Village Endokai

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There was a big Halloween party in Nagoya city on Saturday 29 October. Many of the other teachers were going and I had planned my mummy outfit, then a week before the vice principal at one of my elementary schools asked if I'd join their team of seven for the village sports day relay race on 30 October.....and much as I wanted to party in the big city, I really wanted to join in the race, so the Halloween party was out the window (The sports day started at 7.45am, so there was no way I could get back from Nagoya, which is a good few hours’ drive away).

I'm so glad I chose the relay race though. It was a fantastic way to feel part of the community. Over 40 teams ran in the race (about 16km, split between seven runners). Parents and teachers took part and even the elementary and junior high school kids had teams.

After the race our team went for a lovely lunch in a local restaurant called the Radish, which serves wonderful traditional Japanese food. I had tempera vegetables and soba noodles and best of all the school principal paid for the lunch to show the team his appreciation.

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