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Making Friends from Around the World at Kanbayashi (February 10)
Yamanouchi Town got a lot of snow on February 9, so we all wondered if the snowboard halfpipe competition would take place as scheduled at Kanbayashi Snowboard Park. Luckily, the event got under way with no problems today. A huge crowd of people showed up to see the boarders, and the cheering was so loud you would stand out if you weren't making noise.The competitors loved hearing all the cheers, and they waved at us in the crowd with smiles on their faces. We couldn't help smiling back. We felt that this was one of the best parts of the Olympics--people from around the world can get together, and although their languages and cultures are different, they can get closer to each other by cheering and smiling.
Seeing the event in person was very different from watching it on TV. The competitors were right there in front of us, and we could feel the power of their moves. It was also exciting to be surrounded by so many cheering people.
We called out to some foreign visitors, greeting them in English. We wanted to share some of Japan's culture with fans from around the world, so we took origami figures to give to them. The people we gave them too were very happy, and many of them gave us pins and stickers in return. Others apologized for not having anything for us, but it felt great just to be there and meet them. We enjoyed talking to all the people at the event. (Yamanouchi Middle School: M.T., A.K., K.K.)