Good Thoughts Over Wine and Pizza

I've come to the conclusion that I look more Russian in neon lights than natural daylight. But more on that in a minute.

Tonight was my friend, William "Woodsie" Woods', birthday party. A few of our friends organized a dinner at an Italian place in Morioka, so off we went on the JR to the "big" city. We met out friends and walked to a very nice place on par with my one true love, Mountee. We were eventually joined by a few more people and after ordering beers and a DELICIOUS bottle of white wine, we "kanpaied" the evening into commencement.

After a little while and a couple pizzas, we were joined by a few more friends of friends. It was an engaging party, and everyone had a good time. Will even showed us how to bastardize a perfectly good 4Formaggia pizza with chili oil on top of the honey provided. I'm ashamed to say it was okay...but the honey is still the best topping. We ended dinner with a fabulous chocolate and raspberry pizza complete with a sparkler for Will. 29 is NOT too old for sparklers, people.

In traditional party-animal style, we headed to out second location, Sundance, the famed Tex-Mex Irish bar of Morioka. Yes, I'm sure everyone has one of these in their hometown, so you know what it's like. Self-explanatory. There are nachos. There is Guinness. 'Nuff said.

Our party was soon joined by a plethora of other Japanese with their Western friends in tow. the next couple of hours passed drunkenly happily enough. I even won a 1,000 yen ($9) bet with a Californian who thought Maryland was the "Keystone State," not Pennsylvania. I even got a beer out of it. Mom would be so proud.

I will never be caught lying and saying that I was a party animal in college. At 10:30pm, I rounded up a couple of my Japanese friends so we could catch the last train out of town. As far as I know, Will is still drinking his way from bar to bar in Morioka wearing a felt birthday cake hat.

On the train, the girls and I discussed many things including Thanksgiving. As much as Halloween and Christmas is embraced for the gastronomic opportunities and the shoppingshoppingshopping, Thanksgiving is an American tradition largely overlooked...as it understandably is in the rest of the world. However, they not only know about Thanksgiving, they're enthusiastic about it! They even know "Black Friday!" More importantly, they want to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I didn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving last year and was a bit bummed out about it, so I told them "Yes, let's celebrate together" and the plans were quickly made. I told them turkey will be substituted for chicken, but I found a place that sells cranberry sauce so we're pretty much good to go. We'll have it at Will's much larger apartment, unbeknownst to him, and all they have to bring is their zabuton, floor cushions. Will lacks for furniture.

When I got off the train in Kitakami, I was feeling nicely tipsy, but not unsteady.

Now, I've seen the video of the girl walking through New York for 10 hours being catcalled. As someone who's experienced catcalling, been told I "have a nice gait" and also that I'm "not girlfriend material," I know how shitty it feels to be objectified. I used to wish I could beat the living hell out of guys who say stuff like that. And I believe men need to be taught that it's not as complimentary as they think to harass a woman that way.

But instead of violence, I think there is a way for women to fight back without the anger and vitriol. I was craving a little snack, and decided to take a shortcut through the bar district in Kitakami, knowing full well there'd be plenty of drunken guys walking around. I saw a few guys pissing on fences and wobbling on the street. As I walked around a group of men, they caught sight of me and were a bit startled. Suddenly, they were walking with me.

"Russian beauty?" one asked me. I laughed and said no, then told them to guess. Ingirisu? (English?) No. Saibiria? (Siberian) No. I finally said "America-jin" and they said "Las Angeles?"

Then one asked me something and gave a suggestive gesture that could have been very sexual or just "karaoke." I gave him a shove, told him the equivalent of "offensive" like Harue taught me and crossed the street to the convenience store.

It wasn't until I got outside I realized they'd followed me and were standing in the parking lot. This is how I imagine their conversation went.

"Look, look. She's buying chocolate."

"So cute."

"Yuki, she's your type. Ask her to come to karaoke."

"Idiot! Shut up! You ask her!"

"Fine, I will!"

Maybe I'm flattering myself. But they did ask me where I lived. I cunningly told them I was coming from a party in Morioka. They asked where I lived.  I told them I live in Kitakami, that I'm an English teacher. No specifics. They then asked if I'd join them at karaoke. I excused myself for having a bad voice and confidently and forcefully bid them goodnight and made sure they weren't following me again.

So I believe that while verbal harassment is rude and annoying, it's not up to just men to knock that shit off, it's up to women to be confident enough in their own skin to fight back the way they see is appropriate. These guys were drunk, but since I have to maintain a reputation in this town but also they were drunk and not of their sound minds, I made the choice to firmly but congenially push them away. And in a way, this is fighting back but in a way that saves face for me and gets my point across to them without making an ugly scene.

I like to think my Grandpa would be proud.