This week I had to work both Saturday and Sunday full days each. It really stinks. Saturday was an Open day, so anyone from the community could come in and observe. I didn’t see anyone, but they could have been there. For working Saturday I got last Thursday off, which was nice because I had to call off work last week due to a migraine and they always leave me a bit tingly for a few days so a recovery day was pleasant. I had today (Monday) off because I worked sports day Sunday.
Sports day is an all day celebration of sports. It was fun but would never fly in the States. There were races of all types and then the boys’ athletic stuff kicked in. Essentially the majority of boys in our school got out on the field and built things with their bodies. Including an all school 5 person tall pyramids, several structures where people are tossed in the air, and a few standing on people standing on people standing on people structures. A few kids in other schools have broken limbs thanks to sports day. Many of my kids have various scrapes and a few minor fractures. But they gave their blood for the glory of sports day! It was pretty impressive but plenty disturbing too. No major injuries that I could see took place, at Anna’s school a boy fell from the pyramid breaking a collar bone. But the sports day continued! He sacrificed himself for the greatness of sports day! Meanwhile at my sports day, I had taken around 25 pictures when a group of girls asked me to take their picture. I did, which was a mistake, because they told their friends and they told their friends and by the end I don’t think I had NOT taken a picture of anyone on the lot. I went from 25 to 125 pictures in no time flat. I finished the day with 145 pictures of sports day. But I was cool due to my new memory card! But I have digressed from the original message of working on weekends is no fun…
The teachers went out to a nice restaurant after sports day as a “job well done” kinda thing. It was okay but one teacher I never talk to got really drunk came over and started kind of hitting me and saying random English words as if it would mean something to me. Ms Iwamoto asked if I was okay, and another sensei said he would “protect me” (he was drunk too, later he asked if he could touch my hair.) All in all I did have fun at the party, but I am reminded every time I get around really drunk people why I don’t drink myself, as much as I want to have the courage to ask co-workers if I can touch their hair… So after all this I had Monday (today) off! That was nice but it is no compensation for giving up two consecutive days off for two nonconsecutive days off. Next week I have a three day weekend though, yeah! I have it off because Monday is National Sports Day, which commemorates Japan’s first hosting of the Olympic Events in the 80’s I believe.
