Halloween and Futsal

First of all, thanks for everyone who pointed out that my mind went blank for a while when talking about trains. I have no idea why I thought weekend tickets cost more. I should know too because I have taken the Metrolink my fair share of times as well. Disregard that section of my previous post.

Let's see, Halloween was interesting but I did not dress up or go out partying. Instead, a group of friends and I had a hotpot party at my place. I guess that for me, hanging out with friends always beats partying. Then again, there was alcohol, so I guess there have been some changes. The food was delicious and thankfully, no one got drunk. Some people did get tipsy though and we played mafia combined with a batsu gemu (punishment game). The loser, either the caught mafia member or the last villager, would have to wear some cheap Halloween props we bought. Started with schoolgirl braids and went up to wearing pantyhoses on your head. Thankfully, all I had to put on were the schoolgirl braids. There really isn't that much to do in Tsukuba (not that I mind that much) and not surprisingly, people go to Tokyo often.

Another thing that happened is that I finally joined a Japanese circle/club, the Tsukuba Futsal Club! Just for people who don't know, Futsal is indoor, 5-man soccer with a ~basketball court-sized field and a slightly different ball (smaller and less bouncy). I finally had enough courage to go to one of their practices and ask them if I could play with them (even that day, I was by the field for half an hour before I was willing to approach them). I was scared that I would have communication problem but it seems that at least for sports, if you have a general idea of what to do on the field it isn't that bad. It ended up being pretty good too as I met some people who are looking to practice their English so they talk to me in English while I speak in broken Japanese. I do feel embarrassed when they compliment my Japanese though because one, it is definitely broken (it seems that most Japanese people have such low expectations that as long as you can generally understand what is going on they will think your Japanese is great). Second, when everyone keeps on asking you the same questions (where you are from, where you live, your major, how old you are, etc.), you already know how to answer them. I still can't carry on a genuine conversation with any of them.

Well, the sport itself is really fun and everyone is a lot better than I am. I play a lot of futsal when I am in Taiwan but the futsal here is on a completely different level. I kind of wondering why I like futsal so much. One of the main differences between futsal and soccer is that futsal requires a lot more quick thinking and technical skill. Yet, my mine weakness is my technical skill (I feel embarrassed that I can't really juggle a soccer ball at all). Everyone here is extremely skilled and I would not be surprised if most of them have the technical ability play college soccer in the US. Some weren't even part of their school's soccer club in HS. Not sure about their endurance but they all seem pretty fit as well. You can see that from their bodies, which they show when they all change out in the open, haha. I really hope I can improve my skills here though.