Burento in Japan

Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 8:38am

So, we got on the bus around 6pm in
Fukushima.  There were about 8 of us by this point.  I had already been out to buy soccer shorts, socks, shin guards (nike, I was pissed to have to buy them, but whatever, it’s impossible to stay away from brands in soccer).  My “football boots” were being hooked up by this guy Neal who had some that he didn’t use.  So we piled on the bus.  I had 10 beers in my bag and two 26ers, one of tequila and one of whiskey but the night before I had poured them both out and mixed them and then poured the booze back in.  So in essence I had 2 bottles of half tequila, half whiskey.  The bus was pure bling.  When you check the pics look at the chandelier we had at the back and all the lights had big jewels on them.  So I drank a few beers on the way and we made stops in Koriyama (I know the kanji for yama now, and it means mountain) and Aizu to pick up the rest of the Fuku JETs.  After Aizu I obviously passed one of my bottles around the bus, yes it wasn’t very sanitary…but whatever.  So most people got in on it and I got tipsy enough that just as I finished it I passed out.  Apparently everyone else had the same idea and the entire bus was asleep fairly quickly.  By this time it was about 11 or so and the next thing you know, we all wake up in Nagano and its 2am.  It made the trip so much more enjoyable because it was perfect, every hour or so after 6 new people got on, we had a chat with them and then the next group got on.  So always new people, always drinking, then everyone was asleep.  We all stumbled to our rooms that were huge with about 4 normal beds and then a raised tatami mat floor for futons, which could fit about 4 across.  Other rooms were bigger and smaller then ours.  We all passed out so we could get up around 7:30 go down for breakfast which consisted of lettuce, just straight up, rice, just straight up, hard boiled eggs and some weird sausages.  We piled on the bus at 8:45am or so and headed for the pitches (the word for soccer field in British, no one called it a field all weekend, the fields were even labeled, pitch A, pitch B, and so on).  So, we had 26 on our team in total, a ton of Brits and Aussies who everyone knows love footie and even some Americans that were talented.  So we obviously went with the talent.  Like everyone did play, even I played and I SUCK at soccer/football.  The first game I just watched to regain my limited knowledge of the game and we won in penalty kicks but we did not look like that good of a team, granted this was the first time we (and I use the term “we” loosely) had all played together.  Anyway, the 2^nd game we won something like 4 to 0 and I got to play a bit, I touched the ball once….kicking it directly to the other team, I am such a superstar. 

In between these games we went to the combini (convenient store) to grab some lunch.  We get there and….OH YA looks like the 17 other guys teams along with their girl counterparts had the same idea and had cleared out all the combini’s in the town.  Yes, we were in Nagano, but it was like a small little section of it tucked away in the mountains so it was more like a little town.  We never actually were in Nagano proper I think.  So we had to attempt to make meals out of whatever was left.  I ate some funky things but damn I was soo hungry it didn’t matter.

The third game was close, we went up 1-0 but ended up having the other team come back and win 2-1, I touched the ball 3 times and made sure that my teammates were aware of it each time.  I figured hey if I’m not going to contribute in a playing capacity I may as well give a little comic relief.  Our fourth game was just like the third and we went down again.  We were doing relatively well and then we just went to crap. 

So we finished with a record of 2-2 and were placed in the loser’s bracket for the next day.  It really didn’t matter because Saturday night is what most of us went to Nagano for anyway.  We went back to the hotel and hit the showers.  They were selling beer in the lobby when we got there, 3 for 1000 yen.  I bought a six to help with my other bottle of whisky and tequila, showered and then cracked the bottle.  We had dinner which was provided quickly between 6 and 7 and then back to our rooms.  I ended up in 3 different rooms with my special mix and it was finished just before we went downstairs around 9.  Now all of the JETs…or at least most were staying at this one hotel and they had cleared out like a banquet room of sorts for us to party in.  The place was packed and it was 1000 yen for 3 beer tickets.  So the normal drunken evening followed complete with 3 guys kissing one girl to see who was the best kisser etc etc…I did not take part in that little tourney.  I have no clue what time I went to bed, but it was not early…I’d say like 4:30 or so.  We were up and going at 7:30am as we played first at 9:30.  We were in the losers bracket and we were high up so we started the first game with all the people that had barely played.  I touched the ball 4 times during this game….yay me and I bailed once pretty bad running backwards.  They scored early on us and we couldn’t come back on them even when we put our good players in.  So we were out of the tournament pretty early.  We stuck around for curry lunch, which was amazing.  Two trucks pulled up with the back of each either full of pots of rice or pots of curry and two old Japanese women just dished it out, all you could eat.  After we stuffed ourselves it was back on the bus for the drive home.  I slept for a bit, but not very much.  The drive was amazing, leaving Nagano there were mountains everywhere and the roads winded around and through them and then I got to see the Sea of Japan which was really cool.  We had some bus troubles along the way and had to stop for about half an hour and have a mechanic try and fix it.  We were home about 8:30 or so after leaving at around 12:30….not a very short drive.  I was just happy to be home when I got there.  Ya, so that’s my weekend.  Right now I’m at Adachi High School and I’ve almost figured out the internet here….wireless says I’m connected but it says that internet is disabled….i’m not too sure.  I have no classes in Higashi all week as they have tests and how could an ALT possibly help with that.  Tomorrow there’s a lantern festival in Nihonmatsu (where I am now) and apparently it’s huge, so I’m coming with Will to meet up with Paul.  Should be a good time.  Peace for now.

Brent

I forgot this….I received a letter from Idai Bunko with a bunch of the pics that they took printed on one piece of paper as well as a letter from a little girl named Kaeda who wrote it of her own accord thanking me for the pen and for coming to the school which was really cool.  I wrote them a letter back thanking them and asking if they were posting the pics on the net anywhere so that I could get a hold of them.  Hopefully they are and I will have them up within the week.