You are currently browsing the daily archive for October 11, 2007.
This morning was yet another bleak, overcast day. Another day we have not seen the sun. There have been a couple of sunny days here, but I don’t think it was clear enough even on those days to see the sun or the blue sky.
As I walk to school, I am usually passed by parents and grandparents bringing their children to school in cars or on scooters. Some older children walk to school alone or with a friend. There are a couple of breakfast stands near the school and I often see the familiar bright yellow cap of my student’s uniform on the head of some students fueling up for a day at school.
If I arrive before 7 am, the first sight I see is a group of mainly women doing their aerobics! If I am after seven, a couple of the ever faithful participants will be having a lingering conversation. While I have no idea what they talk about, they remind me of friends I’ve exercised with who I see everyday, yet everyday we talk on and on about so many differnt things!
Around the corner, there are older adults who have paired off to volley a birdie. I see the same women everyday hitting that birdie back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. There is no net. There are lines on the ground, so they typically stand about the same distance apart each day. Their aim is incredible as they keep hitting back and forth back and forth to their partner. One will eventually miss and they will begin again. Are they keeping score? Timing themselves? I have no idea. I do know they always break a sweat and I do know the strength required to hit that birdie back and forth doesn’t just come from their arms; its a total body movement. The women make this daily activity looks so simple that it is easy to ignore the stamina and precision required of them!
I lug myself up two flights of stairs and unlock my classroom to begin another day.
Chikky Soup Meets Stinky Tofu 