On one of our shopping trips, I mentioned to my coworker Fumie how much I like going to baseball games and how I wanted to go to one in Japan. (Btw, I'm starting to think that we go on so many shopping trips because I suggest it would be fun and she feels obligated to accept, lol. I have fun. I hope she does too. At least now that my Japanese is improving a lot more.) A bit later she tells me that her family wants to invite me to go to a game because her dad works at a university and can get tickets. I was so surprised and thanked her profusely and said how sweet it was to think of me (but I'm starting to realize that people can be nice to me because they're curious about this English teaching gaijin and just want a foreign experience so I guess it's win-win? lol).
So the day of the game, I decide I need to go shopping for the things I need to make a dessert. Earlier in the week I realized if would be in very bad taste to go empty handed after they had gone to all the trouble of inviting me and getting the tickets. I wanted to make an "American" dessert but as I only have a toaster oven it's a little hard to bake and although I've been told that I can bake in my microwave (it's a literal microwave oven) and that the previous NET would make brownies I"m still wary of sticking a metal baking sheet in it and pressing start.
So what's an American dessert that doesn't require baking and that has relatively simple ingredients… Funnel cake! So my mom emails me the recipe and day of, I go to get all of the things. But of course I didn't plan this well and time is ticking away and getting closer to the time I'm supposed to meet them at the station. So I get all the ingredients, even a measuring cup and a mixing bowl and heal the oil in the pan, get a spoonful of batter, go to grab a funnel when I realize, I forgot to get one. So after 30 seconds of staring blankly into the oil wondering what I should do I wing it with the spoon. The shape doesn't affect the taste, I reason. And no it doesn't but presentation is very important here. So I bust out a batch top it with powdered sugar (remembered that) put 'em in a cute bag I picked up at the 100 yen store, don the carp jersey I got my dad and head out the door. Now, I"m writing this in December but back in July when this happened it was just starting to become hellishly hot so I wasn't wearing a jacket. i got my fair share of stares as I walked around in my bright red oversized carp jersey, a little foreign girl who rarely ventures into the city during the daylight.
I made it with time to spare. At the station maybe I stood out less. People everywhere were wearing bright red and white jerseys. Or maybe a stood out more as the only person in a red jersey standing alone, haha. They were late, surprisingly and I got profuse apologies for it. No worries, I'm always arriving after Fumie when we go shopping even if I am actually on time. I always feel late.
So we made our way to the stadium and I snapped some photos along the way. There was this giant crowd and we sort of paraded in the direction of the stadium.
Fumie's parents don't really speak English, kind of how I didn't really speak Japanese at the time. We both knew a few words and phrases but Fumie was our translator. Still, it wasn't the least bit awkward. For me, anyway.
First thing, we found our seats and then Fumie's dad asked who wanted beer. I politely declined but they insisted that we all drink and that they pay.I took a moment take scan the staium and all I could see was red, save for this one area in the nosebleeds where people were rocking the Nagoya Dragons blue.
The cheers were deafening. There was even a band made up of fans not affiliated with the team or stadium that played each player's cheer.
Fumie's dad gave me a pair of thundersticks so I could join in on the cheering. But soon we decided we were hungry and went to peruse the food counters. I never would have thought udon to be a viable food to serve at a stadium what with all the raucous cheering and recreational beer drinking but as I've learned, things just have a way of working out in Japan.
There was takoyaki, udon, okonomiyaki, yakitori, etc. We settled on okonomiyaki and afterwards snacked on squid jerky and cheese with a dried fish coating (surprisingly good).
After dinner, I brought out the funnel cakes. Turns out, they don't keep well. They were soggy from the oil and the powerderd sugar was already absorbed but Fumie's family ate them up and told me how good they wre. I kept offering and they kept accepting even though they'd said they were stuffed after dinner. Thank goodness for excellent manners and oseiji (complimenting someone even though you don't mean it just to make them feel good).
During what we would call the seventh inning stretch (although it didn't take place during the 7th inning, I want to say it was the 5th but I can't remember) we got balloons. Really big, red balloons that we blue up and while they played the carp song we sang along (I tried to, at least) and then we let the balloons go. Once the balloons deflated back to the ground they were cleaned up extraordinarily fast.
As the game drew to a close we realized the Carp would be shut out but the cheering never once let up. Not even when the Dragons were up to 7 runs (5 of which I think all happened in 1 inning). Even when the last out was called and the game was officially over, the fans left the stadium relatively cheerful possibly satisfied with the enjoyable time they just had.
As we made our way out of the stadium, I got a few souvenirs- the only things I actually bought that night. I got a hello kitty carp baseball player phone charm and a "Slyly" key chain. While the team is called the Carp, "Slyly" (the mascot) is a cross between a Sesame Street monster and an oddly colored muppet. He's bright blue and green with some orange and red. Similarly, the Nagoya Dragons have a giant blue koala who riles up the fans and gets them excited.
We didn't get back to the station until after 10pm. We walked with the crowd of people and caught a taxi to where they had parked and they insisted on driving me home. When my sister came to visit, I had her bring me some jerseys (Matsui and Ichiro) and I gave them to Fumie's family as a thank you. Her dad wrote me a nice letter which she translated.
All in all, a highly enjoyable experience. :)
More stories to come soon!
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