Wakayama City Festival

Thanks for all of the positive comments! I really appreciate it, especially on the days that I'm feeling a little low. Things are good, however there are times when I feel like I am in an "English bubble" and isolated from everyone else even while I'm out in public. I think that I took for granted the ability to speak to anyone including strangers in the US. Now I can barely muster a few words to sales people. My communication consists of gestures and a lot of smiling. I do say "Sumimasen" (excuse me) and "Gomen" (I'm sorry) a lot. Oh, also "Arigato" (thanks). I plan on taking an intensive Japanes class next week. Hopefully it will build up my confidence in trying to communicate.

So this past Saturday I attended another festival with Sarah. It was in Wakayama City. It was very different from the last festival. This one didn't have any floats, but people danced up and down the street to the same looping song the entire time. It appeared that the parade participants were different businesses, so it seemed a little too commercial for my taste. I was hoping for a traditional parade. It was still lots of fun though. Click here for photos. I do have captions on the photos this time, so maybe it will explain things better. Enjoy!