The Curlers Crew

A few weeks ago a student had come up to me and told me NishiKoko had a curling team and asked would I come with them some day. Shamefully it was before Okinawa and since I returned I had kinda forgotten, (very low bow of apology). They practice in the top floor hallways in summer times which means I never saw them to remind me. But alas yesterday I went curling!

Another brand new sport for me, so plenty of falling, last week I fell in the gym at handball training, a lot, but this is on ice so you can only imagine the bruises on my knees today. It was a very different experience as it was the students asking me to come not a teacher. They (the four girls that make up the team) collected me after school and we cycled the 40minute journey as a pack and they have sticks. It was the most dangerous of cycling experiences, these girls own the roads and they refuse to break their stride for anything and anyone. The sticks they carry are the curling brushes which go with them everywhere. It was like they were connected invisibly because people parted like moses and his sea, they stuck to each other like glue all the way from school to the arena. It was very funny as I was obviously well untrained in this pack formation cycling trend. I kept getting nervous and worried for the pedestrians which made me use my brakes and then before I knew it I was out of the pack and a complete outcast. But the girls kept laughing and shoving me in the middle so I wouldn’t use my breaks. We cruised along together, they loved asking me the strangest questions, like do you enjoy onions? Is orange a nice colour in Ireland? You would think this was awkward conversation making but they are genuinely interested in how many onions I would eat a day. These girls are particularly keen to make an effort because they like English and want to study abroad, so we had some great conversations about onions and noses and marshmallows.

Every day they cycle 40minutes then they train from 5pm until 8pm, which I thought was a little craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy but really it’s nothing too bizarre here. The dedication of all these clubs I have joined is truly amazing, I feel like my two 2hour hockey trainings and two matches a week in school sounds rather pathetic and I was always exhausted!

I had so much fun with the kids and their trainer, but it was bloody freezing, even though I thought it would be cold I had no idea my nose would feel like falling off after the few hours. Mastering the one shoe being disasterousely slippery and one being…well not slippy at all, was pretty damn hard. I kept ending up spread eagled on the ice with 4tiny girls attempting to haul me up. We played a game at the end and I got to throw (not sure that’s the correct word) the stone and also got a chance to sweep, again spending a large amount of my time just on me arse! I will most deffinatly be returning but will wear some seriously wolly undypants next time.

Mari and Narumi



Manami preparing to launch



Push off



Slow release



Sweep