一番難しかったのは、コップに水を注ぐこと。どれくらい水がコップにたまっているのか見えないので、注ぎすぎで水をこぼしてしまうキャンパーもちらほら。
スペシャルゲストの三宮さんのお話を聞いて、目が見えない生活がどれだけ大変かわかったつもりでした。でも、実際に目をつぶってシーンレスの世界を体験したことではじめて少しだけその大変さが実感できました。
お話でもおっしゃていましたが、困っているひとに対して、「お手伝いしましょうか？」と自然にいえるようになれるとかっこいいね！
ちなみに今日は、Costume Day!みんな似合ってるー！
ボーイズたちが準備してくれたbreakfastを食べ終わったあとは、MSTERIO LETTER
の時間。今日は、MSTERIOのO。"What does O stand for?" O stands for open-minded!これは、つまり心をひろくもつということ。みんなもいろんなことを最初から決め付けないで、おおきな気持ちで物事をうけとめると、新しい発見がきっと待ち受けていてくれるはず。
さて、今日のOne Point English は "Let's get hype!"。 日本語でいうと、「盛り上がろうぜ！」という感じかな。
MAXがこのフレーズを選んだのには、訳があるのです！実は、今日はMSTERIO Olympics Day!RED TEAM とBLUE TEAMに分かれて対決します。さぁ、みんなで let's get hype!!
青空のもと、記念撮影をした後、いよいよMSTERIO Olympics の開催です。
まずは、Potato Sack Race！じゃがいもの袋に足を突っ込んで、ぴょんぴょんと飛びはねながら競争をするゲームです。途中で転んじゃったり、ドラマがいっぱい!こちらの種目を制したのは、RED TEAM!
続きは、Tug of War!ビッグボーイズのJoshはBlue Teamに、Anthony はRed Teamにそれぞれ加担します！Ready...GO!
顔をま〜っかにして思いっきりひっぱります！応援団も一生懸命エールを贈り、「わっしょい！わっしょい！！」大きな声が原っぱに響き渡ります。
ピッピー！終了の笛が鳴ります。果たして勝利を制するのはど
ちら！？
優勝したのは…RED TEAM！！
「我が勝利」のテーマソングに合わせてのぞみさんからトロフィーの贈呈です。
チャ〜ンチャ〜ンチャチャ〜ンチャン♬♪
さて、みんなお日様の下で体をたっぷり動かしたので、汗だく…。
でも、だいじょうぶ！お次は、毎年恒例のLet's Get Wet!! ウォーターガンで水遊びをしながら涼をとります。ビッショビッショになって大はしゃぎ！ジョッシュとアンソニーは特別大きな水鉄砲を持って走り回ります。
最後のディナーは、みんなの大好物、お別れカレーです。たくさん運動したので、お腹もぺこぺこ。「おかわりー！」の声が飛び交います。デザートのすいかを食べていると、はい！っとキャンパーのTOMOYAが手を挙げました。どうやら、何か発表があるそう。キッチンのスタッフの方々６人を呼んでくると、「８日間、ぼくたちのために一生懸命ご飯をつくってくれて、ありがとうございました。」しっかりとした口調でTOMOYAが自分のミステリオコインをひとりひとりに渡しました。
WoodyMockのオーナー兼シェフの小滝さん感極まり、涙。みんなもつられて、すすり泣きがあちこちで聞こえてきました。「言いたいことはいっぱいあったのに、みんなの前に出たら言葉じゃなくて涙が出てきてしまいました。ミステリオは、ひとりひとりがきちんとM.S.T.E.R.I.Oを実行できているのが素晴らしい。今まで色んなキャンプを見てきましたが、こんな風にキャンパーそしてスタッフ全員がひとつになり、モットーを有言実行しているところは見た事がない。美しくて、毎日感動していました。最後までビシっと決めたかったのに、想いが溢れてきて、とめられなかったんです。」と後ほど話してくださいました。
感動の涙のカレーで思い出深い最後の夜となりました。
お腹をいっぱいにしたら、みんなで懐中電灯をもって山に繰り出します。
夜の探検？きもだめし？さて、何が待ち受けているのでしょう？
みんなで手をつないで、ライトをかざして真っ暗な道をひたすら進みます。
たどり着いた大きな広場の真ん中にうっすら見えてきたのは、キャンプファイヤーのやぐら。まだ火はついていません。すると！山の頂上から何やら黒ずくめの大きな火の玉を持った
男が登場！「やぁ！！」と叫ぶと、なんとやぐらに火がボッとつきました！
キャンパーたちも驚いて、夜の森に歓喜のさけびが響き渡ります。
全員で円になり、踊るように燃え上がるキャンプファイヤーを囲みました。TAKUYAが作詞作曲した曲をギターで披露してくれたあと、みんなの想いを一言づつ聞きました。今年でカウンセラーは最後のSHUN、SENA、MARIKOそしてNOBU。ミステリオを卒業するCITのYOKOとMAKI。今年始めてカウンセラーとなったMOE、KANAKOそしてTAKUYA。スタッフ初参加のYUKAとAKANE。それぞれみんながMSTERIOに対する大切な熱い想いをshareした後は、MSTERIOのうたをうたってこころを一つに。
今年もMSTERIOはわたしたちにたくさんの想いをくれました。みんなに出会えたことに心からありがとう。
明日は、いよいよLAST DAY! ParentsにMSTERIOでどんなことをやっていたのか披露します！
Only one more day of MSTERIO left…!
Today’s Early Bird Club was lead by the Tennis Prince, Seichiro!
At 6AM, we followed him into the woods, collecting flowers and plants. When we reached a quiet open space surrounded by trees, Seichiro handed out eye-masks and instructed us to make a circle… Who knew such a simple task would be so difficult without sight? Some yelled to let others know where they were while others listened quetly to the breaths around them to find out where their neighbors were.
The hardest task was pouring water into the cup. Many spilled, not knowing how to tell how much water had filled the cup. After hearing Ms. Sannomiya speak about the world with out sight, we thought we had an idea of what it was like. But only after actually being blind-folded and experiencing this world, did we truly understand the hardships that she had faced daily throughout her life.
By the way, today is COSTUME DAY! Everyone looks amazing! After we finished eating the breakfast the boys had prepared, it was time for Today’s MSTERIO LETTER. What do you think the “O” in MSTERIO stands for? The answer is…OPEN-MINDED! Let’s open our mind and hearts to try and be accepting of different thoughts and new ideas before drawing any conclusions about them. You’ll see that it will expand your world.
Moving on to today’s ONE POINT ENGLISH, the phrase we learned was “Let’s get hype!” It means, let’s get excited! Max chose this phrase especially for today, for an event that everyone looks forward to--MSTERIO OLYMPICS DAY! Every year, the campers and staffs are divided into two teams, RED vs BLUE, and compete in various field games.
After the group photo-shoot under the blue sky, we let the games begin! We kicked off the event with Potato Sack Race! Sticking our legs into the large sacks, everyone hopped across the field like giant bunnies. Hop, hop, hop! Don’t fall!! Who ruled the game? THE RED TEAM!
Don't worry the Blue Team still has a chance to win! The next game was Tug of War! The big boys, Josh and Anthony, joined the Blue and the Red team respectively. READY? GO!!! As everyone looked up at the sky and pulled with all their might, blood rushed to their heads and their faces turned red. The cheerleaders yelling at the top of their lungs “You can do it! You can do it!” echoed across the field. Suddenly, the fat long rope dropped with the high-pitched sound of the whistle. Who won this time?? The judge pointed his finger towards the winning team…THE RED TEAM AGAIN! Nozomi handed out the trophy to the Red Team while we all sang the victory song in unison.
By this time, we were all drenched in sweat from running around under the glaring sun. A perfect reason to move on to the next annual event, LET’S GET WET!, to cool ourselves down. All the campers and the staff got a water gun and shot each other with water. Josh and Anthony are the Water Gun Thugs with their extra large water guns!
Our last supper at WoodyMock: “Good-Bye Curry”. Everyone was starving from Olympics Day and a line had quickly formed for seconds. Just when we had finished our curries and started to bite into our dessert (juicy watermelons) one of the campers, TOMOYA, raised his hand to make an announcement. He spoke with confidence from the stage. “ Thank you so much for working very hard everyday and making delicious meals for us.” he said and handed his MSTERIO coins to the staff members of WoodyMock. He wanted to show his appreciation by giving them his MSTERIO coins.
The owner and chef of WoodyMock, Mr. Kotaki, was so touched that tears rolled down his cheek and he stood there speechless. Later, he said, “I had so much to say, but standing in front of you all, tears instead of words are coming out. I’ve seen many summer camps in the past but never have I seen such beautiful solidarity amongst responsible staff members who truly walk the talk and campers who lookup to them. I was touched everyday by this wonderful community and so I got emotional. ” Everyone was moved, and soon we heard sniffles from every corners of the dining hall.
We’ll never forget our Good-Bye curry tasting salty from our teardrops.
The night is not over yet! After dinner, we grabbed our flashlight, put on our sneakers and set out into the dark starry night. What awaits for us in the darkness?? After walking through the cool, quiet woods, we arrived at a wide open grassland with a large bundle of wood stacked up like a teepee in the center which we surrounded. Suddenly, we heard a loud voice from the top of the mountain! A man dressed in black with a torch was yelling some sort of spell. The moment he reached the climax, the wood had been magically lit, and fire started to dance in the center of our circle. The campers screamed in joy as the fire lit our smiling faces.
One of the counselors, TAKUYA, performed his original song for us on the guitar and we went around sharing what was on our minds. This year will be the last year for SHUN, SENA, MARIKO and NOBU as counselors. We also welcomed new counselors, MOE, KANAKO and TAKUYA, as well as new staffs, YUKA and AKANE. YOKO and MAKI are CITs who will be graduating from MSTERIO. In the end, we all put our arm around each other and sang the MSTERIO song.
MSTERIO has given us so much again, this year. We are grateful to be together, and we thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts.
Tomorrow is our LAST DAY! We have yet to show our parents what we’ve been working on at MSTERIO!
