This Is Sportsday

Sports Day.  The most universal of all -orts Days.  Teacher and student alike, we are all glad. 

The bob.  I told them it's called this because their hair bobs while they walk like a buoy in the water.  Am I right?

The Swarm.  The Horde.  My Students.  I enjoy their company.

The student President and Vice President are sworn in by the Principal.  Purpose?  Unknown. 

First Event: Tug O' War

I'm not sure if these boys are wearing the war faces or the tug faces.

Their opponents, looking confident.

Mrs. Yi marshal's her home room.  It is hard to say whether they fear or respect her more.  Certainly this is where I have learned all my Korean swears. 

And now, a montage of victories.

:)

Mrs. Kang in her traditional sun gear:  Fur, full sleeves, double wide double long visor and dual flapped anti-bacterial face mask.

I can not convey to anyone who has not been to Korea the importance of 'rock, paper, scissors' in arbitration.  In my classes if there is a tie, those involved will immediately begin to throw signs and even in situations that find four or five different players vying for the prize or position, the matter is settled in forty-five seconds.

Here we see a ceremonial version played 'blind'.  That is to say the combatants, back to back, judge that they've won only by the moans and cheers of their respective teams.  This was to decide which side of the rope each team would tug on.

Event: Tie everyone's feet together.  Run!

Event: Team Jump Rope.  

Rules: Undiscernable.

Falling down:  Funny. 

Event: Run with the long stick

Rules: 

1.Do a barrel roll.

2. Go under.

3. Go over.

 Event: Who can score the most baskets with very poor form.

Rules: 1. Everyone must play only soccer in gym class for their entire life up to this point.

2.  Try and put a basketball in a ten foot hoop.

Event: The dozen+ legged race.

Rules: Don't fall down.

Boys: fallin' down.

 Girls: exhibiting great unity.

Girls: fallin' down.

The girls brought signs.  Very well crafted and often laminated.  I asked them what they said.  It turns out that far from expounding the superiority of their class or grade or school, they are the names of pretty boys from pop groups and dramas that they would like to marry.  They failed to see my point when I told them they were insane.

Event: Taekwondo? 

No.

Shoe kick-throw.

Rules: The farthest shoe wins.

Event: Teacher's three legged race.

Rules: Don't fall an embarrass yourself in front of the students.

I don't even now

After lunch, the student body assembled.

Twelve hundred chairs on the field.  And for what?

The best live music Beommul has to offer.

Performing 'Who Put the Bop in the Bop-Shoo-Bop' it's Girls in Red Bow Ties (look out for them, they're going to be big),

One of these things is not like the other.

Traditionally in Western societies, the talent show choreographed dance is a female dominated endeavor, with  male forays into the form mainly focusing on 'look how funny it is when boys do this.'  Not so in Korea.

These boys, these boys are dancing for keeps.

 Shuffle two three four, pivot turn pause squeak slide shoulder shrug.

And now the girls take the stage-

NUH UH, THE BOYS ARE UP IN HERE.

Gloves AND shirtless with blazer over top.  Magnificent.

The festival was drawing to a close.  Dark clouds joined hands in the sky.  Greg took this picture from behind his drum kit.

But from the light, our heroes emerged.

Did they rock?

Kind of.

 They kind of rocked so

Hard.

As always though, the critics were divided.

Some said, "They were really pretty good."

While other believed that they were in fact, "pretty good, really".

 But that's sports day in Korea.

That's sports day.

P.S. bonus points if you read the title of the post as a '300' reference.  

P.P.S. sorry for the '300' reference.