“The vulnerable shores.  Worn from time.

I brought whatever sensibilities I could accumulate in a bubble life. And despite the walls,

even brick erodes with the relentless rain. “

Conflict defines you. If you want to know who somebody is, you want to find out what life’s combination of circumstance and opportunity has shaped somebody to be, observe how they react in conflict. Because in times of crises, whether significant or not, the convictions we standby will become apparent. It turns out that I am learning more about my own habits living abroad. A lot of it has to do with the lack of a support network. It’s also probably a natural maturation process that I seemed to have been able to avoid for a greater part of my adulthood until now. From simple organizational things that go into planning group trips to figuring out how to consistently put the needed nutrients into my face so that I can keep living. I have started to really appreciate some of the more mundane things people do because even “easy” tasks still need somebody to do them. It appears as though I have been something of a lazy and oblivious fool.

In the spirit of being more responsible and proactive I have had to neglect my beloved blog for a while. I have lived here more than a month and I believe the figurative Japanese Floaties have been removed.

-I have been introduced to a small but large enough portion of the language to ask simple questions and make some silly comments. “すごい! それはとてもかわいいおんなです”. Awesome! That is a really cute woman.

– I’m now sharing some “tricks of the trade” of adjusting to Japanese life with friends. Onigiri makes for the perfect snack, it is rice stuffed with chicken, fish, or some vegetables and wrapped in seaweed.

In a recent trip to Tokyo we went to my first Japanese Baseball game to watch the Tokyo Giants play the Tokyo Swallows at the the Tokyo Dome which is the Giants home.

Outside of the Tokyo Dome

Giants Stadium

Beer Girl

The Giants Scored and the crowd waves these towels

The Giant’s portion of the bleachers

Picture of the field

The Swallows portion of the crowd

Japanese baseball scoreboard

The Tokyo Dome

Japanese Baseball

Of course the game itself is played the same. And the stadium was more or less comparable to an American one. And unfortunately the cost of beer is the same as well. But the one major difference between American and Japanese Baseball is the coordination of the crowds. First of all, it is not possible to buy tickets in the bleachers of the stadium unless you are part of the fan club. One section of the bleachers is for the visiting team’s fan club and the other section is for the home team. There is an incredibly organized pattern of cheering that goes on in the bleachers. During each half inning one of the sections of the bleachers comes alive with song, drumming, and horns. You see, each player on the team has his own song as sung by the bleacher hysterics. So during his at-bat they are singing his song. The bleacher fans of the team that is in the field are completely quiet. Waiting for their turn.

Just outside the Tokyo Dome there is an amusement park that had a roller coaster. It was really interesting to see a fairly large roller coaster in the middle of Tokyo. Unfortunately for now it is closed, but this might require a return trip.

The week that I’m writing this is known in Japan as “Golden Week”. Every year around this time there are 4 national holidays in the span of about one week;

• Showa Day (April 29). Birthday of former Emperor Showa
• Constitution Day (May 3). Post WWII constitution put into effect his day.
• Greenery Day (May 4). Celebrating nature and the environment
• Childrens Day (May 5). This day is for the boys, the girls day is in March.

 Which means much of the country is given these days off of work. I will be going to a beautiful part of Japan near Mt.Fuji called Hakone. It is famous for it’s hot springs and natural beauty. I will be travelling with 3 friends and look forward to sharing some of these pictures with everybody. 

またね