One year old and with chubby legs...Another interesting conversation I had with my Taiwanese friend:
Him: When were you fat?
Me: Fat?
Him: Yes. Fat. At what age?
Me: ehum.. Fat is kind of… when you are very big. I have never been very big.
Him: Yes, but you must have been fat at some point. I have seen so many fat westerners in China.
Me: Eh… I guess I was a bit of a chubby child. Although all westerners are not fat!
Him: You are still bigger than me now.
Sometimes this open conversation about body weight gets too personal. Also, why is it that Chinese people seem to love to compare themselves to westerners –weight wise? We have different body types for crying out loud. Also, my Taiwanese friend is a male. I thought men comparing their bodies to women were a big no-no?
Sorry if I tend to come back to this topic over and over again. It’s not me bringing it up. I am just amazed that they still do! Again and agian and again...
Ja, för oss svenskar är ju sådana saker inte något man pratar och frågar om bara sådär. *hihi* Sedan är det klart att språkkunskaperna kan ju också göra sitt. Fet är ju inte direkt ett ord man gärna använder i dessa sammanhang. Tur att du verkligen inte är överviktig, för då hade det ju verkligen kunnat såra. Fast så tror jag nog inte de tänker trots allt. Själv fick jag ofta frågan under en längre visstelse i Indien. Typ 18 år gammal och lite smårund; det var inte kul! ;-) Fast i en modern värld, men den fetmafokus det är, så är det klart kineserna "skryter" lite när nu de naturligt har något som så många andra önskar sig... ;-) Men förstår att det kan vara lite "trigging" och småirriterande för dig ibland.
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting. Maybe some Chinese believe they are the tallest people in the world. Hey, look at the tallest player in NBA! He is no other than Chinese Yao Min. I have noticed that Chinese people tend to be obessed about their height. You should start a business in China selling vitamins and claim they would help kids grow taller. Just tell them you took these vitamins as a child and see how tall you have become. I would invest in your business. BTW, my wife and I are both Chinese by race. We are about average in height for Chinese (I guess taller than most Southerners in China). Our kids for some reason are taller than usual (must be milk and other calcium-fortified nutrients in the States). Some of our Chinese friends were obsessed with comparing their kids' height to ours whenever we got together (when our kids were young). I guess it's a cultural pastime for Chinese parents to compare their kids' height.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea: selling 'how I grew this tall' pills... I belive I would make a fortune!
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