How many steps a day do you take?

I recall, at more than one stateside school, the pedometer phase. This was part of a McDonald's campaign one year. If I remember correctly, it was shortly after "Super Size Me" made national the possible results of a diet consisting solely off the menu at this famous fast food chain. It was a challenge in those days to log in at least 5,000 steps a day. I remember days when I would feel so healthy after reading 10,000 on my pedometer before turning in for the night--of course those were the 3Day training days too. It is impossible to ignore the effect that a person's environment has on the routine physical activity one endures. I think during an average day at Escola Americana, I could possibly reach the max on a pedometer--assuming it has one. In addition, half of the "steps" would literally be STEPS, as in stairs.

For example, as you can see in this aerial shot of the stairs we take up from the bus ramp every morning on the way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Where we come from at the bottom of this set of stairs is the soccer field and past the soccer field is the bus/car loading and unloading area. Down further from the bus/car loading and unloading area is the teacher's parking lot, which you get to and from by traversing a series of additional stairways that run through the forest. A 15 minute workout on the way to start your day!

After breakfast, it doesn't take long to burn the calories consumed, as what you see when you exit the cafeteria following both breakfast and lunch is here in this picture. As you can see, the first sets of steps is not intimidating as they are only 6 or 7 steps in their entirety. However, making it past these does not ensure an easy climb the rest of the way to your designated division within the school. As you can see in the following

Here is the next set of stairs, and you are still only about halfway to your destination.

At last you turn your corner, and behold...another flight of stairs! I personally have 5 more sets identical to this in order to reach the floor where my classroom is. Many mornings I stop after the first 2, go over to the MS office, check my box and then venture to the remaining flights toward my destination.
Earlier this week, I was reminded of one of my initial fears upon arriving in Rio--STAIRS! Irrational? Not really. Every day, in the back of my head, I worry that Sierra will fall down a flight of stairs, ending with a broken limb. To ward off such events, I recite the Guardian Angel prayer each day as I kiss her farewell and we proceed in opposite directions for the day. This week, my fears came true (kind of). Sierra came to my classroom after school on Monday to report she had "fallen up the stairs" earlier in the day, leaving a medium scratch and a healthy egg on the elbow. I hadn't even realized the threat of falling UP the stairs. Luckily, my worst fears did not come true in that there are no broken bones and today, 3 days later, she is barely complaining about the soreness of her elbow.

So, given the fact that most mornings by the time I'm eating breakfast, I've probably logged 3,000 steps and by lunch time, another 3,000, I think the fact that my lifestyle is currently void of a formal exercise routine is okay. Afterall, this is a chronicle of the walking done solely at school and doesn't include the 2 blocks to catch the bus in the morning or the countless blocks wandering neighborhoods we often do in the evenings and on the weekends. And the view from the top of all those stairs at Escola Americana is quite possibly the best view from any campus in all the world!