Photo By Matthew Manning | Okinawan high school students teamed up with students from Kadena and Kubasaki high...... read more read more
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CAMP FOSTER, Japan - A Saturday spent at school is not normally considered a fun day for most high school students, but for the students taking part in the 2011 Okinawan-American High School Manga Contest at Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster, Sept. 17, Saturday, at school was filled with laughter, jokes and art.
The Manga contest, named after the Japanese word for comics, was to create the best poster demonstrating U.S.-Japan cooperation in disaster-relief efforts. Nine different teams made up of students from various schools on Okinawa came together to create the best art, as judged by their peers and personnel from the American consulate general in Naha.
“This is the fifth year this competition has been held,” said Aya Haemori, a spokesperson with the American consulate general in Naha.
Students from nine schools participated this year. In addition to the seven Okinawan high schools involved in the event, Kubasaki High School and Kadena High School also competed.
Team composition was slightly different than previous years.
“In past years, teams were split up by schools,” said Heather Eaton, a spokesperson with the American consulate general in Naha. “This year, teams consisted of students from various schools, and each team had one American student on it.”
The main reason students were not paired with fellow schoolmates was to create an additional challenge in the competition – a language barrier – as teammates had to communicate in both Japanese and English.
“I think the contest is better with the schools split up because in the past the students would only interact a little during the pizza party,” said Haemori. “This way we kind of force them to interact and try to communicate with each other because if they don’t, they will not be able to complete their project.”
Once teams were established, they had five hours to decide upon and complete a poster with the theme of U.S.-Japan cooperation in disaster-relief efforts.
“Our team decided to draw a picture with a famous hero from each culture,” said Victoria Britten, a student at Kubasaki High School. “In the background, it shows different disasters: a tsunami, tornado, earthquake and a typhoon. We drew Superman and a Japanese samurai running a three-legged race, which shows how working together, as a team, they are able to make it through the disasters that have come their way.”
The picture Britten’s team drew was voted the contest winner.
Winning the first-place prize was not the only thing Britten’s team took home at the end of the day.
“We didn’t know each other so I was nervous at first, but everyone was very nice and we worked in a friendly atmosphere,” said Akino Fukuji, a Yomitan High School student. “Our manga turned out to be what we wanted it to be. We won because we helped each other.”
“Even though there was a language barrier, we were still able to understand each other,” said Britten. “We got to know each other pretty well. We have a lot of similar interests. It turns out that we watch a lot of the same shows, and we like the same anime characters.
“This was a great experience,” she stated. “I like to meet new people, especially those who speak a different language than me. It was amazing how we were still able to understand each other.”
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2011 01:18 |
| Story ID: | 77410 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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