Election Talk and Fiesta Mexicana

I finally investigated the lack of buzz over the recent election. It was quite difficult to discuss given the language barrier because I do not possess the specialized vocabulary needed to converse about politics, and those with whom I spoke had a limited knowledge of the relevant English vocabulary. I asked a fellow exchange student's host father and my host brother why no one discusses the election and they said that there is much apathy in regard to the newly elected party's ability to instill change. Some people apparently believe that no changes (I'm assuming in regard to the economy and demographic dilemma) will come about. My host brother also emphasized a lack of enthusiasm for the newly elected prime minister. From what I understood based on my limited language skills, my friend's host father said the candidates who run for prime minister are chosen from within the party as opposed to by the general public, so these candidates do not always have the support of the public, thus leading to a lack of enthusiasm for the political scene once the candidate is in office.

The above discussion took place at the "Fiesta Mexicana 2009" in Osaka. Today I rode the train to Osaka with my host mother and host brother, and we met up with a fellow exchange student and his family, which includes a mother and father, a seventeen-year-old son, a thirteen-year-old daughter, and a four-year-old son. The mother is Peruvian, so I already have found a companion with whom I may speak Spanish! Her seventeen-year-old son also speaks Spanish very well, so I practiced with him at the festival. When we entered the festival area, we witnessed children whacking a piñata, which soon after spilled open, pouring Japanese crackers and sweets on the stage floor. The next activity featured a mariachi band, and later there were Japanese women dressed in colorful dresses performing a traditional Mexican dance. When they started teaching the crowd the macarena, I jumped up and joined the crowd onstage for my first dance experience in Japan. I also experienced my first exotic food today: chicken bone and either ligament or tendon. I think I ate chicken ligament, but I shall check the Japanese spelling and look the word up in the dictionary.