Yoroshiku onegai shimasu - よろしくおねがいします

A few days ago, while standing listening to the daily speech about what happened in yochien on that day, I was struck by the number of times that the teacher said "yoroshiku onegai shimasu."  Now it's quite possible that I noticed that phrase so often because I actually recognize it, whereas much of what I hear is still unintelligible syllables to me.  But the thought stuck with me over the course of several days.

We don't have a similar phrase in English that I know of, but the closest translation seems to be "please look favorably upon me."  It seems that every paragraph uttered by the yochien teacher was punctuated by "please look favorably upon me."

Similarly, whenever I have met someone for the first time, the response is "please look favorably upon me."  I, too, have said my share of "yoroshiku onegai shimasus" but in my case, I really do need their favor as I am sure to screw something up along the way.

At each of the school opening ceremonies, each of the teachers, visitors, dignitaries, and guests introduced themselves and completed his/her introduction with "yorushiku onegai shimasu."  There is no variation; it is simply said.  It is rote.  I am not even sure anyone truly means it.

I started to think how that one phrase might explain part of the Japanese culture.  Mind you, I am not a scholar of Japanese culture, I am not a trained anthropoligist nor linguist, and I have been in the country for a whoppin' few months.  So, this is simply a personal observation.

Buuuut, it just seems to me to be so .... so meek, so lacking in confidence and assertiveness, fatalistic almost.  I'm not sure these are the right words, but it's the best I can come up with for now.  At the same time, it also seems to show the genuine eagerness to please and be helpful that we have experienced so much of in our first few months.

Any insights from the peanut gallery? Ponder away...

I ponder best over beer... just sayin'

Who knew ... ? #2

... that you need a bank account at the post office to pay for school lunches? Hunh?

Ethan was very eager to try the unicycles.
I was far less eager...

... that unicycles are standard issue playground equipment at Japanese elementary schools? As well as stilts?

... that kids get portable EKGs at school (as in lying on a table in the library with wires attached to the chest and such)?

... that kids also get swimming lessons at school?

... that kids can stay after school and play until 5 pm with basically no supervision and then walk home when they feel like it?

... that shiba inu puppies lose their teeth?  OK, maybe others knew this, but I had no idea.  Our dog never teethed...

... that daikon is a great source of vitamin C?

Ryan and his teacher during our home visit

... that teachers do home visits? For elementary school and pre-school...

... that things really are smaller here?  The sink in our hotel literally came up to my knees.  I am always hitting my head on the wrist straps on the trains that are mounted low enough for smaller people to reach them.  And my knees literally touch the wall when sitting on the loo.  Seriously.


... that we would get on the wrong train multiple times - even after being here for a few months?  It's the subtle differences between express, commuter express, limited express, and rapid express...

... that you can ONLY buy rental insurance FOR Japan while living IN the U.S.?

... that we would be without a TV for 4 months and survive just fine?

... that even I would be bitten by the bento box bug and make snow-man shaped rice balls and carrot flowers?

The Recycling Instructions, at least
it's in English!

... that there are 12 different types of recyclables? And the only days in the entire month that we DO NOT have to recycle something is the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month?

... that things that are available on-line at home are not available on-line in Japan (at least not for free)?  For example, hulu, pbs, etc...

... that Japan only legalized low-hormone birth control pills in 1998?  Are you kidding me?

... that you don't make an appointment for a pediatrician? You just show up and it all works fine - and did I mention that it's free?

... that "medical massage" is covered under Japanese national health insurance?  Go figure...

Undokai - うんどかいーSchool Sports Festival

Oi, oi, oi.  I am waaaay behind on the good 'ol blog posts.  I was afraid the momentum wouldn't last; must be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was in Hong Kong for 5 days (woo-hoo!), and then within 10 hours of me returning home, Kevin left for Taiwan for a week, and we're still catching up a bit. Who knows?  But in the wise words of LibraryAnn, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Higashine Undokai - ひがしねのうんどかい

There had been lots of talk around school about Undokai, and by "talk," I mean no fewer than 47 notices sent home about it, virtually all of which we couldn't read.  But, of course, we still didn't truly understand what all the fuss was about.

So, we showed up on Undokai Day and did our best to soak it all in.  Basically, it's like Field Day on some serious crack.  Each student in the entire school is assigned to either the red (aka) or white (shiro) team, and points are tabulated for both teams for every event in every grade.  This is serious stuff!  Each class does some sort of performance, many of which seem to be to inspire and cheer on the red or white team.  And aren't the Japanese clever - the red hats that the kids wear for gym (and recess too, I think) are reversible, so the kids simply flip it to the color of their assigned team.

Ethan was on the red team - and he cheered for his team for the entire 7 hours and was completely hoarse by the end of the day...

The day was jam-packed.  Some of the highlights:

• A very enthusiastic "spirit" chant/dance led by the 6th-grade Undokai leaders
• Lots of running / relay races 
• A "ninja" dance by Ethan and the first grade classes
• A funny "chicken" type game where one child sitting on the shoulders of another had to try and take off the hat of the shoulder-sitting person on the other team...
• Some meditation-type exercises set to some very sleep-inducing music (plus it was right after lunch)
• A race to roll/carry a HUGE red ball along a course of kids - this involved every child in the school, I think.  Ethan LOVED this one!
• The "gumball" game in which the first graders tried to throw small balls into a basket and the class with the most balls after a set time won.  Funny thing - it was a tie and they had to do it again as a tie-breaker!

Singing the Higashine School song to kick-off the day - it's a little bit of Where's Waldo? Hint: He's wearing a red hat and he's the only happa...

The uber-serious "judges" and "scorekeepers" for the 756 relay races... it was a very long day!

A very cool samurai dance...

Ethan's ninja dance... hint: he's wearing a blue bandana...

Semi-finals of the chicken sumo match...

The big red ball obstacle course...

And in case you can't sleep without knowing, the RED team won 517-510.  Ethan was elated!  And after 7 hours, we were ready to go home (and props to Ryan - he was a trooper and it was hot).  Oh yeah, did I mention that we got to do it all over again the following weekend for Ryan's school?

Gekkohara Undokai - げっこはらのうんどかい

Now, to be honest, I was in Hong Kong during Ryan's Undokai.  It was actually a bit of a lost-in-translation issue, as I was told by a translator (in English) at the beginning of the school year when reviewing the school calendar that the yochien/preschool "can" join the Undokai at the sister elementary school. So, when looking at the calendar 2 months ahead of time to book a trip to Hong Kong, I took that to mean that it was optional.  Plus, it was on a Saturday, so it made perfect sense to me that it was optional.  Ummm... yeah... I was wrong.  Again.  When the interpreter said the yochien "can" join, what she really meant was "what a fabulous opportunity not to be missed."

Well, I missed it, but Ryan, Ethan, and Kevin did not.

Seems that Undokai are quite similar across schools in Japan.  Two notable differences: 1) Ryan's school has turf on the field and it just looks soooo much nicer, and 2) Ryan's Undokai only lasted 3 hours.

Definitely the same basic events as at Ethan's Undokai.  Below are the videos of Ryan's relay race and also Ryan's "gumball" event.  Ryan was on the Shiro team (to be honest, I'm not sure why he has his hat on red-side out) and though he looooved shouting, "Shiro, shiro, shiro, Go, Go, GO," I don't think he was that concerned about who won (unlike his brother, for whom, it was of paramount importance).

Note:  There might be a problem with some of the videos, but in the interest of addressing the several "where are the blog updates" comments I've received recently, I'm going to go ahead and post this anyway and figure that out later...