Writers always say, "Show don't tell" but what I've found lately is that when you're in the process of choosing what to write, what to put in a scene and what to leave out, you figure out you can only really tell. I mean, your characters don't really exist, so all the reader knows is what you tell them about what's going on.
So I would rephrases "show don't tell" as "show or tell, but you can't do both at the same time." If something's really concrete, you should tell it. Like what the character's house looks like or what they did when they woke up in the morning. But if it's more abstract, it loses it's power if you tell it directly so show it by revealing the other details.
Like if the character is really superstitious you could show them having various good luck routines they go through and getting snappy when those routines are interrupted.
But you can't just come out and say, "he was superstitious" because that's just boring. The reader doesn't feel like the character really is this way, just that the author is trying to convince everyone the character is this way.
Is that playing a guessing game with your readers? I guess you can do both telling and showing as long those two techniques match up. Like show the characters routines and also say, "He did it because he was superstitious."
But I think that the most important point of any story is something that's never said directly in the story. Or it's said only once at a critical point. If there's some important truth to the story, you have to hold it very close to your heart like a charm and only let the reader see it very briefly.
Another thing about stories that I have trouble writing is the pacing. On the one hand, I love stories that are tightly woven with no dead space, and one action leading into another. I like it when a lot of story can take place within a short span of time, like a few days, and when moments of beauty come unexpectedly in the midst of turmoil.
On the other hand, I really can't stand when stories are just dramatic confrontation after dramatic revelation after another dramatic confrontation. Usually this happens when there are a lot of characters and the author can't afford to spend more time with each one than is absolutely necessary.
But you never get a sense of people just living their lives like normal people, and it drives me crazy. If there's no quiet moments of the characters just being, then the world doesn't have depth. It's just the "best highlights of" tape.
The best authors can do both at the same time. That is, they can have a character doing everyday things but at the same time the character and setting are so interesting and each detail is so well-chosen that you never get bored.
I want to get a lot better at choosing which details to put in my stories.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Festivals and So On....
Last night went to my second summer festival of course wore my Yukata! That makes four times this summer, counting all three days of Toukasan. It would be nice to wear it once more, maybe in August during Obon and/or to a fireworks festival. We shall see.
The day before the festival I went shopping for better sandals to wear with the Yukata since I knew I'd be walking a lot and my old geta were plastic, which is not so great for walking on pavement. At first I was just looking at various cute summer shoes in pink or white, but then I noticed of geta-like shoes. In fact, they were geta! I had no idea you could buy those at a regular shoe store.
The selection probably dwindled quite a bit from earlier this year, unfortunately. But oddly enough, among the ten or so pairs in the that particular store, there happened to be one with black soles and purple-ish, sparkly straps. My thought process went like this, "Now, I could look around Parco or even go to Sogo to find the best shoes possible, or I could just buy this pair now that I chose from this limited selection and which sorta matches...Nah, who wants to walk all the way to Sogo?"
So I paid 35 dollars for shoes I can only wear a few times a year and took them home to try with my Yukata. Lo and behold, they matched the pattern much better than the shoes that came with the set! I wore them all over Ushita, and though the strap chafed a little my feet didn't get sore.
Which is just an example of that I shop entirely by instinct over method. My shopping philosophy is rather Platonic in that I believe you carry the form of what you want to buy inside of you whether you know it or not. And as soon as you meet the manifestation of what you want you can recognize it. Which means you can go out with not particular idea of what you're looking for and still point to one thing and say, "Ok, that one! In purple!" and be totally content.
No wonder I tend to drive my mom crazy, because she actually looks at things and tries them to judge their usefulness. And to get a better sense of her options, she likes to go to several stores to compare prices and selections before making a final decision. Instead of buying the first thing one sees at the first store. Which is all very logical and I cannot understand it at all.
During the festival it rained on and off, which made everything a bit more exciting. Periodically everyone would pull out umbrellas, and luckily I had my higasa from earlier in the day. That thing is a lifesaver. You can carry it when it's hot, and if it starts raining unexpectedly you have an umbrella too.
I realize that I didn't write about the JLPT. I won't get the results until September. Until then, studying for the N3! Besides me, it was almost entirely college students at the test site. Ugh. Feeling so glad I've moved on from that phase...
The day before the festival I went shopping for better sandals to wear with the Yukata since I knew I'd be walking a lot and my old geta were plastic, which is not so great for walking on pavement. At first I was just looking at various cute summer shoes in pink or white, but then I noticed of geta-like shoes. In fact, they were geta! I had no idea you could buy those at a regular shoe store.
The selection probably dwindled quite a bit from earlier this year, unfortunately. But oddly enough, among the ten or so pairs in the that particular store, there happened to be one with black soles and purple-ish, sparkly straps. My thought process went like this, "Now, I could look around Parco or even go to Sogo to find the best shoes possible, or I could just buy this pair now that I chose from this limited selection and which sorta matches...Nah, who wants to walk all the way to Sogo?"
So I paid 35 dollars for shoes I can only wear a few times a year and took them home to try with my Yukata. Lo and behold, they matched the pattern much better than the shoes that came with the set! I wore them all over Ushita, and though the strap chafed a little my feet didn't get sore.
Which is just an example of that I shop entirely by instinct over method. My shopping philosophy is rather Platonic in that I believe you carry the form of what you want to buy inside of you whether you know it or not. And as soon as you meet the manifestation of what you want you can recognize it. Which means you can go out with not particular idea of what you're looking for and still point to one thing and say, "Ok, that one! In purple!" and be totally content.
No wonder I tend to drive my mom crazy, because she actually looks at things and tries them to judge their usefulness. And to get a better sense of her options, she likes to go to several stores to compare prices and selections before making a final decision. Instead of buying the first thing one sees at the first store. Which is all very logical and I cannot understand it at all.
During the festival it rained on and off, which made everything a bit more exciting. Periodically everyone would pull out umbrellas, and luckily I had my higasa from earlier in the day. That thing is a lifesaver. You can carry it when it's hot, and if it starts raining unexpectedly you have an umbrella too.
I realize that I didn't write about the JLPT. I won't get the results until September. Until then, studying for the N3! Besides me, it was almost entirely college students at the test site. Ugh. Feeling so glad I've moved on from that phase...
Friday, July 4, 2014
How to Get Curls
Say goodbye to straight hair, even with a straight iron! This is summer in Japan.
This year my hair has grown longer, so I'm trying something different. Instead of straightening my hair every morning only to see it poof again by noon, I'm going the opposite route and encouraging it to curl as much as possible.
How to get my curls: An exhaustive guide
1. Shower at night.
2. Do not blow-dry hair.
3. Put some gel in hair. (optional)
4. French braid wet hair.
Note: having just one braid down the back saves time and also ensures that the roots of the hair are mostly straight.
5. Sleep. (necessary)
6. Wake up with messy hair.
7. Put bobby pins in hair to control the mess.
8. Do nothing to your hair all day.
9. Remove hair from braid and bobby pins.
10. Do not brush hair.
11. Straighten bangs (optional, obviously not done in the picture)
12. Replace bobby pins on each side. (necessary)
13. Use hair spray. (optional)
And this is my no-nonsense guide to summer curls. If you don't have my hair, it will probably not work for you. When trying to avoid a big poof of hair, lately adding in some definition has worked better than trying to flatten everything out.
If you are feeling especially fancy, you can continue from step 10 like this:
11. Brush bangs to one side and fix with hair wax.
12. Side braid down one side. Make braid sloppy.
13. Pin other side with bobby pins.
14. Use hair wax to make all hair sloppy.
15. Use hair spray.
This year my hair has grown longer, so I'm trying something different. Instead of straightening my hair every morning only to see it poof again by noon, I'm going the opposite route and encouraging it to curl as much as possible.
How to get my curls: An exhaustive guide
1. Shower at night.
2. Do not blow-dry hair.
3. Put some gel in hair. (optional)
4. French braid wet hair.
Note: having just one braid down the back saves time and also ensures that the roots of the hair are mostly straight.
5. Sleep. (necessary)
6. Wake up with messy hair.
7. Put bobby pins in hair to control the mess.
8. Do nothing to your hair all day.
9. Remove hair from braid and bobby pins.
10. Do not brush hair.
11. Straighten bangs (optional, obviously not done in the picture)
12. Replace bobby pins on each side. (necessary)
13. Use hair spray. (optional)
And this is my no-nonsense guide to summer curls. If you don't have my hair, it will probably not work for you. When trying to avoid a big poof of hair, lately adding in some definition has worked better than trying to flatten everything out.
If you are feeling especially fancy, you can continue from step 10 like this:
11. Brush bangs to one side and fix with hair wax.
12. Side braid down one side. Make braid sloppy.
13. Pin other side with bobby pins.
14. Use hair wax to make all hair sloppy.
15. Use hair spray.
Homeschooling
So lately I've been reading a blog by an Atheist writer. Obviously we have some theological differences, but I had to laugh when I came across a series of posts on homeschooling. Because it's just so true!
Here's one on socialization.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/03/homeschooling-socialization-and-me.html
The thing homeschoolers grow up in their own little world and there will always be that disconnect of never quite knowing how to relate to other people. Which even the parents of homeschoolers can't be expected to get because they grew up going to school and dealing with people all the time. No wonder homeschoolers seem to speak their own language...
One thing that was definitely true for me growing up was that I could never conceive of myself apart from my family. This sounds totally stupid now. But even as a teenager I was never quite sure I would continue existing if left to my own devices apart from anyone sharing my last name.
I used to be terrified to do simple things for myself like call a friend on the phone or buy something at a shop or restaurant. I must have been junior high before I could really get comfortable with money. Who knows what I was afraid of. Screwing it up? How incompetent do you have to be to mess up buying a keychain?
Several memories as a teenager... I was 15 when my family took a trip to Yosemite. I remember splitting up from them for a few hours because I was tired and wanted to go to the gift shop and then read in the hotel room. Everyone was fine with that and my mom explained how to get back to the hotel. (Sadly necessary because I wasn't used to reading maps on my own.) It wasn't a huge deal, but it was a trippy experience. It felt so weird to be in charge of my own schedule and of getting myself from one place to another successfully. And that was just like two hours...
A really good experience from high school was when I went to Worldview Academy. We learned interesting stuff, the people were nice, and it really helped me be independent. I was nearly 17 and before that I could never imagine going away to camp on my own. (I didn't even go to AWANA camp.) My parents encouraged me, and I really wanted to go even though I had no faith in myself.
But lo and behold! I could figure out where all the events were and keep my schedule straight and even talk to people! No one was showing me what to do, but somehow I did it! After my mom left, somehow the world kept going just as it always had. This was a big revelation to teenage me. Ever since that camp, I've been working up to more and more independence.
For someone like my mom, who homeschooled me, being so timid must be unthinkable. She went to boarding school in junior high and never relied on her family to such an extent. Also, our personalities are totally different. She's a take-charge person and I'm a worrier.
So I think if she knew how paralyzed I was by fear, she would say, "What the @$#*&???? You're one of the most competent people I know--what the &%$#^&* are you afraid of????" And I would be like, "Um, I dunno? Life?"
This is probably why nearly 10 years after high school I'm living apart from all my family in a non-English speaking country. And I'm still a total scaredy cat. I worry about everything. My life is ridiculously simple. I live in a sharehouse and my office is literally five minutes by foot. I don't have a car or even a bicycle. The first year I lived here I barely traveled. I'm just learning now how to do things like go to a clinic when I'm sick.
But if I lived in my home state now it would be too easy to surrender control of everything in my life back to my parents and be too scared to live as an adult. Slowly, I'm growing stronger, for myself and for others. I've always been a late-bloomer and looked younger than my age. But in the end if I go at my own pace I can get there.
Here's one on socialization.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2013/03/homeschooling-socialization-and-me.html
The thing homeschoolers grow up in their own little world and there will always be that disconnect of never quite knowing how to relate to other people. Which even the parents of homeschoolers can't be expected to get because they grew up going to school and dealing with people all the time. No wonder homeschoolers seem to speak their own language...
One thing that was definitely true for me growing up was that I could never conceive of myself apart from my family. This sounds totally stupid now. But even as a teenager I was never quite sure I would continue existing if left to my own devices apart from anyone sharing my last name.
I used to be terrified to do simple things for myself like call a friend on the phone or buy something at a shop or restaurant. I must have been junior high before I could really get comfortable with money. Who knows what I was afraid of. Screwing it up? How incompetent do you have to be to mess up buying a keychain?
Several memories as a teenager... I was 15 when my family took a trip to Yosemite. I remember splitting up from them for a few hours because I was tired and wanted to go to the gift shop and then read in the hotel room. Everyone was fine with that and my mom explained how to get back to the hotel. (Sadly necessary because I wasn't used to reading maps on my own.) It wasn't a huge deal, but it was a trippy experience. It felt so weird to be in charge of my own schedule and of getting myself from one place to another successfully. And that was just like two hours...
A really good experience from high school was when I went to Worldview Academy. We learned interesting stuff, the people were nice, and it really helped me be independent. I was nearly 17 and before that I could never imagine going away to camp on my own. (I didn't even go to AWANA camp.) My parents encouraged me, and I really wanted to go even though I had no faith in myself.
But lo and behold! I could figure out where all the events were and keep my schedule straight and even talk to people! No one was showing me what to do, but somehow I did it! After my mom left, somehow the world kept going just as it always had. This was a big revelation to teenage me. Ever since that camp, I've been working up to more and more independence.
For someone like my mom, who homeschooled me, being so timid must be unthinkable. She went to boarding school in junior high and never relied on her family to such an extent. Also, our personalities are totally different. She's a take-charge person and I'm a worrier.
So I think if she knew how paralyzed I was by fear, she would say, "What the @$#*&???? You're one of the most competent people I know--what the &%$#^&* are you afraid of????" And I would be like, "Um, I dunno? Life?"
This is probably why nearly 10 years after high school I'm living apart from all my family in a non-English speaking country. And I'm still a total scaredy cat. I worry about everything. My life is ridiculously simple. I live in a sharehouse and my office is literally five minutes by foot. I don't have a car or even a bicycle. The first year I lived here I barely traveled. I'm just learning now how to do things like go to a clinic when I'm sick.
But if I lived in my home state now it would be too easy to surrender control of everything in my life back to my parents and be too scared to live as an adult. Slowly, I'm growing stronger, for myself and for others. I've always been a late-bloomer and looked younger than my age. But in the end if I go at my own pace I can get there.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
You know you're adjusting when...
Lately I've overcome another hurdle for living in a foreign country. Though even as recently as the beginning of this year it didn't seem possible, lately I've been doing stuff for myself without feeling like I have to ask other people for help first.
Case in point: On Saturday I had to go to two clinics to get an infecting piercing treated. When my ear started to swell up in earnest on Friday, I my first thought was, "Darn it! Now I'm gonna have to skip Japanese class and spend my Saturday morning waiting around at clinics. What a drag."
Only later did I realize that only five or six months ago I would have totally panicked and called several friends before making a decision. It didn't even bother me that I had no one to help me with Japanese. I just figured once the doctors looked at the ear it would be obvious what was wrong.
Actually, there's been a lot of stuff like that lately. It started back in March when I went to the hair salon Yuka recommended and made a reservation. Then there were things like going to Tokyo and Osaka. Now it seems I know enough clinics that I can have a resource when I get sick.
Lately I've been feeling pretty lonely. But they do say, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." (Or stranger?) The American dude in my Japanese class tonight was complaining that he didn't get any of the grammar so he'd have to ask his wife to explain later. I replied wistfully, 私は誰もいないなあ。。。自分で頑張ります！(Which I did have to translate, but was fun to say. haha)
Also, though last week he got one more point than me on a pronunciation test, today I kicked this smart-aleck American's butt in the grammar quiz. The only one to get every question right.
Case in point: On Saturday I had to go to two clinics to get an infecting piercing treated. When my ear started to swell up in earnest on Friday, I my first thought was, "Darn it! Now I'm gonna have to skip Japanese class and spend my Saturday morning waiting around at clinics. What a drag."
Only later did I realize that only five or six months ago I would have totally panicked and called several friends before making a decision. It didn't even bother me that I had no one to help me with Japanese. I just figured once the doctors looked at the ear it would be obvious what was wrong.
Actually, there's been a lot of stuff like that lately. It started back in March when I went to the hair salon Yuka recommended and made a reservation. Then there were things like going to Tokyo and Osaka. Now it seems I know enough clinics that I can have a resource when I get sick.
Lately I've been feeling pretty lonely. But they do say, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." (Or stranger?) The American dude in my Japanese class tonight was complaining that he didn't get any of the grammar so he'd have to ask his wife to explain later. I replied wistfully, 私は誰もいないなあ。。。自分で頑張ります！(Which I did have to translate, but was fun to say. haha)
Also, though last week he got one more point than me on a pronunciation test, today I kicked this smart-aleck American's butt in the grammar quiz. The only one to get every question right.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Things I Don't Get...
In Japanese class, we ended up getting into a long argument--half in Japanese and half in English--because the teacher brought up the question of being too direct and how that's not correct in Japanese. Immediately the other American goes off into a rant about how it's impossible to understand what people want and how you should just be positive instead.
I.E. the teacher explains a situation where your friend looks over at a ramen restaurant and says, "I'd really like to eat Ramen..."
Other American says: See! How on earth are you supposed to know what people want???? Why can't they just tell you directly?!
Me: Um, your friend is saying she wants to eat ramen. That means she wants to eat ramen. How is that not clear????
At the end of the class, the last question on our quiz was, "Which restaurant is better? A delicious but expensive restaurant, or an expensive but delicious restaurant?"
I managed to get the right answer, which was that the last adjective had the strongest emphasis. So I turned to the other American and said, "See?? Now you can understand. Japanese people don't say they hate a restaurant. They just say it's delicious BUT expensive. It's clear!" Meanwhile, the teacher started nodding, so I think I got it right. But the other American was unconvinced...
I.E. the teacher explains a situation where your friend looks over at a ramen restaurant and says, "I'd really like to eat Ramen..."
Other American says: See! How on earth are you supposed to know what people want???? Why can't they just tell you directly?!
Me: Um, your friend is saying she wants to eat ramen. That means she wants to eat ramen. How is that not clear????
At the end of the class, the last question on our quiz was, "Which restaurant is better? A delicious but expensive restaurant, or an expensive but delicious restaurant?"
I managed to get the right answer, which was that the last adjective had the strongest emphasis. So I turned to the other American and said, "See?? Now you can understand. Japanese people don't say they hate a restaurant. They just say it's delicious BUT expensive. It's clear!" Meanwhile, the teacher started nodding, so I think I got it right. But the other American was unconvinced...
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Yukata
This year one of my goals was to buy a yukata and wear it to a summer festival. If I'm being really honest, my goal was to wear the yukata and transform into a beautiful angel butterfly unstoppable explosion of kawaii. Which, as far as is humanly possible, I'm also fairly content with. In realistic terms this meant I was able to find a pattern that I didn't look too dorky wearing, and I was able to correctly assemble the yukata after watching tutorials on Youtube. But I'll tell it my way.
These are the things you will need to successfully wear a Yukata:
One yukata set (includes robe, obi, geta, and ties) (expensive) (colors MUST MATCH)
One special yukata purse in a color that matches everything else
(also expensive but at least I got a discount for buying the other set)
One hair accessory that also matches everything else
(Twenty bucks???? You've gotta be kidding me...Fine.)
An under robe...Nah, scratch that. No one will see it.
Nail polish that matches the straps on your geta
One folding fan (luckily I had one)
One handkerchief (which I keep forgetting anyway)
Small hair bands which match your hair color
Various bobby pins which match your hair color
Strong hairspray
Hair wax
Band-aids for your toes because the geta will kill you otherwise
Socks not necessary, luckily
"Natural" makeup (i.e. the stuff I already had)
Once these are in order, you will be ready to go!
I had decided in advance that I preferred a black background for the yukata, but as that's the more traditional style there were still a ton of patterns to choose from. For some reason, I didn't want to buy without getting a second opinion, so my bud Souichirou ended up being an audience to all my fluctuations. (Haha, sorry dude! It didn't take too long, really!)
I basically poked through two rows of yukata and picked out one bright pattern and one plainer one, both of which I tried on. Although Souichirou was in favor of the brighter one, I chose the plainer one, because if I'm not going to totally ignore people's advice, why bother getting a second opinion, amirite? But the more I look at the one I ended up buying, the more I like it, so overall it turned out to be a good choice. There are lots of nice prints out there, but I think my instincts were accurate.
Choosing the geta and obi weren't too hard, since purple was the obvious choice. Unfortunately the smallest geta size was 24-26 centimeters, when the last pair of shoes I bought was 22.5 centimeters. You'd think in Japan shoes would be small enough... Then the only thing left was to get a purse, and again there was one purple one that matched. I bought the hair clip later during the week.
On Tuesday I looked up Youtube and Wikihow for how to put on a Yukata. It took about an hour and three tries to get comfortable with it. The part that's hardest (and I couldn't have done without the video) was pulling the folds out after tying the robe around my waist. It's a weird process because you feel like you're ruining what you just made, but that's what really adjusts the length of the hem. In the end it was pretty cool to realize I could take this large piece of fabric and fold it to match my body.
At this point I also realized that the obi in my set is a cheat. The bow is a clip on, so you just have to wind the band and you're done. I guess tying the bow is pretty difficult. I am perfectly happy with this arrangement because it's one less thing to deal with. Only now I can tell who on the street has a real obi and who's faking it like me. Anytime the bow is too perfect and sticks up too much, it's definitely a clip-on.
On Thursday I did a practice run of everything including braiding my hair just to see how long it would take. Not too difficult.
In case anyone's wondering what I did in lieu of the under robe... (Not that anyone's wondering, of course.) In addition to usual undergarments I wore spats and an undershirt that's meant for ventilation. I didn't want to get to sweaty. So underneath all that in the photo, I sort of look like I'm ready to go to the gym.
It's Saturday today, and so far I've gone to the festival twice. On Friday I met my friend Kelly and we went to the shrine and did puri kura. Today I hung out with my friends Kanon and Yuta, and Kanon's other friend. It was pretty crowded, but I can't walk that fast anywhere, so in a way the crowds don't matter so much!
The most useful thing I learned was that you can adjust the hem of the Yukata to any length you want--about in the range from mid-calf to the top of your feet. On Friday I tried to copy the instruction manual exactly and I could barely walk, and I was deathly afraid that the whole thing would come untucked. Tonight I made the skirt just a few inches higher and that made a big difference. I could move more freely, and the skirt never felt like it was going to fall down.
Both my sharemate Yoko and my friend Kanon were surprised to hear I had put everything on myself. Yoko said, "Kanpeki!" (perfect) And Kanon said it looked like a Japanese person had done it. Now I have mastered a valuable life skill.
As I was walking to meet my friends tonight, two men in their 30s or 40s were looking at me at the intersection. When I noticed them, they gave me the thumbs-up. Luckily, all my feedback has been that positive.
These are the things you will need to successfully wear a Yukata:
One yukata set (includes robe, obi, geta, and ties) (expensive) (colors MUST MATCH)
One special yukata purse in a color that matches everything else
(also expensive but at least I got a discount for buying the other set)
One hair accessory that also matches everything else
(Twenty bucks???? You've gotta be kidding me...Fine.)
An under robe...Nah, scratch that. No one will see it.
Nail polish that matches the straps on your geta
One folding fan (luckily I had one)
One handkerchief (which I keep forgetting anyway)
Small hair bands which match your hair color
Various bobby pins which match your hair color
Strong hairspray
Hair wax
Band-aids for your toes because the geta will kill you otherwise
Socks not necessary, luckily
"Natural" makeup (i.e. the stuff I already had)
Once these are in order, you will be ready to go!
I had decided in advance that I preferred a black background for the yukata, but as that's the more traditional style there were still a ton of patterns to choose from. For some reason, I didn't want to buy without getting a second opinion, so my bud Souichirou ended up being an audience to all my fluctuations. (Haha, sorry dude! It didn't take too long, really!)
I basically poked through two rows of yukata and picked out one bright pattern and one plainer one, both of which I tried on. Although Souichirou was in favor of the brighter one, I chose the plainer one, because if I'm not going to totally ignore people's advice, why bother getting a second opinion, amirite? But the more I look at the one I ended up buying, the more I like it, so overall it turned out to be a good choice. There are lots of nice prints out there, but I think my instincts were accurate.
Choosing the geta and obi weren't too hard, since purple was the obvious choice. Unfortunately the smallest geta size was 24-26 centimeters, when the last pair of shoes I bought was 22.5 centimeters. You'd think in Japan shoes would be small enough... Then the only thing left was to get a purse, and again there was one purple one that matched. I bought the hair clip later during the week.
On Tuesday I looked up Youtube and Wikihow for how to put on a Yukata. It took about an hour and three tries to get comfortable with it. The part that's hardest (and I couldn't have done without the video) was pulling the folds out after tying the robe around my waist. It's a weird process because you feel like you're ruining what you just made, but that's what really adjusts the length of the hem. In the end it was pretty cool to realize I could take this large piece of fabric and fold it to match my body.
At this point I also realized that the obi in my set is a cheat. The bow is a clip on, so you just have to wind the band and you're done. I guess tying the bow is pretty difficult. I am perfectly happy with this arrangement because it's one less thing to deal with. Only now I can tell who on the street has a real obi and who's faking it like me. Anytime the bow is too perfect and sticks up too much, it's definitely a clip-on.
On Thursday I did a practice run of everything including braiding my hair just to see how long it would take. Not too difficult.
In case anyone's wondering what I did in lieu of the under robe... (Not that anyone's wondering, of course.) In addition to usual undergarments I wore spats and an undershirt that's meant for ventilation. I didn't want to get to sweaty. So underneath all that in the photo, I sort of look like I'm ready to go to the gym.
It's Saturday today, and so far I've gone to the festival twice. On Friday I met my friend Kelly and we went to the shrine and did puri kura. Today I hung out with my friends Kanon and Yuta, and Kanon's other friend. It was pretty crowded, but I can't walk that fast anywhere, so in a way the crowds don't matter so much!
The most useful thing I learned was that you can adjust the hem of the Yukata to any length you want--about in the range from mid-calf to the top of your feet. On Friday I tried to copy the instruction manual exactly and I could barely walk, and I was deathly afraid that the whole thing would come untucked. Tonight I made the skirt just a few inches higher and that made a big difference. I could move more freely, and the skirt never felt like it was going to fall down.
Both my sharemate Yoko and my friend Kanon were surprised to hear I had put everything on myself. Yoko said, "Kanpeki!" (perfect) And Kanon said it looked like a Japanese person had done it. Now I have mastered a valuable life skill.
As I was walking to meet my friends tonight, two men in their 30s or 40s were looking at me at the intersection. When I noticed them, they gave me the thumbs-up. Luckily, all my feedback has been that positive.
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