Feb 16, 2024
When I first arrived at the Japanese senior high school where I would be working for the next two years, it was summer vacation. I kept hearing the taiko drums while at work, and I asked my co-workers about it. They told me it was the ōendan (cheer squad) practicing for Sports Day. I had no idea what ōendan was at the time, so come Sports Day, I was treated to one of the coolest things I had ever witnessed.
This is a photo of the third-year squad (final year of high school in Japan) absolutely killing it. Unfortunately, they lost to the second-year students, and my heart broke with them. I don't know the criteria for judging, but they won my heart.