It's already summer here in Baoding. Spring was here and gone while the Midwest was still blanketed with snow and ice. My school celebrated the warm sunny weather by having a sports day last Monday. Classes were canceled and the whole school participated in games and races all morning long before going home for the May Day holiday.
The festivities opened with a ceremony to rival the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Each class marched in together with a unique banner and chant. My American co-worker and I were informed on the spot that we had to score the classes in six different categories as they walked in. By now we're not even surprised anymore when we get last minute news like this, so we followed our friend and co-teacher Miss Bi up to the head table, where she attempted to translate the score cards.
The students all took this very seriously. I waved and smiled to a few of my students, but only the 1st graders smiled back. The older students kept their concentration and ignored me. After all of the classes had marched in and assembled, they raised the Chinese flag, sang the national anthem, and did a set of exercises in unison.
Finally it was time for the games to begin. The first event was a hundred meter dash. The fifth and sixth graders were mixed in every heat, so I was very proud when some of my fifth graders placed in the top three and won prizes. After the 100, each grade split off to play games together. The other American teacher and I went around to each grade and played games such as tug-of-war, a three legged race, and various relay-type races.
And now, because I am entirely at the mercy of the Chinese internet, I will post this without pictures.
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