Weekend trip to MI, short and sweet

Got a half day off on Friday and made the journey with Laura up to the mitten state. After an eventful night in Ann Arbor that involved glow sticks, cops not liking loud music, my car getting impounded, Saturday led to be an even more exciting day. The day I got to pick up my new bike!

Even though AC&F was super busy with their super sale, they managed to find the time to help me get this stud out on the dirt roads. A special thank you to Cullen and Josh for everything to make sure everything was done in time!

I spent most of Saturday spending time with family, so my first ride had to wait until Sunday. I made some final position adjustments Sunday morning and then I was off to ride the Dirty 30 with Matt, Jeff, and Tom.

After just the first pedal stroke I could tell that there was something special about this bike. She accelerates like a champ, probably because she came in sub 17 lbs stock with CX clinchers, crazy! I don’t think I got my old CX bike within 2 lbs of that even with race wheels. It’s ridiculous how beautiful and how light this bike is. Ended up sizing down to a 56cm and it fits perfectly. Looking forward to many rides together before cross season starts this fall. Might have to commute in to work with her one day and show her off

Japan -> Romania -> Kentucky -> Cyclocross

Well… where to begin?

To some it may have felt like I dropped of the face of the earth for a while. Honestly, I even felt that way about myself sometimes. I didn’t always know where I was or even when I was for that matter. I’ve been pretty busy and this has been put off for far too long, so here it goes.

In August 2011 I departed for Japan, where I was to study abroad for 2 semesters. My initial impressions once I landed were that it was unfathomably hot/humid and that all of the cars looked like little boxes on the wrong side of the road. Of course, in my time there I learned and experienced a lot more than those simple observations. I yearned for something different, and in that aspect I enjoyed Japan very much. However, I learned that living alone in a foreign country when you don’t speak their native language beyond a basic conversational level was much more difficult than I had imagined. This combined with a little bit of home-sickness, finances, and some other factors led me to decide to only do the one semester option and graduate early. So in December of 2011, I officially graduated with my BA (even though I still had one more week of classes to go in Japan). To celebrate, 大阪で食べ放題と飲み放題のレストランへ行きました！(I went to an all you can eat and drink restaurant in Osaka). But.. more on that later..

After my semester ended I said my farewells to everyone in Japan, which also was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But, before I could return home, there was still one more adventure to go. One bus ride to the train station, one train stop away, one night of waiting outside for the morning airport bus shuttle at 5:30AM, one shuttle ride to the airport, one flight to Tokyo, one flight to Amsterdam, one layover in Amsterdam airport which gave me time to look for my lost luggage, one flight to Bucharest and I was finally at my destination for the next 3 weeks. I decided that I would spend the winter holidays in Romania with Laura and her family, who kindly welcomed me into their home. These three weeks were nothing short of fantastic, Romania is a beautiful country and I would love to go back again and see it in the summer, especially the Transylvania region. But.. more on that later.

My journey ended with a flight to the Amsterdam airport, short layover, and then my flight to Detroit. Upon completion of this flight, I had officially gone all the way around the world. Only took me about 5 months to do it, but still kind of cool to say I’ve done that. Still, there are a lot more places I would like to go..

Finally, I am back in the US and living in Columbia, KY. Actually, I’ve been in the US for almost 3 months now, but I’ve been busy figuring out the next steps. I’ve been very fortunate and things have been going very well. After a lot of searching, in the same week I got offered a full time position at a bank I wanted to work at and I bought a new car (well a used car, but new for me). Her name is Miss Betsy. So now I am almost living the American dream, just one thing is missing…

So that brings me to my next announcement. I have decided to start cycling again and I will be racing the 2012/2013 Cyclocross season with the Wolverine Sports Club Elite Regional Cyclocross Team! I debated a lot in my head whether or not I should come back into competitive cycling, but in the end I couldn’t live without it. My long break has brought back my drive and excitement to race that I haven’t felt since my first years racing.

This year will be a little different though. The last few seasons that I raced I ended up racing every discipline at nationals and up to 70+ races per year which I think really hurt me and took the special feeling out of it. I don’t want this to happen again, so I am taking it slow.

I didn’t want to make this post too long and boring, but I did want to give anyone who wants to know a little update of what’s going on in my life. I intend to start updating this thing more often from now on and will probably do some recap entries from my trips to Japan and Romania as well.

In summary, things are going well and I’m glad to be back in the saddle. (and of course back in spandex)

Day trip to Kyoto

Last week I made a trip to Kyoto with Natsumi and her mom. We took the local train to downtown Tsu and then from there we took a bus to Kyoto. It was pretty exciting with it being my first time riding public transportation here and also my first time on the highway. I’m still amazed at the amount of mountains everywhere here.

I didn’t really know what the plan was so I was just following them around. Everything was pretty exciting to me, especially the buses within the city. I have never been in a bus packed so full of people. It was pretty crazy, people were shoving themselves on and everyone was smushed together and the doors were barely able to shut. Every time we came to a stop to pick up people there would be a big group waiting to get on. I’m thinking to myself that there is not enough room for 1 more person but somehow a big group would always manage to force their way in. Impressive. It was all pretty cool to see and experience until one time later in the day when I gut stuck next to some really sweaty dude. That started to ruin it for me.

We eventually got off at our stop and we ended up climbing this hill that was packed with different nifty shops.

Quick pit stop at the convenient drink vending machine

Eventually we made it to the top.. or so I thought.

Our climb was rewarded with a beautiful view of the city. Unfortunately my pictures don’t do it justice at all

I didn’t know anything about this place at the time, but I was certainly impressed by everything that I saw there. It is stunningly beautiful and the history of Kiyomizu Temple is equally impressive now that I’ve started to look more into it. I wish I’d of known more back when I was there. I plan to definitely come back for the spring time or maybe even again in the fall.

They had some good luck charms that I was interested in possibly purchasing. I bought the charm for good fortune in one’s studies back when I went to Ise shrine and I thought one more wouldn’t hurt. I was thinking about getting the one for prevention of misfortune, but Natsumi told me that I shouldn’t be selfish and get too many charms so I didn’t end up buying any. So of course on our way back down the giant hill I had to break one of my flip flops. hmmm coincidence?

We had to go back into town to try and find me some new shoes. I’m a 28.5 here and I’ve learned that 27 is usually the largest shoe size that any place will carry. That’s a bummer too because there are a lot of cool shoes here. We spent the rest of the day checking out the inner part of the city which was also a lot of fun. It is really impressive how all of Japan, including the large cities, are extremely clean.

Overall I was very impressed with Kyoto. It is a beautiful blend of the old and the new. I feel like I didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this great place. I plan to definitely come back and get some more exploring in. I hear it is beautiful in the spring.

My first Purikura

What is purikura? My favorite description that I’ve heard of it is a picture booth on steroids. As you can see, the effect is quite noticeable.

In addition to getting super clear skin you also get enlarged eyes. This feature is nice and cute for many Japanese people, but for people with eyes like mine, it ends up looking pretty scary and a tad bit amusing.

I was actually pretty impressed with the editing features on all of the pictures. There is a huge variety of different fonts and effects that you can use and there is also a large selection of different backgrounds. We each got a small printed copy that fits easily in our wallets, but you can also have each picture in its full size sent to a japanese phone. This is another great feature that should definitely be added to photo booths in the US. Actually, this could have already been done. It’s been a while since I’ve been in one, but I’m pretty sure they don’t do that yet and if they do it is only a small few.

Despite usually being uncomfortable with getting my picture taken, I actually had a pretty good experience with the purikura. Definitely something that needs to be experienced when in Japan at least once.

Ise Shrine

Today Natsumi, Shuhei, Shiomi, and I went on a little road trip to Ise to visit the Ise Shrine. It was only about an hour drive from Tsu so it wasn’t too bad. I’m still getting used to the Japanese roads, which are pretty nerve racking on the smaller roads. We stopped by a famous shop for its taiyaki on our way. I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture. Oh well, it’s basically a fish shaped waffle/pancake kind of thing with anko (red bean paste) inside. It was my first time having a fresh one that was hot and it was amazing.

It was pretty busy when we arrived in Ise and we had to go to a parking garage. We got one of the last spots and on our way down they weren’t letting anybody else in, lucky! Japan is smart for a lot of things, including putting parking garages on top of buildings and having nifty steep entrance ramps on the side.

This was the entrance to Ise Shrine. I don’t know much about the shinto religion so I was trying to follow Natsumi’s lead as we walked around so I wouldn’t offend anyone.

Some of the trees in the area where pretty big, which was kind of cool to see.

Next we went to the nearby market, Okage Yokochou.

Natsumi highly recommended we come to this place to get this amazing creation. It is similar to a snow cone with green tea flavoring and with mochi rice and anko at the bottom. Needless to say I instantly fell in love

Natsumi was pretty happy too

We found a fancy おはし　(chopstocks) shop, which looked like we were in Olivander’s Wand Shop from Harry Potter.

I was still a little hungry so before we left I got this, octopus stick which I think was called takobo or something like that. おいしかった！

After we got back we had another pretty big dinner. I really like the way we do dinner here. Everyone helps out in some way and we all eat together and share everything on the lower style table where we sit on the floor (bamboo mats) around it. My chopsticks skills are fairly decent I would say but there are certain ways that different foods need to be eaten so I am still learning that.. I failed at eating tamagoyaki this morning but was quickly corrected.

After dinner we went out for bowling which was a lot of fun. Everyone in Natsumi’s family is very fun loving and great to be around. Even though my Japanese is very minimal we have been having a great time so far. I can’t express enough how grateful I am to them for everything they are doing for me. I am experiencing so much with them that I wouldn’t be able to with my program at school. I don’t mean to say that I’m not looking forward to that, because I am, but I am glad that I am getting a better idea of what a real life in Japan is like.

In Japan!

Last night I arrived in Japan. The 13 hour flight was pretty tough near the end and I was pretty glad for that to be over. We were able to see Mount Fuji from the plane and that was pretty cool. It was a pretty amazing sight to see that mountain high above the clouds. It made me really want to try and climb it.

Anyway, getting through customs was pretty quick with the exception of having to fill out a few random forms with the same information. But after that was done with I was greeted by Natsumi and her mom. It was extremely hot and humid in the airport, which was pretty surprising. We took a ferry from the airport to their city, Tsu. We then drove around a bit which was also a crazy experience. It was my first time in a car where the driver is on the right side and I sat in the front left seat. At first I went to the wrong side and it was blowing my mind while we were driving. Another big difference I noticed other than the smaller size of the cars was the smaller size of the roads.

We stopped by a ramen shop to get some dinner, which was pretty awesome. We also got some gyoza, which I love. We then went to a Japanese supermarket to stock up on essentials like ice cream and beer. I needed to buy something anyway so I could split up my bills. The place I went to in Michigan to do my currency exchange only had the largest Japanese bills so now I finally have the other bills to examine and play with.

After the grocery run we went to Natsumi’s house. I was pretty ecstatic when I took off my shoes and put on the house guest slippers. The house is very different from what I’m used to, but I really like it. Well, I like everything other than hitting my head when I walk into Natsumi’s room. I guess I might be a little tall for Japan hmmm

Well I’ll try to get some pictures up soon. I don’t currently have a camera but I will try to get one soon

Departure

Well this will be my last entry posted from the US for a while. My flight leaves in less than 12 hours now and I’m getting ready to go to bed. Everything is pretty much packed up right now and I should be all set to go in the morning.

I will do my best to give an update as soon as I can once I get a little settled in Japan.

Here we go!!!

Laura’s visit part III – Detroit Zoo and farewell

After hanging out with Chris and Stephanie for most of the Summer, I was finally able to go on a double date with them at the Detroit Zoo.

We had a pretty good time, It had been a while since I was last there and it was good to be back. It was also Laura’s first zoo in the U.S..

We got to see feeding time. Their food looks pretty good too, it made me hungry..

We were tired by the end of the day

On Laura’s last night here I continue to impress with my posing for picture skills. We had a nice dinner at the Rochester Mills Brewery where we said some final goodbye’s. The emotions are starting to get a little bit more real now. Laura left to head to Indianapolis before school today and my flight to Japan is on Wednesday. Not too much longer now, I can’t wait for this new chapter to begin.

Laura’s visit part II – Cedar Point

We went with most of my siblings and my cousin to Cedar Point. Laura had never been on a rollercoaster before so it was guaranteed to be a good trip.

It wasn’t too hot out so waiting in line wasn’t that bad. Good bonding time. We ended up going on just about all of the main coasters except for the Maverick which had really long lines. It was everyone else’s first time on the dragster other than me so that was fun. Laura did that in addition to front row Raptor and Mantis, she was a trooper.

It was a fun trip with some fun people. I was glad to get to hang out with my family since I don’t get to see them that often and I won’t be seeing them for a while.

Laura’s visit part I – Lollapalooza in Chicago

Laura arrived in Michigan on August 3rd. After our summer plans fell through I was very excited to finally be able to see her. One of our first adventures was a trip to Chicago to go to Lollapalooza music festival and see one of our favorite bands, MUSE.

Getting there was more complicated than it should of been and after a few mishaps, including me locking my keys in the car, we made it to the park in time to see the end of Bloody Beetroots and the full set of MUSE.

There were a lot of people..

MUSE!!!
We fought our way up to a decent spot

We were exhausted by the end of the day and were revived by a trip to Epic Burger. Everything there is organic, mighty tasty, and pretty cheap. Highly recommended and they had some of the best fries I’ve ever had.

We decided to explore the city the next day and find random things to do

We went and saw a performance of Peter Pan which, from the advertisements, looked like it would be pretty good.. It wasn’t.. It felt like it was more intended for kids, but featured rude language so as to try and compensate to get some adult interest but the combination didn’t work very well. Oh well, it was still kind of cool to experience the 360 degree stage with the projector background, even though the cgi was cheap.

This was a cool bridge we had to cross to get to the performance

We ate here for lunch because it was close by. I was very impressed. The bread was very high quality and the sandwiches were grilled. It was on par with Penn Station, my favorite sandwich shop.

It would have been nice to of had a map, but we couldn’t seem to find one anywhere. We also couldn’t figure out how to get anywhere, but eventually we found the cool Bean statue thing. Turns out it was in the park right next to the concert.. Go us…

The 5 hour drive home was rough and spending the whole day outside, but it was still a great weekend.