Nara JETNet 5th Event
Christmas in the Castle
On November 9, 2002, 32 JETs gathered at Koriyama Kintetsu station to participate in the the JETNET Christmas in the Castle event with the Koriyama senior citizens association. JETs were briskly ushered to Koriyama Castle where they were briefed on the day's festivities and received had a speech from the Mayor of Koriyama.
First, everyone took turns preparing the day's activities, and the JETs were thoroughly outclassed by clearly well-practised petanque playing seniors. Fortunately, the secnior citizens assocaition provided a wonderful lunch for all.
After lunch, JETs gave presentations on the way that Christmas is celebrated in various countries in both English and Japanese. The countries covered were the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, France, Canada and Italy. The presentations covered the origins of Christmas traditions, from surfing Santas, to the ogirins and meanings of Christmas. All were well received by the Japanese audience.
Next up, two JETs pantomimed The Night Before Christmas, much to the delight of the participants. A nice bit of yultide caroling came next, with such Christmas songs as Jingle Bells, Twelve Days of Christmas and a solo erendition ofthe French version of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer The room then came alive with energy as participants enjoyed several Christmas-themed games: "What's in the Stocking?", "Pass the Parcel", and "Place the Red Nose on the Reindeer". These games were heaps of fun, and everyone loved them!
The seniors then treated the JETs to a couple of Japanese Christmas songs, which gave the JETs a chance to sit down and enjoy a well-deserved respite. To top the day off, The JETs taught the participants the words to We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
All in all, the event was a great success; feedback forms from the participants showed they thought so too. "The JETs shortened the gap between various countries", "Different countries, but the same rythym!" and "We'd love to have more opportunities like this" are just some of the comments received. Thank you to everyone who made the day another rousing success!
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