Who cranked the fun dial to 11?

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So HEY EVERYONE! It’s been too long since the last update, I know, but I didn’t think that many people were living vicariously through me, hahaha. Now that I know I have that responsibility I’ll do my best to keep all the updates flowing and throw in some more cliffhangers and plot twists for you! In this episode we introduce some new characters, some awesome entertainment and maybe even answer some of the questions that you’ve been dying to find out about. Did he win the tournament? Did Keiko really ditch Taka for that other guy? Is Sloan’s love interest finally revealed!? Well keep your looking balls (eyes) locked on the blog and just maybe you’ll find out!

Ok. So starting from January 8th where we left off last time, I can say that there have been a lot of ups, and not many downs in 2010. I’ve really settled into a groove in my daily activities and have recently signed up for too much to even try to fit on my plate. But the good news is that it’s mostly healthy and will really benefit me and my attempt for continual growth this year. After joining a gym with my bro Dave last week and starting my private Japanese lessons at the end of last week it really fills up my time completely from Tuesday to Saturday. It’s getting up early and getting things done before work that is the biggest challenge. But, at the same time, it’s the most rewarding after accomplishing more than I thought my brain could do before noon on any given day. Then it’s off to work after a few hours of studying and chores, followed by a trip to the gym everyday after work to bang the biceps, jump in the pool, stretch out and of course finish with a ten or fifteen minute massage chair nap. That takes me to midnight where I get some food and make it to bed and fall asleep before my head hits the pillow.

So it’s good to feel that I get so much done during the week, and that’s what allows me to get so motivated to fill my weekends with adventures and explorations around Japan. And as you probably guessed, it’s really not that hard to find things to do around here. The hardest part is deciding between the massive concert, amazing festival celebration, all-night dance club extravaganza, museum and park tour, professional chef dining experience, or a nap. And that’s only on Sunday, the list for Monday is usually just as long, but it’s the one day I allow myself to sleep in and start the day well into the afternoon! So enough talk about opinions and boring stuff, let’s here some stories, right!? Ok gossip junkies here’s some stuff you can get into:

January:

I went to a private invitation, 5 course Italian fare dining experience on January 10th after being invited by one of my amazing and generous students. After craving an authentic Italian dinner this really proved to be more than I expected and I am so thankful to Mariko for thinking of Dave and I and inviting us. We went with her daughter, friend and extended family and had a very personal and delicious meal at a small café named after the chef’s newborn son, a few stops away from my school by train. I really thought of home as the cooking truly resembled something Steve or Erica would be able to make, the company (especially Mariko) was reminiscent of mom’s loving kindness, and the chef’s baby got about as much attention as I know Lennon-chan would have gotten the whole night! Although it was amazing it wasn’t really enough so of course we headed to mcdonals right after for a quick shaka-shaka chikin to fill us up before going out that night. Those things are life-savers, trust me.

The next weekend we got up early on the Monday in order to get to Ryugoku, Tokyo and get tickets to the Sumo tournament, held four times a year in different locations around Japan. The stadium, built solely for Sumo, held about 5000 people, and was almost filled by the time the Senior Sumo’s battled towards the end of the day. Since we got there fairly early we could watch some of the low level bouts from the first level, and really get close to the action. There are about 50 matches that last from early morning to around 7pm, and each wrestler has one match a day for two weeks. We went on the eighth day of the tournament so we could compare each wrestler’s record and chose our favourite Yokozunas to cheer for and imitate during their ritual dance before each match. I think I got the slapping and stomping down pretty good as you can probably see from the pictures! It was really interesting to see the long tradition behind the sport and learn to appreciate the beauty and intricacy behind the numerous rituals that surround the event. The echo from their belly slaps had no trouble reaching us at the top of the stadium. They really do command respect and compared to the rest of the population, they are huge creatures that clearly all have a lifetime of training and dedication to the sport. If this whole teaching thing doesn’t work out I know what I’m doing! It’s daily KFC and nothing but giant diapers for me!

A few other highlights include finding an all-you-can-eat Indian curry and pizza joint close to the station by my work where the Aeon Shiki staff went out to dinner a few weeks ago. Needless to say I hammered hard and felt pretty sick through the next morning even so don’t worry everyone, I still got it. It also snowed here for the first time this year and it was cold enough to stay on the ground over night. It’s a pretty rare event and it seemed like noone knew what to do with it when they saw it. It was good to see and fun to whip a few snowballs at people and show how Canadians do things in the winter. A snow man, or Sloan-Man was even made by my friend in Tokyo and you can check it out in the pics. The bean-head and banana really added a nice personal touch, I think. The next weekend was a good for shopping and sightseeing around Tokyo. We went back to Harajuku for some pictures with the Otaku (people that dress in funky anime and Disney-ish costumes next to the park) and did some window shopping around the area. We found some sweet street performers and stopped to watch a few of them and play some soccer in the park. We also found a new club in Shibuya that kept us going until the morning again and had some really good dancing and fun.

We had our big Aeon Shiki bowling night this past weekend on Saturday night after work at a bowling alley right next to my apartment too. With about 15 students and the whole staff it was a really good social activity for everyone to relax and let loose a bit. We had the usual badminton crew out and a whole bunch of cool students that helped make the night really good. We had team competitions and handed out prizes for free movie lessons for our special counseling week next week to the winners. We finalized our big ski trip to Mount ZAO in Yamagata prefecture next weekend and I’m super excited to get back on the skis and hit the slopes with the badminton crew and my whole crew of Aeon teachers. If the competition is the first one to yardsale wins then I’m definitely taking that title! It will be a two-day trip and we are staying in a cabin right on the mountain next to the slopes. So it’s a relatively lower key week of work since regular classes are replaced with some special movie lessons where I’ll be showing the Matrix and Wall-E and have discussions and exercises to practice the English we learn from them. Well it’s Monday night and I’m off to the gym with Dave to start the week off strong. The Super bowl just went down and we watched it with some people in Dave’s apartment after staying up the whole night in Roppongi. Brees and the Who Dat nation did it and it’s sweet to see New Orleans get their first championship. It’s on the NBA and English premiership now for my sports fix. And of course I’m sure everyone is just as excited as me for the Olympics coming up real soon! Go Canada, do something crazy and win some medals! See you soon,

Jya Mata!

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Photos

Aeon Shiki Bowling!
Staff and students getting together for a picture after our school bowling extravaganza

Sumo Sloan!
Sumo tournament in Ryugoku with the crew

Professional Sumos?
Check out the ritual dance of the Sumo, performed by Rob, me and Alex

Night-man trio
Getting excited about something somewhere?

Gymmastickin
doing some flips and handstands around the park.

Brew-crew
Bro'n out and brew'n up

Gazing
what are Sloan and Neil looking at?

Ummmm..?
It almost got stuck like that

Samurai and me
Can you find the bean-head?

Italian dining experience!
Me, Dave, Mariko's friend and Mariko at the table during the professional chef private dining night

Sumo going in!
Caught a glimpse of one of the most famous Sumos going into the stadium

Snow Sloan-Man
Jasmine on top of the amazing snow man she and her friends built to...look like me?

Lucky Pizza Indian!
Chikako, Kimie, Mika, Me and Dave at the all-you-can-eat Indian curry and pizza place near our school

After the Club
Steven, Dave and Yaasu getting tired after a night of clubbing

Harajuku costumes
Me, blood-erella and Jasmine in Harajuku posing for some pictures

Canadian much?
Looking like a true northerner

Club action shot
Dave, Yaasu and their new friends in the Club in Shibuya

Chinese Yo-Yo
Street performer doing mad tricks at the park in Ueno

Japanese pets
Two of the biggest rats I've seen in Japan so far

Canadians loving the snow
Tossing snowballs after the first snow of the year

Snow in Niiza
A view of the water wheel in Niiza with a glimpse of the amount of snow that stayed on the ground

Snow!
Niiza station view

Team Qyu!
Our team for Shiki Bowling
Kazue, Takahira, Hikaru, Me and Chikako. We won in the fun category

Dorky bowlers
Rob, Mika and Sayuri having some fun at the bowling alley

Bowling master
Takao, my manager, showing us the bowling pose. He came second to only Yaasu, whos standing behind him

Comments

[Auntie Ann]

Fun Dial 11
Thanks for the update Sloan - we love you in Atlanta too!