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I just finished my very last day ever of English Camp. Milestone passed. For as much as we like to complain about camp it’s actually really fun and we can only speak well of it when we’re on the other side looking back. Isn’t that how it is with the rest of life?!

It takes a few weeks of preparation and complete group cooperation to pull off successfully. There are always last-minute changes and additions to the details of the program so flexibility is key. Last year I taught at 4 different camps but this year I only did two, I didn’t get sick, and I didn’t feel exhausted by the kids. During the two days, all the 6th graders gather in a gym to experience our programs. We play ice-breakers to get to know each other, decide on a team name and make team posters, teach them Halloween words and some shopping dialogue, then let them run their own team “store” with fake money as they go about buying things from their assigned lists. The second day is very fun as they immediately make Halloween masks and decorate a candy bag. One girl chopped off an Asymmetrical portion of her paper plate mask and asked for a new one. Not wanting to waste anything I colored it yellow and patched the cut portion back on at an angle to make it look like a pac man. Teacher win. The second camp I was wearing my Jack Sparrow hat from Disneyland so I made my mask with a bunch of eyes in line with my own eyes, like the cannibal painted face from Pirates II. Can you believe none of the students had seen that movie?! They just looked at me and said, “scary.”

The pirate hat I wore all morning on “Halloween Day” was just a red herring.

My real costume was a Barbie. Karaoke Barbie. Celeste, Rachel, and I love to make up names for ourselves in groups of three and somehow, someday, we came up with Barbie names for each other and occasionally address each other in that manner.

Twisted, I know.

Skipping around with a jump rope and matching tennis shoes, Rachel is Sporty Barbie which is probably a legit model anyways.

Luggage-toting Celeste is Travel Barbie, but since she was wearing a suit like a flight attendant she got a few more names than that: Office Barbie, Business Barbie, Special Agent Barbie, Escort Barbie (!), and Spy Barbie.

Holding a microphone made from a dress sock and paper towel tube I was Karaoke Barbie, but the first thing out of some kid’s mouth was “Lady Gaga!!!”

Every year. What is wrong with these children?

It was a tough business, being blonde and wearing heels. I mean, I’ve worn heels before but being blonde on top of it just made me feel so…loopy. It was an automatic brain-off function. The valley girl speech flowed out like a second language.  The long curls kept sticking to my shiny red lip gloss, and I ran like a girl around the duck duck goose circle trying not to fall in my shoes. It was almost scary how easy it was to be….well, dumb.

Anyways, after changing into costumes and parading around in front of the children by light of jack o’ lanterns, we split into our teams and played “Ghost, Ghost Zombie,” which you all know as duck duck goose. After that we gave them candy and initiated a huge rock paper scissors tournament. Depending on the facility we either played octopus (sharks and minnows) or Fruit Basket (Halloween Basket).

Yep, that’s English camp…playing with kids, basically. Oh, we taught the ABC’s somewhere in there….

Other things that happen in Funehiki

Football.

I never really got into football. I mean, I watch the superbowl every year but basically I don’t care who wins as long as it’s not the Patriots. So, when Rachel asked me to go to Fukushima City with her and watch a friend’s football game I just figured I’d enjoy the beautiful Fall weather and bring a book. I admit, taking the 8am train to watch football on a Sunday morning didn’t seem like a fair trade, but when we got to the train station we ended up renting bicycles for free!!! This eliminated the 1hr walk to the stadium and gave us more time to bike around the river and eat lunch, find a REAL pizzeria for dinner, and explore some side streets. The game itself ended up to be very close and in the last quarter we won 7-6. The Japanese men ranged in age from 19-55, height from 5’4” to 5’11,” and the biggest guy’s weight probably didn’t go over 180 lbs. I was afraid for their lives. American football is so scarce in Japan that one entire prefecture/state has one team that meets on the weekends for practice, scrimmage, or game. Our team had exactly 3 extra guys on the sidelines to rotate in, so everyone played offense, defense, special teams, kicking, etc.

Meanwhile, back at the apartments, Jay decided to buy a NFL pass and watches a game about every other day, several on the weekends. People gather in his living room and shouts, screams, and clapping can be heard for hours at a time out the open windows. Every now and then I join them, usually rooting for the Seahawks, Packers, Giants, or 49ers. Like I said, I don't really care as long as it’s not the Patriots. I think I’ve seen about 4 full games and 2 partial games. That’s the most I’ve ever watched in one season! I’m starting to talk football and pick up the referees’ hand signals. Really I’m just glad I can follow the football now! Watching football on TV is really difficult…just a blur of guys and uniforms running into each other until the camera suddenly shifts and people are on the ground. Then the little yellow line moves. But yeah, I’m making progress.

The trees are starting to slowly change color and the weather is getting cooler. Perfect. I love Fall so much.