Middle School Culture Festival

Thursday will be a day off for me, thanks to the Middle School Culture Festival. The middle school teachers and students have actually had today and yesterday off, to compensate them for all the work they put in this past weekend. Try to imagine a school music concert, a sixth-grade play, a seventh-grade play, an eighth-grade play, and an oral recitation all performed in one day instead of spread out over several evenings. If you can do that without getting exhausted, then you might have a slight understanding of what the middle school culture festival entailed.

I have been watching the middle school students prepare for this event for several weeks, now. In fact, for about a week, my English classes were cancelled to free up more prep time for the students. These guys are not kidding around at all. This culture festival stuff is serious business, and not just here in Nishiokoppe. Colin, the teacher from Australia who filled in for a year, came up from the town he is currently teaching in to help "judge" the English Recitation contest. He told me that this was his third Sunday in a row to spend at a school culture festival. The one he attended previously was "really professional," he said. Each year, this other school hires a choreographer from Tokyo to come up for three weeks (seriously!) and teach all the students a dance. Anyway, the kids have been working their hearts out, nearly non-stop. I arrived at the school at a little before 9:00 on Sunday. I don't know how long the kids and staff had been there, but I know it had to be a while. The program that was distributed said (I only know this thanks to Colin) that the event would take place from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break at noon. Families traipsed in with their bento boxes (Japanese picnic food) and the blankets and cushions they always bring to sit on. The lights went out, and the room was lit by the soft glow of camcorder after camcorder. Those without camcorders were content to take pictures with their phones. I still can't get used to that.

What followed were about three plays (here's the second grader's play - they only have one girl, so the boys had to dress up), a couple of musical numbers where students dressed in silly costumes and sang karaoke-style to a popular song, the English recitation, two choral songs, 10 minutes of the brass band (I love that baritone sax! It's nearly as big as she is), and a song done with taeko drums (sorry for the fuzzy picture). Each "act" in the festival began and ended with the same buzzer used during sporting events. I'm not sure I understand why. Most things here in Japan that make noise, usually make a lovely little song. For example, our doorbell sings a song, as does the microwave, and the washer announces that it is finished with a pleasant little beeping. So, why did they choice an obnoxious buzzer to signal the beginning and ending of a performance? I guess I will never know.

The amount of work that was put into this production was amazing. Still, the students seemed to have fun. I think the teachers' favorite part was the party they threw themselves Sunday evening. We had dinner at the hotel - a fancy dinner, too. We sat on traditional tatami floors with cushions. The meal was complicated and consisted of small portions of many different foods, most of them being seafood. One cup held something white and slimy, accented by little red lines. Colin and I, after close examination, decided we would not be eating it. The P.E. teacher, across from us, in conversation, mentioned that it was raw shrimp. I said, "That’s bait!" and mimed casting out a fishing line. He laughed, and said, "I am a fish!" After the meal, we moved across the hall to the bar and, yes, you guessed it, busted out the karaoke machine. Of course. After all, what kind of work party would it be without karaoke? The music teacher, Ayaka, tried to get me to sing Amazing Grace with her, but I begged off. The Japanese language teacher tried to get me to explain the meaning of the word, "grace" in the context of the song. Colin had me get up and sing various tunes by the Beatles and Credence Clearwater Revival. When "Hotel California" by the Eagles came up, everyone cheered and shoved a mike in my hand. Fortunately, I know that song very well. Try imagining, as well, "YMCA" sung in Japanese. It was hysterical. They really are a fun group and I had a great time. I think they kept partying at an after-the-after-dinner party, but I had to go to work, so when we left the bar at 11:30, I went home.

I guess it's a good thing I've had my first real work party with a group I am comfortable with. This Friday, the current superintendent, Mr. Kanou, is retiring and Mr. Kamaya will step up to take his place. So, of course, there must be a party. With singing. For which I get to pay 6,000 yen. The middle school party cost me 5,500 yen. That's just how they do it, though. Everybody just pays a portion of the total cost. I'm not too sure about this upcoming party, but I will try to remain optimistic. Nothin' like having a few beers (I HATE beer) and singing Village People tunes with the board of education (hmmm....that's almost a pun, don't you think? Village People...we live in a village....).

This is about thirty seconds of streaming video. The kids are singing one of the two songs they learned for the festival. It is called Kokoro no Hitomi. I have no idea what that means. When I tested the link, it took about five minutes to download, so be patient. I would love people to post comments to let me know whether or not it worked for them. In fact, I would love people to post comments whenever they like what they read. I have gotten comments from my mom and others, but it is always nice to read what people think about what I am writing.