Cheerleading...It's what I do :)

Last night I attended Shiga Lakestar's cheerleading practice. The cheerleading team is called "The Lakes". They are simply the best cheerleading team in the entire BJ league, and I'm not just saying it because my boyfriend plays for the team. I have attended many away games and seen many other cheerleading teams. They don't compare. Their director is Naoko, and she was a Sacramento Kings dancer for 2 years. She asked me to attend practice and help critique their routines. I also plan on teaching them some new material at future practices. Watching them dance made me miss cheerleading....but I don't miss the weekend long rehearsals...Thank god that's over :). I arrived back at home at about 11:30pm to a concerned Chris. He was so concerned he decided to text me 2 hours after the time I was supposed to be home. He didn't want to miss the James Bond movie he had been watching while I was gone. Gotta love him for that. Teaching a dance team in another country is hard due to the language barrier... But dancing is universal and some times you need to show them how it's done to get the right result... I love being able to help the cheerleading team and also meet some pretty awesome girls. Many of the girls aspire to be professional cheerleaders in America and they always ask me what it takes... I say "Perseverance"... But in simpler terms I just say "Never Give Up" :)!!!! Go Go Lakes!!!!...

Today I learned to make Sushi :)

My english student Michi taught me to make sushi today. One of Chris's teammates wife and I arrived at her Michi's home at 9am this morning to begin the process. The contents of my first rolls were cucumber, egg, mushrooms, and fish paste (don't ask).... It was amazing and I can't wait to come home and make rolls for my family and most importantly ... myself :)

Happy Birthday to my brother Mundo & sister Natalia :)

This week was very special for my family back at home. My brother turned 21 on sunday, and my little sister turns 18 thursday. WOW!!!!....my poor parents :(..... I want to dedicate this blog to them and let them know how much I truly love them and wish I was home to share these important birthdays with them. I posted a link to a video of my dad singing Happy Birthday to my brother...It makes me cry every time I see it:(...

click here for link :

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1128822321205&ref=mf

A day in Kyoto....

Chris had the weekend off, so we decided to venture off to Kyoto. We took the train to the central part of Kyoto and set off to see a few shrines. We saw two shrines and also the city hall. It was nice to spend the day in another town and also see more of Japan. We also found a shrine that actually looked big compared to Chris :)...

It's officially Spring!!!... Then it snowed :(

Spring has come to Japan... but you wouldn't know it by the snow fall we got on Monday. I can't lie it was simply beautiful.

I loved seeing the fresh snow cover our town.

Chris and I walked out to the pier to see the view and left the first footsteps in the fresh snow.

I think we have the same size foot :)....

These are the moments I will always remember... and I get to share it with the person I love :)...

Cutest Kid in Japan....

I met the most adorable kids during my stay here in Japan. They are the children of Chris's teammate Takamichi Fujiwara, or more commonly known as "Wara". His wife Noriko has invited us over for dinner a few times, and I also teach her english 2 days a week. Their son Entero and Karyn were pretty apprehensive to meet Chris and I during the first few encounters. Yet, the children both opened up to Chris before me, but I think this is due to the fact that Chris is a big kid himself. Every time I come over I have to start from scratch, but by the time we leave there is some serious progress. Here is the pic of the very adorable kids after a dinner we attended at their home. "Mr. Cool Guy"!!!!

TIme has passed....So I must post...

Many exciting things have happened since the last time I made a new post. My english student invited me to her home to try on one of her many Kimono's. There are many steps to be done in putting on the Kimono. She helped me with the whole process, but if I was alone I think it would of took me about 20 minutes to do. To my surprise she gave me my very own Kimono to have. It is a wonderful orange/coral color robe and on the Obi (elaborate belt of Kimono) there is a beautiful hibiscus flower. The only part you must get used to is wearing the shoes. They remind me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for some reason.

Upon finishing this amazing experience, she then decided to feed me a traditional Japanese dish. It is called Natto. This dish is typically served with rice for breakfast. Americans tend not to like this dish due to it's pungent odor. Why the odor you might ask!?!?!? Because, it is fermented (fungus) soybeans. When stirred it creates a sticky like substance around the beans. I will try anything once.......Meaning one time never again...

That weekend Chris had a game in Takamatsu. The city is about 5 hours away from Otsu. Chris left on friday and stayed back till the game on sunday. Chris's team demolished Takamatsu on saturday with a 20 point lead. I set off on my voyage to Takamatsu on a very early sunday morning. The drive was long, but the sightseeing was awesome. We stopped at a famous bridge in Kobe, and it looked alot like San Francisco's Bay Bridge. We arrived in Takamatsu to much warmer weather and also another victorious win by the Lakestars. I am so proud of the boys for all their hardwork on the court. They truly deserve these two wins :)......

This week we had a chance to meet the team dentist. She is absolutely adorable and very petite. She cleaned Chris's teeth while standing up the entire time. I can imagine the size of these boys tends to be a bit of a task for her.

Last night we attended a very nice dinner for the team sponsors and booster. The tables were split up into different companies. We sat with the owner of Dhiatsu (might be misspelled), which is the car sponsor of the team. After a long night of autograph's and pictures we headed home to sleep. Chris has the weekend off and plan to do some tourists things while we have the time. Well until then here are some pics of the town we live in .......

I just want to point out the pigeon who decided to walk right across us as we rode our bikes home. Seriously, I don't know if he was trying to take his life or we should of obeyed the Pigeon Crossing rule :)