Sand and Sports Don't Mix
Can we get a little grass here?
You know the green soft stuff.
As we all know, no one on this earth wants to work more than they have to, especially if they are not paid for it. Its my right to leave as soon as my shift ends. I’m getting the hell out of dodge. I’m not Japanese and sorry even if you think, oh this barbarian should be able to understand everyone else is staying till late that he should to, I have no interest in doing so. Therefore I won’t.I have a life outside of work, and even if I don’t want to engage in something social with other people, TV or surfing the net will be fine by me.
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| Looking back at school. I'm out of here! |
As soon as the clock hit 3PM I was always like, “Peace yo, I’m out of here”, only I said it in Japanese. I knew one foreigner that would go to the bathroom a few minutes before 3PM, run to his car and start it up. He was literally off property at 3PM and no one knew (maybe).
In my case as soon as I was off. However, a few times the teachers would ask if I’d like to watch any sports after school. Not really I thought, “Um sure for a bit”, I answered. I hoped a little but actually meant "not really, I'm just trying to be nice so that when you aren't looking I'm out the door sucker!
I sometimes watched soccer but I found it more interesting to play than watch. I had two main issues with playing soccer though. Either 1, the weather was extremely hot, as in hot like hell or so cold I felt like I was living in Siberia. Yes, and this coming from a Canadian - who could believe it? Issue number two was due to the field. I felt like I was putting my skin through a cheese grater. I would end up grating skin of my knees, shins, hands, wrists, arms, and elbows. This was due to the field being made out of sand instead of grass.
In my case as soon as I was off. However, a few times the teachers would ask if I’d like to watch any sports after school. Not really I thought, “Um sure for a bit”, I answered. I hoped a little but actually meant "not really, I'm just trying to be nice so that when you aren't looking I'm out the door sucker!
I sometimes watched soccer but I found it more interesting to play than watch. I had two main issues with playing soccer though. Either 1, the weather was extremely hot, as in hot like hell or so cold I felt like I was living in Siberia. Yes, and this coming from a Canadian - who could believe it? Issue number two was due to the field. I felt like I was putting my skin through a cheese grater. I would end up grating skin of my knees, shins, hands, wrists, arms, and elbows. This was due to the field being made out of sand instead of grass.
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| Play and cheese grate my skin or watch? Hmm.. |
During winter it would freeze and feel like cement when you fell on it. During the summer it would get in your clothes and shoes, and keep rubbing skin off even after you were off the field. The best part was when it would burn in your cut. You try to rub it out and it is like sandpaper rubbing your skin raw.
My last problem with the field was the sand vision, or should I say lack of vision. It was cutting my eyes. The students and teachers assured me it was an evil sand, that was brought to them by the evil Chinese. I often asked them, “Ahem, what do you mean by that?”.
They would often look at me like I was someone who couldn’t comprehend even the most basic things.
“The Chinese send it here all the time, their purpose is to be terrible to us”.
Interesting I would think. I can understand that students are kids and therefore, may come up with tales of fantastical worlds, where little hobbits run around with a ring to rule them all, and little boys with scars on their heads use magic but Chinese throwing sand at them? Seems a bit far fetched. After hearing it from 5 teachers, I decided either it was true, or someone was brainwashing them.
I still didn’t really understand what the rant meant, so I looked it up online and read that the sands from the Gobi desert were lifted by winds and hit Korea and Japan. The desert is also expanding at an incredible rate and literally covers Chinese cities with sand. The internet doesn’t say anything about China using spoons, or possibly chopsticks lifting up grains of sand in the air and flinging them toward Japan. I was under the impression they thought the Chinese were doing it on purpose to them. I think that part was a bit of a stretch, but then again who am I to say? I am no scientist.
Another reason I would sometimes stay later was that I thought by playing sports with the kids I would get to have fun with them too. The only thing is although I’m not overly competitive at the same time I don’t hold back even when playing with children. If I have to body-check a few 15-year-olds to make our team win I don’t have any moral dilemma with that. Is that so wrong?
After a few body checks I think the kids knew I meant business. They probably suspected I would take it easy on them. They were in for a real awakening then. I started to play another game on the sand that a lot of kids played called soft tennis.
I still didn’t really understand what the rant meant, so I looked it up online and read that the sands from the Gobi desert were lifted by winds and hit Korea and Japan. The desert is also expanding at an incredible rate and literally covers Chinese cities with sand. The internet doesn’t say anything about China using spoons, or possibly chopsticks lifting up grains of sand in the air and flinging them toward Japan. I was under the impression they thought the Chinese were doing it on purpose to them. I think that part was a bit of a stretch, but then again who am I to say? I am no scientist.
Another reason I would sometimes stay later was that I thought by playing sports with the kids I would get to have fun with them too. The only thing is although I’m not overly competitive at the same time I don’t hold back even when playing with children. If I have to body-check a few 15-year-olds to make our team win I don’t have any moral dilemma with that. Is that so wrong?
After a few body checks I think the kids knew I meant business. They probably suspected I would take it easy on them. They were in for a real awakening then. I started to play another game on the sand that a lot of kids played called soft tennis.
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| Soft tennis. A Japanese made sport. No backhand? |
What the hell is that you ask? Supposedly it was a game created in Japan. It is very similar to normal tennis except that the ball is a soft rubber one (to bounce on sand) and also that there is no backhand swing allowed (although I did a few backhands anyways) which threw them off their game. What better way to trick them then to do something they wouldn’t expect and not follow the rules! Take that! I win at last!
P.S. One day before a sports festival I helped the kids clean up the field. When I asked what they were doing they said picking out grass and it ruins the field. I was thinking of coming back nightly to lay grass seeds to protect myself and them from the sand.
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Other funny stories from this blog
http://memoirsgaijin.blogspot.ca/
My blog about everyday life (not Japan related)
http://eyethroughtheglass.blogspot.ca/
My Youtube Channel (makes no sense just like my blog)
http://www.youtube.com/user/judoka4eva
Helpful links below
Links What is Soft Tennis?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_Tennis
Gobi Desert Info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobi_Desert
Toxic Sand from China
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Chinese_yellow_sand_hits_Japan_SKorea_officials_999.html
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