Typhoon 7

Some of you know that a typhoon (or "hurricane" as they are known east of the International Date Line) hit Japan earlier this week. I'll just say that, for my first real "typhoon experience", it really didn't quite match the hype. I think it may have been produced by George Lucas.

Anyway, after a few sprinkles of rain, the air cleared, there was a rainbow, and then a glorious sunset. The next day was the clearest and driest that it's been in over a month. That was it. Hmm, not to be cocky, but I'd kind of like a few more typhoons this season. It was 95 degrees F today, and a brief walk to the bank and grocery store left me too tired to visit a highly-recommended coffee shop in Nagoya. It rained today too...just long enough to raise the humidity to DEATH. I'll take cooler, drier typhoon weather any day of the week.

Um, okay, rant over; here's apictures of the typhoon "aftermath"...

I saw me some Sumo...

Hey all,

Sorry about the lack of posts lately; the heat and humidity have kept me pretty close to home, and thus, rather boring.

BUT, today was AWESOME! After a short 4-hour shift at work, a friend and I went to the Sumo Tournament here in Nagoya. And WOW, was it a great experience! Definitely an "only in Japan" day.

Sumo, for those who don't know, is a traditional Japanese sport where two extremely large men in very try to defeat their opponent by either knocking him to the floor or sending him flying somewhere into the stratosphere. Or into the judges sitting outside the ring. And while you'd think that 350-pound men would move pretty slowly, they really do - the bouts don't usually last more than ten or fifteen seconds. The bouts are accompanied by lots of pageantry and sybolism, from the brightly-colored aprons (kesho-mawashi) that the sumos (rikishis) wear when they first enter the area, to the elaborate cleansing and preparation for each bout. All in all, it makes American football look like a fast-paced sport! But the bright colors and the crowd's anticipation made the whole thing sooo exciting!

So, without further ado, here's some of the things I saw today at the tourney. I hope you enjoy them...

-Thom

The dohyo, or ring, where the bouts are held. There are no supports or poles, so all the spectators can have a good view of the bouts.

If your opponent manages to knock (or carry) you out of the ring, you lose.

"My mawashi has tassles." "Yeah? Well, so does mine!"
"Okay, cut it out you two."

On your marks, get set...

Two referees, or goyji, in traditional garb.

Before: Primed.

After: Victory belongs to the guy in the red.
Defeat belongs to the guy in the white.

Please return to your seat, sir.

"Charge of the Light Brigade" this is not.

The Georgian (frmr. Soviet state) who was tied for first place at the beginning of the match.

Nagoya's own son.

Japan's other Self Defense Force.

Yokozuna (grand champion) displays. Note the belt; it comes in one size: huge.

Muttonchop POWER!

Either the Jedi Council or a judges conference; I forget which.

Figure 1. Potential energy

Figure 2. Kinetic energy.

This match lasted over a minute!

An object at rest will remain at rest...

...unless acted upon by an outside force.
The guy in blue was tied for first place, but was defeated in this round.

And now, a word from our sponsors...

Preparing for the last bout of the day. The highest-ranked rikishi is on the left.

In the end, the hero remained victorious.

Ending the day with the traditional bow-twirling display called Yumitori-shiki.
Just don't call it "girly".

Let me know what you think! Leave comments through the link at the bottom of the post.

Trip to Nagoya Port

Hey all,

Here's some pictures from my trip to Nagoya Port on Wednesday. It was an absolutely beautiful day, high around 83 and sunny - the perfect summer "weekend" day! I had a blast, and can't wait to start traveling around Japan some more! Next stop(s): Gifu City and Nagoya Castle. Let the day-tripping commence!

Blessings,
Thom

See? I told you it was nice here! This one's for my Dad.

The Golden Dolphins - the symbols of Nagoya.

The first time I'd seen the Pacific (kinda) since I was about 12.

A view of the park, with the Italian Village tower in the background.

The Villagio Italia, or "Italian Village" as the Japanese call it, in Nagoyako.

Another shot of Italian Village. No, it's not Pisa; I just can't stand up straight.

Anne, if the boys ever end up sailing out this way, at least know that they can buy any sailing equipment they might need.

The QQ, my home-away-from-home-away-from-home. ("Kyu kyu" is 99 in Japanese; the QQ is the 99 yen store and has lots of goodies, food, drinks, etc. for very, very cheap. The phrase "Dinner is served" is often compliments of QQ.)

Thanks for checking out my trip!

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope your day is enjoyable and memorable,
'cause I know mine will be!

Long overdue

Well folks, I'm back.

After a too-long hiatus, I finally have internet access and time to update the blog. Well, somewhat. Anyway, yes; here's the skinny:
I'm here in Nagoya, and teaching conversational English five days a week.

I'm sharing a flat with two other guys: Devin, an American originally from the Cities, and who attended Hamline College, just down the road from Bethel; and Alwyn, a Kiwi from Auckland, who knows approximately every single foreigner and crazy Japanese person in Nagoya. They keep life pretty exciting, and make for good company out on the balcony.

Our flat is pretty small...but then again, so is everything in Japan! We've got everything we need though: a PS2, a refridgerator, and an air conditioner. =)

Teaching is pretty easy; I'm definitely getting into the swing of things, and the staff - the teachers and the Japanese staff - are really nice.

I've recently acquired a suit and a cellphone, thus making me the epitome of everything I stood against in the US - a Suit. I try to make up for it by promising myself to go to every overpriced rock concert in the Nagoya area for the next year. =)

Well, back to the grind; I need to hit the sack so I can actually get some sleep before work tomorrow morning!

Blessings all,
Thom