Fat, not Fit

I should have known better than to have a fitness assessment at the gym.

Honestly, what was I thinking?

I know what I was thinking; I feel like I am in decent shape.  Sure, I've eaten more pizza in Bangkok than I care to admit, and I'm more dedicated to burgers and ice cream than I was in the past.  There's no Aaron here to make sure that I'm eating home cooked meals that he so lovingly prepares.  Plus, I work in a school of stairs and feel like I'm consistently walking around to get to this place or that.  So, I thought to myself, what is there to lose?

Hm.

I scheduled this for a Friday night.  I met up with this girl trainer, very sweet, with very little English, with her hot pink shoes.

She tells me to get on the scale, and I do.  I'm heavier than I thought, which doesn't shock me that much.  She then asks me my height, in centimeters.

Yeah, I'm American.  We don't do the metric system.  I know about my centimeters, but I'm almost certain I have no idea how many centimeters tall I am.  I say, I have no clue.  And the frenzy begins.  She went seeking information, there was a calculator involved, things going on, chaos reigning.  We finally figured it out, though somehow gained a stray male in the process.  She inputted the height and got some printout about how much of my body was fat and bone and water and clipped it to the paper.

This is what I consider the main drawback of the gym that I attend: men.  This slovenly looking dude with glasses falling off his face was chatting in Thai to the woman attending to my fitness test and looking at my paper.  My anti-cheating reflexes, honed after years in education, rushed to intervene and I told him to back off.  He spoke English, and mumbled some apology, but it took two or three more snarky comments before he actually left the area that we were in.

Dudes.  I was annoyed.

Then I had to run 2.4 km, and I was more annoyed.
Then there were push ups and sit ups.
Then I had to test how strong my hand was with this little tool.

Then I was told I'm fat.

Now, before the affront sets in, allow me to say that I'm not offended.  I was called fat even at my skinniest in Cambodia, because it's just the word that means big, or bigger than what you were, or bigger than whoever the speaker is.  News flash: most people in Asia are quite slender.  After so many years not hearing that, it was a bit of a shock to my system.  But, honestly, I know where I am as a person and as a fit human.  In fact, according to the lady, I have to lost about 10kg to be within the really healthy range, and that is about what I guessed as well.  She also told me to work out 2 hours a day, 4 days a week, which I think is a bit excessive, but the rest of her advice was sound.

I came to the conclusion, though, that I really don't enjoy males in my gym space.  I don't like lifting weights with a bunch of dudes lolling around.  I don't like classes where I'm one woman in a sea of testosterone.  I like supportive females around me.  I really enjoyed the fitness classes I was in in Pittsburgh for that.  Kickboxing only had a man here or there, Boot camp too.

Either way, I feel like I proved myself to the lady when we went around to try machines.  I know, and now she knows, that my arm strength is minimal.  Push ups aren't my thing.  But, when you see me on the leg press, you find out that my legs are very strong.  So, she did tell me after that observation that I was "Fat but strong."  It's not that far off the mark.  I have work that I could be doing, and will be doing, as long as I can keep dancing it off with Tor+ (This is his name in the schedule because of a Thai tonal issue) or getting ab killed by Kwang.

Basically, I like the crazy classes that I go to, but they don't compare to the awesome ILKB studio.  I was in Body Combat on Friday.... with the man that wanted us to yell whenever we hit the air.  It was hilarious.  So, for now, my goal is to trim up and try to work on my tummy.  I think I can do some good things with the support of the gym, and hopefully someday I'll be considered fit instead of fat to the machines that teach my classes.

10 things I messed up this week.

Adaptation takes a few days.

And I've just been thinking on my long taxi ride home that I've made more than a few mistakes these past few days.  I wanted to share these things because, well, they are both entertaining and identify a few parts of Thai culture. 

1.  At the grocery store, I failed to weigh my fruit and get a price for the second time.  While in the produce department, you weigh in and get a price not unlike going to the butcher.  Me forgetting (again) to do this means that I wait in the checkout line for a little extra time while the very nice cashier goes and does it for me.... I also get judged a bit by the other customers and the manager.

2.  I neglected to have the proper money in my wallet while taking a taxi.  For some reason, the taxi dudes don't keep much change with them.  I tried to pay for my 120b ride (4ish bucks) with a 1000b note (about 30 bucks) and change wasn't possible.  Luckily, I've been saving coin, and had enough to pay him in basically quarters.

3.  I left this afternoon to go have coffee with my friend from Cambodia and ended up leaving my laundry out in the rain.  This just means that I wait one extra day for my clothing.... and maybe it smells a bit soggy... but otherwise, I just have to remember that this is rainy season.  And in the spring, in the heat, I have to bring them in before they get baked too long.

4.  I apparently broke the ATM with my simple requests.  It stole my card too, which is annoying and gives me an extra chore.  Annoying, but not a huge issue.

5.  I've been unable to locate during working hours both the post office and a photo printing shop.  Also postcards.  I really want to send some postcards to people, but I'm not in touristy places.

6.  I bought too many hangers at the store because I misunderstood the promotion.  Because I don't read Thai and wasn't paying very close attention to the sale.

7.  I'm still awake at 11 the night before my first day of school because I went to the movies in the city.  On the plus side, I got another giant Paragon cup to keep with my and fill with ice water.

8.  I can barely find my own house in the dark.  The poor taxi guy... he got warnings too late about the turns and had to back up at least twice.

9.  I started a new TV show instead of doing some of the work that I had to do.  On the plus side, Orange is the New Black is a pretty sweet show.  

10.  I really wanted to have all my clothes laid out for the first day of school, but I made an executive decision to do that in the morning.

Now for some positives.

1.  Rizza is sleeping next to my computer like she used to, which means she is starting to feel comfy in the new house.

2.  I had a great time catching up with my friend and going to the cinema with her.  Additionally, I made it to and from town on my own, which was quite easy and involved some walking and a cheap taxi.

3.  I did two loads of laundry before leaving it out in the rain... and did the dishes tonight.  I cooked a meal for myself earlier today, which was one of my goals for the week (as Aaron can attest).  I'm all domestic and shit.

4.  There's a tokay near my house somewhere that I hear in the dark.  It reminds me of the home I made in Cambodia and gives me all kinds of comfort.

5.  There aren't any dogs near my house.  This corner is run by felines... and I may just be able to let Rizza out a little to explore.

Enjoy your week, my friends.

A Market Kind of Day

This little guy should always be treated with respect.  

After I signed my lease with Khun Gai, he was kind enough to drop me off at the Weekend Market, which was touted to be quite the happening spot for the local villages.  I wanted to get an idea of what local produce and items would be available right down the street instead of trying to rely on the big grocery stores and shopping malls that have become so ubiquitous in BKK.  I'd enjoy browsing through the local market on the weekend and planning my meals based on what I've found.  It has the farmer's market sort of feel to it, which is something I've always admired.  I want to cook, and be able to be creative in the kitchen with more than just flour.

So, to the market I went.  Much of it was clothing, some odd housewares, several prepared food stalls, the usual fare for a small local market.  It was chaotic, and people were moving in every which way.  It immediately reminded me of the markets in Cambodia.  Either way, I was browsing slowly, looking at different stalls, finding my bearings.  I noticed a small shop that seemed to have an odd mash of used dishware.  I saw a Starbucks cup shop.  But what caught my eye was a small shop of Buddhist imagery and icons.

I'm not sure why I felt so compelled to stop; Buddhism was not a huge part of my journey through Cambodia.  I participated in the holidays but felt most in tune with the solitude of the temple as opposed to the statues within in it.  However, I stopped and looked at the fares this man had and was incredibly glad I paused to say hello.

I said the traditional greeting, "Sawadee Ka," with the broad smile I imagine it needs said with.  I was also surprised with the response; the seller spoke quite wonderful English.  I didn't expect that in a small stall that would likely be patronized by Thai people.  I told him I was looking for a token for my friend, which was exactly what had popped into my mind when I saw the stall.

My friend, Lee, is a good friend from Pittsburgh and actually lives with Aaron.  Lee is, in fact, the person I thank when I think about meeting Aaron.  He introduced us and suffered through a few months of both of us asking (him) for dating advice.  I adore Lee; he is a great human.  He also has some of the worst luck I have ever seen in another person.  I attribute some small percentage of this luck to male decision making, but it is also this luck thing.  So, I told him before I left that I would try to find him a charm that could bring some sort of fortune to his life and his car.

So, I acquired for him a small statue of a monk that went on a journey and had some bad luck that he turned around.  The seller was able to give me a brief background, write for me a prayer, and say it a few times so I could write the English phonetics that accompanied it.  And all of that was for such a low priced statue.  I ended up buying a second icon for my own home after he gave me a few suggestions about where to keep the stone and how to treat it.  He was patient with me, answering questions and teaching me about his culture and these things that were important to him.

It will be Halloween every day.

I believe I made the right choice by deciding to live in this village.

Another thing I found as I walked near the market was a pet store that sold cheap pet clothing.  Which Rizza will absolutely hate very, very quickly.  I'll be sure to update you on this.

I went into the main town center after I left Sammakorn, the name of this village.  I walked around some of the main city centers and found myself even more happy that I chose to live where I did.  The hussle was a hassle and I'm glad I'm far away from it... near a calm lake and a quiet street and a pleasant market.

Kop. Yes, Kop.

I officially have an address.

Granted, I have an address before I have a house, but at least progress is being made.

I signed the lease with the man who showed me the house; his name is Gai and he is a phenomenally nice human.  He's an older gentleman who works with the man who owns and rents many of the houses in the village in which I will live.  For signing, I turned up at a small grocery store and we had some coffee while we discussed the details of the paper that he set in front of me.  I scribbled my name on a few papers and watched him fill out the details, and then we went off towards a copy place.  We also stopped briefly at the owner's home and I was struck at his sincerity and genuine kindness.

This leads me to the main observation I had of Mr. Gai.  In fact, I'll call him Khun Gai, since that is a typical title of respect for both genders.  He called me this whenever he wanted to talk to me, and called any other person this when speaking of them as well.

Mr. Gai is one of the most polite people I've ever had the fortune to meet.  It is in every fiber of his demeanor and his speech, and something that I respect more than many other character traits.  It shows in his use of the word "kop," which is the male version of yes and something that can easily end every sentence more effectively than punctuation.  I suppose it is also something of a space filler in speech as well, but it is such a polite and respectful part of speech.  For women, it is "ka."  For example, when I say thank you, I say 'ka pun ka.'  Good morning is 'sawadee ka.'

For Gai, the kop infiltrates every other word of his sentences, and I find it extremely charming.  He says to me, "Yes, kop, this is the right way, kop."  "Well, kop, I think that you, kop, can do that of course, kop."  These are example sentences, but hopefully I am conveying the kop consistency in Khun Gai's speech.  I think there is a difference in his generation and the younger one, though I will need to observe many more things before I see this with clarity.  My small sample size only includes Khun Gai and another man called Somchai that showed me through a few other houses in the city.  The younger counterpart didn't use the kop with consistency, though he was very sweet and quite nice and knowledgeable about the areas.

It is one of those language quirks that I will continue to watch and learn from.  For now, though, I'll end by saying how pleasant it was to interact with Khun Gai and watch the time fall away as we dealt with the business of becoming a renter in Bangkok.

It's still hard for me to believe that I live in Bangkok, but that's more for another post.