Back in 2000 I lived in Japan for a couple of years. While I was there we would play a game as we walked the streets of Yokosuka, Yokohama, Tokyo, or wherever we happened to be.
The rules were pretty simple, such as they were. We could be deep in conversation but if a red car with a black roof came into our sights it was all over. Which is where rule number one comes into play: see the black roofed car first. Rule number two quickly followed rule number one which is to scream "FELIZ ENCUENTRO!" at the top of your lungs. Usual it's one person on the lookout for said vehicle which makes the game all the more interesting because if that person is you, you are then left with the opportunity to scare he crap out of your companions. Fun stuff! Now for the third and final rule of our game...Rule number three pinch the hell out of anyone within arms reach . The third rule usually translated into the guys tackling each other in order to get the best grip.
This game has always left me wondering about a couple of things. Even if you are not a linguist it obvious "Feliz Encuentro" is not Japanese. But then again I was hanging out with a group of Peruvians. So, it was a Peruvian game, okay got it. But translated "Feliz Encuentro" means "Happy Encounter". How does getting tackled and pinched equal to a happy encounter? Beats me but it was a simple game that never failed to keep us entertained even on during the most serious of situations.
As we ponder the profound questions of the "Feliz Encuentro" rules and meaning I'm going to add the following particularly memorable moment. As we walked around as per the usual we see not only the usual Volkswagen Beetle ( which was the usual culprit) we also saw a black gentleman deck to the nines in his red zoot suit, hat, and shoes. I admit it, I couldn't help myself. I called "Feliz Encuentro". It was just to easy what was I supposed to do?
Edited to add: Geez! How could have forgotten the slug bug/Feliz Encuentro combo. It was like a one two punch knock out combination. It was great big punch fest. Boys! They don't need a reason to fight because it's embedded it the rues of even the most innocent of games.
The rules were pretty simple, such as they were. We could be deep in conversation but if a red car with a black roof came into our sights it was all over. Which is where rule number one comes into play: see the black roofed car first. Rule number two quickly followed rule number one which is to scream "FELIZ ENCUENTRO!" at the top of your lungs. Usual it's one person on the lookout for said vehicle which makes the game all the more interesting because if that person is you, you are then left with the opportunity to scare he crap out of your companions. Fun stuff! Now for the third and final rule of our game...Rule number three pinch the hell out of anyone within arms reach . The third rule usually translated into the guys tackling each other in order to get the best grip.
This game has always left me wondering about a couple of things. Even if you are not a linguist it obvious "Feliz Encuentro" is not Japanese. But then again I was hanging out with a group of Peruvians. So, it was a Peruvian game, okay got it. But translated "Feliz Encuentro" means "Happy Encounter". How does getting tackled and pinched equal to a happy encounter? Beats me but it was a simple game that never failed to keep us entertained even on during the most serious of situations.
As we ponder the profound questions of the "Feliz Encuentro" rules and meaning I'm going to add the following particularly memorable moment. As we walked around as per the usual we see not only the usual Volkswagen Beetle ( which was the usual culprit) we also saw a black gentleman deck to the nines in his red zoot suit, hat, and shoes. I admit it, I couldn't help myself. I called "Feliz Encuentro". It was just to easy what was I supposed to do?
1 comment:
As one of your fellow gamers as described above lets not forget that we also played slug bug or punch buggy tom some. If a red beetle with a black top were to pass someone was getting to hell beat out of them. Ahhh, good times. By the way deary there much more to you than your description reveals. Happy Blogging.
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