November ILC

The week we arrived back in Sasebo, I went to our monthly ILC event. I had been very slightly bummed about the fact that I missed this year's Yosakoi festival while I was in Hawaii, so I was delighted that the entertainment for this month's ILC included a group of Yosakoi dancers. Yosakoi, for those of you who may not remember, is a dance festival held every year in Sasebo at the end of October. Groups come from all over the place and perform in the streets, on stages, and down town. They are judged (don't ask me how) and win prizes, presumably. I just like to watch it all. It's very difficult to describe, and even pictures don't really explain the draw, but it's a lot of fun to watch. Here's the group who came to ILC:

After the dancers had performed, there were several little games that we all played. The host group split us all into teams (the Americans were their own team) and we competed a little. I really can't remember why. Anyway, the first event was a game of telephone which I believe the Americans lost by a ton. Next was a game involving keeping this paper balloon in the air, relay style:

Then there was a great version of musical chairs guaranteed to cause multiple concussions. These lovely paper flowers were placed on the floor in the middle of a circl of women:

The music started, and the women walked around the flowers. When the music stopped, the women would dive to try to get a flower (there were several less than the number of women in the circle, of course). The result looked something like this:

I got out of that game by pointing to my (now somewhat visible) baby bump, and it was hysterical to watch. How often do you see grown women throwing themselves at the floor in an attempt to get a paper flower? There were some bumps and bruises, but no one was seriously hurt, and I think everyone had fun. I certainly enjoyed watching.