally caved. Off to Sunshine we went for some singing insanity. We stopped for snacks on the way, because it makes more sense than buying anything there. During that stop, I joked about potentially needing a piggyback ride back to the dorm in the morning. Of course, Duke assured that wouldn't be a problem. Once at the karaoke place, we discovered that students get a discount, so out came the student ID's. It was after 11 when we got there, and we'd be there singing until 5am. Excellent. I have found no better way to stay up until the sun rises.

We sang songs, both Japanese and English. Jason drank a lot, and he got funnier by the minute. Most songs we sang would not be recognized by those back home, but some... Well, one you'll all know is Piano Man. Yes, they have Billy Joel songs at karaoke. You name it, they probably have it. It's a matter of finding the song for which you are looking. The book is totally useless to us, so using the machine to do a more direct search for a song or singer was the way to go. At least we can all read the katakana versions of the song titles, heh.

All this to say that all night karaoke was a blast. I was thoroughly exhausted by 4:30, and half fell asleep with the music still blaring loudly. I was poked and lifted my head to have a hoodie stuffed under it by Duke, so that I had some cushion. Then as I was drifting in and out, he told Jil he wanted to draw on my face, but she wouldn't hand him his bag to get a marker. I didn't hear that at the time, but they told me later. Hooray, Jil! I doubt he would've anyway, but who knows. At 5am, I sluggishly followed everyone to the front desk and did my best not to pass out standing up. Payment was much easier this time around. And cheap! The student discount was awesome.

We walked outside, and I was freeeeeeeeezing. It is far too cold at 5am. I had my hoodie on, but it's not thick at all. Sigh. Next thing I knew, another hoodie was thrown over my head. It was a little disorienting, to say the least. I had to sleepily pull it all the way on without falling over. Difficult to do when you're mostly asleep, I must say. And my comment made mostly in jest earlier was brought up again. Turns out, I really did need to be carried. There was no way I was making it back on foot in my condition. And so, I got a piggyback ride from Duke.

The entire way home, I was falling in and out of sleep, attempting to listen to the conversations going on and commenting occasionally in a very tired manner. There were certainly a ton of people staring; one apparently said I looked dead. All I heard was, "Daijoubu?" or "Are you okay?" to which I sleepily replied to our group, "Mou shinimashita" or "(I've) already died". I think they got a kick out of that, whereas I was simply repeating it from the BBQ. Also, I for some reason kept insisting, in Japanese, that I was too heavy and incessantly asked Duke if his back was okay. He assured me that he was fine and I wasn't heavy at all, but I was rather stubborn in my sleepy stupor and continued to mumble about it.

We did eventually reach the dorm. It was not yet 6, but after 5:30 I believe. I, like an idiot, almost fell over once set on my feet. So smart. I retrieved my bag from Jil, who was nice enough to carry it back for me. ^^ Then I attempted to give Duke's hoodie back, as I only had to walk up a few flights of stairs, but he insisted he could get it whenever. Thus, I slowly trudged up to the fourth story and passed out on my bed the instant I fell onto it.