Each year, Okinawa JETs from all of the islands gather together in Okinawa City for two full days of training and madness. A variety of presentations are given from past and current JETs on topics ranging from "Eating Healthy in Okinawa" to "Interesting Games and Activities for Mid to High Level High Schools." My friend, Sarra, and I presented the latter. We put weeks of work into a detailed 25 page handout, but kept our 90 minute presentation as light and entertaining as possible. It was nerve-wrecking, but awesome. Especially when we played holiday pictionary. Here is a favorite drawing:
Since this was an official work event, the dress code was professional, the days were long, and the general mood was serious. However, once the clock struck 5, all sense of professionalism was lost. Two evenings of fun ensued. :)
M is for "MmmmMMMmmmmmm...."
On Thursday night, JETs split into their "Blocks," or regions, for a dinner party. Since I am the "
Blockhead" for the southern region, I put together a little dinner at an awesome burger joint: Seaside Jet City Burgers. A ton of people made it out (including some orphaned Naha JETs) and we had a great time. The burgers were, of course, incredible. Yay, JETS at Jet City Burgers!
Y is for "Yatta!"
On Friday night, the lovely Laura organized a crazy fun event: costume kickball! A surprising number of JETs put on their crazy and ran around the park for a couple hours. We even had a couple of Japanese kids join our games. They had more talented than all of us put together. Super fun!
C is for Crazies!
After kickball, a smaller group got together at a local mall. Neave and I stayed in costume, just for fun, and enjoyed the strange stares we got. We took "purikura" pictures and ate delicious indian food. Nom nom nom.
Before MYC started, I was honestly dreading it a bit. It's a lot of work and a lot of sitting and learning, but I thoroughly enjoyed it this year. A lot of the workshops were really helpful, and presenting a workshop was almost like being back in college. :) I'd missed the stress, a little. The best part of it all was seeing all the JETs who live off on smaller islands in the middle of the ocean somewhere. I wish we could all get together a lot more often!
No comments:
Post a Comment