Hello World! ... Nichinan Junior High School Sports Day

Here it is, my first blog post! After much deliberation on what to name this blog, I realized I don't exactly know what it is I want to talk about. I suppose the purpose of this blog for the time being shall be to slowly figure out what it is exactly I want to talk about.

So, I've settled on "Life in Nichinan" as a title. It's boring, yeah, but at least it's honest and direct. I'll share tid-bits of my life here in Japan as well as some pictures and videos, because for some reason I don't really care to do it on Facebook. If you constantly post on Facebook or other social media sites, you're considered a narcissist. However, if it's on a blog, then it's totally different!

Sorry if it seems like I'm being curt or what not in my writing style. It's just been awhile since I've written anything, so I suppose I'm just trying to get used to the whole writing process again or what have you.

Oh! So here's something interesting. This Sunday was our school's Sports Day. What is Sports Day? Well, I can only speak for my school, but basically the entire student body splits up into three teams, which were Red, Blue, and Yellow. I was assigned to the Red team. During their summer break (which only lasts five weeks, and the students still show up to school for summer school and club activities), each team worked on creating a gigantic, colorful poster, and prepared a dance to a pop song. Each team also competed in games and races for points. At the end of the Sports Day, all the points are tallied up to determine a winner. The winner at my school was the Red team, so go me! Although I didn't do anything, it still feels good!

Let's enjoy some pictures!

All the students assembled according to their teams, Yellow, Blue, and Red. They wore head bands corresponding to their color, including the teachers. I was assigned to Red team!

My house which overlooks the baseball field, which is where the Sports Day took place. 

Students in the 100 meter dash.

I don't remember how many meters it is, but this is the race around the entire field. This is also taken from my house, which you can see in one of the previous pictures.

The spectators, which are mostly the parents and family of the students. 

Akita Sensei overlooking the tire grab game. Each team is in a corner, and when the whistle is blown, they all dash to the center where a bunch of tires are piled up. The goal is to grab and fight for as many tires as possible. A quick side-note: Akita Sensei is one of the two English teachers at the school, and is the senior of the two. He also might have certification in being a bad-ass, but I have yet to see such documents. Either way, cool guy!

Stands where you can get flavored ice (basically Japanese snow cones), tako-yaki, and other yummy Japanese fair food.

This was Red teams sign. These kids are really talented, and totally know how to work together.

Henry Sensei taking a picture of his team's sign. Can ya guess which team he's on?

This is, I believe, blue team's group dance. Not sure if it can be seen in this picture, but some of the boys are most definitely wearing skirts. Weird you say? Just another day in Japan!



The Human Centipede! Students are tied by their ankle and must race around the field.

After lunch, an exhibition of each club was held, with the band playing in the background. The students marching up were the girls volleyball team, while the girls tennis team ahead of them put on a little show for the spectators.

Tug of war!!!

The Red team after their dance, doing a traditional Japanese cheer.

It feels good to get this blog thing up and going, though, which is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I hope as time goes on, I'll get better at writing and delivering a clear picture on what my life is like here. Also, I hope to begin sharing some music on here soon, as well as what I'm learning in Japanese for those who are interested in learning with me. 

Here it is, and there it was. Good night everyone!