Michael Jackson's Return to Japan

On Friday night, one of the JETs who lives in his own house (not just an apartment) hosted a HUGE Halloween party. It's been a while since I've been to a Halloween party where everyone actually dressed up, and as you can see, Michael Jackson even made a special guest appearance! (Wait... there are two of them!) Actually, there were more than 60 people there and it was a really good mix between Japanese and "foreigners" (which is nice, because it's not always like that.) A lot of the Japanese people I met at the party said it was their first Halloween party and they really seemed to get into it. A few of us were a little apprehensive about going at the beginning since it was definitely being talked up very much like a "frat party," complete with an order for 8 kegs of beer.

Seeing as how some of the new JETs who arrived here a few months ago just graduated from college this spring, "Keggers" were probably still in their vocabulary but not for the majority of us who have been out of school for a while!) The party actually didn't turn out to be as "wild" as expected despite all the free jell-o shots... (Well, there was the one guy who had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance after puking his guts out and passing out in the bushes, and of course there were the random people making out in the corner, lots of beer spilled on the tatami floor, and some pretty crazy games like two blindfolded people feeding each other pudding, but otherwise... pretty tame.)

I was dressed as a maid (or "meido" as the Japanese say) although I kept being mistaken for a nurse somehow... I was actually not meant to be a French maid as is standard, but a Japanese "meido." There's a district of Tokyo called Akihabara that is home to "Otaku" culture ("geeks," if you will, who are way into Japanese anime, manga, figurines, gaming, etc). I've never been to Akihabara but hope to see it before I leave... I'm sure a place like this could really only exist in Japan. Anyway, apparently that area is filled with "cosplay" (costume play) restaurants, the most famous being the "Meido cafes" where the Otaku go to be served by the maids. For more on this fascinating Otaku sub-culture, check out Wikipedia's definitive definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meido_Cafe. Anyway, when the Japanese people at the party saw me in my "meido" costume, they greeted me in Otaku language with "Moe! Moe!" (Please also refer to Wikipedia on this one). The Japanese girls who were there greeted me with a shriek of "kawaii!" (meaning "cute," because that is just how everything in Japan has to be!)

Just a little cultural note on "kawaii-ness": When I lived in Korea, I always used to talk to my other foreign friends about getting "hello-ed" (usually by a group of junior high students who come at you in full force and all scream "HELLO!" at you at the same time, simply because you look foreign and must, therefore, speak English.) We actually used it as a verb. I sometimes get "hello-ed" by students in Japan, but as the Japanese are typically more shy, it doesn't happen as often (and can't say I'm disappointed by this fact because getting "hello-ed" gets really old, really fast.) In Japan, however, we get "kawaii-ed," usually by young Japanese girls right after they've passed you or sometimes to your face. It really is all about "cuteness" here... that stereotype IS true. Just think Hello Kitty. "Kawaii" is just about the highest compliment that can be paid to you, unless you happen to be a guy and you're called a "nice guy," which actually means "good-looking/attractive" and not the English definiton of "nice guy." I didn't know this at first, of course, and my students were always asking me if I thought so-and-so was a "nice guy...." (Probably got myself in a little trouble there, especially if they were referring to male students... many of whom ARE quite nice, if it is not too Mrs. Robinson-ish to admit!)

Anyway, the Halloween party carried on and Michael Jackson (otherwise known as "Xina" - not to be mistaken as the warrior princess- she hates that) was caught on film mishandling a mannequin that came from somewhere.... Michael was also later spotted at karaoke with a little "Thriller" action.