Resurrection, Dinner and a 10K Race
Some time has passed since the last update (more than 7 days). I will try to be as concise as possible without leaving out any of the interesting details.
Saturday, March 26th, Cristina and I headed to Osa’s house where we had a great chicken fajita dinner. However, I think that the highlight of the evening was getting to dye Easter eggs…something I was never able to do during my deprived childhood (MOM!!!, just kidding, I love you). Anyway, you will be happy to know that we dyed about 40 Easter eggs after a scary spill of the hot pink dye on Osa’s white kitchen table. It entertained us into the wee hours of the night (read 1 AM). We had to get up the following morning bright and early in order to go to Easter mass.
7:00 AM Easter Sunday – I am awoken by the shrill sounds of over-excited Osa, “Peter Cottontail was here. He left his tail… He hid all the eggs. Come find all the eggs. Look! I see my Easter balloon.” Apparently while we were sleeping, Peter Cottontail (read Osa) hid all the eggs and “Easter balloons” for each of us. Have you not heard of Easter balloons? Easter balloons are what “Peter Cottontail” uses to store candy in Japan (since there are no plastic Easter eggs). Cristina and I did not want to get up, but couldn’t help it from everyone’s excitement. My Easter balloon was blue and had quite a few treats including a pack of my favorite M&M’s. By 8:20, were out the door to catch the closest Easter mass.
Easter mass was interesting to say the least. It was in Japanese, but the priest was Italian. There was a Philippine baptism. Most women were wearing white lace head covers. I missed the Our Father because no one holds hands. During Peace, every one bows as they turn 360 degrees. The Virgin Mary was usually referred to as Jesus’s ‘mama’. I know this all probably sounds a bit choppy to you, but that was exactly the impression I got from the mass.
That evening, we returned to Uchinoura for dinner at the Katos. Nozomi was there (Yu-chan’s 3-year old niece), so we hid some Easter eggs and had her find them. We (read Cristina) made them Banana’s Fosters for dessert. I am still unsure of whether or not they liked it.
Monday, I went to the Katos’ again for dinner. I played with Nozomi some more. In the afternoon, Cristina, Laura, Osa and I went to Kushira to practice on the 10K course.
Tuesday, was the same. Since I did not go to school, I spent half of the day in Kishira looking for the guy that I had to pay for the Farewell Dinner.
Wednesday, nothing happened in the office. In the evening, Cristina and I went to the gym, while Kaz and Alex swam at the gym pool. Cristina and I are really enjoying going to the gym. It is a really nice experience. I think we both feel a lot better now being so active. We hardly watch TV anymore (with the exception of 50 First Dates that Cristina has borrowed from Osa and has been obsessed with ever since). After the gym, we went over to Kaz’s for a late dinner prepared by Alex. We also enjoyed a bit of Trivial Pursuit. Since it was from Britain, some of the questions (particularly the Entertainment ones) were very difficult to answer.
Since Alex was over and had asked the previous night about Arroz con Pollo (the Cuban rice and chicken dish), Cristina decided to make it the next day. So, she spent her lunch break getting the needed ingredients. When she and I got home, we chopped up some fruits for sangria. Cristina then began to cook while I tidied up and got some flowers. We really got into it before long and made it whole Cuban night complete with music and guayaberas (traditional Cuban shirts). Laura, Kaz and Alex came over. We ate tons and had some Banana’s Fosters for dessert. After dessert we played some Trivial Pursuit again. The girls won.
Friday was April Fool’s Day. Cristina got a few people pretty bad (notably Osa and her cousin Glenn). I got some people in my office but not with anything like she was being deported from the country. I told some of my teachers that I had to leave the Jet Program for not paying my taxes. They seemed surprised and then realized it was April Fool’s. Later that evening, we went to dinner at Tomo-chan’s.
Saturday, I woke up with the mission of buying a pair of gym/basketball shorts I could use for running since mine have the tendency to slip off. Unfortunately, I only found one store with brand names like Nike and they all cost about $45. I had no idea they were so expensive. I refused to pay that much money for something I am going to sweat and workout in. So, the day of the race I ended up just pinning my old shorts to my underwear. Later that night, we invited Cristina’s tea lady and one of her English teachers over for a chicken fajita and taco dinner. It was lots of fun. The tea lady did not speak a word of English, but it was a good way to practice our Japanese.
Yesterday was the big race. Cristina and I woke up early to go register. Kaz met us at Cristina’s house before going over to Kushira. She even made some “training bands” for all of us to wear as good luck. At Kushira, we met up with Laura who was also running the race. The others were coming later since they were simply going to watch us run. Many people from my town were also there. One of my office mates’ daughter ran the 2.5K race and won the junior high school division. She was 2nd among all women. I finished the 10K in less than an hour. I am not sure of the specific time but I am hoping somewhere between 57 and 58 minutes. I was 109th. Kaz finished just over an hour and Laura came shortly after her. Cristina finished 125 in 1 hour 13 minutes. In total there were 126 people in the 10K. Kushira was hosting this as part of their cherry-blossom-watching festival. So, we celebrated our ‘victories’ by watching some cherry blossoms and enjoying a nice refreshing sno-cone. Mine was cora-flavored (read cola), Cristina’s was mango. At the festival, I also got the chance to see a miniature pony from Scotland. They are the size of large dogs. I thought it was incredible, the others were not too impressed. While I was busy gawking at the ponies, Kaz and Cristina were asked to be part of a mukade race because the rest of their team had not shown. Shana, the Osumi ALT, also joined the team. While they were busy preparing for the race, I was looking for the stand where you get to catch river eels with your bare hands. (River eels are Kushira’s thing. In Uchinoura it’s rockets and lobsters. In Higashi-Kushira, it’s poo and Lupin flowers.) Lucky for me and everyone at the stand, it was closed because all of the eels were caught. I did however see a little boy walking away with a trash bag with 3 or 4 live eels. I settled for trying to catch a fish in a dissolving wafer. However, I was crap at it. After pouting for a few seconds, the man grabbed a fish with his hands and put it in a bag and gave it to me. Bryant, the Sueyoshi ALT, did catch a fish fair and square (although mine was much better looking). We both gave our fish to Kaz who had a big tank with only one fish. She named the fish Jesse and Bryant respectively. The Uchinoura Junior High mukade teams were amazing and swept the race 1 and 2. Cristina’s impromptu team did not fair as well and were dead last. However, they had fun and that’s the important thing.
Well, that’s pretty much it for now.
Saturday, March 26th, Cristina and I headed to Osa’s house where we had a great chicken fajita dinner. However, I think that the highlight of the evening was getting to dye Easter eggs…something I was never able to do during my deprived childhood (MOM!!!, just kidding, I love you). Anyway, you will be happy to know that we dyed about 40 Easter eggs after a scary spill of the hot pink dye on Osa’s white kitchen table. It entertained us into the wee hours of the night (read 1 AM). We had to get up the following morning bright and early in order to go to Easter mass.
7:00 AM Easter Sunday – I am awoken by the shrill sounds of over-excited Osa, “Peter Cottontail was here. He left his tail… He hid all the eggs. Come find all the eggs. Look! I see my Easter balloon.” Apparently while we were sleeping, Peter Cottontail (read Osa) hid all the eggs and “Easter balloons” for each of us. Have you not heard of Easter balloons? Easter balloons are what “Peter Cottontail” uses to store candy in Japan (since there are no plastic Easter eggs). Cristina and I did not want to get up, but couldn’t help it from everyone’s excitement. My Easter balloon was blue and had quite a few treats including a pack of my favorite M&M’s. By 8:20, were out the door to catch the closest Easter mass.
Easter mass was interesting to say the least. It was in Japanese, but the priest was Italian. There was a Philippine baptism. Most women were wearing white lace head covers. I missed the Our Father because no one holds hands. During Peace, every one bows as they turn 360 degrees. The Virgin Mary was usually referred to as Jesus’s ‘mama’. I know this all probably sounds a bit choppy to you, but that was exactly the impression I got from the mass.
That evening, we returned to Uchinoura for dinner at the Katos. Nozomi was there (Yu-chan’s 3-year old niece), so we hid some Easter eggs and had her find them. We (read Cristina) made them Banana’s Fosters for dessert. I am still unsure of whether or not they liked it.
Monday, I went to the Katos’ again for dinner. I played with Nozomi some more. In the afternoon, Cristina, Laura, Osa and I went to Kushira to practice on the 10K course.
Tuesday, was the same. Since I did not go to school, I spent half of the day in Kishira looking for the guy that I had to pay for the Farewell Dinner.
Wednesday, nothing happened in the office. In the evening, Cristina and I went to the gym, while Kaz and Alex swam at the gym pool. Cristina and I are really enjoying going to the gym. It is a really nice experience. I think we both feel a lot better now being so active. We hardly watch TV anymore (with the exception of 50 First Dates that Cristina has borrowed from Osa and has been obsessed with ever since). After the gym, we went over to Kaz’s for a late dinner prepared by Alex. We also enjoyed a bit of Trivial Pursuit. Since it was from Britain, some of the questions (particularly the Entertainment ones) were very difficult to answer.
Since Alex was over and had asked the previous night about Arroz con Pollo (the Cuban rice and chicken dish), Cristina decided to make it the next day. So, she spent her lunch break getting the needed ingredients. When she and I got home, we chopped up some fruits for sangria. Cristina then began to cook while I tidied up and got some flowers. We really got into it before long and made it whole Cuban night complete with music and guayaberas (traditional Cuban shirts). Laura, Kaz and Alex came over. We ate tons and had some Banana’s Fosters for dessert. After dessert we played some Trivial Pursuit again. The girls won.
Friday was April Fool’s Day. Cristina got a few people pretty bad (notably Osa and her cousin Glenn). I got some people in my office but not with anything like she was being deported from the country. I told some of my teachers that I had to leave the Jet Program for not paying my taxes. They seemed surprised and then realized it was April Fool’s. Later that evening, we went to dinner at Tomo-chan’s.
Saturday, I woke up with the mission of buying a pair of gym/basketball shorts I could use for running since mine have the tendency to slip off. Unfortunately, I only found one store with brand names like Nike and they all cost about $45. I had no idea they were so expensive. I refused to pay that much money for something I am going to sweat and workout in. So, the day of the race I ended up just pinning my old shorts to my underwear. Later that night, we invited Cristina’s tea lady and one of her English teachers over for a chicken fajita and taco dinner. It was lots of fun. The tea lady did not speak a word of English, but it was a good way to practice our Japanese.
Yesterday was the big race. Cristina and I woke up early to go register. Kaz met us at Cristina’s house before going over to Kushira. She even made some “training bands” for all of us to wear as good luck. At Kushira, we met up with Laura who was also running the race. The others were coming later since they were simply going to watch us run. Many people from my town were also there. One of my office mates’ daughter ran the 2.5K race and won the junior high school division. She was 2nd among all women. I finished the 10K in less than an hour. I am not sure of the specific time but I am hoping somewhere between 57 and 58 minutes. I was 109th. Kaz finished just over an hour and Laura came shortly after her. Cristina finished 125 in 1 hour 13 minutes. In total there were 126 people in the 10K. Kushira was hosting this as part of their cherry-blossom-watching festival. So, we celebrated our ‘victories’ by watching some cherry blossoms and enjoying a nice refreshing sno-cone. Mine was cora-flavored (read cola), Cristina’s was mango. At the festival, I also got the chance to see a miniature pony from Scotland. They are the size of large dogs. I thought it was incredible, the others were not too impressed. While I was busy gawking at the ponies, Kaz and Cristina were asked to be part of a mukade race because the rest of their team had not shown. Shana, the Osumi ALT, also joined the team. While they were busy preparing for the race, I was looking for the stand where you get to catch river eels with your bare hands. (River eels are Kushira’s thing. In Uchinoura it’s rockets and lobsters. In Higashi-Kushira, it’s poo and Lupin flowers.) Lucky for me and everyone at the stand, it was closed because all of the eels were caught. I did however see a little boy walking away with a trash bag with 3 or 4 live eels. I settled for trying to catch a fish in a dissolving wafer. However, I was crap at it. After pouting for a few seconds, the man grabbed a fish with his hands and put it in a bag and gave it to me. Bryant, the Sueyoshi ALT, did catch a fish fair and square (although mine was much better looking). We both gave our fish to Kaz who had a big tank with only one fish. She named the fish Jesse and Bryant respectively. The Uchinoura Junior High mukade teams were amazing and swept the race 1 and 2. Cristina’s impromptu team did not fair as well and were dead last. However, they had fun and that’s the important thing.
Well, that’s pretty much it for now.
posted by Jesse Montano at
2:22 PM
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