Kobe, Japan: A trip of firsts

The Brent softball team traveled to Kobe, Japan last week for the APAC Tournament. It has been a year since Hannah Grace began participating in these tournaments. You may recall me writing about her first APAC trip last April that took us to Hong Kong. It was the trip that I took Ellis out of school early to be my companion until Tony joined us on the weekend. This year I put on my big girl panties and traveled alone. Okay, “alone” may be pushing it. I was with 12 high school girls, two coaches, and 5 other parents/family members. Still, it isn’t the same when you don’t have a hand to hold when that plane is taking off or when your hotel bed begins to shake because of an earthquake. That’s right, my hotel bed swayed side to side and the windows creaked making sounds you hear in a haunted house. I tried to stand, but had to brace myself from the rocking. Remember in school when there was an earthquake drill and they taught you to get under a desk and cover your head. Yeah, I went straight to the window to see what was happening outside. I am pretty sure that was the number one rule in the earthquake drill: stay away from windows. Apparently I am a slow learner. Like I said, it was a trip of "firsts"! My awesome trip to Kobe ended with another "first": The girls went undefeated to win the APAC Championship! Tears come to my eyes when I think of that moment. Not necessarily because they were the most talented team, but because they were the best team. They had heart. They had compassion. They worked hard and they believed, not just in themselves, but in each other. And you saw that on and off the field. A coach from another team approached me after the championship game and said, “It is awesome to see NICE girls win!” I couldn’t agree more.

Speaking of nice girls: I met up with the team at the airport. Here they are reading the letters that each teammate wrote to compliment and encourage one another.

Here they are bowing and saying "thanks" to the umpires after their first day of wins. A great start to the tournament! The umpires were all American and were either serving in the military or had served. A super bunch of men!

I am sure you are not surprised to hear that Kobe is another place I would love to live. Hard to believe I would say that after experiencing the earthquake, but it is true. I enjoyed talking to parents from Canadian Academy (the host school) about riding bikes everywhere, their trips to Costco (Oh, Costco, how I miss you!) and the kindness of the Japanese. They may not speak English, but they will go out of their way to try and help with a gentle nod of their head and a soft spoken voice. Hannah Grace and I have both said we want to go back. She didn’t go as far as to say she wants to live there, but I bet I could convince her!

 "Parking Lot" for children

"Parking Lot" for teachers

When not watching games, I ventured around the city with this great group of fans. Here we are hiking up the wrong trail to visit a waterfall. Thankfully we ran into a group that got us on the correct path.

The view from the top. Patti and I debated walking up that last flight of stairs. It was worth it, though!

After the hike we rode the subway to Sannomiya for dinner.

I just thought this was interesting.

Kobe beef: heard of it? Let me tell you, it is spectacular!  As far as meat goes, I can take it or leave it. When I saw the price, I wanted to leave it. I mean, how good could it be if Tony isn’t throwing it on a charcoal grill? I decided to split a steak just so I could say I tried it. Holy cow (seriously no pun intended), it was some of the best steak I have ever had! Patti and I were regretting that decision to split!

Here is my portion of the steak Patti and I split. This plate cost me a whopping $34 dollars...and we chose the cheapest one! To be fair, it is missing two brussel sprouts, a 1/2 mushroom and one fingerling potato.

After dinner we had trouble finding our way to the bus station. This kind man came out of his store to point us in the right direction.

Even with the man's help, we could not find the dang bus station. I decided to catch a cab, with no luck. I had forgotten to grab the hotel card and apparently "Sheraton" is not a Japanese word. These sweet as pie girls to my right, saw my frustration as I walked away from the cab. They came up to me and offered to help, walking us directly to the bus. After we all boarded, they talked to the bus driver in Japanese and waved us off. We should all be that kind.

Some more random shots from Kobe:

Three young girls riding around town on unicycles. After they crossed the street, they rode along holding hands. Too precious!

On our last day, we found this beautiful 5km path that circled the island the school is located on.

We were even serenated on our walk.

View from my once swaying hotel room.

Hannah Grace in action:

My baby girl running home!

The team took time before each game to pray.

And then they did their rally cheer!

 THE CHAMPIONS: BRENT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MANILA!

One of my favorites of Hannah Grace and her coach.

At the awards banquet, each team was called to the stage for their awards.  When Brent was called to the stage, they were given a standing ovation and the other teams erupted into Brent's cheer. There was a lot of class in that auditorium! 

One happy girl!

Way to go Brent!

So there you have it, my trip of firsts:  My first trip “by myself” to a foreign country; my first earthquake; and my first experience of an APAC Championship. Quite the memorable trip!