Last year there was a Halloween Party on my birthday (October 29). This was in a bar I often go to to eat (food is good, and cheap) and if you came dressed up in a funny costume the entrance fee would be halved. They told me that if I came dressed as a magician, it would not count as being in costume (since they think I am a magician). Thus, I decided to dress up as a foreigner. I spent a whole evening wandering around different costume shops looking for a "foreigner set" (a big fake nose and blue eyed stickers to put on your eyelids) and a blond wig. I also put on a very touristy t-shirt with Japanese characters saying "I love Kobe" (which is kind of weird in Sapporo).
Since the 29th was a Friday I worked in our magic bar until about 3:30 A.M. but then left for the party. When I got there all the food was (not unexpectedly) gone, but there were at least still people in funny costumes there. Some people thought the irony of it all was funny. Others just kept trying to explain to me that my nose is 高い (～Western looking) even without a fake nose! And that even when removing the blond wig, I am still blond!
Later I showed these pictures to a woman who is also a magician. She thought it was hysterical. A few months later a TV station wanted magicians for a TV show and the year before this woman was one of the 5 magicians they used. This year, she did not want to participate, so I ended up being her replacement. They actually wanted a woman, but since there are few female magicians that are good enough, they had to settle for me (and being a foreigner is also rare/weird here) instead. She told me that she wanted me to wear the blond wig/fake nose when on TV, and since I was her replacement I had to do as she said. So my TV debut in Japan had me looking more or less as above... which was a bit weird.
I am currently pondering what to wear this year. Ideas welcome!
No comments:
Post a Comment