Perfectly fine! (No, this is not Rocky...)Yesterday at the gym I bumped into my favourite Hunan boy and personal trainer friend; Rocky (or Rock, as that’s his original name). Rocky always smiles, but today he had a concerned expression on his face. And, he had come earlier to the gym so that he could work out before his shift.
-What’s wrong with you today? I asked.
-(Deep sigh). Well, I am too thin.
-Too thin? I don’t think you are that thin? (to be honest, he looks perfectly fine. He is definitely not too skinny, and not too bulky… he looks healthy!)
-Yeah, I have to do something about it?
-I think you look fine!
-No, you are just saying that!
-Eh… no I am not!
-Well… other people ask me: ‘how can you be a trainer. You are so skinny!’
-Really?
-Yeah! And I don’t know what to reply! So I have to get bigger!
-Well, you can tell them that u are working so much you have barely time to work out. Besides… Rocky, you are not skinny!
-Yes I am… and now I have to go and do weights so that I get bigger. Bye You La.
Wow! Did this conversation just take place!?! It is so familiar somehow… but normally it’s the other way around…. Normally it is a girl…complaining about her being… fat? And the guy… is telling her that she’s not….Right?! (Hm…. I’ve taken the role here as the consoling man?! Cool!!)
Chinese people must be some of the most body concerned people I have ever met! Every single girl here that I know wants to be skinnier (do I need to mention that my Chi girlfriends are already perfectly petite?). Meanwhile, the boys want to bulk up and are scared of being too thin? And they talk about weight… all the time.
Maybe they should swap lives for one week or so: all the guys could go to Starbucks and sip on creamy green tea (read: green sugar syrup) frappucinos with real cream on the top, and eat big pieces of cheesecake and gossip about the hot girls behind the counter, the best shops, and the coolest shoes. And all the girls could go to the gym. Without their make up, skirts, heels and hair embellishments. They could get on the treadmill and run, break some sweat, and not watch the TV.
(Although to be honest… I don’t think many Chinese people have weight problems. Not compared to Europeans anyways. Their children are getting chubbier, that’s for sure, but the women/men of my age are normally perfectly fine).
-What’s wrong with you today? I asked.
-(Deep sigh). Well, I am too thin.
-Too thin? I don’t think you are that thin? (to be honest, he looks perfectly fine. He is definitely not too skinny, and not too bulky… he looks healthy!)
-Yeah, I have to do something about it?
-I think you look fine!
-No, you are just saying that!
-Eh… no I am not!
-Well… other people ask me: ‘how can you be a trainer. You are so skinny!’
-Really?
-Yeah! And I don’t know what to reply! So I have to get bigger!
-Well, you can tell them that u are working so much you have barely time to work out. Besides… Rocky, you are not skinny!
-Yes I am… and now I have to go and do weights so that I get bigger. Bye You La.
Wow! Did this conversation just take place!?! It is so familiar somehow… but normally it’s the other way around…. Normally it is a girl…complaining about her being… fat? And the guy… is telling her that she’s not….Right?! (Hm…. I’ve taken the role here as the consoling man?! Cool!!)
Chinese people must be some of the most body concerned people I have ever met! Every single girl here that I know wants to be skinnier (do I need to mention that my Chi girlfriends are already perfectly petite?). Meanwhile, the boys want to bulk up and are scared of being too thin? And they talk about weight… all the time.
Maybe they should swap lives for one week or so: all the guys could go to Starbucks and sip on creamy green tea (read: green sugar syrup) frappucinos with real cream on the top, and eat big pieces of cheesecake and gossip about the hot girls behind the counter, the best shops, and the coolest shoes. And all the girls could go to the gym. Without their make up, skirts, heels and hair embellishments. They could get on the treadmill and run, break some sweat, and not watch the TV.
(Although to be honest… I don’t think many Chinese people have weight problems. Not compared to Europeans anyways. Their children are getting chubbier, that’s for sure, but the women/men of my age are normally perfectly fine).
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