Gym chats

The Cajabamba "gym" has just been a constant source of amusement this week! As I mentioned in my last post, there are rarely other people working out - exercise is just not a common habit in rural Peru. But this morning there were two ladies already at the gym when I arrived - instant friends. The gym is perceived as a social activity here; none of this zone-out-to-your-own-headphones business like in the States. So we greeted each other with smiles and "good mornings," and I went about stretching and turning on the treadmill.

Lady #1 walks over, amiably looks me up and down, and asks, "So why do you come to the gym?," her skeptical eyes clearly betraying the unsaid second half of her question: "because a tall skinny gringuita like you can't be here to lose weight!" (Two notes here: 1) I personally lay no claims to skinniness, but the Peruvian señoras all tend to think of me as such - it's all relative; and 2) Pretty much the only reason Peruvian women come to the gym is in the hopes of losing weight - exercising just as a normal habit doesn't exist.) I reply that I come to stay in shape and to be healthy, and my new friend agrees that those are good reasons. 

I proceed to start the treadmill, while my two new friends chat openly about their current weights and how many kilos they'd like to lose - the subject is not at all taboo in Peru. I start jogging, and Lady #1 exclaims, "you run like that?!" (but in a friendly way - the whole following conversation is held in the kindest and sincerest of spirits).

Me: "ummm… yes?" (clueless as to which aspect of my running she's referring to)

Lady #2: "Yes Irma, she runs a lot, I've seen her when she goes running out in the fields."

Lady #1: "Ohhh, would you look at that!" Silence while both ladies unabashedly watch me running for a few seconds, with me awkwardly looking back at them and trying to appear friendly. Then: "What pace do you start at? Five kilometers per hour?" Her guess is the equivalent of 3.1 mph, a pace I could calmly walk at.

Me: "No, I start at 9kph, to warm up, then go a little higher."

Ladies: "Wow, que rápido!" Lady #2 reminds her friend that I am indeed a real runner; she's seen me.

Lady #1: "And look, she doesn't even hold on! Her arms move like that; that's how you have to do it if you really want to run." 

At this point I do very strange face contortions to avoid laughing or goofily grinning. I confirm that yes, moving one's arms does indeed enable faster running. The ladies decide that next time, they're going to try running like that. As they gather their things to leave, I notice that Lady #1 is wearing a fashionable sort of "sneaker" that in fact has a high heel built into it. I debate warning her that she should absolutely not do anything but walk in those shoes, but decide it'd be better for our budding friendship if I just let her figure that out on her own.