Mita Festival

Good morning! I have just come back from the Mita Festival! There was food and entertainment and discussion seminars...Not that I experienced much of it...These three pictures are the only material proof I have that I went to the Mita Festival and I took them in the morning before anything started, so it's not much. 

 These were the food stalls where different clubs or circles sold food for club funds. I decided to try lots of different festival food so over the span of two days, I had a cinnamon churro (I usually don't like churros, but this was so good), a chocolate banana, a chocolate banana crepe (not so good...they're better in Shibuya or Harajuku), fried ice cream (I've always thought this sounded gross but this was actually delicious), and a hot green tea milk bubble tea (okay but I mostly just bought it because I was freezing my hands off--lately it's gotten really cold!).

This was the stage where bands and other performances were held.

So, why didn't I experience much of it? Why have I done none of the traveling and studying that I thought I would do during this week break?

Because I was drawing portraits at the manga club booth for three days. And that's realistic portraits, not anime style...Englehardt would be so proud. Not only was it more popular than I thought it would be, but it was unexpectedly a tiring job, too. Even though I was pretty much just sitting, I was there from 9am-7pm each day with little to no break. I was exhausted at the end of each day, but I feel like it was a really interesting and unique experience. I got to see lots of different faces, talk to lots of different people, and have the priviledge of giving those people a memory of the festival.

It was awkward at first to draw people, because as the artist, you're kind of getting intimate with that other person as you familiarize yourself with their face. I like including the tiny details in each person's face--especially the tiny moles or freckles--which means that I had to look the person straight in the eye and examine the person's face, see the way their face is formed and their mouth curves. This is especially embarrassing when the person is a guy and/or is attractive. Normally, people aren't supposed to stare, so being given the priviledge to stare at pretty people and take in all their features was fun. Actually, the guys I drew were probably the most embarrassed. They would get so tense or look really cool and nonchalant until I talked to them and they would smile really bashfully. It was kind of funny.

Then, it was the best feeling when people were super happy with their potrait. There was this one girl who's face was flecked with moles, so it was so much fun to draw her face. She was so happy with the picture, that she gave me a pastry from her bag as a thanks. Then there was this maybe 10 year old boy who, when his mom said to make sure the portrait was cool, sat in front of me so composed and wasn't afraid to look me in the eye as I drew him. He was so cute and the perfect model. When his mom checked up on him, she complimented how well he was sitting, and he got this super proud and happy face on. He was really so cute. They were both really happy with the final portrait, too, and gave me a vanilla candy♪

Today, I met this old man who kind of flirted with me...Maybe it was just in a nice way, but anyways...He was apparently in love with Kyoto, so he wrote a list of places I should go there. Then, there were these two guys from Tokyo University (known for smart students, Harvard level uni). They were really fun to talk to. The one I was drawing was pretty good looking and his friend who was drawn by the girl next to me was apparently ranked top 10 of his class. At one point, the girl next to me, asked the guy she was drawing if he had a girlfriend (she's so bold...) so I thought it would be okay and asked the guy I had if he had a girlfriend. He said no and then asked me if I had a boyfriend (yes! my first time I've been asked! haha). I said no but told him I didn't know why he didn't have a girlfriend, since he's good looking and he got embarrassed tehe♪

Also, the manga members were all so nice to me. They kept checking up on me to see if I was okay, and they brought me drinks, and they noticed when my friends came today and asked me about it. I also met two new girl members who were really nice, too--Kei-san and Sei-san. As today was the last day, we went to celebrate at an izakaya (japanese bar) in Akihabara which was lots of food plus all you can drink for two hours for 2000yen! Super cheap. I pretty much talked to the guy who's pretty been my texting buddy since I don't have any of the other club member's mail address--Niizuma-san--the whole time. He drank lots of beer and got really talkative. I was so happy to be talked to haha...my little happinesses. He was also really considerate of me and when someone said a word, he would ask me if I knew what it meant, and if I didn't, he would explain it to me. I love the manga club! They're all so nice! I'm the only foreigner in the club so it's kind of a weird experience, but it's really nice to be excepted by so many people, not to mention that it's a real immersion experience.

Anyways, this whole experience was so much fun. In a way, even without picture proof, I feel like in these past 3 days I've experienced something so unique, I've left a precious part of me in Japan, and I've made great memories!