The White Guy Head Nod

The white guy head nod.
Round eyes in the big city.
It's how we say hi.

The white guy head nod is really a funny phenomenon. And I've talked about it to some of my classmates and they've also noticed it, so I guess I'm not just crazy. When I see a fellow foreigner (gaijin) on the streets I feel this kind of weird kinship with them. Of course we all stick out, so foreigners are usually easy to spot. Anyway, every time we lock eyes and share a knowing look, we follow it up with the good ole head nod. Sort of to acknowledge - 'Yea, it's hard here, but we're making it.' At least that's how I take it. I'll sometimes even spot an Asian person who I imagine to be American, based on the way he's dressed, and he'll get the head nod too. My success rate there isn't as good, but I'm working on it.

So this was my first weekend in Tokyo and it was amazing. There's a part of Tokyo called Roppongi, which is the most western-friendly nightlife destination. On Friday a group of us went there without any particular plan. We started in an Irish-style pub for a few drinks, then we were corralled into a nightclub by some other Americans we had met. I was a little hesitant about it, because there was a cover of about $35 (which included 2 drinks), and it reminded me of the nightclub scene in Florence - the club hires young, good-looking Americans to lure other tourists into the club, which ends up being just like any club in the US - loud, overpriced and full of Americans. And this place was no exception, although I'll admit, I did have a really good time. I received a huge shock as I was leaving though, and the sun was already out! I didn't get home until 6 because I had a bit of a walk to get back. But it was a really great time.

Saturday was also a really fun night. It started off sort of un-promising, because a ton of students got together and went out to dinner. The only problem there was the size of the group - it was hard to find a place that could fit us all. When we finally did I was pretty happy, since I was starving. I was actually going to go home after dinner, we were in the subway station and I split off from the group to take a train home. But then I thought about it and realized that it's Saturday night and I'm in Tokyo, so I ran to catch up with everybody. I don't know how it happened, but we ended up at a Japanese guy's birthday party, which was pretty crazy. Everyone was trashed (they probably split 2 beers) and singing and carrying on, it was really fun. Then we ended up in a bar/club and hung out there, again until about 6. Then today I met for coffee with a Japanese girl I met my first day, and it was cool to spend some time talking to her. I also bought a towel, and it felt like a huge accomplishment, not speaking any Japanese. Sounds funny to say, but it did. Let's see, then today we had orientation, which was obviously boring. The program here really isn't that well organized, but that's ok. My friends and I like to remind ourselves that we're not here for school, we're here for Tokyo.

Oh, ps, the picture is the view I have from my balcony.