Routine

I’ve been going to school for about 3 weeks now – the summer vacation is in August though so there’s no classes. There are students however, they all come to school practically everyday for bukatsu – club activities. I am now involved in the school swimming club and the table-tennis club. I sought out the swimmers and was roped into table tennis by one of my English teachers.

The swimming club has two hour training sessions in which myself and the 4 kids involved generally just mess about – I’m the one who does the most swimming which was never the case in my club at home. They are decent swimmers – better than me now but not as good as the best of my old swimming club (I was never one of the best) and I can swim further and faster than them underwater (great achievement Rach, you can hold your breath – hey shut up I’m proud (there’s not many comments so I have to argue amongst myselves)).

The table-tennis club is a different matter all together – the first time I walked into the gym to take part I was met with the sight of 5 kids at three tables practicing their co-ordinated table tennis moves without using balls. They looked like mini-Forrest Gumps in training – which it turns out is exactly what they are. I am abominable at table-tennis and because they are too polite to laugh it means that I’m the only one who does. I thought that my English teacher was in charge at table-tennis but today my fear of the Forrest Gump factor was increased exponentially by the arrival of ‘The Trainer’ – not only my title for him – when the kids told me who he was you could hear the ‘’ and capitals in their voices. He’s an austere man who barks in harsh tones at the mini-Forrest Gumps as they expertly reproduce the precise movements.

My serve is pathetic and I can’t master any of the robotic movements required so I exited stage left very quickly after the arrival of ‘The Trainer’. And so my education continues…