Sports Day (Undo-kai)

Every year Japanese elementary, junior high and high schools hold a 'sports festival' - a day of competition, ceremony and school pride held outdoors in the schoolyard. I didn't make to any of my schools' sports festivals last year, so watching the preparation and festival this year was new and interesting. The week before the festival was held much preparation was made by all the students, teachers and staff.

In this preceding week the kids practiced marching in unison in the schoolyard, created team flags for each class, and helped set up tents, ropes, etc. to aide the festivities. I was really surprised how much time the students spent outdoors in the hot sun preparing for this day. It seemed like every detail of the event was poured over - from the angle the students carrying the school flag should turn to the pitch and loudness they should be singing the school song. I was also struck by the idea that the event wasn't exactly a show for parents and families; though many families did show up, there were a limited number and most of their viewing of the events was obstructed by large tents. It was as if the sports festival was first and foremost held for the school (students and teachers) and as a part of the school tradition.

I kept wondering if this sort of event would somehow fly in the U.S., but it's hard to imagine such an event transplanted in a totally different culture. It seems like most students' and teachers' lives here revolve more around their school than you would find at any public middle school in the U.S. The only event I can remember in school for me that was even close to being similar was 'field day' held at my elementary school. Yet for field day no ceremonies were held, no preparation made by the students, and the events weren't all mandatory. Maybe it's because I now have an unforgettable image of hundreds of students in matching uniforms marching together under the beating sun (including the cutest non-athletic kids you've ever seen!) but when teachers and students asked me if there was such a thing as 'Sports Day' in America, I told them not at all.

And after all the hard prep work it turned out to be a really fun event. I'm real positive most students and teachers enjoyed the sports festival. I sure did. To recap the day, I remember an opening ceremony with flag raising and speech making, different relay races and tug of war contests, a dance intermission, lunchtime, a display and presentation of school clubs, a short relay competition between teachers and the PTA, a closing ceremony, and clean-up time. To top it off I ran with some teachers in a relay vs. the ichi-nensei (7th graders), but in the end we were beaten and came in 4th. I think my legs are still a little sore from my all out 200 meter sprint.

Preparation week

Blue and white team getting ready

The 'centipede' race - all the students' legs are tied to a large rope

From the schedule, dancing and pump-you up music before lunch

'It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight..."

Back in Japan and avoiding the flu

I'm writing from my apartment in Kitakyushu, enjoying my first weekend back in Japan after taking a month break in Oregon and California. My summer vacation was more than I could have asked for. Spending lots of time with family and friends, plenty of time outdoors in Oregon, eating steak and delicous tacos, drinking beer that tastes beautiful, watching a buddy from grade school get married, taking a road trip to the coast with my parents and older bro, speaking lots of English - these are just a few highlights. But, it's also good to be back in Japan.

I had work this week, Monday through Friday. So far I'm actually feeling comfortable and more or less 'in the swing of things' again. It helped being welcomed back by a few friends, opening my apartment door to a (mostly) clean room, and going back to work and seeing lots of cheery, nice teachers and happy, bright-eyed students.

On Tuesday, all the students returned to Takasu Jr. High and were scheduled to have an opening ceremony for their last term of the school year. To my surprise, the formal ceremony wasn't held in the gym as planned but rather conducted through the P.A. system, as all the students sat at their desks in their respective classrooms. During the lunch break I asked a student why everyone didn't go to the gym. He replied that the teachers were concerned about influenza. He also told me that he didn't know of any student so far affected by influenza.

Two days later one of the English teachers told me that a few students had been affected by the virus. In addition she said one of the local elementary schools had been closed for a little while because of the flu. And, she said that if any teacher came down with the sickness they would have to stay home for a week. I'm still pretty unclear how serious the flu thing is around here, having not read up on local news for a while and only going off of what I hear. It does seem to be a hot topic at my school, because I've received a few handouts having something to do with it (but really hard to decipher) and I keep hearing the word 'in-fu-ren-za' spoken at the morning meetings.

With the school being as large as it is, 2 students being infected out of 800+ doesn't seem all that bad. Also, if the school policy for an infected teacher is just to stay home for a week, the virus itself doesn't sound all that scary (for adults, anyway). And everything else at the school is back to normal - classes, lunch, after school clubs, etc. Aside from curious happenings with influenza, the rhythm of daily life feels the same and it feels good not having to greatly adjust myself.