Exercise!

Exercising in Thailand can be a very affirming experience. In addition to attending our town aerobics class when possible, I ride my bicycle and go jogging a couple of times a week. As I plod down the road, passing picturesque wooden houses and rice fields, people call out to me "Exercise!" "Very good!" "Great!" Sometimes no words are needed, and I just hear a, "Ha, ha!" with a big smile.

I have never quite figured out why there is so much enthusiasm at the sight of a farang (foreigner) trotting down the sweat in a great sweat. The people in our village are not known for being exercise-lovers; most people express shock and dismay if Robert and I walk, say, around the corner to buy some dish detergent. Of course, an area where most people earn a living by doing backbreaking labor in hot fields every day is maybe not a place where people have traditionally been in need of additional exercise. But the arrival of the motorcycle to Thailand, and motorized machinery in general, has meant – as it has in many other areas of the world – that once naturally high levels of physical activity are decreasing. Add that to a growing consuption of potato chips and the popularity of television... you get the idea.

Anyway, I have come to enjoy running in Thailand, despite the heat, because in addition to the physical benefits I get, there’s just something about having 20-some people cheer you on that makes you want to keep going.