This weekend was Shinano Junior high School's annual culture festival. In Japan most all schools have some kind of culture festival around this time of year, although apparently most every school in Nagano prefecture had their culture festivals this weekend as well. There isn't really an American equivalent of the school culture festival, its kind of a combination between talent show and a sports meet. The first day we saw skits the students put together and a class jump roping contest, in which about 5 teams of 20 students all jumped together under a huge single rope. There was also a teacher's work exhibition, where all the teachers showed
projects they had completed (My thesis was on display). Day two was a music day, all the sections in all the grades (in Japan the different grades are divided into sections, for instance the seventh graders have three sections, 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3) sung different songs they had prepared. The teachers also prepared a piece and we sung it, it was a traditional Japanese love song (I played the k
eyboard harmonica). Finally, the whole school sung a very moving piece together. It is humbling to think how much work went into organizing the event. For the past month I heard singing everyday from all directions, saw teachers working late everyday, and finally saw the fruits of their labor. It was a wonderful experience I look forward to seeing and participating in more culture festivals in the future. 
