Day of Clubs

   Yesterday afternoon was the most eventful part of the day; I can't even remember what happened in the morning, other than a staff picture.

   I also took a picture from the teachers' room. You can see the whole city spread out beneath the mountain from up here... well, at least on clear days.

   One big thing today was that it marked my first time eating school lunch here. As anyone who's read my old blog knows, school lunch is a big thing for me.

   If, on a school lunch scale, American school lunches are a 4, then the school lunches at my old schools were a 7, and the ones here are easily a 9. Not only is the food piping hot and fresh due to the distribution center being right next door, it's also absolutely delicious.

   Up until last year, this town was actually separate from the city... so I guess their distribution center uses different recipes or ingredients. Whatever they do, they're doing it right!

   Long-time observant readers will notice that the dishes are also different...



   In the afternoon, everyone assembled in the gym for the big introduction for the new first-year students. The first (and shortest) bit of the introduction was a talk about the various committees (student council, lunch council, cleaning council, etc.) that they could participate in. There was also a student-made video that was supposed to show the school layout. I say "supposed to" only because the cameraman was walking at a brisk pace, leading to lots of nausea-inducing camera movement.

   After those two bits ended, the second- and third-year students gathered into their various clubs to give presentations. While the club leader (or captain) read a description of the club and what they want to accomplish this year, the members... danced. Not all of the clubs did it that way, but it seemed like most of them did. Some of the dances were incredibly long and repetitive, so the novelty wore off very quickly.

   A lot of the dancers weren't really into it either, which didn't help.

   The clubs that didn't dance instead demonstrated what they do -- for example, the girls' basketball club did a bunch of quick 3-on-3 matches while the captain read the description. Of course, that turned into a dance at the end.

   The soccer club didn't dance at all and instead split into groups practicing while the vice-captain impressed everyone with his ball-juggling skills by tossing the ball up with his toe, then bouncing it on his head before catching it between his head and shoulder, then rolling it around his body. It was, without a doubt, the most impressive performance of all!

   I should add here that this junior high is well-known for its athletic prowess. If pressed, I'd say that it's because the kids are all up here on the mountain and don't have anything to do other than practice... and practice a lot.

   The very last club to give its presentation wasn't a sports club at all -- it was the brass band club. They played very well and were probably the most well-received of all the presentations... though perhaps that was because they marked the end of a marathon of presentations that had lasted for over 3 1/2 hours!

   By the time the assembly had wrapped up, it was actually an hour past the time the last class would have normally ended. Everyone filed back to their classrooms to change for clubs, or in the first years' case, go home.

   I went to the staff locker room and changed into my kendo clothing, then hauled my gear to the dojo. To say I was nervous would be an understatement... but I was also eager.

   The main reason for my nervousness is my complete lack of skill. As an adult, there's a certain underlying expectation that I've done kendo for at least 10 years, so I should be good at it... but the truth is that I've only done it for a year and a half. I hate dealing with those kinds of expectations.

   The kids sure figured it out quickly, though, because I screwed up a lot!

   I was also nervous for another reason, though: language. Every dojo practices a different way and uses different language for different techniques, which can be incredibly confusing. I was used to certain phrases and routines from my normal dojo, but this dojo does it completely differently! Not only is it run mainly by students, but they're competition-oriented and so practice with a different aim in mind.

   Boy, did I screw up. The worst part was that my screwups usually involved me hitting someone where it hurt, and I felt pretty bad about that. Good first impression, huh?

   They practiced for about 2 1/2 hours and I sat out of practice for about an hour because I had no idea what the exercises they were doing were. At the end, they returned to exercises that I was more familiar with, so I joined them again... and the sensei who advises the club.

   He's a big guy -- easily six feet plus. In full gear, he's intimidating, to say the least. He's harsh and pushes the kids to excel despite their tiredness, which is inspiring, but he's not cruel at all -- just the opposite. I think he's a good fit for the club.

   Many of the kids in the club are a lot better than me, for various reasons. Nowhere did this show more than the quick one-on-one sessions we had with the sensei -- not only did I fail to land a single good hit, but I also managed to trip over my own feet and fall down.

   It was absolutely humiliating, but I rolled, stood up, and went at him again.

   We wrapped up just before seven and I talked to the sensei a bit. The bit of advice he gave me was to "cut" and not "hit," since my hits tend to feel like a hammer rather than a sword. It's something I hear a lot, no matter how much I work on it...

   Despite all that, though, I'm looking forward to going again today. Hopefully everyone knows not to expect too much from me this time...