Friday, December 6, 2013

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!

Every second Sunday of December since 1973, thousands of runners, walkers, volunteers, and fans come together to put on a great event: The Honolulu Marathon. 
Hawaii Palms usually has a few students participating in the race. This year however, the school has caught marathon fever. About 10 students plan to run in this year's marathon and a few more are joining in on the spirit of the race. Look for them on Sunday (possibly) wearing our yellow T-Shirts.


One of our racers is Mayumi Watanabe (wearing the purple lei), who has participated in over 20 marathons over the past 8 years. She sat down with Javier and answered some questions about what it's like to run a marathon.

How many times have you run the Honolulu Marathon?

This will be my 8th time. I can't wait for Sunday. I look forward to the Honolulu Marathon every year. It's actually my favorite marathon to run because there is no pressure (no time limit) and because of the beautiful scenery along the way. I really love looking at the ocean while I run, especially in Hawaii Kai.

How many marathons do you run a year?

About three or four.

Are they mostly in Japan?

Yes, but not only there. For example, last year I ran the Seoul Marathon and the Torino Marathon. This year I ran the Hong Kong and Geneva marathons; I also ran in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, and of course Honolulu.

How do you prepare to run a marathon?

I go jogging as often as I can, of course. Last weekend I ran a 10km marathon at Kualoa in preparation for this weekend. Food is important, too. Two days before a marathon I start eating as much pasta as I can.



What makes the Honolulu Marathon different from other marathons?
The atmosphere and the people. The hot weather can be a little challenging, but there are so many kind people who give me lots of energy - they cheer me on and give me drinks and sweet snacks. Also, I always run into runner friends along the way who encourage me and help me get through the difficult parts of the race.

What do you enjoy the most about taking part in the Honolulu Marathon?

Besides the great feeling I get when finishing the marathon, I really enjoy taking pictures during the race. I run with a digital camera and whenever I stop to have a drink of water, I take a minute to look around, smile, and take a few pictures of the beautiful scenery, my fellow marathoners, and try to capture the spirit of the race.

Best of luck, Mayumi. And much aloha.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Thanksgiving Day, Nagisa Style!


Nagisa is a visiting scholar at the University of Hawaii. She completed an English intensive course at Palms earlier this year and continues to improve her English by taking elective classes whenever she can. She's a regular visitor to the school and a very welcome and friendly addition to the ohana. Her first thanksgiving in America inspired her to write the following:

Thanksgiving Day is a very famous national holiday celebrated primarily in America and Canada as a day to give thanks for the blessing of the harvest.  This was my first thanksgiving, and I was invited to attend two different celebrations.


First, I joined a "pre-thanksgiving" dinner at Govinda's Vegetarian Buffet on November 22nd. This event was organized by the vegetarian society of Hawaii, and I decided to join because I am very interested in the relationship between food and mental health. There was a lot of healthy, peaceful, and delicious food; their “Tofu Turkey”, something I had never seen before, especially surprised me. Since the vegetarian population in Japan is smaller than in America, it was interesting for me to see and experience so many unfamiliar ingredients and shops in Hawaii.




On Thanksgiving Day, I spent an enjoyable morning playing the ukulele with my friends. The person sitting next to me is interested in opera, and he has a beautiful voice. I love his voice! While singing, a beautiful bird flew towards us and joined in. Afterwards, a Chinese friend of mine invited me to thanksgiving dinner at her house, where we ate delicious Chinese food and turkey. The turkey was very big -- almost 12 pounds! We had a great time. At first, I wanted to post a picture I had taken of the whole turkey, but then I remembered my beautiful ukulele singing bird and felt sorry for the turkey.



My first thanksgiving in America was a lovely and wonderful day!