{"id":3656,"date":"2013-09-04T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T13:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/?p=3656"},"modified":"2013-09-04T07:05:24","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T13:05:24","slug":"arrival-in-the-usa-training-new-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/2013\/09\/04\/arrival-in-the-usa-training-new-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrival in the USA! Training! new place!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Sunday, September 1st, I headed to Narita.  That itself was a struggle&#8230;.two freaking HUGE suitcases, one with the wheel broken, each weighing 55 pounds, a super heavy back pack, and laptop bag. I felt like Megumi Fujii trying to carry Bob Sapp. Or an ant. If you want a boring analogy. XD<\/p>\n<p>I got to the airport, and the check in lady said, &#8220;Your bags are over weight.  This one is only a pound, so I can let it slide, but this one is 5 lbs over.&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;Okay, I&#8217;ll pay extra,&#8221; I said, expecting that. Maybe it&#8217;d be like $20 bucks, right?<br \/>\n&#8220;That will be $150&#8230;..&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;WHAT? PLUS $150?!?&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;Well, 100 for the extra bag because United only allows one, and then $150 for it being over weight, so that&#8217;s a total of $250&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Roxy nearly had an aneurism. I had no more space in my bag! or so I thought.  I ended up taking the HUGE jug of protein powder and a few bottles of vitamins out of my suitcase and putting them in my UFC back pack&#8230;.MAN that thing will carry my whole house plus the kitchen sink! I had no idea it fit so much stuff!<\/p>\n<p>It worked!  So I got on my plane, using my ticket I bought with MILES! (FINALLY, after ten years of flying back and forth using different airlines, I finally cashed in on miles)<\/p>\n<p>I was going to say a special goodbye to Japan as I was taking off, but I was SO exhausted that I sat down and fell asleep instantly. As Brittany knows I can. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxysleeping.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxysleeping-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"roxysleeping\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3657\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When I woke up, I was already in the air. \ud83d\ude41 Man!<br \/>\nDespite no TVs, the flight wasn&#8217;t too bad because I had my laptop so I watched FightClub on it! I&#8217;ve been in the mood for that movie. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Once landing, my dad&#8217;s school friend&#8217;s wife picked me up and brought me to my temporary apartment.<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s dark and old&#8230;.but clean and cute, and twice as big as my apartment in Japan.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bedroom.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bedroom-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"bedroom\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-3660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/kitchen.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/kitchen-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"kitchen\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3661\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/living-room-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/living-room-2-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"living room 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3662\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p> hah!<br \/>\nI&#8217;m like &#8220;walking between rooms?! What a concept!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She was very nice, and also took me shopping at Walmart for everything I might ever need for my first week! \ud83d\ude00 look! I spent $121!!<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxy-bought-lots-of-stuff.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxy-bought-lots-of-stuff-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"roxy bought lots of stuff\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3658\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nI got SO much! XD XD haha  I spent the rest of the day unpacking.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, I wasn&#8217;t going to train yet, plus it was a holiday, but Colleen said that Drysdale&#8217;s was still having pro practice, so I thought, &#8216;Why not?&#8217;  It was so cool to train with her! \ud83d\ude00 She&#8217;s soooooo strong!  I was like, daaaamn, I gotta hulk up! She&#8217;s in my weight division! @_@;;  My back hurt, so I couldn&#8217;t escape once I got on my back, but I still had fun rolling and doing technique! \ud83d\ude00 Robert is so nice. And stern at the same time. It&#8217;s great. \ud83d\ude00 Nice group of guys and gals! I met Kristel and had lunch with her afterwards! \ud83d\ude00 \ud83d\ude00 \ud83d\ude00<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxycolleenkristel.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxycolleenkristel-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"roxycolleenkristel\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3659\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After training, she drove me home (thank you!) and I went to the Dollar shop, where I bought like $17 worth of things, like kitchen utensils, trash baskets, plastic holders, etc. \ud83d\ude00 And DAIRY QUEEN! XD   omfg This Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard&#8230;best. THING. EVERRRR. ;__;<\/p>\n<p>I had a dream that night that a monster was attacking in Dairy Queen and Colleen and I had to fight it off together. mwahahaha XD<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday, I went to morning Thai boxing class with Mr. James McSweeney!<br \/>\nHOLY HELL, it was super hard and so painful and I wanted to cry like ten times, but I forced myself to smile and keep going.  Some of the stuff he showed was just so technically above my level, I was like, &#8220;Dude, I can&#8217;t even do this ABC block, not to mention catching this strike, spinning around and doing a back elbow.&#8221; @_@  But it was kind of cool in thinking that if I go to training, maybe some day I would be able to do it.  Thanks for being patient with me, Colleen.  <\/p>\n<p>In the recent years, training hasn&#8217;t been as fun because I have high expectations of myself in training. I&#8217;m a pro and I &#8220;should&#8221; be able to do it. Then I get super down on myself if I&#8217;m slow, or I can&#8217;t. I&#8217;m trying to NOT think like that, but when everyone else gets it and I&#8217;m the only one, I feel guilty for holding people up. \ud83d\ude41  Well, striking is NOT my forte. *sigh*<\/p>\n<p>James demonstrated this kick on me and I thought my leg was going to fall off. LOL No joke, omg. But he&#8217;s so cool *_*  I want to be able to do what he says, but my puny little grappler&#8217;s brain was a-struggling.  I brought in my Isami karate shin guards, and everyone was like, &#8220;You SPAR in those?&#8221; I thought, &#8220;Um yeah? we all did in Japan&#8230;&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>omfg! ><  I could feel EVERY strike as if I had no shin guards on. I wanted to barf every time I got kicked. lol ;_; I can't wait to go back! With better shin guards. >< But my nice ones are in the mail...noooooo.\n\nAfter that, I <strike>walked<\/strike> limped to the Bank of America.  OH, on the way, I found this Japanese store! \ud83d\ude00  I FOUND RICE BALLS AND I HAD ONE! HAHAHA Sweet! And I spoke in Japanese to the owners!  The man is from Kamata, kind of near AACC! \ud83d\ude00 Sweet!  I can get lots of food I love there! But it&#8217;s triple the price, so I gotta only treat myself.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxy-rice-ball-vegas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/roxy-rice-ball-vegas.jpg\" alt=\"roxy rice ball vegas\" width=\"240\" height=\"320\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3663\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nI opened a checking account, and got a new ATM card.  The process took like two hours, and I had to wait. I fell asleep in the chair for 15 minutes. \ud83d\ude00 BUT I GOT IT. And the bank employee was super nice. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n<p>I made it home (man I&#8217;m starting to hate the bus ;_; It hardly ever comes!) and then soon left to get a chiropractic appointment with the guy Colleen introduced me too!  It went late, and she drove me home. THANK YOU! Omg I feel so much better!  I could probably practice today anyway, but I gotta get a cell phone and should probably rest somewhat. I&#8217;m still suffering from jetlag. Despite going to bed at 11:30 PM, I woke up at 2, and then dozed a bit, and then woke up at 4. *sigh*<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s been a good week so far, and I feel SO MUCH MORE POSITIVE after Jake worked on my back! \ud83d\ude00 \ud83d\ude00 \ud83d\ude00 And Colleen is cool.  <\/p>\n<p>I was planning to visit other gyms before I decide on one, so I have to figure out how to get there with no car. <\/p>\n<p>Tonight is the Premier of The Ultimate Fighter Season 18! I&#8217;m on it, but I don&#8217;t get the channel and so now I have to figure out where to go to see it! ;_;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Sunday, September 1st, I headed to Narita. That itself was a struggle&#8230;.two freaking HUGE suitcases, one with the wheel broken, each weighing 55 pounds, a super heavy back pack, and laptop bag. I felt like Megumi Fujii trying to carry Bob Sapp. Or an ant. If you want a boring analogy. XD I got&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-1","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roxannemodafferi.net\/RBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}