Let's enjoy sports!

While walking with V. in Koriyama last weekend, we talked about self-reflection. Living in Japan has given us loads of time to sit in our uninsulated houses in the inaka, and just think about ourselves.

For me, I've realized that JET has definitely surpassed my expectations. While I’m still quite the fish out of water in this country of many paradoxes, I’m starting to adjust to life in my little piece of the Japanese countryside. And I'm getting really attached to my kids, even though I feel awkward when we silently eat lunch together. (They barely speak to me when we're shoveling food down our throats. I don't think they like talking in English when we eat, lol).

My sense of kinship with the kids truly hit me when I watched my school’s recent pep rally. The senior students (3年生) officially retired from their club activities last spring. So, the kids standing up on stage in September were the little ones – aka the first- and second-graders.

These little ones - particularly the starters who were wearing their new uniforms – were beaming with pride that day. As I watched these fresh faces parade around the school gym, my eyes got a little teary. They don't realize how they've touched my life, but I am proud to say that I can watch these tykes grow up. I've especially enjoyed the special bond I have with my current ichi-nensei (7th-graders). We first met at their respective elementary schools, and now they're all at my junior high.

Many of the little ones on stage are the younger siblings of my current senior students (8th and 9th graders), in addition to those who have already moved onto high school. The little ones are the spitting images of each other, and many are following in their older siblings’ footsteps! For example, the basketball teams are now mainly composed of first-year students who have older siblings who were on the team last year.

One of my fave brother duos would have to be Te-chan and Yohei-kun. Te-chan is the older one who is such a ham, but runs away when I break out my camera. His little brother, Yohei, speaks with the cutest lisp and looks exactly like his brother. Te-chan expressed to me that he is the better baller of the two, ha. Kids say the funniest things, no?

* * *

In Japan, after-school activities become the glue that keeps these kids quite happy. At my school, there are various clubs: soft tennis, baseball, soccer, art club, brass band, table tennis, kendo and computer club.

Relationships in Japan are defined by seniority. Your elders are called "sempai," while the rookies are called "kohai." During club activities, kids will add these suffixes to their counterparts' names. It almost always bring a smile to my face when I hear them say "...-sempai!" It shows a lot of respect.