Back in The States for Christmas and Riding my Horse

A month of life all at once!

Aoba no Mori Park in Chiba City

August 26, 2013

I'm officially moved into my new apartment and the internet is up and running! Life has been tough seeing as Japanese apartments don't come with any appliances installed, and I won't be starting work until September. However, thanks to all kinds of gracious support from my friends, coworkers, family, (strangers, wizards, etc.), I've been somehow pulling through! So here's a HUGE thank you to everyone who has literally been saving my ass for the last month or so. I owe you all big time.

Took this during work hehe

I haven't had any spare time to write a blog post due to the move, doing some part time work at a friend's barn, and studying for the new job, so there's a giant gap in information here, but I've actually been up to some really interesting stuff lately! Between living in Japan having taught me to not be afraid to try new things, and being obscenely broke right now, I've been testing out new kinds of work, and doing other random things on the side that I wouldn't have had the balls to do if you had asked me to two years ago.

First off, a friend and I decided to be extras in a movie! We were on set for a day for the live action version of Kiki's Delivery Service which will be coming out sometime in Spring. The set was amazing and colorful, the lead actress was cute as a button, and I absolutely cannot wait for it to come to theatres, whether I actually get to appear in it or not! 

Best windmill ever! I require one of these. Now.

We look so 60's! 

The following day was JLPT N1 (*.*) Woke up with a migraine so I'm pretty positive I failed the test. But there's no use talking about it now, the results will be out in... one hour and twenty minutes!! (Hence why I'm awake writing this instead of getting well rested before another day of manual labor tomorrow.)<----(Don't let me fool you. I actually like it :P )

A few days before the big move, I climbed Mt. Fuji with a group of friends, and I got to make a new friend during the climb as well! If you don't know, Mt. Fuji was just added to the World Heritage List, so it's been all over the news as being extremely crowded right now. Ironically, when I was there it wasn't that crowded...not really sure what that's about. The climb was exhausting and took forever, our massive group got split off into two, and one member of our half-group suffered altitude sickness, but we successfully made it to the top and back down--at which point some guy tried to get me to pay 3500 yen to take a picture with one of his ponies despite the fact that I told him I own my own horse, so how could I possibly justify paying 35 bucks to take a picture with one of his... In any case, it was an eventful trip full of mysteries and drama that I will leave up to your imagination. (Sorry there aren't any photos. My phone battery was dead due to the lack of service!)

Two days later was the July riding school exam! Videos are below, and this post is long enough already so I won't go into it, but I made tokuren! (short for tokubetsu renshuu or "special practice") So I'm pretty excited about that! I have to save up my money so I can go to some shows next year!

Then, today I worked a one day job doing voice recording! We did recordings for a new application that's coming out which will help teach natural English in a medical setting. It was my first time doing voice recording so I was surprised at how many takes it took to get everything perfect. You seriously aren't allowed to breathe at all during recording, and you have to start recording with your mouth already open or the mic will catch the noise on tape! That was a little frustrating, but it was actually a lot of fun.

Well, I think that about covers everything of the last... since whenever I wrote last. Oh yeah, also we had the circuit in July the week after the exam and I knocked a rail on Fusaichi in 1m, and had a clear round on Fururu in 110cm and got second :)

Fusaichi getting his legs cooled down :)

Ok skimmed over version of the last month or so: COMPLETE! Leave me some comments if you want more info or just want to leave some shouties! (I heard someone use this expression on the radio once years ago and it hasn't left me since). <3

June Circuit, Restaurant Yamaguchi, Murakuni Ramen, and Hokkezaki Path

June 23, 2013

---June Circuit---

This past weekend was the June circuit. This month I rode Fusaichi in the 1 meter “A” class and Fururu in the 110 cm “S” class. Fusaichi is a newer horse at our club, but I love him already! He's a lot of fun to ride, and he's really cute! Also, this month was my first time riding in the 110 cm class, so I was a little nervous.

In the A class, there was a strange angle to the second jump where it sort of aimed into the corner of the arena. My trainer told me when I went in the arena to make sure to not cut the corner to that fence, but then when I came off of the first jump I looked too late for the second jump and Fusaichi got nervous and knocked the rail with a back leg. He was good for the rest of the course though and our time was decent. I was really irritated at myself though for not remembering to do what my trainer said even though he had just said it like a minute before. UGH.

Then in the S class, Fururu was really good for me, but I was being totally stupid and rode her just like I was riding Fusaichi! Even though I know Fururu has a really sensitive mouth, I rode her too strong and her stride became too short. We had a really slow time, and we knocked a rail on the last line because I had a short spot. Also, I feel like my two point was really off last night! Like for some reason I kept pinching with my knees instead of using my calves and I feel like it totally threw me off balance. God, I hope I don't keep riding like this from now on.

Now that the shame of the weekend is over, at least I can learn some things from it. 1. Remember what your trainer tells you. 2. Base your ride on your horse. 3. Don't pinch with your knees.

Okay. I'm just done talking about this now.

July 4, 2013

---Restaurant Yamaguchi---

It looks just like a house from the outside, but don't be fooled!

A few weeks ago for my going away party (Yes, I'll be moving on to a new job starting this August.), My co-workers, the vice mayor (what do you even call that position in English normally???), and I had a lovely dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Restaurant Yamaguchi, in Chikura. I had actually eaten here once before, for my birthday last October, and the food was absolutely superb. Now I know you're going to think that a restaurant called “Yamaguchi” can't possibly have good french cuisine, but oh my god, this place has delicious multi-course meals, and the best wine I've drunk anywhere. And the atmosphere has this sultry, date-like feel that only a french restaurant can pull off.

First we were given two different kinds of warm bread, which was then followed by a “salad,” a plate of various greens, a dish of chopped up tomatoes and veggies, and some pate.

Salad plate

Next came a bowl of chilled pumpkin soup, which was creamy and delicious. After that was the main dish, of which there are several choices available: fish, veal, and duck. I'm not a huge fan of cooked fish so I chose the duck. It came out so tender and juicy, that it seriously tasted better than any filet mignon I've eaten, and I do love steak!

Duck

Next came our desert, a fruit pudding and a slice of cheesecake, which was followed by a cup of coffee and a plate with a raspberry jelly candy and a truffle. All in all, one of the best restaurants I've eaten at here in Japan for sure.

Desert

---Murakuni Ramen---

Tonkotsu with regular noodles and a boiled egg

I also recently checked out a new ramen shop in Tateyama over lunch with a co-worker. This place is located in Container Kitchen just off the 127 in Tateyama, and they are known for their tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. The broth was pretty good, but really sweet so I recommend adding in some chili paste. I ordered the normal noodles, but you can choose from harder noodles or noodles that have been more fully cooked as well. The noodle quality was just alright in my opinion as they were quite thin and I prefer thicker ones. The restaurant itself is just a small shop with a counter, and a large deck with plenty of outdoor seating. Next door there is a really cute coffee shop decorated with lanterns. It reminded me of Asian restaurants in the U.S. so I decided to take a picture for the sake of foreigners who might find it interesting? I'm not really sure, but it looked like a chill place so I took a photo.

Chill place next door

---Hokkezaki Path---

Last week, I was informed that there is an amazing walking path just behind my apartment that was actually planned by a co-worker about twenty years ago. Though it was planned so long ago, the path looks brand new! It runs along the waters edge, and on rainy days (such as when I went) you may need to be careful of waves splashing up on to the path. Partway in, there is a small rest area with benches and a table overlooking some rocks jutting out of the bay for a gorgeous view.

Anyway, I officially love this place. Too bad I didn't know about it sooner!

Sorry I've been away for a while!!

I just wanted to apologize for being absent from the inter web for a long period! I have moved to Chiba City now, and I'll be starting a new position in September! Unfortunately the move left me without internet for several weeks so I'm incredibly behind, but I hope to continue writing here. これからも宜しく、お願い致します!

I'll get a new post up in the next day or so :)

June Cultural Salon and Hello Work

June 20, 2013

Does this photo have anything to do with this post? No.

On June 9^th I held my fourth Cultural Exchange Salon at the Tomiura Genki Club. The circumstances kind of sucked because we had to have it on a Sunday morning to match up everyone's schedules, so not only did I have to go to work on a day off, but I had to miss riding school that morning as well. The presentation however, was really interesting. It was actually done by a friend of mine who I met through a local international association. She's really awesome because she has traveled and lived in several different countries and learned something new in each place that she's been to. Not only that, but she uses these experiences in the work that she does now as she runs a yoga class and makes jewelry out of natural materials and handbags from textiles that she learned to make abroad.

If you're interested, you can check out her website here: http://www.ocao.biz/about-us/

Also my city blog post is here: http://civil.mboso-etoko.jp/news/detail.asp?id=1265&group=120&bk=-1

６月９日は４番目の文化交流サロンをとみうら元気クラブで行いました。みんなの都合がいいときは日曜日の朝しかなかったので乗馬学校から休まなきゃいけなくなったし、休みの日に仕事をやらなきゃいけなくったし、ちょっと大変な事情だった。でも、プレゼンはすごく面白かった。実はプレゼンをやった人は地域の国際交流協会で知り合った友達なんだ。その友達はいろんな国に行って、住んでいたことがあって、それぞれの新しい場所でなにか新しく学んでいて、私はその子を本当に尊敬している。それだけではなく、現在の仕事でヨガのレッスンとか自然な材料でジューリーつくりや海外で作り方を学んだ繊維株でかばんを作って売り上げのようなことで海外での経験を全部使っている。

もし、興味があればウェブサイトはこちらです：http://www.ocao.biz/about-us/

みんみんネットのブログはこちらです：http://civil.mboso-etoko.jp/news/detail.asp?id=1265&group=120&bk=-1

Afterward we all had a cup of chai and chatted for a little bit. The chai itself has its own special story because I actually had to go to Chiba city to purchase some. Since I was there over the weekend for riding anyway, I just decided to stop in at the Kaldi inside Ario next to the otaku mall in Soga. (I call this place the otaku mall because it literally just has remote control car race tracks, anime goods shops, game centers, and a movie theatre inside.) At first the only chai I could find was this powdered version that you just add milk to and heat up. But I wanted to have legitimate bags of chai, so after asking an employee I was directed to these tins of tea from France (French chai!? Whatever. As long as it tastes legit.) So I brought it to the event the next morning only to have a co-worker look at the tin and go, “you bought loose leaf!?” Shit. I love that other people can tell these things just by glancing at the box from across the room. I totally just assumed that it would be tea bags inside. Anyway we managed to find some tea pots with straining pour spouts so it all worked out in the end.

その後、雑談しながらチャイティーをいっぱい飲んだ。このチャイを買うには千葉市まで行けなくてはいけなかったのでちょっと特別なストリーがある。週末はもう乗馬クラブのためにもうそこにいたので蘇我のオタクモールの側にあるアリオの中のカルディーに寄ってた。（オタクモールはリモコン車走路、アニメ商品のお店、ゲーセン、と映画館しかないからその名を付けた。）当初は粉末のミルクを加えて暖めるだけのチャイしか見つけられなかった。でも、バッグに入っている本物のチャイが欲しくて、店員さんにきって見たら、フランスから（チャイが？フランスから！？まあいいや。味が本物であれば）の容器に入っているチャイへ誘導された。次の朝、イベント場に持っていたら、同じ職場の人が「っへ！ルースリーフを買ったの！？」やばい。なんで私が気づかないことを向こうから簡単に気づくの？マジで普通のバッグだと思っていた。結局、茶漉しを見つけて作ることができた。

There was also a bit of an issue trying to get the presentation to run, because it kept freezing on my computer, but that totally wasn't my fault! It turns out the file was huge so we had trouble running it on another computer as well. Luckily we got it up and running almost exactly on time for the start of the event.

Also, as I'm currently job searching myself, I want to talk a little bit about Hello Work. If you don't know, Hello Work is a government run program to help people find jobs. I had always thought of it as geared towards Japanese people only. However, two weeks ago, a huge packet was passed around the office stating that Hello Work needs to have equal opportunity employment, so they would be opening a window for foreign job seekers. In addition, a co-worker notified me that if you go to a local office, you can apply for jobs anywhere in the country! Up until now, I had assumed that you could only search for jobs locally.

So after finding out these two pieces of information, I decided to take a trip to their office two Fridays ago. As it turns out, the office is open the exact same hours as my office, so I had to wait until a Friday when I get off early from work. When I got there, I was informed that I could register myself as a job seeker, but the registration would only be for local positions. If I wanted to search for jobs in other cities/prefectures then I could use one of the computers to search, and then print out any jobs that I found. There was a 30 minute time limit on the computers, however, as there were only two other people using about 20 computers, no one came to kick me off when my time ran out. After printing out several interesting looking jobs, I was told that if I want to apply, I do have to register. I decided to hold off at the time though because I had come straight from work and was pretty starving.

As I said before, there are also consultation windows where you can get help in your job search. However, I'm not positive as to whether there are any English speakers available or not. In any case, if you're looking for a job in Japan you need to be able to speak Japanese well enough to at least be able to job search on your own anyway, so I suppose an English speaker isn't really necessary. If anyone else is job searching as well, I'd be interested to hear your comments, or if you have any questions about my experience at Hello Work then feel free to drop me a message below!

Octopus Fishing Experience

June 12, 2013

Today I went octopus fishing! Apparently this is something you can do as a tourist when you come to the Boso area, but I went with some co-workers from the Tourism Promotion Division today.

今日はタコを釣りに行った！房州に行ったら、観光客としてこんな体験があるらしいですが、今日は同じ職場の人たちと一緒に行ってきた。この後はちょっと長い文書だし、今日は仕事が忙しいので英語だけにした。でも、結構面白かった経験だったので時間があれば読んでみてください。

So after changing into some tennis shoes in the city hall parking lot, I threw on a hoodie in hopes of warding off the misty rain, while praying the approaching typhoon wouldn't make the waves too large today. We loaded up in the van, and set off for the port.

We weaved between small fishing boats as we headed to our designated parking spot, which we were told is “in front of the vending machine.” I jumped down from the van, only to realize that my co-workers were slightly more prepared than I. Having not given a second thought to going out in the rain with just jeans and a hoodie, I now realized that this wasn't going to be enough to shelter me from the rain that was now coming down slightly harder than it was when we had left. A pitying co-worker lent me a towel to tie around my head pirate-style, and we tied on our life jackets. 

The "rice ball" mountain

Stepping into the canoe-sized motor boat, the fisherman who accompanied us asked for the ladies to sit near the edge, as we would be the ones pulling in the traps. He indicated a mountain off in the distance that he described as being shaped like a “rice ball,” to be the area where we would go to pull in the traps. As the boat plowed through the water, I looked out over the misty mountains, rain blurring my vision, and the mascara that I had forgotten to not put on in the morning added to the Jack Sparrow effect as it left black streaks under my eyes.

We stopped at our destination and after dropping anchor, a co-worker pulled up the first little cage to find a small octopus inside. Upon pulling up a second, we found a second little octopus, an eel, and a small red fish. Next was my turn, so I grabbed on to the rope and hauled the cage up from the bottom. We were lucky this time, and a decent sized octopus was inside! The fisherman plucked him from the trap and handed it to me. Letting out a scream of terror as the slimy alien-looking creature now squirmed on my hand, I was all too grateful when it, as if terrified by my shrills, leapt to the safety of the small pool in the bottom of the boat where we would store our catch until we returned to shore. A

co-worker pulled up another trap to find a yellow and black striped moray eel. We were told it was dangerous though, and thus he was returned to the depths below. After pulling in several other cages of octopuses, we headed back to the docks. On my way back I watched the octopuses swimming around the little tank, squirting black ink whenever a neighbor got too close.

Pool with our catch. The eel is in the red bag.

The fisherman removed their innards and ink pouches by flipping their heads inside out, and one of the larger octopuses made a (now headless) run for it to the edge of the boat, where he was stopped by a co-worker and tossed back into the little pool. Our collected sea creatures were then thrown into a bucket for carrying in the car to our next location.

I sat on the bench seat in the back leering at the eel who continually freed himself despite my attempts to return him to the bucket. I sighed and put up my feet as I watched him struggle and flip himself around the floor of the government issued vehicle until we arrived at a shabby looking place labeled with a white sign and a smiling red octopus stating, “Octopus Owners.” 

I imagine at some point someone went to wash their clothes and was greeted by this sight instead.

Jumping down from the van, I was greeted by a cheery, middle aged woman, and upon approaching what I can only assume was meant to be a garage, a stooped, grandmother figure came out to check the contents of our bucket. Snatching up the octopuses, she threw them into the washing machine set underneath the garage's over hang, and dumped in several giant scoops of salt. I was told that they would be on spin for the next 25 minutes, so I should wait inside the garage until then. 

Seating myself upon a red plastic chair, I began watching a period piece drama on the flat screen t.v. that was set above the many fish tanks that were lined up in rows. Upon saying a few words to the elderly woman, I realized this is one of the few times since I've been in Japan that no one gave me any different treatment for being a foreigner. My clothes finally began to dry as a large vat sat boiling over a fire to my right, and I checked out some of the fish tanks to find mollusks for sale. The middle-aged woman explained that they're cheap here because they haven't gone through the “middle man” yet before they hit market. She said “if you get them from here they're cheap, if you get them from the roadside station they are a little more, and if you get them after that, they've already hit two markets in between so the price goes up.”

By this time, our many legged load of laundry was done, and the

It's like a witches brew.

grandmother tossed the octopuses into the vat, using a sieve to clear away the excess salt foam from the washer. After cooking them for about five minutes, they were tossed into a small bucket of cool water and we were offered a piece to try right then and there. Remembering a past unfortunate experience trying to eat octopus at a sushi restaurant I worked at part time during college, I turned down the offer, afraid of embarrassing myself. However I did end up taking one home with me for dinner later.

We arrived back at the city hall, and headed back to our various divisions after exclaiming how tired everyone must be. Thinking that it was some interesting piece of knowledge, I explained in excitement to the head of my division how they threw the octopuses in the washer before cooking them, only to realize that every Japanese person in the room already knows that they do this, despite having never been octopus fishing before themselves. It really is funny how something that is general knowledge for some, is something entirely new to someone else.

Clinic, Higashi Kanto Show, and a Visit from Chiba-kun!

May 20, 2013

---Chikamori Hiroyuki Clinic---

On the 12^th we had a clinic with Chikamori Hiroyuki. We worked on getting our horses to listen to our legs instead of relying on just our hands or using the crop, etc. We did a lot of tight turns using only one hand on the reins and leg pressure. And of course we all had our crops taken away at the beginning. I was riding Macaron, and he bucks a lot when you use too much leg pressure, so I was a little worried about how he would be, but the exercise worked really well for him. I hope he improved from the exercises.  

５月１２日はクリニックに出た。手や鞭に頼るんじゃなくて、脚の合図が馬に分かりやすくなるようにした。それをするために手綱を片手に持って、脚だけで小さな巻き乗りを何回も練習した。でもちろん、最初から鞭が没収されたんだ。その日はマカロンに乗って、いつも最初に脚を使うとき跳ねるんだからちょっと心配したけど、その意味で脚の合図に敏感だからこの練習は多分、マカロンにぴったりだったのかなぁと思う。

I understand where Chikamori-san is coming from in trying to get riders away from using the crop. If you rely on it too heavily, and if you use it inappropriately, your horse will just replace the actual aid with the crop and eventually only listen to you when you use it rather than listening to your actual aids. However, I don't think that the crop should be ignored altogether. When used appropriately, it has its place in reinforcing aids so your horse can't get away with bad habits. I think that knowing when to use it (i.e. as a reinforcement of your aids rather than as an aid itself) is the most important part.

---Higashi Kanto Horse Show---

The following Thursday (the 16th) we headed up to Higashi Kanto Horse Park for the JEF*** CSI* show. Thursday was set-up and a day for trainers to do warm-up rounds so I mainly helped tack up and set up our stall area for the weekend. I did 90cm all weekend since this was my first rated show in Japan. On Friday I had my first class. My pace was too slow and I had two knock downs, but I managed to pull off a really hard turn after one of the jumps. Not a great way to start off the weekend, but I guess you have to start somewhere. On Saturday, my time was decent but I had a freak knock-down at fence two. My horse stuck out his back leg funny when he jumped and kicked the front rail on the oxer. That kind of sucked because I knew there was nothing I could have done differently to change it. Then, on Sunday we had a really awesome course. It started on a broken line with a roll back to an oxer (there were three different ways you could take the roll back depending on how brave you are), to a big oxer at the end of the arena, and then to a triple outside to a diagonal line (with the option for a tight inside turn), finishing on an outside line (also an option here for a tight turn before the line). I took the second tightest turn on the roll back because I was worried that if I did the 180 then I would loose too much pace, but then when I got to the triple I went a little slow and added. In the end, my time was just okay, but I had a clear round. I ended up finishing in 5^th place, only a couple hundredths of a second ahead of 6^th (*.*)  (This is the course in the video btw)

次の木曜日は東関東ホースパークの試合だった。木曜日はインストラクターがフレンドシップに出て、金曜日からは本番。これは私の日本での始めての試合で、９０センチに出た。金曜日はちょっと遅くて、落下があった。土曜日は時間はまあまあだったけど、また落下。日曜日はペースがちょっと遅かったけど、クリアーだったので５位だった。

I feel like this weekend I was really able to improve my riding a lot and learn a lot about managing pace and turns together on course (I mean it is called “speed and handiness” after all). There were a lot of impressive riders there so I feel like I learned a lot just from watching them as well. I hope to be able to go again soon!

試合に行って、少しだけ自分の騎乗を上達できた気がする。それに、乗馬の本当にうまい人が何人もいて、その方々を見るだけで、色んなことを学ぶことができた。

May 24, 2013

---Chiba-kun Visit---

On the 21^st, I stopped in to visit a nursery school because a co-worker needed some photos for a flyer about the upcoming Prefectural Citizen's Day. Chiba-kun, the giant red dog mascot of Chiba Prefecture, was visiting the children for a half hour that

Chiba-kun dancing with the kids

morning, so I went to watch and take some photos. Let me just say it was nice to not be the one getting stared at for once. **phew** Apparently man-dressed-as-giant-red-dog overshadows gaijin (thank god). Anyway, the kids were pretty cute, I took a few steps towards overcoming my fear of people in giant mascot costumes by meeting the poor man who had to be stuffed inside the stifling body, and I got out of the office for a few hours, so I would say the trip was a success.　 

２１日は、県民の日の情報のために幼稚園で写真をとりに寄ってきた。理由は、その日に千葉県のゆるキャラー、チバくんが３０分ぐらい子供たちと遊びに来ていたからだ。子供がかわいかったし、きぐるみの恐怖症をちょっと乗り越えたし（笑）、少しだけパソコンから離れられたから、大成功だと思います。