College Baseball

I went to see Ritsumeikan play Doshisha on Tuesday and and Wednesday. The games were hosted at a sports park about 30 minutes away from I-House (by bike).

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on Tuesday, when Ritsumeikan defeated Doshisha 1-0 in the 14th inning. And though I brought it to the Wednesday game, the zoom function isn't working properly, so I have no shots of the game itself.

Anyway:
Everybody who came received a cardboard megaphone and thundersticks. The megaphones were rarely used but pretty much everyone clapped along with the cheerleaders and the band using their thundersticks. Sometimes I got the sneaking suspicion that following the cheers was more important than following the game itself. After all, it's kind of difficult to watch the game when you're rapidly clapping your thundersticks in front of your face.

At some point in the 6th inning, cheerleaders on both sides hand out long, colorful balloons for fans to inflate. Rather than tying off the bottom of the balloon, you simply hold on and wait.

In Japan, there is no 7th inning stretch with a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Instead, they have the "Lucky 7," when all the fans release their balloons after a countdown from 15 to 1.

Some little plastic piece in the mouth of the balloon allows it to fly up and away, I think.

So the balloons go all over the place and many of them land on the diamond. No worries--team members help clean up before play resumes.

When the game is over (Doshisha won 2-1 on Wednesday), the crowd sticks around a bit longer. The teams line up, not to shake hands, but to bow to each other. Then, the winning team's fan section does some sort of cheer, followed by a song (the school song, perhaps?), followed by the team bowing to their fans. After that, the losing team does the same.

A couple other things that struck me:

1) The absence of SuperFans. Nobody with face paint, or even decked out in Rits colors.
2) The organization of the cheering! Not only were there female cheerleaders in your typical cheerleader uniform, but also male and female "cheer leaders" who wore suits with Rits ties (and a militant-looking Rits armband) and walked through the crowd encouraging fans to cheer. (I will admit Doshisha impressed me more in this regard--their crowd seemed very in sync with their cheerleaders.)

Japanese "Pizza," a Turkey, a Stolen Bicycle, and All-You-Can Drink

A.k.a. My Weekend.

Friday night a group of us decided to go to a nearby okonomiyaki (sometimes referred to as Japanese pizza) restaurant, Jambo. It's a small but busy shop, but our timing was pretty close to perfect and we didn't have to wait long for a table. We each got a small order of okonomiyaki, and we split an order of yakisoba.

Kengo was the only one at our table to eat the whole thing. The rest of us made it about half-way through before we admitted defeat. And that was just the small one...I'm terrified of the "Jambo" size!
After dinner we all went downtown to go bowling, which is really expensive compared to what I'm used to back home. One game was 690 yen, and shoe rental was 350 yen.

Somehow I managed to throw five strikes, including a turkey (three strikes in a row)! Sadly, though, the night was not all fun and games.

When we left, Aoife's bike had been stolen! She'd left it unlocked because her lock had gone missing since leaving the house. Her bike had been knocked over while we were all standing around chatting after dinner (after she'd removed the lock from the frame and put it in the basket), so we think it might have fallen out then.

So, we had one more person than we had bicycles. I traded bikes with Julien so he could ride with Aoefi sitting on the back (my bike has a small wire rack of the type often used by Japanese girls as seats on their boyfriends' bikes), and we began the journey home.

Not to be discouraged, the next night we went out again...this time, for nomihodai at a nearby karaoke place. I was reluctant to sing at first, but sang a variety of (mostly 90s) songs before the night was over. Three cheers for nomihodai!

Is this inevitable?

I've been here over a month now, and I can see (in myself and those around me) that the novelty of living here has worn off. I liken it to the neighbordhood near the airport. Those families are so used to the planes, that they don't even hear them anymore.

I haven't written here lately because nothing much has seemed worth writing about. Same old, same old. During the week I go to class and procrastinate. On the weekends I go out with my friends. Sometimes we go out to eat.

We've stopped taking pictures of every last thing that catches our eyes. We've stopped smiling at all the little differences from home. We've begun to take being here for granted.

For the others, who will be here a full year, it's not as big a deal. But for me? Me, the girl who leaves when semester ends? Me, the girl with less than 4 months?

For me to take this experience for granted is unacceptable.

I will try to be better. I will start by having my camera with me at all times. By riding my bicycle a bit more slowly so I can take in the sights. By going somewhere in Kyoto I have never been before. (I haven't picked that place yet, but it won't be difficult. Even the tourist map is filled with large temples, shrines, and gardens that I didn't have time for last summer.)

Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) is Wednesday. Expect some lovely pictures shortly after that!

Giving foreigners a bad name.

Heard about this while I was taking a study break tonight and had to share it:

A British man went skinny dipping in the moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo this week.

I tried to embed video but it wouldn't work...I suppose you'll have to Google it yourself!

Busy, busy, busy

I know I haven't been around much lately, and I'm sorry for that. I blame the heaps of Japanese language homework I have every night.

I promise a real post (including fish guts, if you're lucky) soon--after my test tomorrow, perhaps?