Gakusei Travels

夜遊びに行きます!

So, right after the festival I had to run and do a quick wardrobe change because I was going to a gala ( ^ω^ ). Today was a very busy day lol. I’ve literally been all over Tokyo.

The African American Heritage Association at the Yokota Airbase was hosting a gala in honor of Juneteenth. Sienna and her mom invited me to go and bought my ticket, so I really had no excuse not to go lol. I actually have several formal gala style dresses at home but I didn’t think to bring any to Japan! I found a cute dress on Amazon Japan for around $47. I was so paranoid it wouldn’t fit, because the sizing are different here and I wouldn’t know how to return it. I was comparing size charts on Google and ordered a medium, which luckily fit perfectly. It wasn’t even too long so I didn’t need it hemmed. I wear the same size shoe as Shoushawana and was able to borrow a pair of heels.

Since I was coming straight from the festival, I did my make up before I left the dorm and brought my overnight bag with me. So yeah I rolled around a mini suitcase all day lol. The event started at 6PM, and I know how I can take too long to get ready, so I wanted to prepare as early as possible. I got to Sienna’s place around 4:30, which was more than enough time to change, touch up my make up, get my visitor pass for the base and arrive to the event on time.

The venue was really pretty. A lot of the decorations were purple with lights and floral accents. I, of course, got introduced to a lot of the people Sienna works with on base, all names that I forgot almost instantly. Not going to lie, I lowkey followed Sienna around like a lost duck most of the time lol. We did take a lot of pictures and then…

The open bar opened up.

I think Sienna had more fun than me with it. I just never know what to order at an and so I always just get a tequila sunrise even though I don’t really like orange juice. It’s just sweet which is why I default to getting it. I actually only ended up only having two drinks at the event. I did not want to drink too much and act a fool in front of a bunch of people I don’t know T_T. Also, the water they had tasted like tap water, so I was trying not to drink too much to avoid having to drink water.

Anyway, the official program didn’t start until seven after around an hour of mingling. Shoushawana actually gave a few opening words to start the event as she is the vice president of the association, which was pretty exciting to be able to support her for that. The program itself was fairly lowkey in my opinion. They talked about the history and importance of Juneteenth as well as the overall theme for the gala they were focusing on: black resilience. They also had a little raffle going on. Of course I didn’t win anything lol

Dinner was also soo good. It was buffet style and I’m going to be honest, that was probably the most balanced meal I’ve had since coming to Japan…I hoped I didn’t look greedy with how much food I put on my plate. They actually had so many leftovers that they started boxing food up for people to take home. So a win is a win.

The program concluded around 8 actually. From 8-10 it went from formal gala to block party lol. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc as are Sienna and her mom. Some of the other attendees were also D9 members. I met one of the men from Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. There was a gentleman from Kappa Alpha Psi, a few women from Delta Sigma Theta and a woman from Alpha Kappa Alpha. So a lot of the music changed up to cater towards what you would typically hear at a homecoming party lol.

It was fun. I danced around a little bit. I still do not know the footwork to Can’t Get Enough by Tamia. One of these day imma get it down. It’s also so funny how after the formal part was over, all the women, myself included, either changed from their heels into something flat or took them off completely (I did not have a change of shoes so I was walking around barefoot).

After the event ended there was an after party going on at this place nearby off base called Club 23. It honestly wasn’t what I think of to be a club. It’s more of a lounge. While the music was cool, most of the crowd was older than Sienna and I, so we didn’t really vibe with anyone. And honestly after an hour of loud music pounding in my ears, I had a headache and was ready to go lol. I’m such an introvert.

I’ve had my fair share of social interactions today. Sienna and I left early and did a quick 7/11 run (it’s soo cool at night once the trains stop running) before heading back to her place and calling it a night. It’s been a long day, my feet hurt, and I’m ready to get underneath my blankets.

In fact, it’s literally 3 o’clock in the morning as I finish writing this up…