RL-ish entry, AKA The One with the Engrish and the Patronizing Explanations about Japan
We had our 体育大会 (athletic festival) in Higashi, and it was fun to talk with the kids and to see their awesome PE skillz. But in order to talk with the kids, I stayed in the burning Japanese sun, not under the tent with the boring officials. Now I understand why the Japanese sun has like, burned through the national flag. So I got sunburned. BUUUUU! I'm better now, but such random parts of me got burned, like my *chin*. My chin has *never* gotten burned before. wtf. But at least it wasn't raining like it did for Kita on their 体育大会, and like it has every freaking day since Higashi's. The 体育大会 was a big freaking deal.
It was uberorganized, not like Field Day in the US. A few days before it, we had a whole day of nothing but a dress rehearsal for the 体育大会. There were sooo many opening and closing speeches, while the kids stood at attention in the hot sun. The parents came late and left early to avoid the speeches, so everyone was basically speechifying for themselves. During the closing speeches, like three or four kids fainted and had to be carried off the field while the nice lady principal talked ooon and ooon.
The actual substance of the day was a series of races and relay races. There was one relay where two people carried a third on their shoulders. The one up there had to wear a cowboy hat and twirl a ball on a rope to knock over a can. They played "Rawhide" as the music, and I thought of Daddy. I ran for like 50 meters as part of the teacher team in a relay.
The first years did a circle folk dance. They weren't very good so they kept having extra practices, and they weren't allowed to perform more than the one dance.
The second and third year girls did two dances. One was a modernish dance to a modern female artist. They danced with little pompoms. Then they did a traditional Japanese dance which obviously came from gathering fishing nets. They called out unifying calls along with the traditional music. It was TRES AWESOME.
The second and third year boys did some gymnastics, mostly handstands in different combinations of boys. Then they formed a series of impressive people towers.
The focus the whole day was on the competing 組 (classes). Japanese kids stay in their same 組 (classes) and classrooms while the teachers move between them. So they get to know each other as a group well. And since all competition in Japan is team-based, there was fierce 組 competition, but very little focus on individual excellence. I'm happy to say that the absolutely most fun 組, 三年三組, won the third year competition just as I predicted. Yay. My memorization of the kids' names still sucks though.
Every 組 made themselves a placard, and this was theirs.
Yoda and Snoopy omg <3!
Today I saw a tiny kid carry this medium-sized TV to the principal's office. It was amazing. The TV was bigger than he was! He was all skinny and tiny-Japanese-child-looking, and I wondered if size and strength were inversely proportional in Japan, like ants or something. I definitely had thoughts about ants carrying large things. Because when you're tiny there's less gravity! Or something. And those glass-windowed office buildings are such perfect ant farms for observing. And their society is so group-oriented and saving-for-the-winterish. Yes. And then I felt bad because the Japanese people aren't ants. I know this, really. ::is culturally enlightened yo::
I just got back from an Oji Kyouikuiinkai Enkai. Because Boy used to work at Oji. New ALT was there too Jaimie. He's nice. And wow. These people are hysterically funny and fun to be with. Ucchi was standing behind a seated Osamu and like humping the back of his head. It was awesome. So. Funny. There was karaoke in the iizakaya room too. I sang Skater Boy. Do not judge me. Good times, but now I'm tired.
On to the Engrish (and crazy Japanese)!
間性 (かんせい) -- my denshijisho says this means "the intersex." What a word! What does that mean exactly?? Jim Breen's has no idea, and I didn't know where else to look.
The word "Pedagogy" sounds dirty and fusty at the same time. Quite an accomplishment.
In my denshijisho entry for かみさま (god), there is this example: 校正(こうせい)のかみさま "King of the Proofreaders"
LOL. I thought of mom. ^_^
Genius (the dictionary company) knows on which side its bread is buttered, I suppose!
In E-Pilot, this book for Japanese people learning about and teaching English-speaking culture in Japan, there were a number of funny mistakes, and silly errors that editors should have caught.
In a section about inventions, one invention was the "ice cream corn," because "cone" and "corn" are spelled the same way in Japanese.
The capital of Canada was "Otawa."
In an example of how to write a fan-letter (Their example was to *Britney Spears*.),
これからもがんばってください。
(Do your best from now on!)
was translated as:
"I hope you never retire!"
turning a routine expression of encouragement into the doom of the naked pensioners.
But if it's Britney, I won't argue.
This shirt was worn by the Industrial Arts teacher to school, and it is just too funny. It says "Defend self with needle. Do sb [somebody?] goo No. 1. Bring an immediate results." Hilarious.