Too short. It was wayy too short. We met on saturday, got somewhat closer on saturday evening, got really comfortable on sunday... and we had to leave on that very day. I am amazed at how attached I got in such a short time. It was a very good feeling.
As they said in the beginning, "everyone is a winner". Technically we are, since we all won our regional contest and got to the National Speech Contest. And it REALLY showed at the contest... Ota-sensei said this year was probably the highest level he's seen in the last 6 or 7 years. The beginner category didn't seem like beginners at all: they all could have done intermediate and some spoke quite fluently for their level. But I knew that S was gonna do well and she did, she got FIRST PRIZE!!! She received a computer and I was glad to see that she was a very classy winner. She congratulated all the others and never let it get to her head, even though she was ecstatic. I am so proud of her. :)
The intermediate category was hard too... honestly, the level could have been easily considered advanced. Those kids were so good!! I felt like I should have exchanged my place with one or two people. The Grand Prize Winner is actually from the Intermediate category. He spoke about Milk, and his Japanese was impressive in many aspects. His prize? An open ticket to Japan with a scholarship.
I did well in the advanced category. I got THIRD!! :D:D Actually I didn't expect it, just cuz the level was so high. There was a major level gap between the second and me. And also quite a gap between the first and the second. They spoke about very complicated things. My identity speech made me feel like an intermediate at that moment... I didn't quite understand everything they were talking about... and their fluency at the question part was very impressive. I cannot complain at all. They just were THAT good. It was impressive and I really hope I can reach that level for myself someday. ^^;
The Open category... was really the open category. The two winners were ridiculously good. One guy talked about Sumo and he was hilarious. Some of us stood to clap just cuz he was that entertaining. The winner was a Chinese girl who lived in Japan for a long time and consequently, her Japanese was near perfect. Impressive. Maybe I should go live there for a couple of years too... ^^
ANyways overall, it was great. We had a good time, we met loads of cool people. The teachers were nice too. One of the judges was stunningly beautiful, I was totally mesmerized... lol
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Congrats =D
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