Calligraphy Art Lesson!

My お父さん Is AWESOME. Just gave us an off the cuff calligraphy art lesson on how to draw bamboo like a 日本人!

Met the Coach

Ok so first off, Tommy Lee Jones has taken up being the co-mascot for Suntory's Boss Coffee. His partner is a white dog who shows up all over the place. I dont know the dog's name, but I call him Frank (even though he's not a pug).

 And after that, I went to see football practice. The head coach saw me working out with his boys, so he asked me to come see a practice. I went, and I brought Carina and Michi down with me. They were all excited because theyd never seen any kind of American football before, but I feel that they were a little let down by the practice. We'll see how they feel after the game on Saturday!

 Coach told me there was no way I could play for him since I'm only staying for 4 months, but I'm totally ok with that. Would've been fun, but I've got a few other things I gotta do while I'm here first.


This is Reymond. He's an English teacher at a local school, and I met him in the Rec too. He was the one who introduced me to Coach!

Pretty cool guy.

Where the streets have no name...

Massive adventure weekend.

Toriki again on Friday. Tanrei all day, baby. Then on Saturday, went to karaoke with Carina, Aget, Yumi, Chris, Brian, Michi, Jalissa, and Chantel. Mixed drinks in a back alley. Felt weird, but the weather was too nice to go inside.

Pregaming is the only way to karaoke, EVER. We rocked the house. And the North Carolinian challenged my manhood over drinks. I dont think he shall challenge me again :P

However when the time came to head home, I definitely saw a sign in the Imazu station that said my hometown, so I took it, but it was on the wrong line. I ended up 2 hours south of my house, in the same city though. The trains all shut down after i got off to ask for directions. I had an epic trip back; I made friends with the Lawson employee with the map, and the guy passed out on the stairs in front of a bar, and did a little bit of amateur parkour so i wouldnt get lost in the land where the streets have no name.

Made it home, didn't wake the dogs up, the house still slept, and so did I. Good night? I think so.

Also learned that alcohol increases language efficiency and understanding about 30%. After you're tipsy though, the curve declines, from what I've seen. Don't overdrink, you look silly and your friends will have to carry you home. Not flattering at all.

On Sunday, I went shopping with Okaasan. We bought special mochi for a Japanese Buddhist holiday that happens this week. I'm not entirely sure what the holiday is, but it involves leaving food out for the souls of the dead who come back to say hello..? I'm going to have to delve deeper into this, it's really interesting.

Until the next adventure, out here!

First Day of School!

Ok so today was finally the big day! Two weeks in Japan and school finally started up.

Today was an absolutely awesome day. Woke up, had お母さん's amazing Japanese toast, and ran out to school. The trains were fast, I got there early, hung out in the Fujita Global Lounge with Yumi, Carina, and Nana, and Carina tried getting me to say I'd perform at a Foreign Exchange Student talent show. However, since I am not a licensed Aggie Wrangler, I think I'll wait on two stepping in front of a huge crowd.

Also made a friend, Masamune. We hit the language barrier pretty hard, but he was a really nice guy.

Then I went to my first class, Japanese 1B, with Morimoto Sensei. She's fantastic, and I'm not the only one in class! :D

Then after that I went to the rec, because I have huge gaps in my schedule, and what better to do than GET SWOLL! However in the process of getting swoll, I met the Kwansei Gakuin Fighters (the university football team) and talked about how I was from Texas and even managed to secure some tickets to the next game! I AM SO PUMPED!

Then I came home and お母さん cooked up something new, delicious, and interesting: Barazushi (?). It's like  sushi, but not wrapped up because the fish are so small. It was fantastic.

I can't WAIT for tomorrow; I have no idea what adventures await me, but I know that they're going to be amazing.

カラオケ！

Ian and Carina!

This week was practically all a break; we didn't start class until Thursday. So what is there to do for adventure hunters in the greater Kansai area? Um, nomihoudai karaoke time! (all who want to come to Japan, remember that first word. Nomihoudai means all you can drink for the price of included. AKA Alcohol buffet!)

Tobi and Craig

Miss Carina organized the whole thing. Everybody met in Imazu, and there was a good group of us. Tobi, Ian, Craig, Jeanette, Carina, Chris, and myself all came to party.

However there was an hour wait, so we went to some cheap (sorta) burger joint and hung out, and I learned that I am among fellow nerdlings. Craig and I are practically the same person but on different scales, Tobi is my Norwegian twin (yes we did recite the Green Lantern Oath together from memory), Ian is the wandering Australian musician/swordsman, and all the girls are just sweet peas. Ian does Iyado (?), which in my understanding is the art of drawing and sheathing the katana while making the kill and cleaning the blade as quickly and efficiently as possible. Totally gonna try and get into this with him in Osaka on one of these Friday nights.

After we waited in the burger joint, we went back to the place and began the singing and the drinking. The drinks were mostly soda, but dang they were good. I just wish they had more punch to them because my self conscious button was being pushed a little bit xD

Definitely was one of the only ones who couldnt read furigana and hiragana at the speed of song, so I stuck with the classics: Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and yes, because I AM Texan, Garth Brooks. However I was the only one who knew that song, so I had a stiff oolong chu hai after that one. The best songs were Queen's greatest hits, though. That whole joint shook from the volume of Gaijin belting out Queen, followed by our amazing musical yojimbo, Ian, channeling Steven Tyler so well it would bring tears to your eyes. It was a fantastic night.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

 OK, so once again, the great voyage of discovery breaks new waves each day! I have found the most awesome arcade i've ever seen, and me and the other Craig stomped all over everything in the Dragon Ball Z aisle, even using Tien and Napa. If you ever watched it, you know the gravity of the situation and the magnitude of our skills .

There were also booths that were like MMOs and you needed a "game passport" to play, in addition to about 4-500yen. I mean they looked absolutely awesome, but way more effort than a poor ryougakusei such as myself has to expend.

I also found a Texas store in Nishinomiya Gardens: Funny. That was the name of the shop. But they surprisingly did have alot of Texan things; boots, belt buckles, and turquoise jewelry were among their wares. However, I do need to go back when i speak better Japanese to tell the owner that they're doing everything right.

Except the shop title.

 I say i need to better my Japanese skills because, for some reason, I ended up being to only guy able to go to the gathering due to unforeseen circumstances, and then I went into an okonomiyaki shop by myself.

Bad idea. I dont speak well enough to understand what the waiters are saying, and for some reason it was more complex than point at the menu, pay at the counter. I totally had the nearest three tables judging the hell out of me. I could see the gavel dropping. It was bad, but the okonomiyaki was delicious, and one of the waiters spoke more than 10 words of English. Everybody won. Sort of.

And then I went with Other Craig to grab a beer and chew the fat (in english). We had an epic exploration quest of campus and everything near by, and covered all topics possible to be covered while ranging the suburban wilds of Japan until we finally fought our way into the dorm commons area.

There, I saw the first, and only sporting event to make me jump out of my seat: Sumo. This is the single greatest sporting event I have ever witnessed. It was brutal, fast, almost scientific in its beauty.

Most Americans just think sumo is just fat people in jockstraps throwing each other around and jiggling out of the ring, but it is so much more. Within the confines of that dirt ring lies the essence of hand to hand combat. Those men train so hard for those 30 seconds in the ring. Years of separation from the world to live in the dojo, plying their craft, just for those BRUTAL, bone-breaking seconds.

It is something that everyone should see and appreciate, and anyone who played offensive or defensive line in football will go bananas for this. I fully intend to see more sumo, even if only on TV, because those 30 seconds have captured my interest not just for now, but probably for the rest of my time watching sports.

 Next, I went to the world's only Instant Ramen Museum. It was a fantastic adventure. I learned more about Cup Noodle than I knew was possible, and took a virtual reality tour through the process of creating instant Cup Noodle!

 After the Ramen Museum, we all went to the biggest mall I've ever seen: The Hap 5 (?) in Osaka. This is a mall with an amusement park. I heard ferris wheel and i was so in. This place had the ferris wheel i'd been slavering over since i rode into this country. I saw it on the bus to the hotel on day one, and i FINALLY rode it.

Fantastic. I was 8 stories up just to get in line for this. Then i rode my scarlet steel chariot into the sky. I could see everything, from the thousands on the ground to the mountains rising into the mist on the horizon. I even got to see Osaka castle- the golden wings on the roof almost trying to carry it into the heavens.

This place is amazing. My life is changing just by roaming the streets. School hasn't even started yet.

 This dream is my reality. This new world has become my own. This is my life.

Nara; Land of Deer and Long Bus Rides (Maybe even one of the world's largest Buddha statues)

 Today as the big field trip ending of orientation at KGU, all the foreign exchange students went to Nara!
Nara is kind of a big deal, and home to some of the biggest and most incredible Buddhist temples in Japan.

Today we went to the Honryuji and Todaiji Shrines, and the deer feeding course in Nara. It was a nearly 2 hour drive out from KGU, but it was once again a Norway party on Bus 1 (Whoop), so it went by real fast. When we arrived we toured the Honryuji temple; it's the one with a 5 story pagoda, and is the oldest wooden structure in the world.

Also met this super cool Aussie, Ian. Totally had a camera battle, with my .22 against his howitzer... Turned out pretty well though. New friend!

This is Ashlyn from Boston and her best friend, the Cookie Monster. They were selling cookies for the deer for 150 yen, and the deer would follow you all around Nara until you gave them you last cookies. I myself got headbutted and nearly gored by the bucks over there after a terrified classmate handed me the remainder of her cookies so that she could escape the deer onslaught. It was a good time.

 These two here are some sort of Guardians against those who came into the temple with malignant intent, and they were awesome. You could find them at all the major gates in the shrines.

 Definitely speechless on the sight of the Todaiji Shrine. This is the biggest and most impressive structure I have ever seen. And inside was a Buddha statue so big that it must have been 10 times my size at least.

Everything about this place was AMAZING and I really hope that everyone reading this  gets to come here someday, because it was a fantastic experience. My only complaint was that it was raining too hard for me to get as many pictures as I wanted. :3

Next update as soon as I go on another adventure!

Vikings and Beer before the Rising Sun: Recipe for a good time

Ok so it's been a few days since i last posted, and a LOT of stuff has gone down.

Michi is the ドイツ人 on the left

We got assigned our 日本語 partners first. My あいての名前は Ryutarou。He's pretty much the coolest kid i think i could have gotten. Member of the soccer club, no fear, and nice as can be (he's in the blue shirt!). We hang with Michi's あいて, too (they're the other two you see!). We've gone shopping and to the mall, Nishinomiya Gardens together. It's been a total blast.

We even all went to the torikizoku(?), the 280 yen shop, together. Michi's aite couldnt come, but we brought a whole bunch of Norwegians to make up for it! I've made so many good friends here in the brief week we've been here, as well as learned that the beer is almost as good as the company. :)

Dog Birthday Party

I know i've posted alot in the past 24 hours, but Momma Yano cooked up some AMAZING dishes tonight... it was Pan's birthday!

These pictures will tell the tale better than I can with words....
Momma Yano came to PLAY! Bringing that A-Game, baby! (nom nom nom) :3

On a train to nowhere... but only because i missed the station.

Whew! Some serious adventure went down today.

Checked out Annie's university, Konan Daigaku, and had some serious study time with her bros, Michael and Catie. I learned alot today, and I'm glad I went! Still gotta study hard tonight though...

As well as that, we ate at an awesome ramen joint somewhere around Okamoto. Curry Ramen all day! Got some good pictures, but they're mostly on Annie's camera, so I'll upload those soon. 

Also we all ran around exploring the area; I rode my first train in years! And we got lost on it. We took the express on the way home instead of the local train, so we skipped 3 stops and ended up in Juso. But a really nice man chased us down and directed us to the right train, so it was all good.

But now back to the grindstone, gotta get them grades, baby!