Field Day

Yet another one of my elementary school's hosted their annual field day. Here are some of the photos hot of the digital press for you!

Here's a trio of first-graders lying in wait for their big dance debut. Pom poms and all!

Event announcers waiting for their cue to walk around announcing the next event and asking the participants to get ready.

What island school would be complete without the a shellfish race? Seeing as how this field day was in the middle of shellfish season, the students had to make their way through a course of marine treasures. Personally, I think running in swim fins would be rather difficult.

Here are some of the fifth and sixth-graders getting ready for the Soranbushi. The dance is a staple of any Ojikan field day. The long "coats" they are wearing are called hapi in Japanese.

These preschoolers were in the audience, cheering on their older sister in first grade however, they were more interested in me than in anything else going on and were totally confused when I pulled out my finger glasses and put them on. They try to replicate, but they just can't pull it off. When they got tired of that game, the little boy decided it would be really fun to grope me. He started pawing at my chest and giggling wildly. Then, he went a step further and started pulling at my collar and tried to sneak a peek down my shirt! When his mother, sitting a few seats away, finally noticed, she was mortified! She pulled him away and apologized several times. I did my best to put her at ease, but I was relieved she came to my rescue. The whole ordeal was recounted several times to the little old ladies sitting near who thought it was hilarious.

Sazae. Sazae on a stick. Gross. Where's the popcorn, cotton candy and peanuts that any sporting event should be required to provide? In Japan, we settle for Turban Shell on a toothpick. Did I mention something about shellfish season? Right.

Here's Mrs. Tsutsumi's son in my sunglasses. (I can't remember his name right now!) The kids LOVE the fact that I wear shades. It's actually kind of rare where I live, if not all of Japan, to protect your eyes from the sun, which is strange because most Japanese people go to unbelievable lengths to keep the evil solar power from pressing up against any part of their exposed skin.

That might actually have been the last Ojikan field day for me. Now that Tsuyu has started, we'll have rain, rain and more rain. The sporting events will be put on hold for a while I suspect.