June 3rd-The Olympics Reenacted and Developments
I didn’t
write any journal entries over the weekend and I am really feeling it now how
that was such a mistake. Well, a lot of
the time there isn’t really anything terribly worthwhile to tell you about. That’s why I spend so much time just
rattling off the nutty things that are clanking around inside my head. I guess that stuff if ok too though. Anyway, I’m in a bind now because this
weekend stuff that’s worth talking about actually did happen…like interesting
stuff. And, well, maybe it’s better
that I didn’t bother to write any journal entries because now I can put four
days (weekend plus vacation day plus today) into one journal entry. Is that convenient or what?! Well, also, tonight…err…about half an hour
ago…rather dramatic happened. I’ll bet
you’re just itching to hear about that.
Well, I still haven’t decided whether it’s a good thing or not…I’m just
pretty surprised is all. Well, I’d
better talk about the 第３０回宮崎県高等学校総合体育大会！
Yes, you’re probably
wondering what all that is right up on the previous line. Well, it’s ok, I’ll give it to you as I
usually do. To read that, you would
say, “Dai san jukkai miyazaki ken koutou gakkou sougou taiiku taikai.”
What does all that mean? Well, I would
translate it as, “The 30th All Miyazaki Prefectural High School
Athletic Conference.” Yes, I’m going to
talk about the opening ceremony. First
I must make an apology…there WERE fireworks!
There was music as predicted…and….there were dancers too! No floats though…no singers. Well, they gave me more than I expected so I
guess I can’t complain. Well, let me
start from the beginning. It was really
great getting a ride with Chie and her mom.
It was raining lightly and Eri had to leave the house an hour before I
had to because she was taking her bike and the train hahahahah…stinks for
her. Anyway, by the time we got to the
Sports Park the rain had picked up. It
ended up raining until around 3pm. It
was ok though because I borrowed an umbrella from Mrs. Harada and Chie was
smart enough to bring a little towel and we wiped off the benches before we sat
down. By the way, it’s pretty obvious
that Chie’s parents REALLY REALLY like me…especially Chie’s mother. I saw her a couple times this weekend and
each time she gave me something. First
I got a CD and the next time I got a little folder with a picture of Ayumi
Hamasaki on it. One time this weekend,
Chie’s father forgot what my last name was so when I told him, Chie’s mom said
that, “Maikeru Harada” is also ok too.
Hahhaha…funny people they are, but it’s nice to feel welcome. Anyway, the opening ceremony lasted for
about two and a half hours. It was a
tad boring because for about an hour or so all the students from all the
schools that were going to participate marched out onto the track and went in
formation ¾ of the way around and then assembled on the field in lines. In the end I counted 58 schools. There were…gosh…I don’t know how many
people….maybe 5000 or so. It was A
LOT. Take a look at the pictures of
them all assembled to get a better idea.
I felt bad for all the people because it was raining quite significantly
while this whole ceremony was going on and they were all absolutely soaked. After they all cleared off the field, the
Miyasho marching band club came onto the field. They did a really awesome job.
Their routine lasted about 10 minutes or so and included music,
fantastic choreography and synchronized movements, hoop tossing, flag tossing,
and acrobatics. Everyone was also
screaming out 可愛い！！！(kawaii)
[cute] because they had really cute uniforms on. After that…one of the greatest spectacles I have ever had
personal witness was performed in front of me.
Well, I have seen some pretty great spectacles, but I’m not actually
there in person to see them and they are done by professionals—not high school
students. While the Miyasho marching
band club was doing their routine, about 1000 students wearing different
colored shorts and carrying pom-poms assembled in the four corners of the field. When the Miyasho kids were finished, some
fast techno-pop music started and they all stormed onto the field like flood
waters being released. Within moments,
the confused crowd had assembled into dozens of perfect rows. What followed was about ten minutes of
dancing, arm waving, jumping up and down in perfect synchronization. It looked like one of those mass assemblies
to come out of Communist China or North Korea.
The entire group was divided into four, five, or six colors. Each group was doing its own routine but was
in sync with the entire body of students.
It was very impressed. It
culminated in a massive round nexus of bodies that looked like a colorful cake. All the colored stayed divided like slices
of pie. Everyone was really loved it. After the opening ceremony was over, we all
had to stay for an hour or so at least and watch some events and cheer for our
classmates. I didn’t really have anyone
to hang out, so I just walked around with Chie for a while. We weren’t really sure where to go or what
to see or what was even going on so we just walked around and talked for a
while. We checked out the Kendou
(samurai style fighting with bamboo sticks instead of swords) and saw the
people getting ready for Kyuudou (traditional style archery). I had an interest in seeing the kyuudou
because I’m going to be joining the team part time this week! I’m planning on attending their practices
twice a week and on the other days I’ll be going to boat practice. At first I thought it might be too much for
me to do and I wanted to change my mind about it. Then I talked to my host father and he thought I should go ahead
and do it because it’d be a good experience.
He even went as far to say that I should quit the boat club so I can
entirely devote myself to the archery team.
This was of course not an option; I have friends on the boat team and I
really do enjoy it. Then I found out
why he was so partial. He was that he
did archery and he was very big on it, so I figure that’s the reason why he was
pushing it. I also wasn’t sure if it
was a good idea to join the archery club because apparently there is some
expensive equipment that you have to buy, and if you want to be in tournaments,
there is even more expensive equipment you have to buy. That was a real turn-off, so I decided not
to do it. Then I talked to the coach
and he said he could lend me the stuff and that I don’t have to buy it because
I’m only going to be in Japan for another two months or so anyway. So that was good. On Sunday I went back to the sports park and watched the kyuudou
team competition. Well, I watched for
over two hours, but Miyasho was only participating for about 5-10 minutes. Here’s how it goes: 10 people come up to the line, each of them
has 4 arrows, and they shoot them off very very very slowly. The people watching in the little gallery
are VERY quiet except for someone hits the target, then they yell something
that sounds like, “Ssshopp!” and they clap three times. It was like watching a tennis game or golf
or something like that. I got bored
after a while because it’s very repetitive and it’s hard for me to appreciate
the skill because I’ve never shot an arrow from one of those bows. The bows are very impressive. I’d say they’re about 6 to 7 feet long. The bows and the traditional garbs that
everyone wears in competition are probably almost exactly the same as they were
hundreds of years ago. That’s one of
the things that attracts me to the sport.
It’s just so ripe with culture and tradition. Anyway, I was supposed to go to their practice today, but I
couldn’t go because they were still in competition today. So I’ll go on Thursday. It turns out that
the girls took second place in the tournament.
That’s really awesome. When I
actually get to their practice I’ll let you know how it goes. Anyway, on Saturday when Chie and I had had
enough walking around we went to Mos Burger for food because we were really
hungry and then her parents picked us up and we went to Kodomo no Kuni. I changed my clothes and hung out with
Chie’s parents while Chie changed into her dancing clothes and did some
rehearsing. She did a really nice job
with her dance and everyone there liked me, so that was nice and I was proud of
her. One cool thing was that because
she was a performer she didn’t have to pay admission and the husband of the
dance teacher gave me a free pass because he had a bunch of them. That was really nice. When she was done dancing we also got a
bunch of free passes to go on the rides.
Almost no one was there so we didn’t have to wait at all and had most of
the rides to ourselves. We went on the
Ferris wheel (that shook violently in the strong wind), one of those log water
slides, one of those things where you sit in a little basket at the end of a
long arm and it swings around in circles, and a little roller coaster. I felt a little queasy after it all, but it
was still a lot of fun. After Kodomo no
Kuni, I went back to Chie’s house for about an hour and we all sat in her
living room just talking and eating squishy Japanese snacks and drinking green
tea. By that time the sun had actually
come out and you could see the blue sky.
It was REALLY REALLY REALLY nice and we were all like, “青い空が久しぶりね！” (aoi sora
ga hisashiburi ne!) [It’s been a long time since we saw the blue sky hasn’t
it!]
On Sunday I went back to
the sports park so I could watch the archery team compete like I’d promised the
coach I would. After I got bored with
that I just walked around the park (there are VERY nice facilities there) and
just watched the various events. Then I
got terribly hungry and I went into a restaurant and got lunch (Caesar salad,
beef curry, and chocolate par fee). I’d
been planning on going back to watch the Miyasho softball game and cheer and
embarrass everyone but then I started e-mailing with Chie and I decided to go
back to Miyazaki. It was hot and I was
tired and her part time job was over.
When I got back we went so I could buy some running shoes. I got what I was looking for and then we
went over to where her mom works (at a music store) and then we went to Mr.
Donut for a snack. I’m glad I got the
shoes because I really want to start running regularly. I’ve discovered my body is quite
cunning. It has managed to be less, yet
healthy, food (compared to what I was having in NJ) and get much much much more
exercise than I was getting when I left and STILL not improve significantly in
condition or appearance. I think my
body has actually developed ways to double the number of calories I consume and
manages to ignore any physical training I put it through. Well, my main issue is too much fat on me
(I’d estimate about 10 to 15 lbs). So,
what am I going to do to my stubborn body?
I’m going to throw a wrench into its evil plot to thwart my efforts at
becoming more fit. In other words, with
my new shoes I’m going to start running every day. Since I got the shoes I have run every day. Yesterday I ran for 35 minutes and today I
ran for 47 minutes; both days were at a very solid pace. I could have run more both days but it was
getting late so I had to go home.
Tomorrow, if I have time, I want to run for an hour. I think I’ve given up on running in the
morning. It’s a nice idea, but it’s
just not for me. I don’t have energy in
the morning and it’s too painful to get out of bed. Also, it’s more important for me to have my sleep instead of just
run for a half an hour. I’ve figured
out that the best time for me to run is directly after I get home. When I get home I’m always sweaty and
already warmed up. So, if I go out
running it’s an easy transition. Then
when I get home again I can take a shower and have dinner. That’s what I did today and yesterday. Tomorrow I want to run for an hour. We’ll see.
Anyway, after we had a snack at Mr. Donut, Chie and I rode our bikes
back toward my house and we stopped at a quiet place and just talked about some
things for about an hour. That was
nice. After that she went home and I
went home too.
On Monday I had boat
practice of course! For some reason,
Tanba-sensei decided to put me in a single scull instead of in a double like he
usually does. I didn’t really mind
because I just wanted to get out and paddle around and whatnot. Although we were in separate boats of
course, I was paired with Satoshi and we were to do some exercises or something
like that together. I started to get a
little bit worried when Tanba-sensei went over the what-to-do-if-you-fall-out-of-the-boat
scenario. I figure he was just being
precautious because people certainly have been known to fall out of these
things. And if you do, it’s a good
thing to know what you should do next!
Ippei said he’s fallen out of boats 5 times. Once he and Satoshi both fell out of the boat in the middle of
winter. They went to an onsen (public
hot bath) to warm up afterwards.
Anyway, I’d been in a single scull before (about a month ago) but that
time I had those little annoying pontoon type things attached underneath the
oarlocks so they dragged in the water.
They didn’t seem to do much of anything to help balance me at the time,
but when I got into the boat without them, WOAH was I surprised. Trying to balance in this thing was like trying
to sit on a chair and keep it balanced while only on two legs. It was really that bad. I barely wanted to move because every time
my oars touched the water the boat would tip wildly to one side. Slowly I got the oars moving. I realized very quickly that the only way to
not tip over was if both the oars did precisely the same thing at precisely the
same time with precisely the same amount of force applied. Obviously this was the idea all along, but
it’s REALLY not that easy to do. In
fact, it’s quite difficult to do. I was
determined not to let the boat toss me like it had done to so many others. I had been in the boat for about half an
hour just paddling along…minding my own business…keeping my eyes straight ahead
(as one is supposed to do) and being mindful of where my oars were when I
suddenly found myself tipped wildly to my right side and within a half a second
I was in the water! I have no idea how
it happened…it just did! Well,
obviously I did something wrong, but I don’t remember it. I remember tipping over, yelling out
something like, “&%$#!” in English and then the cold water completely
immersing me. My head came up out of
the water almost right away and I was quite delighted to find my sunglasses
still hanging partially off my head. I
remember thinking, not 5 seconds before I tipped, that if I did fall out, it’d
be nice if my sunglasses were on a string so they wouldn’t sink to the
bottom. I was a little distressed at
first because my feet were still tied securely into the shoes. After a few moments I was able to free
myself and I just clung to the boat and bobbed up and down. Satoshi yelled to me asking if I was
ok. I was perfectly fine—just a little
embarrassed and quite wet and not really sure what to do next. He told me to move toward the shore, so I
held onto the boat (which was upside down) and kicked with my legs for about 5
minutes before I got to the shore where Tanba-sensei was waiting for me. When I finally got there he was standing on
the stern of a small motor boat the was anchored there alongside many
others. I maneuvered my craft in
between them. When it got shallow
enough I stood up and Tanba-sensei helped me turn it over and empty the water
out of it. Then I got back in the boat
and we attempted to launch me. When we
got between the sterns of the motorboats, I don’t know what happened, but my
balance just went completely down the drain and I was abruptly in the water
again! This time I really felt
bad. Not 2 minutes earlier had
Tanba-sensei helped me get back in the boat, but now we had to go through the
complicated process all over again! The
next time I boarded my craft from the stern of one of the motorboats and we
were VERY careful and I managed to get going again. The sun was warm and bright so I managed to dry relatively
quickly. I was almost too scared to try
and row again. Originally we were
supposed to have another hour of practice, but after I tipped twice in a 5
minute interval, I wasn’t really in the mood for a lot more practice. We stayed out for about another 20 minutes
while I very timidly maneuvered my vessel around. I almost tipped a few more times but managed to stay afloat.
When we were done with
practice at Tonda-hama-kouen I was a little annoyed. Two people had told me to bring a lunch since the practice would
be all day long. So, in the morning
before I went to the train station I took about 5 or 10 minutes to stop at a
store and buy a bento lunch. I thought
we were going to eat it during practice at the park. The container ended up partially opening in the bag and all this
brown greasy sauce spilled out over everything else in the bag. That was annoying enough, then…Tanba told us
all to get dressed and get in the van so he could take us back to the train
station and we still hadn’t eaten lunch.
Then I found out that we had an hour and a half break between when we
got back to Miyazaki and when we had to be back at school for the second half
of practice. I totally didn’t have to
buy this lunch that got oily junk all over my stuff and was nasty and cold when
I ate it. I just ate it on the train so
I could get rid of it. Ugh! The second half of practice was weight
lifting and then stretching that went on forever and ever. Sometimes during interminable practices I
wonder whether the coaches realize that it’s possible that we may want to be
somewhere else other than just hanging out with them all day. And my question is…why don’t THEY want to be
somewhere else instead of hanging out with their students all day? Don’t teachers have lives too? I figured at least 2 or 3 years ago that
they weren’t just robots and that they actually ate and did things other than
teach….well…it’s possibly Japanese teachers are different.
Ok, it’s getting mega-late
and I seriously need to sleep, but before I do I need to tell you what happened
tonight after dinner. So my host father
said that he wanted to talk to me about something. He took out some papers and whatnot and put them on the
table. Then….much to my surprise and
confusion he explained to me that I
would be moving to another host family on June 14th!!!! We’re going this Saturday to meet them. He said that he’d like to keep me for the
whole rest of the time but that it’d done this way so I can have more
experiences and whatnot. This is
definitely the first I’ve heard of this, and I wanna talk to Perry at NWSE
about it so I can see what’s going on.
Well, I might be able to meet new people or have good experiences, but
I’m still very surprised. I was just
settling in here and getting to know the neighborhood and whatnot. Oh well…I guess I’ll just have to wait and
see what comes of it. He says that the
next host family is younger and they have one son who is 4 years old. They also live in a mansion apparently (7
bedrooms). I would have my own room
with its own bathroom. There is also a
running track nearby apparently. It’s
in the opposite direction from where I am now.
It’s over by Sea Gaia and is about a 30-minute bike ride from
school. Well, I am still a bit
confused, but we’ll see. Ok, I really
need to go to sleep now. Good night
everyone!
-Maikeru