Kendo Club!!

Japanese students work hard.  And as the phrase goes, you work hard so that you can play hard!!

As I may have already mentioned in another post, all the students must participate in an Early Morning, After School, and Weekend Club activity.  They participate in the same activity all year long.  I have stayed after school and even gone to school on the weekend to observe and support the students during this time.

Just this past week, as I was peddling my bike by the school to go home, I heard this shouting in a small gym-like building beside the school.  I heard the sounds of sticks whacking against something and like I said, I heard shrieking coming from the building.  "What kind of club activity is this?" I thought.  Or are there students getting into trouble?  (I'm a teacher, I tend to worry sometimes...)

And as I peered through the door, I see the students dressed like this:

This club activity is called "Kendo."  It is a traditional Japanese sport and I walked in on them as they were practicing some kind of hitting attack.  Each student would take a turn running at the other and hitting them on the top of the head HARD and then scream as loud as they could!  WHOA!  And I thought I was nervous teaching wrestling last year!  HA!

The students' have special uniforms/outfits (as you can clearly see).  However, only certain sections had armour...these are the parts where the students are "supposed" to get hit.  That means that they could be hit on a spot that's not protected.  But I watched for a while, and all of the students aimed their stick-like swords at the proper spots.  They were trained well!  (I apologize in advance because I haven't learnt the proper terminology for Kendo and I have clearly done no research about it yet...but I just really wanted to post these awesome pictures!!  These kids are so brave!)

I actually saw them practice "fighting/sparring" with each other.  It was pretty intense!  There was a lot of screaming and shouting and banging!  It was all controlled by a drum by the "ref/coach."  (I'm sorry, I'll look into the proper terms!  I promise!)

Here are some more pics:

As you can see from the above photograph, this is a girl sparing with a boy.  There are about 8 girls in the club and 10 boys and they all spar with each other...and the girls didn't hold back, either!

I couldn't get a clear shot because they all practice fighting at the same time, but there is a team "captain" figure (I think).  He looks different because the back of his helmet has a red cloth on the back of his head while the others have a navy cloth.

At the end of their practice, they bowed to each other, some kind of writing on the wall to the right, and later to the teacher.  Cool!  If I wasn't such a chicken, I would love to try it!  We'll see.....

They actually did invite me to "play" and tried to give me a "stick."  I just laughed and waved my hand in the air and said, "Kedo desu!"  (I think (and hope) that means "No thank you" in Japanese.  Whatever I said, they seemed to understand what I was saying...which was "I am too much of a chicken to try!")

Here are a few other interesting photos I took:

First, this guy was in a bucket on a teacher's desk.  It's a cute little mini lobster...I named him Ernie.  (I don't know if Ernie survived Science class...)

And later that day, I started biking North towards the mountain uphill and I saw this beautiful temple.  I just wanted to share it with you.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

Last week, on Sunday morning, I was invited to the Hachisu Children’s Centre for a Halloween Party.  I dressed up as a Jack-O-Lantern Bear.  (What’s up with the costume, you might ask?  Well, I bought two costumes and I didn’t know which one to wear.  So I wore both at the same time!!)  I guess the bear costume is based off of a Japanese character named “Rira Kuma.”  Or in English: “Lila Bear.”

It was a fun costume, but it was really hot that day and I ended up keeping the hood off for my sanity!  An interesting side note: I forgot to pack some sweatshirts and warm clothes for the winter, and my house is not insulated and I do not have a furnace.  So when it’s cold, the house is cold, too.  I hear it gets extremely cold in the wintertime.  It’s kind of like camping.  So since I forgot to bring some warm clothes, I took one look at this costume and thought, hey, this could double as a pair of PJs!  Even if I do look like a penguin bear.  (I say “penguin bear” because as you can tell from the picture, the leg section is only about a foot long and so the belly area is closer to the ground making me look like a “penguin” bear.)  I can picture it now; I’m lounging around the house in my bear costume in the wintertime to keep warm when all of a sudden the doorbell rings.  If I ever have to answer the door in my bear costume, just imagine the explanations I could give at the door!

“Oh, the bear costume?  It’s a Canadian thing!”

“Who just woke me up from my hibernation?  YOU!  Grrrr….”

“Jehovah Witnesses?  Oh boy!  I would love to join!  But only if I can wear my costume to church...”

By the way, you might think that last statement would never happen.  There’s no Jehovah Witnesses in Japan, you’re probably thinking.  Well, a couple nights ago, I just found out there are Jehovah Witnesses around the world…and that includes in the small town of Tarui in Japan!  And they speak really good English.  Go figure!  I actually felt bad saying that I was not interested.

But I’m getting off topic.  The Halloween Party was held on Sunday morning from 9:30am to 12:30pm.  They arranged a “bus” that was supposed to come around and pick up the different kids and parents.  But instead, a taxi picked me up and dropped me off!  I guess most people were able to find a ride to the event except for me!  And so they must have cancelled the bus and just got me a taxi.  Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me pay for the transportation.

When I got there, I took a few pictures of the Children’s Centre.  The Hachisu Children’s Center is right beside a temple that is just south of Tarui.  (Just a reminder: Tarui is the town I live and work in.)  Here are some pictures:

I then proceeded to take out some Canadian stickers and some Canadian fake tattoos and give them to the children.  It’s funny, they were all pretty shy of the strange foreigner in the bear costume…until they noticed that Lila Bear was handing out prizes!!  I was swarmed!!  But luckily I brought a ton of stickers and tattoos (originally I thought I would be teaching English to Junior High Students AND Elementary students in Tarui.  It ends up that I am only teaching Junior High Students this year). 

All of the students had really cute costumes.  Most of them were bought.  I have to say that I was disappointed in the parents.  Less than a handful of parents actually dressed up…making me look like the crazy adult in the crowd.  As if I don’t look different enough with my blond hair and blue eyes!!  The head teacher dressed up as a witch, and the other workers dressed up, too.  (There was an awesome Donald Duck costume!)  Oh, well.  At least I was easy to pick out of the crowd!!

Finally, the event formally began.  All the students sat down and I sat down in front of them in a little chair.  I was told to sit in the little chair because I was the “Guest of Honour.”  I also had to give a little impromptu skit to the kids with the help of my assistants for the day, which were four grade 8 students from the schools I work at.  Do you think that the Junior High students dressed up?  No.  No they did not.  But lucky them, they got to hang out with an English speaking penguin bear with a Jack-o-Lantern Cape!  They just had to grin and “BEAR” it!!  (Ok, Ok, I promise not to use any more bear puns.  But you knew it was coming!  Look at my costume!  I couldn't help it!  Bear with me.  Ok, seriously, that’s it!!  Time to move on, I think, before I get some angry comments posted on my blog…) 

I’m starting to get used to these spur-of-the-moment speeches/skits.  I have been asked to do many speeches and skits with nothing but, “Oh, Sheena-san, please give a speech to all of the Junior High Teachers at our meeting right now.”  (That was on my first day of school at my first staff meeting at Fuwa Junior High – there were over 40 teachers in the room and about 7 of them speak English).  But again, I’m getting off topic here.

The Head Teacher then led the students in different singing activities, ghost stories, and she even led a magic show that I quite enjoyed!

Suddenly, she turns to me and asks for me to do a demonstration to the parents and the students on “How to carve a pumpkin/jack-o-lantern.”  I felt I had to work fast and make it as entertaining as possible…the younger children were growing restless sitting in the same spot for the past hour or so. 

So I went to the front and they had everything I needed.  But they wanted the Junior High students to do the drawing, gutting and carving while I simply explain.  I tried explaining and I let a Junior High girl start drawing a face on the pumpkin as well as a circle on the top of the pumpkin.  So far so good.  Next, I explained that you had to cut an opening on the top of the pumpkin head and then gut it…and by gutting it I’m referring to the act of taking out all of the seeds and the gooey bits.  The Junior High student who was carving cut the top about 1-2 millimeters deep.  Of course this wasn’t deep enough.  So I asked for the knife, and basically started to quickly (but oh so carefully) cut the top off.  (You should have seen the faces of some people!  They seemed surprised that I was basically stabbing the pumpkin…I might as well have been stabbing a cute little kitty cat.  But I needed to get this done quick…the kids were getting bored!)  Once the top was off and the audience ooed and awed, it was time to gut the pumpkin that I had brutally butchered (Oh, the humanity!)

I tried to get a Junior High student to gut the pumpkin.  But all of the girls started to get a bit squeamish.  Never fear!  Lila Bear is here!  I grabbed the spoon and started scooping out the seeds while trying my best to explain in Janglish (that’s what I call my Japanese/English version of talking.  Lots of broken English with a dash of Japanese…JANglish) that the seeds could be cooked in an oven, seasoned, and later eaten.  The audience watched wide-eyed.  The Junior High girls looked disgusted.  And I was having a blast!

Now, we ran into the same problem with the eyes: the students didn’t cut the pumpkin deep enough.  So there I was, cutting up this poor pumpkin’s eyes and nose.  It actually didn’t look so bad!  I handed the knife over to one of the girls.  They had to do something!  I felt horrible that I was doing the whole thing, but if I didn’t help we would have been there all day!  Finally, one of the students took the knife and started to stab the mouth in the similar way I did.  YATA!  (English Translation: “WOOHOO!”)  We finally had a Jack-O-Latern!  The kids and parents seemed to like it…even if it was a tad on the violent side.  I think the Junior High student that had cut the mouth secretly enjoyed the gory experience as well!  (Later on, the head teacher said that the pumpkins in Japan were probably thicker and harder to cut than in North America.  I didn’t say anything, but they are exactly the same.  I think the students were just shy!)

After this demonstration, half of the students and parents cut their own pumpkins, while the other half went into the kitchen to bake some Pumpkin Pudding and Pumpkin Cake.  It was cute watching the parents and children work together in the kitchen and on the Jack-O-Lanterns.  Here are some pictures:

After these activities were finished, we went “Trick or Treating.”  Every child was given a map and a bag, and then they went off to 12 different stations around the Children’s Center.  The students would say “Happy Halloween” and receive a treat and get their map stamped.  (The kids and parents always looked confused when I said, “Trick or Treat.”  They must only know “Happy Halloween.”  I must teach them to say “Trick or Treat” as well!).

The head teacher insisted that if I go trick or treating myself that my Junior High “Assistants” must go with me to help.  I completely understand!  Halloween is a very foreign tradition for me and I may need help!!  (As you can tell, I am teasing.  I just feel funny being the “Guest of Honour” and receiving all of this extra attention).  

So once again, the Junior High students get to hang out with me…the giant bear!  In the end, I think they didn’t mind because I kept trying my Japanese on them and they patiently corrected my grammar and taught me a couple of new words.  Like “Atsui!”  (That’s “hot” in Japanese.  I was boiling in my bear costume!!  If I were to pass out, I wanted the students to know the reason why so that they can explain what happened to me!  I’m just kidding.  But it was extremely hot).

After Trick or Treating, I gave all of my treats to my Junior High assistants.  (I think I am eating too many Japanese sweet treats and ice cream on my own at home…I don’t need any help!!) 

Lunch was served to us and the Head Teacher scouted out my new friend, Sam (short for Samantha) and sat her down at my table with her two lovely kids.  YATA!  (WOOHOO!)  Another adult that is dressed up!  Sam was a wearing a wonderful witch costume.  I am sorry, I didn’t have an opportunity to get a picture of Sam and her lovely kids because just as I was served lunch, my bus had arrived to take me home.  (And again, by bus, I mean personal taxi!)  Sam is from the UK and she speaks English very well, so I think that is why they asked her to sit with me.  I have to admit, it is nice to speak in English quickly, using lots of different words and vocab without getting a panicked look from people.  (I understand this look completely because it’s the same look I give when somebody talks to me in Japanese at the speed of light and all I hear is blahblahblahblahblah deshita).  I still don’t mind trying to speak Japanese with the locals.  Especially the students.  They really make me smile.  Well…most of them, anyways!  I do work with teenagers, after all.  (Mind you, even the misbehaved ones make me laugh and smile sometimes.  Believe it or not, I actually enjoy working with teenagers.  Especially the Junior High Students.  Yes, I like to suffer ;-)  Again, I’m teasing…

Anyways, I had a great time at the Halloween Party.  Everything was really well organized and the Center was decorated beautifully.  I look forward to attending more events held at the Hachisu Children’s Center in the future.  (Like pounding rice with a hammer in the snow while drinking beer…or so I’ve heard…Now THAT definitely sounds like a Children’s event I don’t want to miss!)

Sheena, the Rice Farmer...?

I have a friend whose parents rent a couple of fields just outside of Tarui.  They have planted rice in these fields last Spring.  Last weekend they invited me to "help" them harvest the rice.  So I said that I would...it's not everyday that a city-girl like me gets to work on a farm.  It sounded like fun!

So Saturday morning began with introductions.  I met all of the people who would be  helping that day (this included two children).  And then, we ate a big breakfast!  Oishii!!  (That means "delicious", in Japanese, if you were wondering).

Then we went to the first field.  I was given my tools:

And basically, I jumped into the field and started hacking (I mean "cutting") at the rice stalks.  It was easy enough.  But I have to admit, I don't think this kind of job is for everyone.  I am lucky that I grew up liking bugs and insects and mud and dirt (yes, I was a real lady growing up;-) because the rice crops grow in the mud.  So you are getting yourself dirty, there are rice husks sticking to your clothes, there are bugs, spiders, frogs, and other things crawling around you.  IT WAS AWESOME!

Even when we finished, I had tiny spiders crawling around me.  They were more of a nuisance than anything.  You're trying to talk to your friend and you see this little spider hanging in front of your face.  You get a drink of water and your arm itches and you realize that your friend, the itsy-bitsy-spider, is trying to make a web on your sweatshirt.  Here are some of the pictures of me "cutting" the crops and some pictures of the critters:

I don't know if I'd be smiling so much if I had to do the whole field...

Spiders everywhere!

There were snails and snail eggs everywhere, too!  These pink things are snail eggs.

The frogs are so bright and vibrant!  And easy to catch!  I had this one sitting on my hand but he hopped away when I got my camera out.  I guess he was camera shy:-)

This isn't a very good photo, but the grasshoppers can be up to 10 cm long.  Cool!

This is my new friend, Timothy.  He looks really happy in the rice field...a little too happy...

Now, I didn't have to hack (again, "cut") the entire field.  Just the corners.  You see, my friend's parents own some farm equipment that basically slaughters (cuts...I mean cuts) the field quickly and efficiently.  The only thing is that this machine can't reach the corners of the field.  That's where me and my friends do our part by cutting the corners (insert obvious joke here;-) of the field.  Our job would take basically ten to fifteen minutes, and then we sat there in the field talking to each other, picking spiders off of each other, and observing the real farmer...which was my friend's father or brother (and in a couple of cases, nephew!) as they rode around the field in the farm equipment.  Oh yeah, and sometimes the machine would get completely full of rice and we had to help hold the bag in the truck as the machine dispensed the rice into the bag.  When the bag was full, we'd ride the truck back and put the rice into the drier.  And...that's about all we did.  There wasn't too much too do.  We did have to do three fields, and the last field was HUGE.  Boy, we worked hard as we watched the tractor go back and forth, back and forth.  It's hard work, but by golly, somebody's gotta do it!  (By the way, my friend's Dad is not just a farmer.  He has a second job; He's a full time Vice Principal!!  Did I mention that the Japanese people work really really REALLY hard?  It's kind of funny when your "hobby" is another job!!)

Anyways, here are some more pictures of the day:

This is a picture of the tractor.  Isn't it cute?  I find all of the "big" vehicles in Japan are tiny and cute compared to their versions in Canada.  The fire trucks, garbage trucks, etc are soooo small!  Our machines must be on steroids!!  

The foreigners already messed up!  We have to fix the bars that hold the rice bag.

The kids were the ones who actually figured it out.  Go figure!!

Putting the rice bag onto the truck.

This was the first row that was cut that day.  Nice!

The tractor doing it's job.  (By the way, the tracks in the background of the picture are actually the Shinkanzen (bullet train) tracks.  Cool!)

I was secretly and quietly freaking out to myself as this boy kept "play fighting" with the tractor when it was parked.  It was parked, but the blades were still cutting.  I seemed to be the only person who was nervous about this...

(He was fine, at the end of the day.  He only lost a pinky finger and those little digits are just useless.  j/k!!)

The tractor is full, and the rice needs to be transferred to the bag in the back of the truck.

Dispensing the rice.

mmmmm, rice!

Moving the bag of rice closer to the "Drier Machine."

This machine is the "Drier."

Thank you, to my friends, who allowed me to witness all of this.  I had a wonderful time and an unforgettable experience!  And also, thank you for the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack, too!  What a great day!!  (I should have taken pictures of the food!  Next time...next time...)