Each year our language school hosts a torture session. They call it a speech contest. I'm not sure which is worse torture--preparing and delivering a speech, or sitting through two and a half hours of others' speeches.

This year, Tod & I combined forces to present a skit about two frogs setting out to see the world. I painted backdrops and constructed frog heads of foam and fabric. We memorized our lines and practiced our blocking. It was fun.

And it earned us a prize. Our certificate reads "minna no kyoumi wo hiku ii spichi" which means "a good speech which drew everyone's interest."