The Stanford Open never disappoints and is always one of the most exciting meets in the country, especially since the competition involves a good mixture of some of the top collegiate teams and junior gymnasts in the US. However, with the under-21 Japanese National Team with us this year, the competition was a lot more exciting than usual.  There were a lot of mistakes from all teams, but in the end, the Japanese team came out on top.  A huge congratulations to them!

The U-21 Japanese Team, Me, and Josh

Following the meet they told me that the atmosphere in the gym during the competition threw them slightly off their game.  It’s totally understandable since Japanese meets are oddly quiet, almost to the point where you can hear a pin drop.  I’ve experienced competing in Japan myself, and I’ve realized that I’m actually more comfortable in a loud and rowdy environment.

Anyway the Stanford team and the Japanese team got together after the meet for a little get together/party.  We’ve done this with them the past two years, and as always, we all had a blast.

The Japanese team will be in the area for a few more days before they have to head back to Japan again.  They went over to San Francisco for a little touring yesterday and went to Sacramento (State Capitol) today.  I’ve been enjoying this past week and being able to spend some time with my Japanese brothers.  It’s too bad that it was rainy the entire week so they couldn’t enjoy the nice California sun.  It  looks like the weather will be pretty clear for the next few days though.

On a slightly different note, I just got the results back from the Level-1 (the highest level) of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) that I took a couple of months ago.  To my surprise, I had passed.  The result was a huge surprise given that I barely had the time to study.   I went in not knowing what to expect but luckily it seems like I did ok.  Definitely glad I did because I can now donate my study materials that’s been collecting dust in the corner of the room!

Passed!