School Festival: Day Two

The second day of the festival was so much better than the first – for so many reasons (some of them humiliating). The day started off with a bang – a rousing rendition of “We Are the World” – sung in broken Engrish. When the song ended there was a halfhearted call for an encore, so the band came back on and performed a literal encore – they played the same song again. At the end of the song, the two kids playing guitar each played a one-measure heavy metal solos (like, the band hits its last note, and then, all of a sudden, there’s 6 seconds of totally out of place wailing guitar, and then the song’s over).

Then, the ninth graders had their play, which was infinitely better than the other two. They actually did things like move around, gesture with their arms, show emotion when speaking (and when not speaking), and memorize their lines. Good job, ninth graders.

Then the festival kicked it up a notch. It was time for the feats of strength (the P.E. festival) – in which the grades are pitted against one another in a variety of physical competitions. Relays and tug-of-war were pretty standard, but the P.E. festival had some tricks up its sleeve. Some highlights were, the group jump-rope (where the classes tries to collectively jump-rope as many times as they can) and two separate races where the kids’ legs are tied together (one where the kids are standing next to each other, and the other where they stand single file). But the best thing (I don’t even know what is called) is the race-to-pull-the-large-piece-of-bamboo-to-your-side. Essentially, two groups of kids start at opposite ends of a field and, when the gun goes off, race to the piece of bamboo in the middle. Then they have to pick it up and carry it to the side they started from. But both teams are pushing/pulling at the same time. It was one of the most intense things I’ve ever seen – especially the girls’ event. They’re pretty much even, so it became a fierce struggle. They’re pushing so hard that some of the littler kids got knocked down and almost trampled. The kids were screaming, but the teachers were screaming louder – “fight!!!” Wow. And afterwards, the emotions – wild cheering, crumpling into tears, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the agony of having several of your ribs crushed by a large piece of bamboo. I’m pretty sure that particular activity is illegal in America.

So, after the P.E. activities, there was a closing ceremony, where they lit a bonfire and the kids stood around it. And then (and this is priceless), the kids did a “folk dance”. So, in America, when people perform an artform from another culture, there’s usually some acknowledgement of the culture of origin. Like, how the artform is used in the culture, or what the significance of the artform is. Japan seems totally oblivious to anything outside its borders. There were two “folk dances”. The first might have been Israeli because I remember the tune and doing a variation of the dance in Hebrew school way back when (but I’m not sure if it actually is of Israeli origin…). The second was like an American western line dance to the tune of “The Turkey in the Straw”. It was bizarre and totally random. Where did these folk dances come from? Why are we doing them? Maybe its best not to ask too many questions. What made it even better was (yes, you guessed it) they had me dance with the students. It was pretty humiliating, and I’m pretty sure all involved were a little uncomfortable (except, of course, the staff – who seem totally oblivious of everything). Kae got a nice laugh out of it, though. So far, I think dancing with the students has been the most awkward moment of my time here.

[1. calisthenics before the P.E. festival 2. jumping rope in unison 3. the bamboo game is brutal 4. girls crumple into a heap while teachers scream encouragment 5. kids (with their legs tied together) try to run in unison