Trebol U15 Girls Go to Japan

Sunday, July 19, 2009

And even more photos from Greg

Still More Photos

Katie's brother, Michael, has been taking a lot of photos and in the spirit of filling the void left by the absence of team photographers Ken and Yvette, he took a ton of pictures at the soccer tournament yesterday - way too many for Joe to put on the blog, but we thought you'd like to see them!

To look at the photos, go to http://ciaglo.smugmug.com/Vacation

Click on "Japan Beach Soccer"

For the sections that need a password, please email Michael at michael.ciaglo@gmail.com

Slap hands game at dinner

A wall mural in the guest house

Kayla takes advantage of a Sanvino shoulder on the way back from the castle
(thanks Greg for the pictures)

It’s 6:45 AM here in Arao, it’s raining. Today, we're supposed to go to the water park, assuming the rain stops, and then play soccer tonight against Sanvino and the Kumomoto team. It ought to be fun.. One thing I have to say is that the girls were very good yesterday about using sunscreen and drinking water or fizzy lemonade…maybe they are growing up!

OK, more about yesterday. As I mentioned last night before collapsing, sand soccer was a blast. There were 8-10 teams of all ages, with the two older teams treating the event as totally fun. In fact, when the last game was over, Terri rallied all the parents and Trebol girls to form a tunnel, and not only did the Trebol team that just finished playing and its opponent run through, but team of 21 year olds also came running over from where their game had ended and ran through, and then so did all the other teams, and then the referees came running through, too! It was the perfect way to end the event…way to go Trebol!

So after the watermelon smashing event and treasure hunt – I didn’t catch much of the latter as like many of us, I was trying to stay a little cool – all of the girls and many parents went down to the water, which was 100 meters away. The water was WARM – if we were scuba diving, I would have worn my skin…which would have been a good idea because within a few minutes many of the girls were running from the water, their skin itching and burning from something in the water; I’d guess some algae of some sorts. Claire wasn’t bothered, neither was I, nor Paul or Greg and a few other girls. Weird. Fortunately, there were showers at the beach, so that helped relieve the discomfort.

Next stop on our day’s adventures were to Kumomoto castle, which was built in the early 1600s and is one of three major castles left in Japan. The main castle sits on a sprawling estate that is home to several prefecture museums (prefecture is the equivalent of our states, and Kumomoto is the prefecture capital), which unfortunately we wouldn’t have time to see. We broke into groups and headed off into the castle or a stunningly beautiful guest house that the government had just finished restoring (all construction was done using period tools, an amazing feat considering that some of the beams in the building were made of tree trunks that were 5 feet in diameter!). All the gold in the guest house was real – gold leaf covered fixtures and gold paint in the many large murals – the floors were beautiful bamboo, and the detailing was stunning. To protect the floors, visitors were handed plastic grocery bags in which to carry their shoes as they toured the guest house. When we exited, we handed the bags back for reuse. [As an aside, recycling containers are ubiquitous in Japan, as are vending machines.]

The castle itself was massive – six stories of rock and wood – and the entire structure was restored to match its external appearance prior to a huge fire that destroyed much of the castle during the last civil war, in the mid-1800s. The inside was retrofitted to serve as a museum, and it was filled with artifacts from when Japan was ruled by feudal lords. As we climbed from one floor to the next, the temperature inside soared, but on the 6th floor there was a wonderful breeze coming from the big windows that afforded a nice 360 degree view of modern Kumomoto. After touring the castle and guest house, nearly everyone discovered the air conditioned “drink house,” which contained soft drink vending machines. Most of us spent the final few minutes there cooling off, as it was very, very hot.

At 6 PM, we piled back into our buses and vans for the trip home and an awaiting dinner. At one point, one of the Sanvino players started chanting, “Obama, Obama, Obama…YES WE CAN!” Soon, that chant morphed into naming each person on the bus… “Brynna, Brynna, BRYNNA…YES WE CAN!”, etc. I understand that there was plenty of laughing in the vans, too, which is not surprising given that we’re all seemingly having a great time.

We arrived at the community center where we had the welcome party to find a lavish spread of leftovers…Japanese style. While we were at the beach and in Kumomoto, the Sanvino parents had taken all the leftovers from last night’s BBQ and turned them into an array of dishes that were, well, scrumptious. Everyone was ravenous, and both Sanvinos and Trebles dove in, stuffing ourselves once again. And then, when it seemed we could eat no more, Mrs. Kuwamoto (who was one of two parents who came to Colorado) brought in eel sushi – it turns out that Sunday was a national holiday and eating eel is traditional on this particular holiday. Oh my, was it good, a marvelous way to top off a marvelous meal. Who needs dessert when you can have eel sushi! Following dinner, the scene became chaotic, with parents cleaning up and the younger kids running around screaming and chasing each other. YIKES! Meanwhile, the older kids sat in a huge circle and played a camp game that involved slapping hands and singing a song, kind of like musical chairs. They finished – Haley was the final survival in a dual with Dahlia – just as it was time to go. Everyone left at 9 PM, happy and exhausted. What a day!!

Beach Soccer!

walking to our bus as we leave the beach

these 9-year-olds beat us!

The beach, from where we arrived
(Thanks Greg for the pictures)

Whew. What a day. We just got home from one of our two long days, so there’s plenty to tell you. The number one thing you need to know is that it is HOT and HUMID here, and today was the hottest and most humid day yet. When everyone left the hotel on the bus today, it was already too warm for most of the adults, and even a few of the girls. Fortunately, the bus that the Sanvino and Trebol players, coaches and a couple of parents rode on had AC; the rest of the Trebol gang followed in vans. We had a beautiful ride from Arao to the beach – this part of Japan is much more rural than I expected. You would have been amazed at the size of the bamboo growing here, the number of cranes, herons and other wading birds, and the paper bags hanging from the fruit trees. Yes, you read right – the farmers enclose each piece of fruit in paper bags to protect them from insects. Talk about organic farming! Anyway, the lush hills were a nice contrast to the ocean. I spent the ride chatting with Peter, which made for a fun trip, and the kids were engaging each other in many conversations. The cutest scene of the ride was one of the Sanvino girls asleep on Belle's lap.

When we reached the beach, we had to hustle to get ready to play, since we were running behind (you can take American teenagers out of America, but you can't make them run on time any better). But first, there was ceremony to attend to: short welcoming remarks from the sponsors (TKU TV), the referees, the soccer association, as well as a well-received short speech from Kayla that she gave in Japanese. Way to go, Kayla!! Then it was time for soccer. We had three teams: green, striped and white. I coached the Great Greens,Oscar had the Stripes, Peter the Whites, and we opened the tournament with a big win, which was nice because the girls were a little nervous about getting beaten badly. It turns out that all three teams did just fine, with each team winning their first game, including a great back-and-forth game between the stripes and Sanvino. In the second round, the Greens beat Sanvino on a goal at the very last second, while the stripes won and the whites threw their game purposefully (though tactfully) to a very cute group of 9 year olds, who were so proud to have beaten the Americanos; Emiko noticed that Shanlie was playing goalie and asked if we were trying to lose...LOL. Shanlie later agreed with that assessment. It was great fun, and though the heat was draining, the girls played really well. Emiko, Dahlia and JoJo all scored at least once.

Soccer was followed by another game of smash the watermelon and then a scavenger hunt in the sand. In the end, it was a fabulous day of beach soccer for the girls and coaches. Parents and siblings were pretty much wiped by the heat, which was as thick as slug snot.

I’m falling asleep as I type, so I’ll finish the day’s recounting tomorrow morning – I’ll have time as we don’t leave for the amusement park until 9:45.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

From Felisa - between lunch and BBQ

While I was busy blogging, Felisa was out and about and had this to report about what we did between eating lunch and eating dinner:

Today (Saturday) was just as full as yesterday. After bowling, many of the kids and parents went off to Youme Mall. I, being less than fluent in Japanese, thought it was You Me Mall. I wondered why it would be called that. Was it because you and me meet at the mall? Or you and me should go to the mall. Bad English aside, I guess it was a single Romaji word whose meaning I have yet to discover.

The girls and boys made quite a splash there. I am told the fairer skinned adults were equally popular staring targets. As I said before, there are very few Americans visiting this part of Japan. Everyone was very respectful in their interactions. It was just teens trying to communicate with limited language skills, mispronouncing each others' names, and laughing and as a result. Our kids found that Japanese teens and tweens do the same thing in malls as Americans do back home . . . they hang out. Here the kids abandon their school uniforms (think catholic gradeschool) and put on a very wide variety of self defining paraphanalia. We saw kimonos, punk looks, hello kitty attire, and even what would pass, back home, as pajama wear (slippers included). I'm not so sure the kids noticed it all, but insofar as I tried to stay a respectable distance from the pack, I had to occupy myself somehow. It was slightly reminiscent of Pearl Street Mall.

A great BBQ

The BBQ last night was like nothing we’ve ever experienced before (except for Bill and Terri). We arrived back at the elementary school parking lot – the same place we had lunch – to the sight of a beehive of activity. Tables and BBQ grills everywhere, and off to one side, a long chute of overlapping large bamboo halves linked together in what looked like a water slide, complete with water running down it. And indeed, not 5 minutes after we arrived and kids started lining up on either side of the chute holding paper cups filled with a sauce/water mix and holding chopsticks. Mr. Sakamoto was standing in the bed of a pickup truck at the top of the water slide and he began dropping bunches of cooked noodles onto the slide, and the kids used their chopsticks to snare some as the noodles slid in the water slide, dipping their catch in the sauce! In a matter of seconds, the adults joined in for a riotously fun noodle appetizer. Oscar, a huge smile on his face, moved right to the highest point, proclaiming that being tall has its advantages, and this was one of them – being the first in line to snare noodles! Still, there were plenty of noodles for all, even the smallest kids. Eventually, we all took turns dropping noodles onto the chute, but soon there was another commotion as the Sanvino parents began placing all sorts of goodies onto the six or so grills – thinly sliced meats such as bacon, chicken, beef and shrimp; and vegetables including two kinds of mushrooms, pumpkin (my favorite), cabbage (just as good), a seaweed that was yummy, squash and corn on the cob. We just walked from grill to grill, picking up pieces of whatever you wanted to eat, or adding uncooked items to a grill as room became available. Then there was the table of noodle dishes and an onion and potato (?) pancake that was the Japanese version of a latke (but even better). Dessert was fruit, including watermelon that was opened in the Japanese version of piñata – kids were blindfolded, handed a broom handle, spun around, and then told to find the watermelon laying on newspaper and give it a whack. (No more candy-filled piñatas for us!) Oh my goodness, it was all fantastic, and the best part of all was that in standing around the grills, the connections between Sanvino and Treble grew stronger, conversations taking place over the hot coals as everyone helped cook – Thanks to Bill for diving right in and showing us Americans the way to participate in this uniquely Japanese BBQ event. There was universal agreement among parents and players that we need to try to recreate this BBQ back home for everyone who didn’t come with us. (Terri knows where to get all the necessary sauces).

But the festivities didn’t end with eating and talking – when it got dark, Coach Yamada called everyone into a circle and announced the winners of the bowling tournament and handed out prizes. Oscar finished first, Peter ranked up near the top, but as Coach went down the list it became clear that everyone was going to be a winner, and with each prize came cheers and clapping, right through the entire list of Sanvinos and Trebles. And after the list was complete, some of us were called up for a second prize – I figure mine came for best grimaces. LOL.

When all was done at just after 9 PM, Trebol parents helped Sanvino parents stack chairs and tables, and then it was back in the cars, kids headed to host families, parents to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before the next day’s beach soccer tournament. We’re leaving for the beach at 7:30 AM (it’s a 2.5 hour ride – less if Coach Yamada is driving – on a karaoke bus! That ought to be a riot.

Felisa had this to add about the prize ceremony:
Let us not forget the prizes for bowling. You know how we might give out prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places? Maybe if we're feeling generous and unusually egalitarian, we might assuage ourselves by going to 6th or 8th and then giving out some prize for good sportsmanship? Well, apparently we are chintzy and self-serving. In the case of our Japanese hosts, EVERYONE WHO PLAYED WON. And I mean everyone. Coach Yamada awarded at least 48 prizes. That was the last number I can remember being called. They made sure that every single person who bowled was called up and given a gift. These ranged from t-shirts and pens to chimes and a purse. Oh ho, and there were five MORE PRIZES for good sportsmanship (Mr. Matino led this group). All you hyper-competitive sorts must be asking yourselves who REALLY won. I mean, who had the high score at the bowling alley? Because it really matter, right? Well, I guess I can let the cat out of the bag. . . . It was Oscar!! But Kayla swears she can beat him on the soccer field so it's just a thing!

Tomorrow is an early day. We leave by bus at 7:30 a.m. for a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to the beach for a beach soccer tournament. Then we visit Kumamoto Castle. We'll be on a tour bus complete with karaoke machine for 5 hours tomorrow with your girls. Think of that and remember to thank us.

Photos from Chase

Caity, Midori and Hayley have this to say...

This posting comes from Caity, Midori, and Hayley, who took time out from the BBQ Saturday night to write the following:

Japan is a fantastic place, and we really enjoy it here. The people are very curious about Americans, and we feel like pop stars because everywhere we go people come and talk to us. This morning we went bowling, and there was a very big arcade. Hayley won a fish!! Afterwards, we went to the mall, which is very different from the malls we have. Everyone would watch us when we walked around; some even said hello. We met many new people there.
When it was time for dinner, the Sanvino parents had set up an elaborate barbeque. There was a large piece of split bamboo that was slanted so water ran down it. They would stand at the top of it and slide somen noodles down to the waiting people with their chopsticks. They also had about seven grills out with many different kinds of meats and vegetables and fish. It was delicious!
Japan is very, very different then America, but the experiences that we have here will be unforgettable.
Konbonwa!