Cross-cultural communication （69）　

69) Undokai; Sports Day
In October 2017, I was invited to the sports day at the elementary school where I work as a school doctor, and I spent the day watching the children's performances from morning until 3 pm. I have three sons, but they are all grown up now, and the last time I went to a sports day for children was when my third son was in his third year of high school, so that was 10 years ago. As I watched the elementary school children running and performing their best, I remembered the time when my own children were small, and I had a very enjoyable time.

There were also some things that moved me. There was a second-year girl who had a serious congenital heart condition and had undergone several operations so far, and was scheduled to have more operations in the future. She lived her life pulling an oxygen cylinder around with her all day, and she took her classes while inhaling from it. In the race, she started from the starting line well in front of everyone else, and the teacher pulled the oxygen cylinder along with her as they ran, and she crossed the finish line first, receiving a huge round of applause. A fifth-year girl from a certain African country has amazing physical ability and finished in a clear first place. When I asked her about it, she said that her older brother is already in high school and has competed in the inter-high school championships in short-distance races, achieving good results. There is a possibility that he will play an active role in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. There is a boy in the sixth grade who looks white. His father is American and his mother is Japanese. He also has a congenital heart condition, and had his first operation in America. However, the medical fees were so expensive that he had to have his second and subsequent operations in Japan, so he transferred to this elementary school. He also managed to complete the group dance performance to the end.

While watching the drama, which gave some background information, I had a lot of things to think about. Children of this generation share desks with classmates of different nationalities and skin colors at public elementary schools, and they also help their classmates who are taking classes while breathing oxygen. This is an experience that our generation could never have. I think that when these children grow up, Japanese society will become a little more international and a little more kind to the weak.

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