Lessons in Mud

My JTE (Japanese English Teacher) went to Naha Thursday afternoon for her sister's wedding, so I had no classes Friday. I don't think the other teachers realized this until late afternoon, but I had already scored a day of helping the kindergartners play in the mud, playing dodgeball, and making 12 laminated clocks with movable hands for next week's time lessons.

Dodgeball here has an interesting twist on what I know from America. The game is played on the same gym court, but the players that are 'in' are contained within the lines of the basketball court. When you are hit you go to the outside of the basketball court lines that surround your opponents, but you continue playing for your team. So essentially as a player that is 'in' you are surrounded on all sides by people trying to peg you. The only way you can get the ball is to catch it in the air or on a bounce, but once you have it, you also have access to your own 'out' teammates who are surrounding the opposing players. Like most Japanese games, the super fun part is when I enter the game and am forced to learn really quickly - and without the help of verbal instruction - what's going on. Like when I caught the ball early and hucked it 80mph at the opponents. The game was stopped to explain to me that I had to throw with my left hand for fairness.