Today was Sports Day at Sakai Junior High School.
This morning, I rolled in to work with a green t-shirt (I'd been asked to support team MIDORI - yes, it means "green" in Japanese) and no expectations. Given the language barrier that exists between me and, er, everyone else at the school, I wasn't really sure what was in store. Sure, teachers have been busy prepping for the past few days, and students have been running around with paint brushes and bits of fabric, but in my mind, Sports Day would amount to some cute 6th graders playing tug-of-war.
Turns out it was a pretty big deal.
The day kicked off with the local media arriving, students performing an opening ceremony complete with a torch lighting, and four teams competing for three jam-packed hours of relays, sprints, and, yes, tug-of-war. The senseis (teachers) got to participate in a couple of relays, so the tradition of making an a$$ out of myself continued...
After lunch, the track meet turned into a pep rally, with each team of students performing an original, four-minute cheer they'd written themselves. The cheers were impressive enough (at least I think so - I couldn't understand them!), but the student-made costumes were amazing. Whereas any costume I'd worn as a middle schooler most likely involved a sheet worn toga-style, these kids' threads involved actual tailoring. Turns out those that weren't at English Camp with me had spent their summer vacations creating dresses and capes and pom-poms. As my students say, sugoi (awesome!).
So, for being in the middle of a rice paddy, Sakai puts on a darn good show. I got a bit photo-happy and took more than 300 pictures (these kids are soooo photogenic!), but I'm sharing only a few with you here. Watch out for these kids in high school!
This morning, I rolled in to work with a green t-shirt (I'd been asked to support team MIDORI - yes, it means "green" in Japanese) and no expectations. Given the language barrier that exists between me and, er, everyone else at the school, I wasn't really sure what was in store. Sure, teachers have been busy prepping for the past few days, and students have been running around with paint brushes and bits of fabric, but in my mind, Sports Day would amount to some cute 6th graders playing tug-of-war.
Turns out it was a pretty big deal.
The day kicked off with the local media arriving, students performing an opening ceremony complete with a torch lighting, and four teams competing for three jam-packed hours of relays, sprints, and, yes, tug-of-war. The senseis (teachers) got to participate in a couple of relays, so the tradition of making an a$$ out of myself continued...
After lunch, the track meet turned into a pep rally, with each team of students performing an original, four-minute cheer they'd written themselves. The cheers were impressive enough (at least I think so - I couldn't understand them!), but the student-made costumes were amazing. Whereas any costume I'd worn as a middle schooler most likely involved a sheet worn toga-style, these kids' threads involved actual tailoring. Turns out those that weren't at English Camp with me had spent their summer vacations creating dresses and capes and pom-poms. As my students say, sugoi (awesome!).
So, for being in the middle of a rice paddy, Sakai puts on a darn good show. I got a bit photo-happy and took more than 300 pictures (these kids are soooo photogenic!), but I'm sharing only a few with you here. Watch out for these kids in high school!
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