My day at the sumo competition

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a sumo competition in person.  At first, I was afraid that my seats would be not that good and that seeing this sport in person would be boring.  In the end, I am glad to say that I was wrong on both fears.  The seat was perfect, since I could see everything no problem and the action is still exciting even do I had no active comments.  This can never be said for a sport like baseball.  Furthermore, there rarely was a fight that was uninteresting.  Me and my girlfriend had a great time.  Also, my interest in the sport just keeps growing.  You can be sure that I will keep watching on my television and I can’t wait to see who will win the whole thing this time.

On side note, at the competition there were a lot of gaijins.  It was the first time that I saw so many people like me in one place.  Still, it felt weird, since I have gotten used to being the only one in a large crowd of people.  I was happy to see that I was not the only foreigner who enjoys the sport or who wanted to live it firsthand.

Sumo part 3

First off, I apologize to all my friends for not posting for a while.  The reason is simple: I had nothing interesting to write till now.

Tomorrow, I will watch a sumo tournament in person.  As you all know, ever since I have arrived here I have become a sumo fan.  For the past few weeks, I was debating if I should or not go see it in person.  My questioning stemmed from the price of the tickets and the fact that I can watch it for free on tv with English commentary.  In the end, I have decided to assist in person.  This decision came from the knowledge that I can only see this in person here and not back home.  I came here to experience the Japanese culture and it is one its many aspects.  Furthermore, tomorrow will be the second day for the return of the yokozuna Asashoryu.  He was banned from the last 2 tournaments, because of a scandal.  From what I have heard he is a strong sumo wrestler and I cannot wait to see him in action in person.

Of course, I will write all about how it went on my blog.  I can’t wait to be there.

New year’s in Japan

I have not posted in a while, since it was the holidays and I wanted to enjoy them. Furthermore, for the past few days I have been nowhere near one that had the internet on it. I know it sounds incredible hearing that when I am in a country that is highly advanced technology wise. But, it can be done.

First off, I made a quick visit to the prefecture of Gunma. While I was there I visited some of the shopping malls found here and the women’s university where my girlfriend used to go to. Since she graduated they have built a new wing to the existing building. I can say that she was jealous to see it that some new things have been added to her old school and that she would have liked to use it back in the day.

Afterwards, we went to her hometown located in Niigata to celebrate New year’s with her family. In Japan, people usually spend this holiday with family members and Christmas with their boyfriend or girlfriend or friends. In other words, the complete opposite of the way it is done in North America. Even do I was far away from most of my family, it was nice to spend it with my second family. Just like back home, we celebrate the event with a nice big meal. Here, it consisted of mostly sea food and a little something from back home…. paté chinois. Yes, I made some for the folks here and they loved it. Paté chinois is loved worldwide.

In the end, I had a nice time here for New Year’s and I aim to bring some of it back with me for the next one when I will be back home.