Clinic with Olympian Yumira Takayuki, my first yoga class, and Minamiboso Industry Festival

November 26, 2012

---Mid-Year Conference---

Last week was the CIR Mid-Year Conference. I got to go to a bunch of interesting presentations on translation, interpretation, taking business phone calls, etc. in addition to a not-so-interesting key-note speech where the speaker spent half of the speech introducing people from her office on slides...

Mid-Year Day 1

---Yumira Takayuki Clinic---

This weekend was, as usual, busy. On Friday, I went to the barn for a clinic with 2012 London Olympian, Yumira Takayuki. We had a meeting in the clubhouse beforehand where we discussed the importance of balance not only for the rider but for balancing your horse as well. Someone else was riding Parco this time so I ended up riding a different horse in the clinic, but it still went well. We did a lot of work on balance, and bringing your horse back in between jumps on course. Since it was after dark and the arena was quite muddy from all the rain we've been having, there were quite a few refusals from horses scared of the reflections off the puddles. (Honestly a little outside rein, outside leg and they would have been fine though...) Anyway this was my third time riding this horse that my trainer wants me to start showing with next year. I like him a lot but he's also quite expensive so we'll see what happens. I also have this younger horse in mind, but it's a matter of whether or not my trainer thinks that horse can do the one meter+ classes or not.

---Yoga Camp---

Saturday, I attended a yoga camp taught by a friend from the International Society in the neighboring town. She taught us about the importance of breathing during yoga exercise, and a few basic moves that left my body hurting the next day (yoga combined with hours of riding the day before (>.<) ). After the class we had tea and a homemade vegetarian lunch.

Edit: I have to say that after doing that yoga class (it has now been almost a month since then), my back pain from years of lifting bales of hay and cleaning stalls is completely gone! I've spent thousands at the chiropractor and the pain just kept coming back, but after one class of yoga the pain is gone! It's insane. Other people should do this.

When the camp ended, I hurriedly drove up to a friend's house near Chiba city for Thanksgiving dinner! Though I arrived quite late, I was glad to be able to meet up with a few of my friends.

Mochinage. See that wooden pavilion? People are throwing rice cakes from there.

---Minamiboso Industry Festival---
 The following morning (functioning on three hours of sleep), I attended the local Industry Festival for work. An industry festival is basically like what you would expect from a community festival in the U.S. There are kiosks selling locally produced goods, and booths advertising things like eco-driving, in addition to performances from local dance and drum groups. Some things that you won't see at a community festival in the U.S. included mochinage where people stand on top of a tall wooden tower and throw rice cakes at the people below who all but fight over the rock hard cakes, and a wooden festival float called a dashi that is donned with local children who play the drums while being drug around the grounds by city employees.

Dashi. You can see the kids sitting on the second level waiting to play the drums.

The other lady in my office and myself (yes there are only two of us!) worked as the “glorified tea ladies” and set up the lunch tables, beer, and tea for the lunch meeting attended by local division and section chiefs and the mayor. It was kind of fun because it was like working at a restaurant, where there's only one table and you have an hour to prepare for it.

I'M ON A BOAT.

During our free time, we wandered around and sampled local cuisine (I managed to avoid eating whale once again). I got to eat some juicy beef skewers, freshly made udon, and sake manjyuu (round, sticky cakes made out of rice and flour with red bean inside). The manjyuu was so delicious! The outer breading actually tasted like sake, it was so yummy! I totally didn't think to take a picture before I devoured it though.

We also got to tour a local fishing boat (I got pictures this time)!

Inside the control room.