IrishOboe

Saturday (Feb. 11^th) was the Yamanashi-ken high school recitation and speech contest. Shirane entered one student in the recitation contest and I had the privilege of coaching him. Ray was very good and he improved a great deal. I thought I had a shot at winning, but I didn’t know the competition. I actually enjoyed listening to all the students, and though I thought Ray was still one of the best in terms of expression (he’s a great story teller!), he got a little nervous and didn’t speak as clearly as he could. I think that hurt him since he didn’t get into the top five (one first place, two second places, and three third places – gotta feel the love!). I think the Japanese place too much emphases on competition and winning, but that’s another topic . . .Shimizu sensei, Ray and I went to lunch after he finished then we listened to about half of the speeches before they gave out the awards. The speeches were a great look into Japanese high school life and thought. Students wrote their own speeches on any topic they wanted, so it was quite revealing. In particular, they are starving for meaning in their lives. They question the busy, workaholic nature of Japanese society and seek happiness in any number of strange ways. My heart really goes out to my kids. Anyway, it was a fun day and I got to see JET’s who I hadn’t seen in a long time from all over the ken. I was proud of Ray and I got to meet his mother. The next week at school Ray gave me a present as a thank-you for helping him prepare. His mother does tole painting and she’d painted a box with beautiful roses and a thank-you note inside the lid. It’s beautiful! I know teachers get a lot of junk sometimes, but this was a wonderful present! It was a good experience, though I’m glad that I don’t have to stay after school so much for it anymore. I’m still just as jealous of my time as ever, especially since I’ve discovered the joys of staying after school to talk with kids and join clubs!