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As I had my breakfast this morning *cough cough* (it wasn’t really morning anymore, and then again, it wasn’t much of a breakfast either) I remembered that I had a terrible, terrible dream last night. In order to understand why I might have had such a nightmare, I decided to reflect back on the events of yesterday and try to look for the trigger that might have launched me into such an ugly scenario.

<<Rewind to Events of Yesterday>>

<<Hit Play Button>>

Event Number One: I went to Ueno, and walked around the market there. As a Bahraini trying to relate what he sees in Japan to what he has seen while growing up in Bahrain, I find the old market in Ueno to be the closest thing in Tokyo to a variation of Bahrain’s Sooq Al-Maqasees, Sooq Al-Samach and Sooq Al-Manama (for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I highly recommend you visit Bahrain and make a stop in these places). The two things I purchased there were: ONE: A coconut, out of which I drank its juice after it was hammered through with a screwdriver. It was the FIRST coconut I ever had that tasted BAD. I ended up throwing the coconut without drinking up all the juice or eating it. What a waste of 200 yen. TWO: A new BOOKBAG to help prepare myself for the new academic year (that begins on AUGUST 30th!) I haven’t bought myself a new bookback since my second year in highschool. Would you believe that? I just thought that FINALLY buying a bag SPECIFICALLY for the use of carrying my books to and from class would bring me good luck like it did when I was in highschool When I was doing my Bachelor’s in the States, I just used the bag I bought when I was in highschool. I still have my bagfrom highschool with me, but it’s showing signs of being worn out. This bag I had since highschool doesn’t do a good job in keeping rainwater AWAY from my books, either. As it rains in Tokyo a little too much for my liking, I decided to get something better this time around… and so I did.

Event Number Two: On the way back to Kunitachi - my “home-town” for now - I made a stop in Koenji Station, which is along the same line I was riding. In Koenji, there was a big festival - the Awa Odori (translates to “Dance of the Fools”). I decided to get off the train and take a quick look. Apparently, this festival is to celebrate the dead. Just how do they celebrate the dead in Japan? And how are festivals run in Japan? Basically, by DANCING and singing REALLY happily and loudly. THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of men, women and children; dancing in a realllllly strange and almost insane way - proceding in VERY organized lines. It brought to my attention that the closest thing in Bahrain to such an event would be the “Aza” event in the holy month of Muharram (on the Islamic Calander), where thousands of men would procede in organized lines, beating themselves out of sadness for innocent lives lost in the name of “politics”/”religion”. What a dichotomy: Bahrain’s festivals of mourning have an atmosphere of black sorrow, while in Japan it’s all about singing and dancing (and alcohol).

Hmmm.. I’m still not sure whether it was the events of the day that led me to have that nightmare? Or was it that yucky coconut?