It's Party Time, part 2

~ To kick off the second post about yesterday's Christmas party, here's me trying to imitate a giant Santa:

^ Right after I had this picture taken, one of the staff members "pulled the plug" on Santa. As the air deflated, Santa's form slowly collapsed and he sank to the floor. Listening very hard, I could *almost* hear him say, "I'm mellllllting..."

^ Getting back to the party, after the Brazilian breakdancers, we were entertained by several singers and musicians, including this saxophone player. She played a number of songs from television shows, some of which I recognized, some of which I didn't.

After a brief break, the schoolchildren returned to sing for us some more. The first new song was a rendition of the "Mickey Mouse" song, with some significant differences:


^ Aside from the obvious fact that they're singing mostly in Japanese, the differences in the refrain and the ending are interesting, aren't they? I speculate that the reason they don't spell out Mickey's name is because correctly saying the letters is difficult for Japanese children. At the end, they all say, "Mi-ki-mo-u-suuuuu!"; it's cute, but it's said in a way that a native English speaker wouldn't.

Speaking of Mickey Mouse...

^ She claimed to be dressed up as Mickey, but I disagreed, saying she was more like Minnie.

Next it was time for some bona-fide Christmas songs, starting with this one:


^ Yeah, I couldn't resist adding some sound effects at the appopriate intervals. Next week in class, I'll be teaching Christmas-themed lessons to my younger students, and you can bet I'll be teaching this song. Several times. To the point of insanity.

To round out the Christmas party, here's a poster I saw that conveys the real meaning of Christmas:

^ Christmas is, as we all know, the season of giving. Please consider making a charitable donation to a reliable aid organization. Because of the many conflicts going on in the world today, I recommend Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross (which needs all the help it can get). Barring that, drop a dollar or two in the jar where that Santa guy has been ringing his bell outside of Wal-Mart or Target or wherever. Remember, giving is its own reward. ~Oyasumi!