Sports Day

I never heard of this show, but I love this poster.
So I may start watching the show. 

I really don't understand
how blogspot organizes
pictures. It is either the computer
or me, but one of us
isn't doing what we think
we are doing when it
comes to inputing commands.

People tell me that Sports Day is a little like Boot Camp for Japanese kids. They go to school and everybody assumes they are working hard, but the parents don't really believe it until they see their children running in synchronized movements to Offenbach. Or stretching to Celine Dion.

I went to as many of the JR High Sports Practices as I could. I was concerned, with my trip to Tokyo, I would be unable to attend sports day for real, so I cheered them on in pretend.

Thankfully, we had Typhoon. That's how everybody says it. Maybe, Typhoon. Last summer, we had Typhoon. Not a typhoon, or the typhoon, or the typhoon happened. We had Typhoon. On Sunday, apparently, or maybe all weekend so that the field was too wet to do anything until today, when I had returned from my trip.

I wouldn't have known anything about it, except I ran into one of my elementary schoolers right as I left my house on my bike.

"Hi Sensei! What are you doing?"

I'm riding my bike. What are you doing?

"Where are you going?"

Well, I was going to go that way, but you are going this way and I feel very affirmed that you are talking to me so I am going with you as long as you keep talking.

"Are you going to Undokai?"

This sounds familiar. I turn it over in my mind wondering where I have heard this word before, why I have heard this word... what context?

oh yeah. My friend from Ehime mentioned going to undokai a week or so ago. She said she was tired afterwards... she said it was-

Sports Day! Is it going on? What time?

"I think from 9 am."

Well, shite. That was a while ago now, but it won't be over for a bit. So I dash off to chuugakkou in search of tug-of-war and group potato-sack-races.

I had a great time too. I watched a bunch of races, sat with one of my 1st graders, said hi to my supervisor, and eventually got scooped up by one of the kids from my office and the elementary school liaison. "Come over here, sit in the shade!" Everybody is always trying to get me to sit down. They don't realize that I am not a good sitter. I don't really like sitting. I can hardly stand still, as I explained to my JTE the other day. (Today at sports day, I reiterated this little tidbit because I want her to remember I have this difficulty. It would be best if I could someday convince her it is a medical condition.) 

Since I sweated off all my sunblock on the ride over here, I now look a little like Rudolph the 赤いはなたぬき, but I don't let that get to me. Besides, the sunburn that's really going to suck is the one on my upper right arm where the sunblock didn't even reach originally.

I felt reasonably encouraged by being there. My same 3rd years came to borrow my sunglasses, I had lunch with my star English student and her family, and several of the kids showed off their posters of anime and manga characters, commemorating sports day forever. And I totally impressed them by reading a few of their surnames off in kanji.　すげーメリ先生。

A few pics without faces. I think there are pretty strict laws about that sort of thing.

This was the one I wanted at the top of the page. But it is here.
You win this round, blogger.

Group running project to the tune of,
 ichi ni, beat beat.
ichi - ni, beat beat.

  

Every event has a ceremony. After every event
has another ceremony. Between each event,
there is a little ceremony to announce scores.
I'm sure there were secret ceremonies I just
didn't know were happening at the time.

I love this action shot. This kid (the flying one)
 is one of the more troubled
or troublesome at school. I like him a lot, but he
can be bit of a sulky mess. But he loves winning.
We are all the same, at bottom.