Konichiwa, I'm sorry I haven't been very consistent with my blogging, maybe they should change Japan's name from the land of the rising sun to the land of scarce Wi-Fi. Anyway, we visited the track yesterday for practice. I was warned many times about Japan's weather before my departure; but every warning understated Japan's spontaneous weather changes. The JNCC crew gathered at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast to help prepare for the long day we knew lay ahead of us. Masami and I compared the breakfasts we chose, the results of our experiment reiterated how different our cultures actually are from one another's.
I peered out the huge windows, expecting either a sunny, brisk morning or a wet, gloomy sentence to a cold. However, I couldn't have anticipated the actual outcome. My view was entirely whited out by a blizzard! My colleague Jeff Russell asked Masami if there was any possibility of cancelling the race, but Masami assured him there was no way he'd call the event off.
Once we got off the mountain and approached the track, the snow died down, and turned into a cold, mushy rain. The entire facility had turned into shin-deep mud, much to our team's dismay. The wind and precipitation were enough to permeate the clothing of even the most prepared explorer. Randy Hawkins, for example, having been to Japanese races to participate 9 times before, was bundled like an Eskimo; but even he was reduced to joining the rest of the crew in shivering beneath one patch ridden easy up, held to the ground by the skeleton through the wind and rain.
I foolishly had planned to sled ride down the vertical hill the track offered on the nonexistent snow (I planned on it snowing there). My faithful friend Hollywood suggested it was still a good idea, and great youtube footage to do the stunt without the snow. Jason Hooper has the video of the surprisingly smooth result.
The practice day was very gloomy cold and miserable, but it was still an unforgettable and valuable experience in my eyes; as this whole trip has been. The exposure to Japanese culture has been more educational for me than a whole semester in school.
I must cut this entry short, the race is in a few hours and I have to get going so I have more to report next time.
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