A list of topics

I travel about 30 minutes every second Monday for an English conversation class (eikaiwa). The people I see there are really lovely. They ask me interesting questions about Australia, bring in souvenirs and even bring me food. A standard class consists of me chatting about what I have been up to and then each member talks about themselves. They may share some news, talk about their week or bring up a topic for discussion. I want to give you a quick outline of this week's topics. Two in particular stood out to me. One is person was funny and the other, I admire highly...

Person 1 : Brought in origami paper and showed me how to make a new crane. I had asked her to show me a particular trick she knows. She is really into crafty things. We share some interests in this area...

Person 2 : Is having a new house built. He gave an update on the progress...

Person 3 : Told us how her friends use her email box as a counselling service...

Person 4 : Brought in photos to show her two passions/hobbies. Life painting and ballroom dancing. She talked for quite a while and everyone had questions for her. Her large oil paintings take upward of 6 months to complete. She once sketched a nude lady the size of a sumo wrestler.

Person 5 : I love this guy. He retired about a year ago and does lots of interesting things. He recently visited his daughter in South Africa. Whilst there he got hemorrhoids. He has spent the last two classes decribing his condition in English. Both interesting and amusing. He was operated on less than a week ago. Another member inquired about his pain. He replied, 'Not so much pain. Just a little when poo.' So funny. Thanks for the information. (This was the funny topic)...

Person 6 : This is the guy I admire. I am not sure of his age. Maybe he is about 70. He brought in an article about a recent marathon he participated in. He ran the full marathon. This alone impressed me as it was 10km. He then went on to tell us about his pregnant daughter - his first grandchild. He seemed so excited but then went on to tell us how she is due to give birth on the day he is entered in a special marathon. This is the part I really admire. The marathon goes from one of the main Japanese islands to another. The length? 100km. Seriously, 100km! He went on to explain that he has done the marathon before and completed it in 40 hours. There is no sleeping and almost no stopping. He mostly runs and occasionally walks. Toilet stops are anywhere along the way with only small breaks to eat. The completion cut off is 60 hours so he is doing pretty well. He also told us that the world record for that distance was 6 hours (I think). Just to recap... He is around 70 years old and will run a non-stop 100km marathon in May. AMAZING!