Off Day

Monday, June 23, 2014

We had the day off today! Wait, who am I kidding? I have the day off everyday. Zach had the day off! I am feeling better, so we were able to walk around outside. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it felt good to be outside! We bought some new pillows, had coffee at a café, did some laundry, and enjoyed each other's company. At the café we saw some interesting shoes and on our way out a little old lady yelled "Lutzy" to Zach! It was so funny! She shook his hand and thanked him. It's so great seeing how appreciated he is here by the fans. 

After dinner, I had the best popsicle. They call it watermelon ice candy. It tasted like watermelon water ice and the "seeds" were tiny pieces of chocolate! Yum! Zach had a ton of candy as you can see from the wrappers! 

Zach's next game isn't until June 27th. He has practice the next 3 days. I am going to be traveling with him on the road since their next 9 games are away! I can't wait to see him play! Don't worry, I will take lots of pictures! 

Game Time

Saturday, June 21, 2014 & Sunday, June 22, 2014

Hey, it's Zach again. I played 2 games in Osaka against the Tigers. The stadium is one of the most famous stadiums in the league. It sells out every night with 50,000 fans and about 48,000 are Tigers fans! The atmosphere is very different. After the 5th inning, there is halftime. The cheerleaders and mascots dance around for about 5 minutes.

On the day of the game, we get dressed in our hotel room in full uniform and then after lunch we have a hitting meeting in the hotel to go over the other teams pitching staff. After the meeting, we get on the bus and go to the stadium. When I get to the stadium, I do my hitting routine in the cage. I do tee work, one hand drills, and coach pitch. The coach pitch is really firm so it's almost game like. After the cage, we head outside for team stretch. After team stretch, we hit BP and get ground balls. When I finish everything, I relax and eat a little before we take infield/outfield.
In both games I was hitting 5th behind Andrew Jones. It's an honor to even be on the same team as this man. The knowledge he has about baseball is unbelievable! Oh, and Norimoto was pitching in the first game! If you don't know the name yet, you will. Just think of Tanaka and Darvish. The kid just wants to win and I loved playing defense behind him. I thought I would have been nervous playing, but I wasn't at all. It helped that the first ball of my first game was a ground ball to me at 3rd base. I finished the game going 2-4 with 2 doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. In my 2nd game, I went 3-4 with a HR, 2 RBI, and a run scored. I was player of the game! It was great to help the team win and now hopefully we can keep it going! Go Eagles! And no, not the Philadelphia Eagles.
After the game, we go back to the hotel in our uniform. We set our uniform outside of our door for the maids to clean.

A Ride in the Doctor Car

Saturday, June 21, 2014 & Sunday, June 22, 2014

What a night! I had pasta and veggies around 6:30. Let me rephrase that. I had pasta and deep fried veggies. Gross! When I saw seasonal vegetables on the menu, I had no clue they would be deep fried. I just can't escape the grease. Needless to say, by 10:00 I was a complete mess. I had a really high fever and I was super sick in the stomach. I called the translator and he called an ambulance. Or should I say, "Doctor Car."

That was my first experience in an ambulance. I was so scared. When I got to the ER, I thought I was in a scary movie. I was the only person in there and it was really, really dark and quiet. I was honestly waiting for a masked creature to jump out of the door behind me. They put me on the table, got my information, and pricked my finger for blood. It was really hard trying to communicate with them. Thank goodness for Yo. I had to take my Pepto Bismol with to the hospital because they had no idea what it was! Crazy!

When I got upstairs, they took me to a room on the 8th floor. Again, dark and quiet. Ah! They told me I needed to stay the night. Just imagine being in another country, alone, in a hospital. I was so scared! The nurse needed to do blood work and put an IV in my arm. She dug around looking for a vein for about 5 minutes. When I say dug, I mean dug. Ouch! I asked her to switch to the other arm. Finally, she was able to find a vein. I was sweating so bad from the pain. By this point, they were lucky I didn't jump out of the window.

Once they got the results back, I had to get a CT Scan. They had to inject a special dye, called contrast, into my veins. It made my whole body hot. Not a fun feeling since I was already sweating.

They found an infection and I had food poisoning. They wanted me to stay 3 days, but the 1 night was enough for me! I wanted to get the heck out of there. As you can see, their hospital rooms are so different from the States. 

Everyone said being here would be such a great experience. I guess seeing what it's like in a Japanese hospital is a great experience, too! Not!

When I left the hospital the next day, I had some yogurt and Jello and slept the day away! Luckily, Zach was back home at night. I missed his handsome face!

School Supply Geek Alert

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Another day without Zach, but another day with Naru. We went to lunch and ordered just about everything on the menu. 

 

On our way out of the restaurant, a guy was holding this sign. He told me I didn't need any help speaking English. I was more excited about actually being able to read something for once! 

We went to a store called Loft. Not like the Loft at home. I could spend hours and hours and hours in this store. It literally had everything you could possibly want or need. 9 floors of heaven. I am a school supply GEEK. I am obsessed with pens and notebooks. I was so overwhelmed, I only bought a few things. I'm sure I will be there every single day. I may need a whole suitcase just for my purchases of school supplies.

I also bought face lotion sheets. You pour the toning water on the sheet and it expands. You let it sit on your face for about 10 minutes. No moisturizer needed, only a lotion sheet! So cool. Some of you back home were lucky enough to get a video of me wearing it! HA! Zach told me I better not post the picture or video. I'm not embarrassed, but maybe he is? Hey, he married me! 

I will not be buying any of these, but does anyone want me to bring some back home?

In Loft, they have a store called Lush. Lush is a store that we have back home. They have fresh, handmade cosmetics such as lotions, soaps, and bath bombs. They also have really yummy mints. Or not. Just ask Naru! She almost threw up eating one. 

American Lemonade

Friday, June 20, 2014

Zach flew out for his first game in Osaka. I showered, did my hair, and got ready since I had to go get my visa. While I was straightening my hair, I burned my forehead. I will not be posting a picture of that! Before I got my visa, I walked to Subway. This was the first time I actually did my hair and makeup. I guess people noticed because the crossing guard told me I looked beautiful. Gosh, what do I normally look like? And did he really think I was beautiful with a huge burn on my forehead?

I got my visa, so it looks like I'm staying. I was hoping to get kicked out and shipped back to the States for some mashed potatoes and real chicken. I really miss my Mom's cooking! Actually, everything about home.

Naru and I went out for dinner and drinks. They have the best drink here called American Lemonade. Weird, I have never heard of it in America. The drink is half lemonade and half red wine. I ordered a small the first time and a large the second time. It was delicious! Wine makes me tired though, so I was yawning by 9:00. Such a lightweight!
Naru showed me how to use chopsticks. I tried for about 30 seconds and gave up. Where's my fork, people? She also showed me all the underwear she ordered from Victoria Secret. This was in the middle of the bar. I couldn't stop laughing. She needs to come to the States!

Exploring on Our Own

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Zach and I decided to explore on our own. We walked through the arcade, a place we are now familiar with.

 

Dessert before dinner? Why not?

We went back into ADIDAS so Zach could get another shirt to wear under his jersey. He wanted me to take a picture of the baseball bags they have here in Japan. They are very different than the States. 

When you pay, anywhere, you put your money on a little silver platter. They do this as a sign of respect. In the States, they just take the money out of your hand. After you make your purchase, they carefully put your things in a bag, tape the bag shut, and then walk you out. You only get your bag once you are out of the store. 

Ut oh, we found Nike. This is not good. Well, not good for our bank account. Zach loves shoes. He buys them, wears them once or twice, and then throws them out or gives them away. "I have to get these new Jordan shoes! Linds, I need them! Aw man, I don't know my size. I guess I can't get them." Ah, a sigh of relief. He doesn't know his shoe size in Japan. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

 

We decided to take a different route than normal and came across some fresh fruit. Once we are in our apartment, I will definitely be buying some! It doesn't even matter that the watermelon is $43, I love my fruit. It better be the best darn seedless watermelon, though. No white seeds either. Don't worry, I will keep you posted on how great it tastes. 

We did more shopping and I got 2 cute bracelets.

After 2 1/2 hours of walking around, we realized we were totally lost. We didn't recognize anything. Zach got out the map on his phone, but that didn't help. We kept walking and walking until we finally found a place we were familiar with, the restaurant from the night before. Cheese quesadilla again? We didn't care, we were hungry.
Just as we finished eating, it started to drizzle. Right now it's their rainy season. We couldn't take a cab back to the hotel because we can't communicate with anyone here. Oh well, a little rain never hurt anyone.