Cosplay

There are several parks in the US where they have cherry blossoms. I never made it to Washington DC when I lived in the east coast, but I found out that Balboa Park in the Valley has cherry blossoms.

Sure enough, there were many Japanese/Asian people walking around enjoying the beautiful view. The trees actually weren't that impressive because they're a lot smaller than I remember from Japan (or maybe it's because I was smaller back then).

I expected to see a lot of Japanese people, but what I didn't expect was the costume parties. There were a bunch of people in gothic dresses, futuristic suits, etc. singing, eating, just enjoying their day in the park. Did I miss something? OH NO I FORGOT MY COSTUME...wait, I don't have any. You don't need that for Hanami. (*The people in the picture are dressed normally)

I guess it was some kind of "cosplay" thing going on. There were people posing in front of the trees with their weird-looking costumes and taking pictuers.

No offense, but I stay away from the anime freaks and cosplay people as much as possible. I'm OK with it and they should do as they please, but I guess I hated the fact that I am somehow associated with that culture just for being Japanese. It seems like Japanese girls (and guys?) are sought out for that reason.

I taught Japanese while I was in college. A lot of my students were taking the class solely for the purpose of being able to watch them without subtitles. Getting a Japanese girlfriend also becomes an essential part of learning the language. I even had one guy tell me, "I'd date any girl who'd watch anime with me." Little did they know that their fascination with anime does not make them more attractive for Japanese women, at least for me. However, it kind of worked out for a lot of Japanese girls I knew back then because they were all about finding an American boyfriend.

My students at the time were really into Evangelion and would often ask me if I like it/know about it. Evangelion wasn't around when I was in Japan so I had no clue. I can't even describe how excited they were when they find out that my name is Hiroko, same name as the singer who sings the main theme song. Then they'd sing it for me. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT FROM EVANGELION!!!!!!