Monday, 2 September 2013

The Gordita Intercambista Syndrome

Even before I got here, people were warning me that I was going to gain weight on exchange. Then I got here and people started telling me that I better get used to the idea of inevitably becoming a butterball. My brother Hector informed me that basically every female exchange student that comes to Mexico gains a huge amount of weight (becomes gordita/ gorda which is Spanish slang for chubby or fat). After all of the food I've eaten I can't really blame them, everything is absolutely delicious and not necessarily focused on skimping calories. As an active person who enjoys eating (a lot), but also doesn't feel much inclined to buying an entire plus size wardrobe for the year, I was freaking out a little bit.At my first Rotary meeting my dad announced that I was going to try and stay active and fit the entire year, and the other members of the club started laughing and wished me luck. I guess last year during her country presentation, this Taiwanese girl presented a shirt she brought from home that she now could not even fit into due to how much weight she had gained throughout the year. (For those non-exchange students, every single student at some point during their year abroad gives a presentation to their host club that explains basic facts about their home country and their average life there.) Ack. A tad worrisome. But hey, challenge accepted! I would say so far I've actually been doing pretty well. I've lucked out with having a pretty healthy family. We eat a lot of vegetables, even if they are coated with hot sauce and lime juice (mandatory presence at every meal). Also, I live in a private compound, so I've been running around in a circuit which is almost 500 metres, at around 9:00 at night. I love the fact that it's private so it's safe to run at night, it's hard to get motivated during the day when there is still a blazing sun outside! At night it's finally a tolerable heat and so with physical activity my face only turns a pleasant light red shade, instead of a glaring crimson. (The first time I went running and returned with a face the colour of a tomato, my family was worried I was about to die. I explained it's just a problem some of us pasty white people have).  And the best part, the third floor of the house is an  EXERCISE ROOM. It's fully equipped. And awesome. Not to mention there's a sauna in an adjoining room! These past few weeks when I've been bored or frustrated, it's been wonderful to get up there and do something constructive. I am also very glad that in the past year I've become accustomed to dripping sweat after only minutes of exercise- even if in Canada it took a special heated room in a hot yoga studio, and here you just step outside! We'll have to see if I can keep up this exercise regime, but challenge accepted! Here commences the battle of:

Delicious, decadent Mexican food

VS

Some hardcore excercising (or so I hope)

Anyways, fingers crossed for returning to Canada on two legs, and not rolling through the gate in a jolly ball of taco-induced obesity!
Cheers
Wendy

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