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 Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 8:23 am
Hey, so I haven't posted anything here or in the FA/HAES thread in forever. Sorry about that.
See, I'm in Spain for the year, studying and stuff. It takes up a lot of time.
But I've been making a few observations about stuff here.
Almost everyone here is lean.
But they are also dominantly dark-eyed, dark-haired, olive-skinned.
Basically, they all look the same.
They all eat bunches of starch, fried foods, meat, olive oil, mayonnaise, etc. Not so much for fruit or salads, though.
And it's "not stylish" to exercise.
Putting these two things together, the only conclusion I can come to is that their lean ness must come from their genes. Really.
And, well, from smoking so gosh darn much. They have some of the most lax smoking laws ever.
But the nagging nanny from my host family was chastising me the other day, ordering me to go running because that's what all the other girls (former exchange students) did, and I'll get fat if I don't.
1) Already fat.
2) Don't care.
3) No one runs here. Except Americans. I don't want to stand out. I want to have a more real experience.
4) The cobblestone streets and sidewalks are way too treacherous for running.
5) Don't want to pay exorbitant amounts for a gym membership.
6) Don't have the right shoes for it.
7) I already walk two hours each day (going to school and back twice). Which is more than you do.
8) Speaking of your health, nanny, where do you get off nagging me when you smoke all the goddamn time, eh?
Sorry, that got a little heated. I don't think too highly of this nanny because she's not only terrible at her job (the taking care of children part), but she's pretty mean to me, too.
And then I was speaking of my love of peanut butter. The host mom agreed with me, saying she loved it, too. But she didn't eat it because it makes one fat. Uh, hello, you have scoops of mayonnaise on everything every single night. Is this not fattening? Not to mention all the fried things. They have their own at home deep fryer.
It's just weird the kind of backward thinking they have here.
Anyway.
Experiences with size, health, weight, food, activity, "exercise" in other countries/cultures?
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 3:03 pm
A small addition: one of the many classes I'm taking is "Spanish for the Health Professional."
This week we have to create a bulletin about a health issue.
The majority of the examples the professor provided from past semesters were about obesity.
So I'm currently working on a FA/HAES pamphlet to turn in tomorrow. (:
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:03 pm
Nayva A small addition: one of the many classes I'm taking is "Spanish for the Health Professional."
This week we have to create a bulletin about a health issue.
The majority of the examples the professor provided from past semesters were about obesity.
So I'm currently working on a FA/HAES pamphlet to turn in tomorrow. (:That is awesome. You may also want to address the Maudsley approach to anorexia as well, if you can.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:42 pm
First of all, other than a couple of douchey people with their comments, Spain! That must be awesome! Unless you're in the part where you spend all day dodging pasty English tourists. Still, I hope you're having a great time and that it's a fantastic experience.
Also, your pamphlet sounds ace. I hope it goes over really well and you open a few eyes.
But that whole "fat American" stereotype is ******** obnoxious. First of all, it isn't true. Second of all, gauging someone's character by their pants size and not their actions is, obviously, abhorrent. And while plenty of Americans abroad don't exactly do their country proud by their actions, it has nothing to do with their girth - but, of course, all we do all day is eat hamburgers, right?
I'm trying to remember getting called fat in Indonesia, but I think I might have dodged a bullet there due to people's politeness. Sometimes it felt like they were holding it back, though.
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Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:23 pm
Thankfully, my city is less touristy than most. I swear, during my two days in Madrid, I heard more English than Spanish. So many Americans! (Far more Americans than Brits, actually, which struck me as odd.)
The grades for projects are divided into little subcategories. For the "idea" subcategory for my pamphlet, I got a 98%! :D It couldn't exceed 300 words, though, and I was already pushing it at two eighty something... I made sure to include that happymaking quote from the US's new Surgeon General, though.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:47 pm
Interesting. I was thinking about going to Spain for my studying abroad country. I think I'll go to Peru though, because most of my Spanish training originates from there~
On topic: Boo them.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:26 pm
Uf, yeah. The Spanish here is definitely a challenge (since I'm in the south, where the accent is strongest), but they say once you can understand Andalusians, you can understand any Spanish.
On the whole, I've had a really great experience. Just a few moments that make me go "wuuuut?" But I'm pretty sure that's going to happen no matter where you go.
But right about this time of year, I'm eyeing up my friends' facebook pages, with all their pictures from studying abroad in Costa Rica... They're still in shorts on beaches. Hmmm. Maybe I made the wrong decision here... :P
But Peru would definitely give you a different perspective *especially historically* and would be a loooooooooooot cheaper, hahaha.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:55 pm
Having seen the delicious things my girlfriend overseas eats, it has to be genetic
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