Fight-o!
I admit I have not written for a long time, and for that I apologize (but only if it actually offends you, which it probably doesn’t). I have been busy since I wrote last, it has simply not been a case of the lazies.
After writing in the blog last Monday, March 14th, I made reservations. This may not seem like a feat by any means; however, I ask you this: How many of you non-Japanese speakers have tried to make a reservation with a non-English speaker? I felt very accomplished and am scratching it off my list of things to do while in Japan. The reservation is for a ferry down to a small island 20 hours south of us by ferry (4 hours north of Okinawa). Cristina and I just wanted to relax this Golden Week and have chosen to go to this island famous for its resorts and crystal clear waters. Every year Yoron Island has a marathon. Since the island is so small, you have to run around it twice. Rather than spending the money on an expensive resort, we are staying with the local ALT, David, who has offered us some tatami space. I am extremely excited. We may also make it down to Okinawa for a couple of days since it is only a 4 hour ferry ride. As for the reservations, they were a bit confusing to make, so I think I may have a Japanese person double check that we have indeed reserved our spaces. (Would that still count?)
Tuesday, I went to Kishira Junior High for their graduation. The six 3rd graders were graduating and moving on their respective ways to high schools in different cities or becoming a fisherman. I dressed up in a suit this day and really got everyone’s attention. Everyone couldn’t believe it. They were scared I was going to show up in my usual pair of jeans, so they had made sure to tell me the day before to wear a tie (at least). I exceeded expectations to say the least. It was really sad seeing them leave. I had to walk in the procession with the Board of Education, but then returned to the gym 10 minutes later to take pictures with everyone. One boy was particularly happy to see me because his father refused to take any pictures with him because his mother (they’re divorced) had come to see her son graduate. I didn’t find this out till later that week.
Wednesday, I went to Uchinoura Elementary School. I also went jogging on the Kushira Marathon course that we will run in less than two weeks.
Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day, I went to the Uchinoura Ginga Arena Training Room (literally in the room above the one I work in). It was really cool because the trainer was there from Kagoshima City and helped me out since no one was there to give a test too. He has become somewhat of a friend and has promised to help me out when he comes on Thursdays. I was also invited by the kid about my age that works at the training room to visit his father’s shop for some sashimi. He randomly comes to wherever I am and usually tells me ‘Gambare, Fight-o’ and then does something like increasing the elevation of the treadmill. It’s great. Since the beginning of this week, I have been keeping an activity log to help me stay on track with exercising and training for all these races. It has really been helping me and motivating me to ‘fight-o’.
Friday, I went to Kishira Junior High. It was the same as always except the 3rd graders were no longer there and it was the last English class of the term. For a bit of fun, I played ping pong for one of the classes. It was great and I happened to surprise everyone (including myself). After getting home, I ran almost 11k in about 63 minutes. Woo hoo!
Saturday, we had to go to Kanoya for the gym test at the Wellness Plaza. It was completely ridiculous. I felt like if I was on an episode of Double Dare. They had everything from a reaction test with red lights flashing in your face to a shuttle run to the tune of do re mi fa so la ti do. The people were very nice and patient with us and did not treat us differently because we’re foreigners. As for our score on the test, both Cristina and I failed in comparison to people ages 20-64. I failed in comparison to people my own age. Cristina scored a D in comparison to people her own age (only because she scored so well on the flexibility test). After the gym, we went for a hearty lunch at the KFC not too far from the gym. Chicken in a flour tortilla…. Mmm… mmm… good.
Sunday we went to Kagoshima City. The following Monday was a holiday so we could stay over at Alex’s after the big St. Patrick’s Day party. It was great. We saw lots of people we had not seen for a while and met lots of new people. We also drank some Guiness (from a can, not the same). As you could imagine, we wore green and danced an Irish jig. We ended the night with a trip to MOS Burger (the Japanese McDonalds). Between you and me, it wasn’t my first trip to MOS Burger that night.
Monday it was Vernal Equinox. So, we enjoyed the day by going to the new Tex-Mex restaurant, Green Bay, opened by an American in Kagoshima City. It was good. I had the Mexican Plate that had an incredible chicken enchilada. After that, we tried some Baskin Robbins. A scoop of Jamocha Amond Fudge and Strawberry Cheesecake later, we went on the big Ferris Wheel atop of Amu Plaza. It was a beautiful day to ride it. You could see all the way to Kirishima and Sakurajima. We actually ended up riding on one of the two completely clear cars. It takes 15 minutes to get all the way around. After that, we went to the movie theater for the first time to see Bridget Jones 2. The theater was nice but there was no air circulating which made it the right temperature for winter, but extremely stuffy. They are assigned stadium seats like in Europe. Afterward, we stopped to get some international foods at the grocery store in the basement before heading home.
Tuesday, yesterday, I went to Uchinoura Junior High. The highlight of my day was playing basketball with the 2nd graders during recess. I have done this for 2 weeks now. I have been much happier now that I have bought my indoor sneakers. I think some of the kids are a bit afraid of me however, since I have tripped quite a few of them and hit them in the nose or some other embarrassing part (not private!). After school, we went with Kaz to the Kushira course to run the full 10K. We ended up taking a few detours, but still figuring out the course. Kaz and I ran over 10K in about 63 minutes and Cristina came in 10 minutes after us. Cristina was extremely excited since it was the first time that she ran the entire 10K without stopping.
That brings me to today. I am stressing about filing taxes. I also have to go to the post office to deposit the $2,500 that has been in my backpack for the past 5 days (something you would never do in the States). I also have to send out a few post cards and pay a few bills, all of which is done at the post office. Later today, we are going to the Kanoya Wellness Plaza for our first introduction to the weight machines and safety and all that stuff.
By the way, as of Monday Cristina no longer has Yahoo BB. Therefore, please do not expect a phone call or pictures from us for some time (until she gets it back). This also means that we only have internet access at work.
After writing in the blog last Monday, March 14th, I made reservations. This may not seem like a feat by any means; however, I ask you this: How many of you non-Japanese speakers have tried to make a reservation with a non-English speaker? I felt very accomplished and am scratching it off my list of things to do while in Japan. The reservation is for a ferry down to a small island 20 hours south of us by ferry (4 hours north of Okinawa). Cristina and I just wanted to relax this Golden Week and have chosen to go to this island famous for its resorts and crystal clear waters. Every year Yoron Island has a marathon. Since the island is so small, you have to run around it twice. Rather than spending the money on an expensive resort, we are staying with the local ALT, David, who has offered us some tatami space. I am extremely excited. We may also make it down to Okinawa for a couple of days since it is only a 4 hour ferry ride. As for the reservations, they were a bit confusing to make, so I think I may have a Japanese person double check that we have indeed reserved our spaces. (Would that still count?)
Tuesday, I went to Kishira Junior High for their graduation. The six 3rd graders were graduating and moving on their respective ways to high schools in different cities or becoming a fisherman. I dressed up in a suit this day and really got everyone’s attention. Everyone couldn’t believe it. They were scared I was going to show up in my usual pair of jeans, so they had made sure to tell me the day before to wear a tie (at least). I exceeded expectations to say the least. It was really sad seeing them leave. I had to walk in the procession with the Board of Education, but then returned to the gym 10 minutes later to take pictures with everyone. One boy was particularly happy to see me because his father refused to take any pictures with him because his mother (they’re divorced) had come to see her son graduate. I didn’t find this out till later that week.
Wednesday, I went to Uchinoura Elementary School. I also went jogging on the Kushira Marathon course that we will run in less than two weeks.
Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day, I went to the Uchinoura Ginga Arena Training Room (literally in the room above the one I work in). It was really cool because the trainer was there from Kagoshima City and helped me out since no one was there to give a test too. He has become somewhat of a friend and has promised to help me out when he comes on Thursdays. I was also invited by the kid about my age that works at the training room to visit his father’s shop for some sashimi. He randomly comes to wherever I am and usually tells me ‘Gambare, Fight-o’ and then does something like increasing the elevation of the treadmill. It’s great. Since the beginning of this week, I have been keeping an activity log to help me stay on track with exercising and training for all these races. It has really been helping me and motivating me to ‘fight-o’.
Friday, I went to Kishira Junior High. It was the same as always except the 3rd graders were no longer there and it was the last English class of the term. For a bit of fun, I played ping pong for one of the classes. It was great and I happened to surprise everyone (including myself). After getting home, I ran almost 11k in about 63 minutes. Woo hoo!
Saturday, we had to go to Kanoya for the gym test at the Wellness Plaza. It was completely ridiculous. I felt like if I was on an episode of Double Dare. They had everything from a reaction test with red lights flashing in your face to a shuttle run to the tune of do re mi fa so la ti do. The people were very nice and patient with us and did not treat us differently because we’re foreigners. As for our score on the test, both Cristina and I failed in comparison to people ages 20-64. I failed in comparison to people my own age. Cristina scored a D in comparison to people her own age (only because she scored so well on the flexibility test). After the gym, we went for a hearty lunch at the KFC not too far from the gym. Chicken in a flour tortilla…. Mmm… mmm… good.
Sunday we went to Kagoshima City. The following Monday was a holiday so we could stay over at Alex’s after the big St. Patrick’s Day party. It was great. We saw lots of people we had not seen for a while and met lots of new people. We also drank some Guiness (from a can, not the same). As you could imagine, we wore green and danced an Irish jig. We ended the night with a trip to MOS Burger (the Japanese McDonalds). Between you and me, it wasn’t my first trip to MOS Burger that night.
Monday it was Vernal Equinox. So, we enjoyed the day by going to the new Tex-Mex restaurant, Green Bay, opened by an American in Kagoshima City. It was good. I had the Mexican Plate that had an incredible chicken enchilada. After that, we tried some Baskin Robbins. A scoop of Jamocha Amond Fudge and Strawberry Cheesecake later, we went on the big Ferris Wheel atop of Amu Plaza. It was a beautiful day to ride it. You could see all the way to Kirishima and Sakurajima. We actually ended up riding on one of the two completely clear cars. It takes 15 minutes to get all the way around. After that, we went to the movie theater for the first time to see Bridget Jones 2. The theater was nice but there was no air circulating which made it the right temperature for winter, but extremely stuffy. They are assigned stadium seats like in Europe. Afterward, we stopped to get some international foods at the grocery store in the basement before heading home.
Tuesday, yesterday, I went to Uchinoura Junior High. The highlight of my day was playing basketball with the 2nd graders during recess. I have done this for 2 weeks now. I have been much happier now that I have bought my indoor sneakers. I think some of the kids are a bit afraid of me however, since I have tripped quite a few of them and hit them in the nose or some other embarrassing part (not private!). After school, we went with Kaz to the Kushira course to run the full 10K. We ended up taking a few detours, but still figuring out the course. Kaz and I ran over 10K in about 63 minutes and Cristina came in 10 minutes after us. Cristina was extremely excited since it was the first time that she ran the entire 10K without stopping.
That brings me to today. I am stressing about filing taxes. I also have to go to the post office to deposit the $2,500 that has been in my backpack for the past 5 days (something you would never do in the States). I also have to send out a few post cards and pay a few bills, all of which is done at the post office. Later today, we are going to the Kanoya Wellness Plaza for our first introduction to the weight machines and safety and all that stuff.
By the way, as of Monday Cristina no longer has Yahoo BB. Therefore, please do not expect a phone call or pictures from us for some time (until she gets it back). This also means that we only have internet access at work.
posted by Jesse Montano at
9:49 AM
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