Japan-fest

2012-11-28Uncategorized Standard

After a rather unfortunate beginning to the day, things took a turn for the better around lunchtime.

The families of all the 56 fourth graders had been summoned to the school at lunchtime, for a little ‘get-together’ to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The labor involved learning about Japan for the past few weeks, and doing projects related to Japan, many of whom were kid-directed (I think).  So the parents all congregated to hear the kids give a slideshow-talk about Japan, they counted to 10 in Japanese, a few kids read haikus they’d written, and the final act was singing Twinkle, twinkle little star in Japanese, backed by an adorable YouTube video:

We then wandered up to the school rooms to check out more things they’d done, such as…

…making and hanging up a Japanese wishing tree, and…

… writing haikus. Anna’s was “Í lítilli borg, kemur mamma heim í kvöld, það er kalt úti.” (In a small city, a mother comes home tonight, it is cold outside.)

After we’d perused our fill, Anna abruptly changed her afternoon plans and went home with a classmate of hers, instead of bringing a different classmate home.  That left me with a couple of gloooorious afternoon nap hours (finally!), before I had to round Anna up and ship her off to swim practice.  Being one to live dangerously, I picked Bjarki up shortly thereafter and also took him to the swimming pool, his cold be damned!  After Anna’s practice, the kids played in the indoor pool, and then the quite large bubbly massage hot-tub for a good while.  Once home we were on familiar ground of the dinner-to-bed routine, which went fairly smoothly.  It’s now 10 pm, and I think I’ll be turning in early tonight!  Or at least I’ll try…

Here’s hoping for an uneventful tomorrow!

COMMENTS

Rajan P. Parrikar

Sayonara, Sayonara 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHT28UX8i_I

Hrefna

The culture clash in that video is incredibly weird!! And that looks like a total stalker-guy! Quite creepy!

I guess I’m not totally on board with the Bollywood world after all! 🙂

Rajan P. Parrikar

You are partly right about the cultural disconnect. As for the guy, I (and most any Indian) would call him goofy rather than creepy.

On a side note: this is really pre-Bollywood. It is a 1960s movie. “Bollywood” is a relatively recent phenomenon, probably 10-15 years old, and if you ask me, the post-2000 schtick that the West identifies Bollywood with is mostly crude, tinselly trash, with those garish sets and the Indian weirdos populating them. I guess some here in America find it endearing if for no other reason than the fact that it is ‘different.’

Indian movies pre-1985 are remembered for the most part not for the story plot per se but for their music (the 1950-1980 era). By 1985 the great playback singers and music composers had either died or were on their last legs. What took over was this kitsch seen now and labeled “Bollywood.”

Incidentally, the Indian popular music of that time, while unknown in America and Western Europe, was immensely popular in the erstwhile Soviet Union, Romania, Greece, UAE, Northern & Eastern Africa, and the Caribbean.

Hrefna

Hmmm… She keeps saying “goodbye” and leaving, and he keeps chasing? That’s creepy, not goofy (unless he’s supposed to be particularly dense in the head?) Then again, I don’t understand any of the lyrics besides Sayonara, but it’s not like she’s welcoming him with both arms, escaping finally on a gondola down a steep hill, while politely waving goodbye?…

And thank you for the insight into Indian culture! I had no idea things were quite that complicated, but aren’t they always?! 🙂

Rajan P. Parrikar

The algorithm is well worn. A song typically begins with the babe displaying faux anger and 3 mins later, following a romp around trees and rocks, she becomes putty in his arms. (Wish life were life that.) In one film, the guy even chases her in the air in a Cessna.

The finest of its class is this one…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaqgmKYgWXY

…which was curiously featured in an episode of The Simpsons –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on04DhFTKyQ

Now imagine if this happened in Reykjavík, say, along Sæbraut –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAj1YJcdULo

Hrefna

Jeeez, these guys don’t know the meaning of ‘no’ do they? I can see how this can be construed as ‘cute’ and ‘adorable’ because the guys look so smiley and well groomed, and oh, they can siiiiing, but the flip-side is nicely articulated by the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpDnr2s9yxQ

(skip to 5:17 for the really relevant and creepy part).

I will agree that the music in and of itself is pretty good – it’s just a pity it comes with imagery in which men get what they want by ignoring what the women want (as in ‘go away and leave me alone’).