A few Saturdays ago Qingdao Number Two held its autumn sports assembly. The day began with an opening ceremony in which each class marched around the school track wearing costumes. My fellow foreign teacher, Annie, and I were asked to participate along with our Year 1 class. They provided us with Qing era outfits and fans to wave as we marched along.

While our class’s performance was rather subdued, others went all out with balloons, streamers, and fireworks. One class released a cage full of white doves; another had life-sized inflatable costumes of the 2008 Olympic mascots. It was quite the spectacle.

After the opening ceremonies the sports events began. There were a variety of track and field events: foot races, high jump, javelin throw, long jump, etc. I wondered around taking photos. It was a warm clear day, perfect for a little friendly competition. The following Monday I asked my students what they thought of the events. Most seemed to enjoy it but many complained of being tired from the long day.

For more photo’s visit my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewsnews/