I took some photos of a train whizzing by at the Seijou station, forgetting that today would be a day where people would outnumber the bricks of the buildings around me 3 to 1.
I paused around Okuma Hall at about noon when I had arrived to Waseda. There was quite a commotion and people were giving, what appeared to be, grand speeches about success and the like. At 12:15 they released two flocks of balloon pigeons about the Hall, it was quite an astonishing site.
I got a free lunch, twice, on my way to practice. Lunch Boxes (Obentou) are delicious even if the English translation makes me feel like I am in elementary school again.
I mire at the notion that taking pictures of crowds of people gathered in proximity allows you to see the strange looks you get, forever captured onto digital memory.
There was a man dressed with a very realistic mask of Okuma, the founding father of Waseda University.
Oh yeah, and people put make-up on me for the performance, it didn't really show up that well but up close I fell like I was David Bowie and from far away I felt like I was in possession of very long eye lashes.
The festivities after many performances today included a parade and a bunch of famous Waseda grads giving televised wishes on a large screen, one even making a real-life appearance.
The amount of people was absolutely astonishing.
My host brother had told me this morning that we were having a meal at 8:00 tonight, I was not sure of the significance of the statement. However, I decided to return home before 8:00 but ended up being delayed and returned at 8:30-ish. I found myself in the presence of a guest from Korea, a man that had stayed with my host-family some time before. It was also a special evening because we celebrated not one, but two birthdays. My host brother and our Korean guest have birthdays on 11/3 and 11/4, we celebrated them both this evening. The food was delicious. The conversation humorous. The evening deligthful.
The cake was divine.
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