Yasuura Junior High School Sports Day

On Sunday my Junior High School had our annual “Undoukai” or Sports Day. It was held Sunday and it ended up being a great event and one of my best days I’ve ever had in Japan. (Picture above: Me and my student council)

The day started with a lot of ceremony and marches as each of the 3 grades competed within their year. It was also a really fun atmosphere as most of the town showed up for the event. A lot of my elementary school students have brothers and sisters at Junior High so they came to watch and it was fun mingling with them and seeing the surprise on their faces as some of them don’t know that I teach at Junior high too. The events started around 10 and there were a lot of the events I’ve never seen before. One really neat one is a race and it has one student walking on the back of the other students as they quickly form a path for the walker.

The majority of the events were relay runs. They had their individual grade relays and then their individual club relays. The sports clubs competed against each other and as expected, the ping pong club and the Kendo club was the slowest- though is pretty hard to run with those kendo robes. They also have culture clubs competing, and instead of using a baton, they either passed a paint brush or as the losing computer club team did, a keyboard.

Last year the teachers ran with the kids, but this year originally we weren’t scheduled to run. But I had voiced that I wouldn’t mind competing next year and in about 10 minutes my English and P.E teacher had organized a team. We competed against the 1^st graders and managed to win by a hair. It was a blast and I managed to get a pretty good run. I’m not sure if it’s just cause I was competing against mostly middle age men and teenage kids, but supposedly I ran pretty fast and I’ve had kids shaking my hands the last few days and hooting my name in the hallways. . (Picture below: My second grade boys manouvering a huge pole around some pylons)

After lunch, there was a performance by our school dance group Tanto-Ex and they always put on a good show. The dance groups are always really good in Japan. I love it when the mix eastern and western influences as it has a distinct sound and movement to everything. It’s really quite enjoyable and I remember watching lots of performances at the flower festival in Hiroshima.

Murayama sensei and her family also visited, since they live in town and it was great seeing them again. I had a lot of fun playing with Sougo again and he’s pretty much my favourite kid in the world. He is adorable and I had fun carrying him around for a good hour. It was funny because a lot of my junior high school students thought he was my kid until they saw Ms.Murayama.

At night, all the teachers went to an “Enkai” or dinner at this resort place in Yasuura called Green Pier. These meals are always a lot of fun as you draw seats to decide where you sit and they are always all you can drink and pretty much eat. They give you a lot of good food and I always have a blast chatting with my teachers. This Enkai I had a really good time with one of the new teachers as we spent a lot of the time talking and it was just a great night. Everyone relaxes at these events and there are lots of laughs and smiles. (Picture below: My kids streching after sports day)

I always manage to eat all my food and of course I get like 3 teachers always passing me food that they can’t eat. It really never ceases to amaze me how much food I can shove into my stomach, I should train to beat Kobayashi- the hot dog champion of the world. (Picture below: My P.E teacher Mr.Moritaka and the science teacher Mr. Kurisu)

So all in all, it was a great day. After the new school year I was reaching my first real down point since being in Japan with all the teacher changes and all. But the conference in Kobe and the Sports Day was some of the best times I’ve had in Japan. As summer is coming and my trip home is near, I’m feeling really confident about my choice to stay another year and I’m really looking forward to spending another year here.

Japanese factoid #24: Japanese art of drink pouring is a subtle but important custom during dinners and get togethers. The rule is-you never pour your own drink and if you see someone’s glass empty, you always fill it for them. It can be dangerous seeing that you always end up drinking a lot, but also fun as it facilitates taking and you basically grab a large bottle of beer and work your way around the room pouring drinks for everybody.

Kobe Re-contracting Confrence

I just got back from spending 4 days in Kobe for the JET recontracting conference. Every 1^st year JET that has committed to a second year gets a paid trip to Kobe. The conference consisted of 2 days of workshops with lots of speeches from Japanese ministry people and fellow JETs. Masato and I left Tuesday for Kobe as we wanted to see a bit more of the city before the confrence was to begin. We spent the day walking around Kobe and ate dinner in “Chinatown.” The food was better then most of the Chinese food I’ve eaten here so far, but nothing even remotely close to the food I get back home. All the Chinese food here is a weird Japanese/Chinese hybrid, that ends up costing three times more then back home.

We spent the night walking around the busy district of Kobe and found a place called-I kid you not-Boob park where they had a live band playing and a bunch of concrete seats. We sat down and had a few beers (drinking in public is legal in Japan) and just listened to a sweet cover band that played old Beatles, Eagles and Santana tunes. It’s always fun to people watch in Japan as you see some pretty crazy stuff. We saw this pretty big Japanese dude decked out in Winnie the Pooh paraphernalia and a bunch of Japanese boys started screaming. “Pooh san ga iru” or “There is Mr. Pooh.” There were also these two girls who sat in front of us and for about 2 hours we saw about 10 different guys try to hit on them and get shot down. They actually started to chat with us when they wanted to get rid of these two boys who wouldn’t leave them alone. ( Picture below: These two guys spent a good hour trying to hit on these two girls)

The next morning we checked into our four star hotel called Portopia, on a man-made island within Kobe. It was a really nice hotel and we had gorgeous rooms. You really get some sweet perks going on this programme. After checking in, we had an opening ceremony with a few speeches and then I attended two workshops that ended up being pretty interesting and helpful.

At night is when Kobe got invaded by about 1000 foreigners. Every where you went you ran into fellow JETs. I was lucky enough to meet back up with my friend Kiyoko who I hung around with in Tokyo. I ended up having an awesome night, as Kiyoko and her friend Andy and I grabbed dinner at an Italian place, then spent the night visiting a few bars in Kobe listening to live music that included a Japanese man singing Bob Marley. It was a fun night.

The next day, when most JETs have hangovers, is when we had an avalanche of workshops. There were 6 workshop blocks you can attend and there were a few topics that were quite helpful in improving either your life in Japan or your teaching skills. I found most of it informative, but I was glad when the day ended. Night time came around again and I met up with Kiyoko and a few more JETs from her prefecture in Kyushu, called Oita. By chance we were walking around Kobe and came upon the exact same chain that Kiyoko and I had visited in Tokyo. The restaurant/ lounge called Arabian Rock, it had the exact same décor with the same Arabian nights theme. If you remember from my first post, all the girls wore like belly dancer outfits and they played the Aladdin soundtrack on a continuous loop. Our eating area was sweet as all the booths were made to look like little huts. (Picture below: Jeffery checking out the waitresses)

After dinner, we met up with packs of fellow JETs, as it really seemed like all of Kobe was littered with foreigners. We had a few more drinks and ended up stumbling back to the hotel at 3am, where Jeffery and I decided it would be wise to go the convenience store and get a few more drinks. We spent another two hours chatting in the lounge at the Hotel before I finally stumbled upstairs and slept for a few hours before the closing ceremony. Needless to say, I had a bit of a hangover and I was glad when the conference closed. Though I must say the speech and demonstration was excellent and very informative. (Picture below: Our wrap up picture outside the hotel)

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and it is the last time I’ll be with so many foreigners for a meeting of this size. I was lucky to meet up with a few friends and had a great time with some new ones. I didn’t get a chance to try Kobe Beef, so that is definitely on my list to do the next time I make my way to Kobe.

Japanese factoid #23: Well as anyone who knows me well, I really love chocolate. The stuff here in Japan is pretty good, nothing like a Big Turk bar, but good. One brand that is really big here in Japan is Kit-Kat. In Japan there are many different types of special Kit-Kat’s that get released every few weeks. I’ve tried most of them. Some of the flavours I’ve had are: Blueberry cheesecake, Bitter Chocolate, Green Tea, Fruit Parfait, Sweet Tofu, Café-Latte, Maple, Cherry Blossom, Red Bean and countless others.

Hockey and Hiroshima for Golden Week

I’m back at work now and my holiday has officially ended. I had a pretty fun one week holiday- as Japan gets a week off work due to a string of holidays grouped together, known as Golden Week. Asuka was in Taiwan visiting her friend, so I spent the week in Hiroshima with Rich and playing hockey.(Picture below: My friend Hiki and I chatting after at the lodge.)

I started my holidays with a hockey tournament in Hyogo-Ken. The tournament was fun and our team came in third place. We spend most of last Saturday driving to the hockey rink and spent the night practicing and then staying at a cabin lodge. The cabin was really nice and I had fun drinking and chatting with my hockey friends.(Picture below: Members from the girl team)

The Tournament started on Sunday and we spent the whole day there from 8am till 7pm. We played a total of 7 games and we lost in the semi finals to a really strong Osaka team. They were by far the best team there and it was a blast to watch them play, even though they beat us.

It was my first time playing organized hockey in Japan and it was funny noticing some of the differences in terminology and culture that is employed here. For instance, at the start of the game you bow. When you finish a game you also bow to the referees and the visitor’s bench. They also say “good keep” when a goalie makes a save and “nice shoot” when someone makes a good shot. Overall, I had a fun time and to top it off, at the end of the tournament there is a raffle and our team won a hockey bag full of equipment. So I ended up getting a free hockey t-shirt.(Picture below: I'm playing rock, Paper, Scissors and trying to win a free hockey jersey, came in third )

I got back to town Sunday night and on Monday I met up with Rich and his cousin Curtis who are traveling around Japan for 3 weeks. Rich has cousins that are living in Hiroshima, so I pretty much stayed over in the city the whole week, only coming home to shower.

Since it was Golden Week, there were a lot of activities happening around in Hiroshima. There was the 30^th Annual Hiroshima Flower Festival which consists of a parade and lots of talent shows. There were dance performances from many school groups as well as cultural groups- a wide range from traditional Japanese dance to hip-hop dancing. We spent a good part of the week watching the different performances.(Picture below: Female pop group)

There were also a lot of Japanese celebrities that had performances, especially many well known comedians and a few pop groups. Curtis spent at least 10 hours a day watching all the different dance performances and I just remember hearing him say that he loves Japan every 5 mins. It was a lively place and over 150,000 people went to the flower festival.

The Hiroshima Peace Park was where a lot of the performances took place and at night there was a candle memorial and most of the peace park became filled with candles. It’s quite surreal and really nice to see everything lit up. By the river beside the peace Park, they had an orchestra and various band groups singing.

On Friday we went to a professional Japanese baseball game. The Hiroshima Carp played the Chunichi Dragons and Rich, Curtis and their cousin and I spent most of the day watching the Carp beat the Dragons 9-5. A Japanese baseball game is a lot of fun, as there is singing, band music playing and various dances and chants throughout. There is always a section of the opposing teams fans and they always cheer really loud and have supporters at every game. We had a couple of beers at the game and it was fun, even though it was hot in the high 20’s. Sitting there we got baked and I got a tad sunburnt.(Picture below: Curtis and their cousin Brandon)

Well, that was pretty much how I spent my Golden week, it was fun seeing Rich and hanging around in Hiroshima city. Festivals happen so often in Japan, but they are always a fun time as there is a lot to see and do. They always have great food, which really helps too. The past week has been really hot, as the temperature has really risen. It’ started to get a tad muggy and humid over here and the rainy season begins soon, which means it will rain everyday- shaking my former belief that it never rains here.

The rest of May should go pretty fast as I’ll be busy with elementary school and a conference in Kobe. After that, it’s just another month until I head home for two weeks in July. I’m really looking forward to stepping back on Canadian soil for a bit and seeing my family and friends.

Japanese Factoid # 22: As mentioned Japanese baseball games are fun because they are so into the games and everyone is cheering and singing for all 9 innings. The coolest thing they do here is during the 7^th inning. Instead of a stretch, everyone has massive balloons that they blow up as big as they can. Then everyone at the same time releases the balloons and they make a loud whistling noise. When a whole ballpark does it, it’s really quite neat to see and experience.