#@$!@!$##^

3 days to go, and.....I GOT A JOB!

Dad says that's what he calls "cuttin' it close!"

I'll be teaching English at a school in Cabano, on the Peninsula de Nicoya (near Montezuma). All morning I've been thinking about how relieving it would be if I just had a job for sure...to take care of so many questions I have. And Pop! Stephanie emailed me and offered me the job! She's even helping us find a place to live! Cobano looks like a beautiful place...

days

5 days to go. Still no real plan. A couple of promising job options:

1) English teacher, $600/month, near Montezuma (on the Pacific Coast)
2) Bakery manager, $300/month, near Puerto Viejo (on the Caribbean Coast)

Hope to know more answers by Friday!

weight

There are six Grand Sumo tournaments every year, three of which are held in Tokyo. It was just our luck that one of them started the day we landed in Tokyo. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived at Ryogoku, the stadium, at 7:30am so that we would be sure to get tickets. The first bout started at 8, and the last was over around 7. You better believe that we stayed the entire time! 11 hours of pure entertainment.

The roof over the clay ring is designed after a Shinto shrine, Shinto being a spiritual practice in Japan.


These guys are gigantic, and one of the many interesting things about this tournament was that there is not a weight class. They divide the wrestlers into classification by experience. This meant that there were many bouts where there was at least a 100 pound weight difference between the opponents. We quickly learned that the winner of the ring was not always the biggest, and often it seemed like the bigger guy was at a disadvantage because he couldn't control his body movements.

Sumo wrestlers are very well respected and are almost regarded as royalty in Japan. This man turned and flashed a smile for us before his bout.


Having never seen a Sumo match, but knowing that they were a big (haha) deal, watching the ceremony and rituals for the first time was amazing. The wrestlers in the same class sit around the ring to wait for their turn to wrestle. Before the wrestler steps onto the ring, the referee (dressed in a traditional Samurai uniform) announces the wrestler by chanting his name. Each wrestler then steps onto the ring to begin his ritual. There is a box of salt in both wrestler's corner. They stretch, stomp their feet, slap their legs, and throw handfuls of salt into the ring in order to purify the ring and prepare for their bout. This ritual lasts anywhere from 15 seconds to 4 mintues (getting longer as the classes get more advanced). Finally, they stand on their designated marks and give each other the stink eye before they collide. A wrestler loses the bout by letting any of his body touch the clay mound on which they fight, whether it's his finger or his entire body or by stepping outside of the rope around the ring.

These are some of the top dogs. Their silk wraps they are wearing cost up to $6,000.

Here's where I was going to post a video that portrays some of the things I've tried to explain, but it's been uploading for about 7 hours now and still not complete. Maybe I'll try posting it on another day...

After the exciting day at the Sumo bouts, we walked out of the stadium to realize that it was raining, and we were without rain gear. We searched the perimeters for something that would work, and we finally found a man to help us (after a great sign language performance from Mom). With his help, we found some trash bags, tore holes in the top of them for our heads, and set out on our journey home in the fashion city of the world. We got quite a few looks and giggles. Actually on the way back to our hostel, we stopped at a McDonalds and ate a Texas burger! Do they even have those in Texas?


I think I fit right in with those Sumos.

a ticket

Mitch and I bought plane tickets to Costa Rica yesterday! We will be flying out of Texas on April 3. There are still a few important things we must do before these next two weeks are up:
1)figure out where in CR we want to live
2)find potential jobs (as Costa Ricans do not like to hire over the internet like Koreans do)
3)find potential apartments
While these things sound a bit overwhelming when talking about them, they are still do-able in two weeks. We've done lots of research and emailing to get a feel for what it might be like once we arrive.

More to come on our progress....

women of vietnam

On our trip into Vietnam, all four of us were in awe of the women--their strength, beauty, and grace. Loose-fit clothing, conical hat, strong shoulders, long black ponytail, curious eyes, bright smiles. They seemed to be the hard workers of the society, carrying around goods to sell or barter or working in rice fields while many of their male counterparts lounged on motorbikes or in hammocks.

Running the meat market in My Tho.



Selling handmade broomsticks and feather dusters in Ho Chi Minh City. Mom actually made it all the way through Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan with her broom!



Sweeping the sidewalk in Tay Nihn.



Cleaning the streets and gathering recyclables in Ho Chi Minh.



Giving boat trips through an area of the Mekong River in My Tho.



Selling fruit in Ho Chi Minh: lychees (red) and unknown (yellow)



Women working in a rice field. On the bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh City from the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh.

tunes and tambourines

We spent our last night in Chilgok eating at one of our favorite restaurants, drinking some not-so-favorite beer, and singing some of our favorite songs, all with some of our favorite people. It's a night I will always carry in my memory. I had never left a place like that...knowing there's a good chance I won't ever visit again. Leaving a culture behind with its wonderful people and food, and leaving some great friends behind who I can't just see when we all get home (because they're from Canada).

Feast and friends at Good Day:





Beer and bondegi at Kung:



Songs and dances at Benz Norebang:





December 19, 2009; Chilgok, South Korea