The count down clock has started and it is time to get real serious about preparing for the upcoming training adventure. There is only one person that I can think of that can help me at this stage and that is Martin. I approached Martin for help and he said the perfect thing, ‘try and do everything yourself, but if you get really stuck I’ll help’. I should have known he was going to say this because this is what I would say to him.
At this stage I received a message from a friend that trains at the sohonbu. This connection alone reminded me of my previous experiences at the Sohonbu and made me realise that I wouldn’t be alone and I would have much help if needed. And thankfully a large amount of patience when I make mistakes. Kind of like my first attempt to make rice balls. My technique may not be the best but they still tasted good and everyone had a great laugh. I certainly did my part that day to bring joy and smiles to the lives of others.
Reflecting on my previous experiences seemed to take a weight off my shoulders and I felt myself breathing better and gaining better perspective of the adventure at hand. For some reason, I just had to respond to Takehara san in Japanese that night. Staying up way, way, way past my bed time I pulled together a message in Japanese with Martin’s help. This was the first time I had attempted to write a message to Takehara san in Japanese.
There must have been something strange going on that night because I received a couple of other messages in Japanese from other people I met in Japan last year which kept me awake even longer trying to understand the message and then crafting a response. Stumbling out of bed the next morning I was inspired to pull out my list of things to do and to start to get excited about the upcoming training adventure.
And well did I get excited! What started as a couple of pages of information to help Jodie, turned into a 40 page document and still not finished. I figured if I was going to create some information I might as well turn it into a resource which will help others who may take on this adventure at a later date. Martin thought it would be a good idea to show you the thickness of my little project. (He has me taking photos and learning how to upload them and do fancy schmancy things with them. All in the art of communicating my experiences a little more effectively). So tell me, is the photo pretty good?
Martin is yet to review this resource with his BIG red crayon, so I may need to start again from scratch subject to his feedback. Or he may just say great job and let me go and make a fool of myself. I guess we’ll soon find out and hopefully Jodie won’t have her camera/video on hand to capture too much evidence to be included into her blog posts.
Included in the resource is a load of maps, photos and instructions to help Jodie find places that are close to the dojo like convenience stores, super markets etc. All the good places to stock up on the all important chocolate for Jodie. If I have done well with my maps we should have a relatively smooth time in Kumamoto. If I have missed anything important with these maps we could be a real sight for our friends in Japan.
Well I’d better get back to packing, brushing up on my Japanese language studies, training and learning about techno gadgets before we fly out in just over a week. And I guess I’d better get creating those 5 newsletters, writing a book…. and recording myself reading Dr Seuss books to help put Martin to sleep each night whilst I’m away…. oh, I just looked at my other scheduled tasks before I go away. I think I’d better wrap this blog post up and get back to it. Take care and thank you for reading this blog.
I hope you enjoy the upcoming blog posts about our 2013 Training Adventures in Japan.
PS: If the website is down…. OOPS! It was probably me but we’ll blame Martin for not teaching me some of the finer details.
PSS: Jodie – Steven is preparing his car to take us to the airport. He needs to make a few minor adjustments to fit you and our luggage but he promises that we’ll be in for a safe trip.
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