tug-of-war?

i don't even really know what to say about today haha. so many things happened.. so many different emotions :) the naha matsuri festival was today, so the girls and i went in the afternoon. i haven't been to naha since i got picked up from the airport in august, so i was excited to spend the day there. when we got there, the parade of flags had just started. the parade of flags conists of fourteen flags.. each flag represents a community in okinawa. seven are from the east-side and seven from the west.. so the tug-of-war is basically east-side vs. west-side. the parade was really cool.. the men balanced the flags on their hands and stomachs. it was a little scary when they would start to fall towards me! luckily the other men had y-shaped sticks to catch the flags before they hit the parade watchers :)

that takes some serious skill

a kid sized flag :) he's practicing


i also really enjoyed the watching them perform karate with different weapons.. sai, nunchucks, swords, and bo staffs. they are VERY talented!!!



then came the tug-of-war. oh goodness.. i don't even know how to describe it. first of all... it happens on the street. the rope is eighteen tons and two meters in diameter... it is in the guiness book of world records as the largest tug-of-war in the world. before it began, adrienne, alison, and i waited on the sidewalk for the street to be closed off and it was a mad house. people were EVERYWHERE around us and didn't know a thing about personal space.. we were cracking up because of how awkward it had become haha... it was like a mosh pit at a concert.. but no concert. lots of things were happening to prepare for the tug-of-war.. but everything was in japanese so i'm not really sure what was happening. from reading about the festival before going, the east-side and west-side had to challenge each other to the tug-of-war.. so i'm assuming it had something to do with that haha. then came the fun part. we were able to make our way to the front to hold on to the a little rope to help move the big rope to connect the two. a drunk old asian guy was behind me as we were holding on to the rope saying something in japanese.. it was creepy. it was too crowded for anyone to move so i was stuck with him behind me until we started pulling the rope. what fun haha. it was COMPLETE CHAOS when it was our turn to pull the rope to connect the two. i almost lost my flip flops, a woman fell with her child and had to be carried away because she couldn't move and was crying, alison and i were almost trampled on, and the actual tug-of-war hadn't even started yet!! haha.. quite the experience. i was literally scared during that moment.. my heart was beating fast! i seriously thought i was going to be squished and trampled on. all that to say.. we decided to just watch the actual tug-of-war :)

us holding the rope before the chaos began.. we were so naive :)

the rope finally connected and the competitors accepting the challenge


opening ceremony before tug-of-war

the winning side is supposed to cut the rope to take home because it is supposed to bring good luck and a good harvest for the next year. it was crazy to see people take our their knives and razors to cut the rope after the tug-of-war was over!!! seriously.. only in japan. the girls and i were laughing saying that could NEVER happen in the states.. someone would have gotten stabbed! a nice man cut some rope for us, so we have some rope to bring us good luck this year :)

alison and me next to the rope after the victory

i had to get a picture with one of the men!

moving the rope at the end of the ceremony.. crazy huh?!

we ended the night eating at charlie's tacos for dinner.. delicious!!
i wish you all could have experienced today with me.. writing about it does not truly convey how crazy it was!