AMERICAN BARBEQUE AND FIELD DAY
Although the JET Programme is often seen as purely a teaching experience, we have many hardworking CIRs around the country who are based in their city halls. Steven Schroeder, a 2ndyear CIR from Fukui prefecture talks about his overwhelmingly successful American Style Field Day and Barbeque.
The event was held in the beautiful sunshine on top of a mountain in Steven’s town. The park was adjacent to the Dinosaur Museum so families could incorporate both a visit to the museum and the Field Day and Barbeque. ‘It seemed like a good way to bring Japanese families and ALTs together through activities everyone could enjoy’ Steven commented, ‘I really enjoy sharing other cultures and getting all sorts of age groups and nationalities to interact together’.
There were 62 total participants, approximately 20 of whom were ALTs. Most Japanese participants were families from [my town] Katsuyama, many with elementary school aged children,’ Steven explains. This dynamic mix was one of the most successful factors of the day. The event catered to all ages: the adults enjoyed a chat around the barbeque with the ALTs, whilst the children happily rolled around in the sunshine and partnered up with ALTs to play Steven’s specially designed field games.
‘In Japan, the word ‘barbeque’ generally means grilling meats and vegetables in a Korean style’ Steven continues, ‘so I wanted to share with the community a taste of what a BBQ is like in America. However, just eating burgers doesn’t make for much of an event, so I decided to incorporate the field day component as well with 4 games. We had a sack race, three-legged race, egg-on-spoon race, and balloon toss.’
