start

 1932

Birth

Entertainment

Elementary

Teachers

Athletics

Running

end

01

Early Life

1932-1940s

Birth

"I was very obedient, and I liked to stay at home. It wasn't bad - my relationship with my parents. A place to sleep, money to buy food - those things I went to my parents for."

Entertainment

"We used to go to the mosque and play there. It wasn't really far from home, and there were many people. You could purchase whatever you needed - all to see was there."

Elementary

"Tests were not really frequent - once or twice per month. There wasn't a lot of pressure. After each hour, we got rest - around ten minutes. How I spent my break? I went to the restroom."

Teachers

"Back then, our teachers were Japanese. It wasn't bad. We weren't really afraid - unless you did something bad, then you got hit. If you didn't listen, they would hit you. Like a burlap bag, they would strike you on the ground - all the teachers knew karate. They would slap you. They would do it. Nowadays, teachers can't do that. Parents will go and hit the teacher back. They would make you stand in the corner. To punish the students, make them stand."

Athletics

"Running was like fighting, like brawling in the dust. Of 80 kids in the fifth grade, there was only two that were selected to represent the school… to go on and fight the sixth graders. We then competed with other towns. We'd see who won. I was one of the two fifth graders. Oh, the run was very tough, very long. We ran all the way up to the next town."

Running

"To get places, we always walked or ran. No bikes. No cars. We needed to run. Of the seven days of the week, we only rested on Sundays. It didn't matter if it was raining. We ran all the same. For school lunch breaks, you sometimes wouldn't be fast enough. You wouldn't have time. You'd stuff your mouth with some rice and then go. If you stayed to finish, you wouldn't have returned in time. The teacher would punish you."

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02

Early Life