kento's field day :)

kento ~ far left

my host cousin kento [technically host nephew...] had 運動会, a field day at kindergarten, and i was invited to go with the family :)  the events themselves were nothing out of the ordinary, but quite a number of things surprised me. for starters, i didn't see even one chubby kid. in the four weeks that i've been in japan, i've seen very few overweight adults. it is said that because japanese food is much healthier than american food, people in japan tend to be on the slimmer side. i don't disagree with that. however, japan still has sweets, desserts, and other unhealthy foods, so there must be a better, more comprehensive reason. 

anyway, update later about other surprising things.

toward the end of field day, everyone [including alumni, parents, and friends] was able to participate in a [very long] relay race and tug-of-war. i did both ^_^ it was definitely my cup of tea. i wasn't as competitive about the relay because there were sooo many people running in it. tug-of-war, however, i really wanted my team to win. and we did. both pulls :) after the event was over, i ran laps around the schoolyard and practiced some roundoffs and handsprings. i also did several sprints with shinpei, which earned me some brownie points with him. and the fact that i have a DS now and my love for soccer also helped ^_^