Sports Day
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Spirt Day -
We participated in our first Sports Day this past week and had a great time. It is much like field day in the US however, the festivities go most of the week and culminate with a huge sports competition. Sporting events consist of running events, tug of war, piggy back rides, a relay race and each team performing a written/choreographed cheer for students and spectators.
Spirit week started with the school being divided into four teams, blue, white, black and yellow. Festivities kicked off Tuesday with pajama day, then historical figure day and career day on Thursday. Each team was awarded points for participation, the goal being to receive the least points possible.
Friday morning started with chapel, team meetings and final cheer preparations. By 11:30 we were all on our way to a large park nearby for a brown bag picnic lunch, PTA sponsored bake sale, and fierce competition for bragging rights.
Alex was on the black team, Stephanie the white team and Bob on the blue team. Nothing like putting all family members on different teams to bring out the Chadduck competitive spirit. Each year the coveted Golden Eagle trophy is awarded to the winning team with the least points accumulated throughout the week.
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| Stephanie representing the white team |
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| Alex representing the black team or should I say Bat Boy? |
After all the events, the high school students beating the staff in tug of war and many laughs, the black team was awarded the Golden Eagle and bragging rights for the year. We were told many students attend KCS for years and are never on the winning team so Alex is very fortunate to be on the winning team his first year at KCS. Way to go black team!
While attending Sports Day I learned why Japanese playgrounds do not have grass but instead have a sand/dirt mixture. A parent told me playgrounds are dirt to keep the Mamushi snakes away. (Mamushi is a Japnese pit viper or moccasin found in China, Japan and Korea). We were told by several people who have lived in Japan for many years you rarely see one and many people have never seen one. Their reassurance lead us to believe they are not easy to find and not very common in our region.
Well, we saw one on a walk our first six weeks in Japan and it freaked me out! I had been walking home with the family in the dark on a paved trail in flip flops and as we walked under a street light we saw one on the side of the road!
Well, we saw one on a walk our first six weeks in Japan and it freaked me out! I had been walking home with the family in the dark on a paved trail in flip flops and as we walked under a street light we saw one on the side of the road!
I hate snakes and about had a heart attack after thinking I had been walking for half an hour along this dark trail in flip flops and here is a MAMUSHI! Bob still has not heard the end of it since I started down the dark path under protest in my flip flops anyway. If you ask him he will tell you we were in no danger at all and as soon as the snake saw us it took off but it still freaks me out to think I walked all along that grassy trail in the dark in flip flops!
Home Stay Student-
This past weekend we had Kazuyo, one of our Mukogawa home stay students visit and stay with us. She and Marina were the very first students we hosted and it was so wonderful to see her again after almost two years. When we said goodbye to them in the states we did not have plans to come to Japan and had no idea we would ever be living in Japan. Our family was so sad to say goodbye not knowing if we would ever see them again.
What a wonderful reunion! She traveled two hours by train to meet us and attended the Clark's monthly International Night and taco bar. We had a fun night of games, worship and a short presentation of the gospel in Japanese which was translated for us English only speakers. It was great to introduce her to many KCS students and staff and get to see our dear friend again.
Fall has Arrived-
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| Mamushi, Japanese pit viper or moccasin |
This past weekend we had Kazuyo, one of our Mukogawa home stay students visit and stay with us. She and Marina were the very first students we hosted and it was so wonderful to see her again after almost two years. When we said goodbye to them in the states we did not have plans to come to Japan and had no idea we would ever be living in Japan. Our family was so sad to say goodbye not knowing if we would ever see them again.
What a wonderful reunion! She traveled two hours by train to meet us and attended the Clark's monthly International Night and taco bar. We had a fun night of games, worship and a short presentation of the gospel in Japanese which was translated for us English only speakers. It was great to introduce her to many KCS students and staff and get to see our dear friend again.
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| Kazuyo and the Chadduck Family in front of our home |
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| Fun visit with Kazuyo |
Fall has Arrived-
The cooler temperatures at night, ripe persimmons on the tree in the back yard, and kids walking to school in uniforms tell me it is fall. It feels like fall but looks a lot different here since everything is still really green. They are just starting to harvest the rice fields and I am going to miss the beautiful green fields on my walk to work. They remind me so much of the wheat fields around Eastern Washington. I miss Greenbluff a lot with all the wonderful smells and our annual trip to get pumpkins, buy apples and eat at one of the local farms. I can not recall a year we did not take the family there and get pictures in the pumpkin patch. Keeping with tradition, I am looking forward to my October pumpkin spice latte the next time I am near a Starbuck's.
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| Persimmon tree in our back yard |
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| Japanese acorn from a nearby playground |
Happy Fall to everyone. This is one of my favorite times of the year. May you be blessed with good conversation over warm soups, hot coffee and visits with great friends. We think of home often and are blessed to be in a wonderful group of fellow believers who are so gracious, kind and thoughtful towards our family. God is so good to us. Praise be to God for his faithfulness and loving kindness towards us.
In Chirst,
The Chadducks