Happy Birthday to Me

Last Friday was my birthday. Coincidentally, it was also the same day as the welcome party for the new pre-school teacher. I tried to avoid going, but the ladies are really hard to refuse! We met in the bar of the hotel and ate there. I’m not sure why, but some of those mom’s really enjoy their beer, so maybe they just didn’t want to waste any time. Who knows? We chatted a bit and ate. Ridge’s teacher shared some funny stories about him. She said he only speaks Japanese at school, now! It’s amazing. He’s so good at figuring out what someone is saying by using situational context.

Unlike the last pre-school mother party that I attended, this one was a more mellow affair. I thought it was funny, though, that one lady, Reiko (she’s sort of the “leader of the pack” – a very strong personality) saw fit to inform anyone and everyone who joined our party late that it was my birthday. This would then elicit a new round of “Happy Birthday!” toasts. About two hours into our event, a party of older men came into the bar for what I can only assume was their “second party”. Some of them seemed pretty drunk and it was funny to see the surprised looks on their faces when the walked into the bar and spied our group of about a dozen women. It wasn’t long before a couple of the more drunk ones came over with their wine and brandy to share.

I should stop and explain something. It is completely permissible to bring your own alcohol and food into the bar if you are having a party. Several times, when we have gone to the bar for “second party” people will bring alcohol that was not opened (i.e. wine or Chu-Hi, which is like a wine cooler) and leftovers. For the moms’ party, someone brought snacks for after the main meal. When the men came in, they brought their own wine. The man with the brandy purchased the bottle previously, from the bar, and this is what he is given when he comes into the bar. You can tell this because it has his name written on it with permanent marker. There’s a whole line of such bottles behind the counter in the bar.

Anyway, I was tired and began thinking of going home. The conversation was a bit strained for me because the best English speakers of the mothers were both sick and couldn’t come. So, I tried to let Reiko know I was tired and would be leaving. I don’t think she heard me, because she then asked me why I was standing up with my dictionary. As soon as she figured out I wanted to leave, she announced to the entire bar that it was my birthday and we should sing the birthday song. So, I was sung happy birthday by a group of non-English speaking Japanese mothers and drunk old Japanese men. What more could a person ask for?

Ah, but it gets better! After they finished singing, I could see something was up, but the only English I could hear was, “wait just a moment”. The drunken guys were talking up a storm and I saw someone handing around a gift-giving envelope. When someone is given a money gift, it is put into a special kind of envelope. It seemed that one of the men from the party had been given such a gift, and they were trying to decide if they should re-use the envelope and put something in it for me. The most common gift Japanese people give each other is cash. Funny, eh? Anyway, I started to get pretty nervous, because the last thing I wanted was for people to take up a collection right in front of me. I didn’t need a birthday present that badly! Fortunately, one of my buds from the Yakuba staff (he’s the one who always tries to get me to sing a Carpenters song during karaoke time) saved the day. While the drunken men were foundering, he had dashed out and bought a box of sakura mochi from the (closed) gift shop. I guess he convinced the night duty desk clerk to sell him some despite it being after hours. Sakura Mochi is a sweet treat that is cherry flavored, made of rice, and has the consistency of firm putty. Actually, it’s really good. So, who needs a birthday cake when you have a box of sakura mochi given to you by a group of drunk Japanese men in the bar of the village hotel while partying with your children’s teachers? I can say with certainty that I will never forget this particular birthday!

On a final birthday related note, you might find it interesting to learn that my friend Aya and one of the 3rd grade (9th) middle school students have the same birthday as me! Three people in one building - I think it’s amazing!