OUA Festival part 1

Art festival diary, part one:

As I walked towards OUA I heard a petit voice wail in my direction: "SA-MU." Oh sweet god, is that a girl on a motor scooter asking me if I want to ride with her to school? Is that a matching helmet with a star on it? Perfect?

Well, almost. Unfortunately the adorable-ness of Hitomi's scooter/helmet combo was outgunned by the piercing wail of her voice as she crossed the line from giggly to insane. I've found that people here frequently use laughter to cover up their embarassment at not being able to speak enough english. With Hitomi it's something far beyond that. And uncontrollable compulsion, perhaps - maybe prelude to some kind of seizure.

Later I realized that I had never met Hitomi before. How she knew my name is beyond me. I'm keeping my windows shut and locked from now on.

I managed to explain to her that I had to meet my friends - I think she got the message. After walking a bit down the street I ran down a back path to avoid an awkward wave. See, all that exploring paid off in the end.

I met up with Joyce and Ariyana and the three of us went to the festival.

More to come in part II! Including some pictures!