You want me to do what?

OK, so exercise is not my strong point.  I have many excuses for not getting up off my butt more than I do--a few (ok, one) is even legit.  But I can't ever see myself lifting weights. For some reason, it seems to me that laundry baskets and vacuum cleaners are heavy enough and I carry dishes and clothes a fair distance and in my world that constitutes lifting weight; ergo, exercise.

The other day I read about a gym in England that was trying to make weightlifting more 'interesting' and 'personal'.  So, I looked at the picture of the 'weights'.....

and all I could think of was one of their faces in mine, screaming like a drill sergeant about how I should be doing more lifting, doing it faster, doing it better.... 

On the other hand, I have to give the 'weights' credit for supplying the demand this gym has created.

And, just in case you think I made this up, here is the actual article.

A British gym is trying to add human interest to otherwise dreary workouts by replacing traditional dumbbell weights with human ones.

The Gymbox chain gym in central London says fitness enthusiasts can now swap their usual lumps of metal for human beings in a range of shapes and sizes.

According to the gym's owner Richard Hilton, it's all about visualising strength.

"Creating a mental image or intention of what you want to happen or feel is proven to improve physical and psychological performance," he said in a statement. "The human weight lifting apparatus. . . is the ultimate embodiment of visualisation theory."

The human weights range from the "Dainty Dwarf" 32-year-old Arti Shah, who weighs just 30kg, up to the "Super Human" weight of 37-year-old – and 155kg – Matt Barnard.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090122/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_gym_humans

I need to lie down.....

Changes

You'd be surprised how much one takes for granted living in a huge, industrious, competitive place like the US.  There are many things that make me stop in my tracks for a moment and realize that I'm not in Kansas any more.

• Wiper blades for the car have to be cut to size when you get them home
• You learn to buy on the spot because it might not be available again--ever
• Ground coffee is not a viable option for homes
• Those 'imported' items--like cameras and cars--that are sooo expensive are the norm here
• There are very strict laws on bringing anything organic into the country
• Windows have net curtains in about 3 different designs in the whole country
• Political correctness is very optional here
• Light switches are opposite of US--down is on and up is off.
• There are few stray animals roaming the streets
• Ice in cold drinks is non-existent in restaurants
• No one has ever heard of 'iced tea' here
• No one has ever heard of 'long island iced tea' here
• Microwave mac and cheese is just catching on--the step kids had never eaten mac and cheese  before I made some from scratch 
• All cars have to be inspected yearly or semi-yearly, depending on how old it is
• Insulation in new houses is only required the last 30 years or so
• You can tell the dairy farmers had a great year because there are more John Deere's around
• There is very little trash on any highway or town street
• Houses have doors in just about every doorway
• Sun hats are required for kids to play outside at school
• There are very few brand names I recognize: palmolive, John Deere, uncle bens, raid, nescafe, best foods (owner of hellman's mayo), kellogg's, nestles, act II popcorn
• Nothing costs a dollar, hence 'the 2 dollar shop'
• The BBC shows lots of stuff on tv, on local and cable channels
• Most schools require uniforms

Of course, this list is far from exhaustive, but you get the idea.

Home life and family are not different at all.  Kids still need love and attention, hubby still goes to work, we rent a movie now and again, I enjoy cooking meals that we eat while we discuss important issues at the table, schedules get a bit hectic with after-school activities.

Now, where did Toto get to?

School ain't what it used to be!

We went shopping for school supplies last week, spending over $120 for two kids to get back to school.  This does not include any text books at all--just stationery for each class.  For my yankee friends and those who haven't been in school for a while, this is what our money converted to:

It sure is different than when I was in school.  Back then, we got a 2- or 3-ring binder, a few packs of loose-leaf paper and a few pencils and we were all set for all our classes!

Nowdays, each class has it's own requirements.  Most of the books are soft covered, but Otterboy needed 2 that are hard covered, too.

On top of that, his list suggested also that they be covered.  So we got rolls of what amounts to contact paper--which is very frustrating to use, but thankfully, he isn't all that fussed about perfection!  

That, too, is different from "covering" books back in the stone age. We covered the text books to keep them in good re-selling order. And it was all done with a few paper bags from the store.  Anybody remember that?!

My how things have changed.

It's not just me!

I know it sounds harsh using the word "rude" to describe the acts of others--especially a whole "country" [that's as big as Nebraska]--especially a country that has allowed me to move here, but no country is perfect [as I hear every day from some kiwi how bad America is, blah, blah, blah] I really don't know any other word to use. But, let me tell you what happened yesterday...

We were shopping in New Plymouth and there was a very sweet South African cashier who checked us out.  She immediately noted the accents hubby and I have and she and I got into a quick conversation about kiwis and their attitudes. We agreed that kiwis in general aren't as polite as the folks we were used to in our home countries. 

As we spoke, I noticed that there were many other customers (presumably kiwis) looking and listening, which is a bit rude in itself, but maybe they can realize that having a good time talking to strangers who are waiting on you is fun!

It's not an easy thing to teach two teenagers that some of the culture they have inherited is not acceptable behavior.  We don't bump heads over too many things, but they just don't seem to be able to understand that one must look around before you take off across an aisle at the grocery store or that allowing other people to walk past you is preferable to just scooting into someone's path.

So now I know it's not just me and American values that are different.