When I started this experiment, I thought it’d be nice to update frequently. Unfortunately, my life isn’t all that eventful. I’ve only had a few times when this experiment could have been fully utilized. Therefore, I’m crunching the first six days of Mizunashi Mode into this single post, unlike lolikit who has posted nearly every day.

The first few days actually went fairly well. I noticed myself being much nicer, although I often became too tired and cranky during the evenings. I won’t say there was anything particularly notable. I did feel uncomfortable with friends, however; it makes a tad awkward when I act almost completely different to my normal behavior.

During the first few days, I struggled with each and every action; “Would Akari do this?” “Is this something wonderful?” “Should I be doing that?” But those questions eventually disappeared because I quickly learned that I can still act myself and joke around with people, as long as I didn’t go too far and (unintentionally) insult them. I tried to refrain from swearing and raging.

These first few days of (mostly) suteki~ behavior quickly grew into frustration and tiredness. On Monday and Tuesday (August 4 and 5), I forgot about Mizunashi Mode for most of each day and felt guilty about it. I suppose that I also felt frustrated that I didn’t push myself into situations in which I talked to people (because I had no real reason to go outside!).

Yesterday I went out to a cafe by myself around dusk, hoping to perhaps start a chat with a stranger. Unfortunately, no other customer was there. I produced a book from my bag and started reading and noticed some other customers entering. None of them really allowed me the opportunity or ability to talk to them; some were simply buying something and leaving, others couldn’t speak English well at all, and one person in particular I wanted to avoid (my calculus professor… whose class I dropped). I was saddened by the lack of conversation, even though it was mostly fault for not initiating any talks.

I have been greeting people on the street. It’s nice to see a person smile back at you, as if he or she appreciates the gesture. The only difficult time to do this is when I see a Korean mother or grandma walking down; Korean people in particular I don’t know how to react. It’s somewhat easy to tell if one is a FOB or not, and it’s somewhat awkward to say hello to a non-fluent English speaker because they seem to expect a more respectful greeting.

Documenting close calls and un-wonderful behavior is difficult, mostly because I tend to forget little events. But I’m only human, and I have to say that I’ve had too many un-wonderful thoughts and acted un-wonderfully many times. I’ll try to do a better job of it, with more detail, in the following days.

As far as wonderful observations go, I’ve yet to really make any noteworthy ones. The only thing that I feel has any worth is that a person’s day can turn around with a smile. A rather angry looking woman walked past me a few days ago, and I smiled and said “hello”; she put on a look of surprise and smiled. She said hello to me and thanked me for saying hello. Then it was my turn to be surprised; I simply shook my head and laughed nervously. We awkwardly exchanged a few more words, and it seemed like she was glad someone actually talked to her today. I can’t prove it, but at least I gave her a moment of happiness or whatever joy she felt.

Maybe I’m just not putting enough effort into this as I should. Don’t expect posts this weekend; I’m going camping with my church youth group. Maybe I’ll have some interesting tales from there.

This post is tagged aria, lolikitsune, mizunashi mode