Sad. ぶんかさい just ended and the school gym looks normal again. ぶんかさい, or an arts and cultural festival that schools hold every year, is a time when students perform and host events in their classrooms.
So, the theme is tsunagarou kizuna. 'tsunagarou' means to be connected, and 'kizuna' means bonds. My 校長 interprets the theme as being connected in heart and mind.
This is my very first ぶんかさい, but I think I kinda get what the whole thing is about. It's both a celebration and a commemoration of the year's events. In my school, ぶんかさい happens after the 3rd years have retired from their club activities, so it is a time to remember their contributions in the clubs, as well as unite as a class when they plan and set up booths selling food or games. It is also a time to showcase various work of the different subjects and recognise the hard work of the students. The teachers are very tired, though. :) They too work really hard to make the ぶんかさい a success.
So anyway, here's what happened on the first day"
1) There was a curry udon, yakitori and hot dog booth. Super duper yummy!
So here's me in the very comfortable school uniform. Holding a bowl of yummy curry udon!
2) There was a dance performance, and the brass band performed too. Also, I sang while the brass band played Can't Take My Eyes Off You, and some other teachers also sang with while the brass band played songs from SMAP and Morning Musume.
My singing was embarrassing, haha, but they were all very supportive! After me, a group of male teachers sang a SMAP song. They dressed up kinda like SMAP too. And before they began, they asked, hey, where's Kimura Takuya? Then the students started clapping and asking for "Kimura-chan!!".
Then, a really quiet teacher, a tall, shy dude whom I've never spoken to, ran out of the staffroom with an orange-blond wig a la Kimura Takuya's hair!!! LOL the students went mad. It was SOOOOO funny.
What I like about the school festival, or bunkasai as it is called here, is that the teachers are very involved in the festival, and they really enjoy it! Like, for the brass band, their teachers in charge will play the instruments too!. Also, since the Principal used to play in a brass band when he was in high school, he also joined the band yesterday. He plays the trumpet. Other teachers were playing the tuba, the clarinet and the euphonium too. So touching right. Then, the form teachers also help them form classes with the presentations etc. And the cooking, if the class is doing a cooking booth. This is where I witnessed the つながろう きずな taking place! Bonds are really strengthened through all these events.
There was also a fashion show where graduating students showcased their works.The last segment was the best! It was the wedding dress segment and they even asked the male teachers to accompany them down the 'aisle'! Like fathers and daughters like that. It was really quite moving. And some of their dresses were really pretty too!! That was the main highlight of the afternoon show.
Day 2:
There were the usual booths. The Haunted Houses won the prizes. Also, 2-1 came up with a movie, which also received good reviews. It was fun! And I understood it though it was all in Japanese. It was about a boy who could see the ghost of a student who died 5 years ago. He helped her pass a message to a boy she liked and so helped her to move on from this world. Hhaa. There was some interesting acting from the teachers too.
The PTA cooked yakisoba and shouyusoba (something like okonomiyaki) and I ate both. Also ate the seriously yummy desserts prepared by the home economics club.
Then, I ran around judging the various class booths, and then watched Muko-chan and his friends perform in a band. They are good! They sound very tight, and they have showmanship. The crowd lapped it up.
After a short break, there were more performances by the 3rd years - this is the last time they will perform as a class I think. There were some really ingenious ideas and entertaining videos. Will post some if possible.
So now that it is all over, I'm so sad! This made me feel like staying on for another year! Maybe I should.
 |
| The theme for the 2011 ぶんかさい. |
This is my very first ぶんかさい, but I think I kinda get what the whole thing is about. It's both a celebration and a commemoration of the year's events. In my school, ぶんかさい happens after the 3rd years have retired from their club activities, so it is a time to remember their contributions in the clubs, as well as unite as a class when they plan and set up booths selling food or games. It is also a time to showcase various work of the different subjects and recognise the hard work of the students. The teachers are very tired, though. :) They too work really hard to make the ぶんかさい a success.
So anyway, here's what happened on the first day"
1) There was a curry udon, yakitori and hot dog booth. Super duper yummy!
 |
| Matsumoto Sensei and I |
2) There was a dance performance, and the brass band performed too. Also, I sang while the brass band played Can't Take My Eyes Off You, and some other teachers also sang with while the brass band played songs from SMAP and Morning Musume.
My singing was embarrassing, haha, but they were all very supportive! After me, a group of male teachers sang a SMAP song. They dressed up kinda like SMAP too. And before they began, they asked, hey, where's Kimura Takuya? Then the students started clapping and asking for "Kimura-chan!!".
Then, a really quiet teacher, a tall, shy dude whom I've never spoken to, ran out of the staffroom with an orange-blond wig a la Kimura Takuya's hair!!! LOL the students went mad. It was SOOOOO funny.
What I like about the school festival, or bunkasai as it is called here, is that the teachers are very involved in the festival, and they really enjoy it! Like, for the brass band, their teachers in charge will play the instruments too!. Also, since the Principal used to play in a brass band when he was in high school, he also joined the band yesterday. He plays the trumpet. Other teachers were playing the tuba, the clarinet and the euphonium too. So touching right. Then, the form teachers also help them form classes with the presentations etc. And the cooking, if the class is doing a cooking booth. This is where I witnessed the つながろう きずな taking place! Bonds are really strengthened through all these events.
There was also a fashion show where graduating students showcased their works.The last segment was the best! It was the wedding dress segment and they even asked the male teachers to accompany them down the 'aisle'! Like fathers and daughters like that. It was really quite moving. And some of their dresses were really pretty too!! That was the main highlight of the afternoon show.
 |
| Wedding Dress segment |
There were the usual booths. The Haunted Houses won the prizes. Also, 2-1 came up with a movie, which also received good reviews. It was fun! And I understood it though it was all in Japanese. It was about a boy who could see the ghost of a student who died 5 years ago. He helped her pass a message to a boy she liked and so helped her to move on from this world. Hhaa. There was some interesting acting from the teachers too.
The PTA cooked yakisoba and shouyusoba (something like okonomiyaki) and I ate both. Also ate the seriously yummy desserts prepared by the home economics club.
 |
| Chocolate Cake, Pear Tart and Creme Brulee. yums! |
Then, I ran around judging the various class booths, and then watched Muko-chan and his friends perform in a band. They are good! They sound very tight, and they have showmanship. The crowd lapped it up.
After a short break, there were more performances by the 3rd years - this is the last time they will perform as a class I think. There were some really ingenious ideas and entertaining videos. Will post some if possible.
So now that it is all over, I'm so sad! This made me feel like staying on for another year! Maybe I should.
Comments
Post a Comment