Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday, I have an afternoon for me. Those are the only afternoons that I have no classes and are days that I look forward to like you wouldn't believe. For the last 4 years, I have been going to a hula class and, though I'm not "Hawaii-worthy" yet...I have improved and I will be ready for "the big island" in the future!!! I posted a bit about it back in November here...if you want to go and read a little more, please do...but come back!! :-D
To give you an idea as to just how popular hula is here in Nagasaki.....let's see...last summer at our big Hula Festival, there were 106 groups who performed....each group had at least 6 members...with the average membership being 10-12, I would guess. Our group had 23!! (and we were NOT the biggest group!!) That, my friends, is a lot of women!!
Every December, we have a special end-of-the-year luncheon at the Best Western Hotel here in the city. Not all members of each group go, but most of us do...the price for a ticket for the lunch, live music and dancing (of course!), door prizes and lots of fun is about $100....but I cough up the money and I go. It is such a fun.......and funny day.
Picture if you will.....650 women...of varying ages (but more towards the late 50's and older!!)...varying heights and sizes....and one foreigner (uh-huh...that would be me!!)...all dressed in performance outfits, flowers in our hair and leis!!! It is one of THE most colorful ways to spend a day that I have ever had the pleasure of spending!!! We laugh...whenever the band plays a song that we know, we get up and dance...but most of all, we have a wonderful time!!!
On Wednesday....I got the pictures that were taken on that day from my sensei ("teacher"). There were two tables of our group and the photographer went from table to table taking group pictures....of all the tables!!!
Here was ours......aren't we a lovely group?!?!
Our sensei is the one in the middle, sitting next to me, in black. I just love her...she thinks thatI am really a strange foreigner...but laughingly so....foreigners usually do Japanese dance, or flower arrangment, or tea ceremony or pottery...there are so many things to do here, culturally...Me? I do hula!!! She thinks that is quite funny!!!
Each of those outfits, have been worn for a performance at one place or another...we usually each choose the one that we like to wear for the party.
Oh..yeah...and we drink beer, too!!! (The big brown bottles are empties!!)
These ladies and hula have become part of my salvation....I go to class, put on my pau skirt, pin the flowers in my hair and put on my lei. When the music starts, I am no longer in Japan, but transported to another place....and I dance. Lordy Lordy...do I dance!!!
Mahalo, my friends...and good night!
10 comments:
Debbie, that is amazing!!! What a neat experience, imagine hula dance in Japan! It sounds like such fun! And what a nice group of ladies ... I love that you drink beer. Now that's a real girls' night out LOL!
You had me with the beer!
That is SO cool! I would never know which one was you :D
What an awesome party too. And Beer woohoo, who'd a thought?
So I take it you're the blonde?
It's great to have something in your life you love that much.
I finally got my order of GS cookies and I'll be sending some your way next week. Is there anything else from over here you're craving? Let me know and I'll see if you can find it for ya!
Hula dancing in Japan???
Sounds like a fun time to me!!!
I hula danced one day at my friend's mormon church. (It was really weird. Not that I have anything against mormon's, it's just they were having like a different culture celebration thing, and yet one day my friend came to school crying because they had told her that she shouldn't be friends with islamics, and we had a really good friend who was islamic.) I didn't learnn that much. Dancing has never really been my thing, actually. Ok. Well. Goodnight!
Oh that looks like so much fun! I really admire you Debbie. You are so outgoing and vivacious.
Japanese beer is really good too.
That sounds like so much fun! I would love to learn how to do the hula. I've been to Hawaii a few times, and tried at hotels etc., but it is HARD.
The picture is great - you all look so beautiful. Especially you, my friend :)
Heidi
Aloha-
That sounds so wonderful. I love to watch hula. My girls used to take hula classes, now I wish Ihad as well. What a great experience, mahalo for sharing.
Wait, so which one are you? heh ;)
You all look lovely & joyous. What a great pasttime! To be transported by it, fantastic.
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