Update 3: cooking, fighting, and pool.

Sweet jesus! Asparagus! (and it cost me like 2 bucks for 3 pieces X.X)

When I started writting this thing, it was to record all the things that might seem interesting and surprising to me and whoever may read this, but I think I`m getting to the point where life here is starting to seem normal. I feel like I don`t need to take my camera everywhere with me because the novelty has worn off quickly, and it feels like I`ve seen everything there is to see, and I hate feeling like a tourist, carrying a butt-ton of stuff around in my pockets and snapping pictures like crazy.

I don`t think its a good idea to get to comfortable here though, because if I get too cozy and settled in I may miss something amazing. Last night the Mayflower house (apartment building) kids and I went and hung out around town a bit and I am rather glad that I had my camera with me :)

Speaking of cameras, I think its kind of funny how its my trip and experience but there is a very small percentage of pictures with me actually in them. But I guess the neat thing is, is that the pictures are what I am seeing through my eyes so they may be a little more true to the experience rather than a set up `everybody say cheese!` kind of picture.

Below are picture when we went and hung out at the bar Balabushka`s, which was really chill because we got to just talk, play darts, billiards, and relax. Some shooto pics are mixed in too.

Glenn and abit of Shoko.

It`s backwards, but it says Shooting-Gym Osaka, Mixed Martial Arts

Daniel, Shoko, Glenn, Verity, and Harvey. Harvey looks really happy.

Bridge near the apartment.

I was ridding on the back of Harvey`s bike, and when I tried to pull my big legs in closer so we didn`t hit things I hit the wheel and it wrecked the back of my shoe. I`m gonna glue it -.-

Another shot of Shooting Gym Osaka.

Our kitchen in our apartment. Im making EGGS!

Our bathroom. I have to sit in the bathtub to shower otherwise I hit my head or spray water everywhere.

Apparently all the bottles are there to detour pets from peeing on the plants.

Omega-3 enhanced bread. It`s so tasty!

Dan and I. I always have to make a stupid face for pictures.

Setting up for the next game.

My bed, with all my stuff on it. Make sure to notice my badass `rerakuma` (relax-bear) towel. I love it, so goofy.

Boxing Gloves, Shrimp, and taxis.

Me and Hide-Sempai. He wants to fight in America in the WEC promotion one day.

This is Zaki-san. I think he said he also fights pro, and is back for more practice. He did boxing drills with me and I have to say he is FAST.

Couple more of my training partners, whose names I still need to remember -.-

Sorry I look like crap, but it`s hard to look pretty when you`re sweaty and exhausted. I really do mean exhausted but it is always with a smile on my face because I really enjoy what I`m doing.

So, it`s been a few days since an update so here`s what has been going down.

I`ve gone to 3 days of Shooto training and it really has been a blast. I joined Shooto Gym Osaka, which has at least 3 pro fighters I`ve been training with, and one championship belt holder named Takashi Nakakura (guy pictured at the top right). This blew my mind. One of the guys is named Hide, and he was the one who helped explain to me what goes on and how things are run, and durring classes he helps me a lot since I`m a beginner when it comes to boxing and striking. He is really cool and nice, and I great friend. I`ve already made some really cool friends here, both in the Shooto Gym and in the apartment complex.

At the Shooto gym, the ranking system is like belt colors in Judo or Karate, but instead of belts, we have tshirts. White tshirts are the beginners (me!) and black shirts are the guys who have been doing this a while and have a lot of experience, and they teach the classes.

So far we`ve done a lot of boxing mitt work, drills, grappling drills and a TON of grappling and submission wrestling practice. Im not aloud to do striking sparring yet because Im a white shirt, but Im sure before I go home to America I`ll get the opportunity.

Back at home, I thought I was a decent submission wrestler (right Eric, James, Collin, David, and John?) but here if I`m not getting armbarred, I`m only getting a stalemate most of the time. It`s a little frustrating, but when I do win its just that much sweeter knowing that since everyone is so much better than me, I`m gaining a huge amount of experience which is only going to make me a better fighter :)

With boxing drills yesterday I got so tired I could barely though punches, because as I learned training with Mark Luigi back at purdue, a 1lb glove gets really heavy really quickly. I got bopped in the head with a punching mit a couple times becase I couldn`t move fast enough to defend. I am completely exhausted after our practices, but I am so happy that I am. It just means I`m breaking my body down to build up something stronger, with more experience behind me. It feels like a dream.

I also got a badass free sweatshirt/jacket thing for the gym which was free since its too hot here so they can`t sell it, and it was part of a spring promotion. I`ll surely add pictures of it later.
I had Taiyaki as reccomended by a friend, it was good. It`s like a fish shaped pancake and I got mine with custard inside.

My roomate Daniel.

Food we got that we cooked at our table.

Big crab guy.

Osaka is pretty at night, but its also dirty. As in like some parts of town are seedy. When Daniel and were walking around exploring and bar hopping, we passed a lot of street corners with girls and guys definately standing there waiting to be payed to get dirty. Some middle aged creepy ladies asked us if we wanted `masage` and we said no and ran before they could get any closer and spread super-aids. These people were everywhere, and I wonder if it feels a little scary to be alone as a girl in town because of all the creepers. We saw quite a few other foreigners walking around, and it was funny because a lot of them were like 40 year old balding fat white guys trying to hit on the girls. Daniel and I had fun sitting back and watching the goofyness ensue. By the time we got done walking around it was 5 am and the sun was coming up which totally messed with my sense of time, so Im feeling wide awake right now at like 11 (shit I have trainning tomorrow to be rested for -.-). All in all it was a great adventure though. Walking around was wonderful but it was another experience that made me really feel a little disconnected, missing everyone back home. Its a bummer that these stories and pictures are the best I can do to share my experience with you all because its kind of hard to convey a lot of feeling through a computer screen.

Me posing as the Glico man, a billboard thats a well known Osaka landmark.

Now Arriving in: Osaka

This is the first post in the blog I`ve set up for while I`m in Osaka, Japan, for one month during the summer of 2009. This is the second time I`ve been to Japan, but instead of going with my Japanese class I`m here with my friend Glenn and his girlfriend Yumi, who I met through Judo club at Purdue University.

This is all being taken down as a way to keep in touch with my friends and loved ones that I really miss right now, and to help keep a record to look back at and smile about for myself.

To get here it was a flight to Chicago, then Korea, each with five hour layovers which meant a lot of aimless walking in airports. On the flight to korea there was a little boy who was crying because he missed his dad which stopped me from sleeping a lot, but when he wasn`t crying he was really cute and cool. He seemed to think I was cool becuase he liked handing me his toys and talking to me in baby-korean talk which was pretty funny.

I finally got to Osaka 2 days after I left Indianapolis, and Glenn and Yumi helped show me around. We ate noodles close to our hotel, and spent a lot of time checking out the subway stations and areas around town, also checking out the Osaka Shooto Club which I am definately joining. I go back there today to do the final paper work, which was interesting becuase I had to go and make a passport photo in a photo booth to attatch to my membership papers (you need to apply a picture of yourself to your resume too when you apply for jobs in Japan).

The hotel I`m staying at is really really nice, and has a lot of other people from around the world. There`s Americans, New Zealanders, a British girl, and my roomate is Australian. Everyone seems really chill and it`s great. The assistant landlord lady is named Keiko and she`s nice too. I told her that that is the name of Naoko`s (my girlfriend who unfortunately is stuck in Indiana) older sister so I she said I can call her onee-san which I thought was pretty funny.

Now its time for breakfast, so to the convenience stores I go. Convenience stores in Japan are all sorts of badass by the way. Pictures and more words will come next time I need a break from adventuring.

Up up and away!