by Jaime Ota (群馬県)
The first Block 3 meetup of 2014 was held on the sunny, crisp day of Sunday, October 19th. We all met up to make our way to lunch in Takasaki, soaking in the warmth of the sun as we walked to a nearby Bamiyan Chinese restaurant . During lunch, as we talked about our experiences back in our home countries and our lives in Japan, we discovered some common experiences among us and found unexpected ways our cultural backgrounds connected to each other. I found it fascinating that Japanese oldies music is so popular in Taiwan and was surprised that classic Japanese cartoons could be part of some of our shared childhood experiences, even though we grew up in different countries and with different cultural backgrounds!
After lunch, we headed over to Round One to play some games and sports together. We played several arcade games with and against each other — throwing plastic balls at targets on screens, hitting a barrage of multicolored pucks towards each other in air hockey, and becoming race car drivers and driving away from the driver saddled with a bomb. We also enjoyed comically fumbling through games of table tennis and billiards, though we started to get the hang of them after a few rounds. We indulged in some crane games afterwards as well, and we even managed to win a Mickey Mouse towel through our combined efforts!
Overall, it was a nice, relaxed day where we got to know each other a little better through conversation and games. It just so happened that only people living in Gunma could make it this time, but we hope that people from other Block 3 prefectures can join us next time! ◆
Asian Pacific Islander AJET 