Marathon Race

Physical education is no joke in Japan. Now, most children participate in some sport or another after school...some 90% or more in most middle schools. These club sports will have practice every day of the week - weekends included - and are more intense than many of the middle school sports I remember from my past. Outside of this, though, they have P.E. classes that involve everything from baseball and softball to gymnastics and dance. There is a great emphasis on being physically sound, and the population here is much trimmer and healthier, from what I have seen, than that of America's population. Granted, this may be in part because of their genetic make-up, but the amount of exercise the kids do on a regular basis doesn't hurt.

Thursday was a good example of the emphasis on physical education. The whole morning at my elementary school was dedicated to "the Marathon Races." In short, everyone in every grade had to run anywhere from 800 to 1500 meters, depending on their grade. This isn't too different from what could be found at an American school; the big difference came from the way the races were treated. No one had classes; parents, grandparents, and even the nearby nursery school came to cheer on students. It was more like a festival or a game than it was a part of the daily grind.

As there weren't any classes for me to teach today, I was instead encouraged to watch the races and cheer on the students. I did this with great energy, as the students are ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. Thankfully, I had my camera with me today - I took over 150 pictures of these kids. (A selection are up here for your enjoyment.)

And yet, my day was made even better by the presence of some of my middle school students. Thursday was a "realistic work experience" day for my 2nd years - they are all visiting various work places to get a feel for that (randomly selected) job. What that meant for me was that a number of my students were here, either helping with the elementary school or the aforementioned nursery school that came to cheer on the students. It was a great way of seeing them outside of a classroom, letting them see me interacting with people who weren't there classmates...in short, reaffirming the fact that I am, in fact, a real person who exists outside of the middle school. (Plus, I got some adorable pictures of them with the nursery and elementary school kids; can't beat that!)

All of this makes me feel guilty, though, as I have been more than just "remiss" in making an exercise routine that is actually routine. Ah well. At the very least, it was a very awesome day.