It only comes once every three years, so the kids make sure they enjoy it! Classes race against classes, clubs race against clubs, kids show off their karate form, boys dance with girls (and pretend not to enjoy it even though they do)... and then of course, there's the infamous "rajio taiso" - a stretching routine that is unique to Japan. The Sports Day held at Okisho on Saturday, October 25, was a day to remember.
It all started with stretching. Imagine, nearly 900 students standing a few feet apart on a field that had never felt so many feet on its surface at once before. So the sound of a 40-something guy on a CD, leading the kids in stretching, blares on the speakers. Everyone stretches in unison in preparation for a day of much running.
Then, we're off to the races! First came the individual sprints. The Uehara sisters took the girls' 11th and 12th grade titles, whereas the athletic program boys dominated on the male side of things. Then came the homeroom relay for 10th graders, followed by various relay races. The 10th graders showed everyone how to do "kata" when 300 people are involved, and then just before lunch, the baton club combined with the judo boys to perform a cute li'l dance number.
After lunch, the fun continued. Each club at Okisho (and there are a lot of them) took part of the field and did little performances of what goes on during their club activities. After this, they had fun relay races against each other, in which the "baton" was some prop used in their club. For example, the volleyball club used a volleyball, the English listening club used a ghetto blaster, the art club used a statue bust, etc. So fun!
Finally, the 12th graders did a "folk dance". This in particular is a mystery to me, as it does not make sense to me how this shows Japanese culture in any way, shape or form. Boys and girls do NOT mix here, let alone dance together. The songs were NOT Japanese, either. I guess it was "Japanese" in that it was an entirely awkward 15 minutes, and though neither the boys nor the girls would show it, I'm sure deep down inside they enjoyed every minute of it!
All in all, it was a fun day. Oh yeah, during the 11th grade homeroom relay, I was the anchor for my class. We were in last for nearly the entire race, due to some unfortunate circumstances. Each person (20 plus the homeroom teacher as anchor) would run 100 meters, so it was a 2050 meter run. When I got the baton, I was about 40 meters behind the 9th place runner. I poured all my remaining energy into the run, ignoring the fact that my legs were already killing me (I sprinted a few times Thursday and once earlier that day), and passed my rival in the final 5 meters, putting our class proudly in 9th place.
I could go on and on about the day, but I do not want to take up more of your precious time! Sorry Okisho kids and Japanese speakers, but this will be an all-English entry!
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