Job Discussion Forums

[khmerhit]

I taught some students today who informed me that my countrymen and women are noticeably fat. I know it's true, yours truly included. Just yesterday I happened to look at a passport picture of myself that was taken in Asia a few years ago. Wow-- a young Cary Grant. No longer, however.

At one time, I lived in a town where everyone was rather short. Almost everyone worked in the horse-racing industry, you see. They tend not to be overly tall.

Which is the country with the smallest and the tallest or the biggest and the thinnest people you've encountered?

For that matter, which is the largest and the smallest country you have worked in?

That's three -- count em -- three questions in all...

curiously
khmerhit

[fat_chris]

Size definitely matters.

I'm back in the US, my home country, after spending five years away (two in Austria and three in China) and I am simply appalled by the large (no pun intended) number of people who fail to take care of themselves and look utterly dumpy here.

I am a former Peace Corps volunteer and have bucked a common Peace Corps trend nicely; that is, volunteers lose a ton of weight while serving in their country and when they return to the US, they gain it all back and more.

I have lost 15 pounds in the past five months and intend to keep that weight off. I am terrified that I will be a fatty (not a phatty) so I work out five days a week, two hours a day.

Well, I also don't really drink much anymore. When I was in China, I was the king of the pijiu and baijiu. YECH!

Yes, size does matter. The Chinese frequently commented on my "big-boned" country(wo)men and I hate to say it, they were right and it got to be pretty damned embarrassing.

The US has the fattest (not phattest) people.

RANT OVER. (What was the question? )

P.S. I was a chubb-o when I began posting on Dave's but now my moniker isn't really relevant. I like the sound of fat_chris though.

[fat_chris]

Wow, khmerhit you got 888 posts! Very very auspicious! At least to our Chinese brethren.

[spiral78]

My friends have always said that we have an "abroad" weight and a "N.American weight" - and you can probably guess which one is more desirable!!

[Lanza-Armonia]

Funny that. Most people just call each other fat??? Maybe just me....

[leeroy]

(This is not a conscious decision of mine! Just how I feel...)

I am disgusted and appalled by overweight people. I really, really cannot tolerate them. OK, a bit of chubbiness is fine - but obesity. I just cannot stand it... But fat people shouldn't take offence, this is my problem not theirs.

[Mark-O]

I think the first thing that strikes me about obesity is my fascination with how these people can manage to consume enough food to get that big in the first place! I mean, eating fatty foods is one thing, but the sheer volume of food they eat also never ceases to amaze me.

Each to their own though, it's not for me but doesn't really aggrevate me much. The only time it does manage to get under my skin is when I see this increasing trend in the UK (contracted from the USA, I believe) of fat people masquerading as disabled people and carting themselves around in these battery powered buggies. The worst part about it is that these vehicles are largely 'donated' to these people by the local council! So that's where the bloated council taxes go!

The give-away that they are not disabled is when they park the thing in the Burger King doorway and leg it to the counter to buy a hamper of junk food.

[lucy k]

Well, the women in Turkey are quite small, in height and weight. And, as mentioned before on this thread, Americans have a tendency to be a bit larger. People here don't seem to hesitate to remind us of that, and that it's due to all the fast food we eat. I can't argue with that. In the States, I'm an average sized girl. I'm 5'7" and exactly what all the charts say is a normal weight. But here in Turkey, I feel huge!!!

[Mark-O]

Lucy,

The fact that Brits mention it is due to the constant exposure to the well-publicised fact that 1 in 3 Americans are clinically obese. You can guarantee that this statistic will surface whenever there is a report on UK obesity rise etc in the media. It's their way of reassuring us and saying "Ok we're putting on a few pounds ... but at least we're not as bad as the americans!".

[denise]

I just saw two extremes at an onsen (public bath) this afternoon: one a rail-thin woman--even for Japanese women, most of whom are rail-thin to begin with. This woman just looked unhealthy--bones sticking out everywhere. Seriously, it was worse than the footage that you see on TV of starving children around the globe. And there was also a woman who could rival the stereotypical "fat western woman."

In the Czech Republic I was surrounded by women who were six feet tall (five feet of legs) and about 100 lbs.

Happily, in both the CR and here, I can fit into the clothes (although the jeans were a bit too long for me in the CR--I'm nowhere near that tall).

And what about the men? Short here; average-ish in the CR.

d

[Otterman Ollie]

Well it looks like size does matter a lot ,to some. They are usually the walking skeltons who pretend to eat whats on their plate but just move it around and what they do eat it doesn't get a chance to pass through their system the way nature intended coz they stick their hand down their throat . Now who is the sick one here ??
Personally I have always carried more weight than was considered ""normal" and I have a great time keeping my hands off people with the favoured starved look who tell me I must lead an unhealthy lifestyle because of my perceived fatness,as they light up another cigarette . Next to them a refugee from a third world country would look obese but this is what society wants a world full of boring sad skinny twats . The fact is I don't know anyone who is the correct weight for their height and who is happy they are ALL miserable . Too busy worrying about that ounce they just put on sad very sad .

[nik_knack0828]

Well, I've only been to two countries, so I can't really answer your quetions very well, but I can tell you what my experiences have been since I've been in China.
Over the last year or two I have lost about 15 to 20 pounds. When I was younger I ate too much crap (loneliness) and didn't exercise because I felt uncomfortable with the size of my chest and the motions it went through when I exercised.
After graduation I worked full time and went to school. I lost that 15-20 pounds fairly rapidly without really doing anything.
My mother became worried I was on coke. Mentioned it about 500 times. I eventually came up with the theory I was too busy to eat and always on the go and that's why I lost the weight.
Either that or too much sex
When I left Canada I was anywhere between 125 to 130 lbs depending on the time of day and whatnot.
That's not too bad for my 5'5" height. About average, far from thin.

Since I have arrived in China I have been called thin by students and teachers about 50 times.
The first day I arrived, I was asked, "Are all the people from your country as thin as you?"
"Well, no not everyone, but I'm not perticularly thin."

I go shopping I have to buy large and extra larges (medium for pants) and still I get called thin all the time. Today Mary (my only good friend that I like and is not just using me for free English lessons) told me I'm getting thinner, and it's just not true.
I figured out that 125-130 lbs. = 56-59 kg.
I weighed myself recently (after a huge meal, mind you) and I'm up to 62! I figured this would happen, as I eat when I'm lonely and bored.

I don't really mind this increase, just gives me something to do in my spare time (workout), but I do find it strange that I live in China, the land of the little people, and get called thin all the time.

Everyone keeps saying they're going to turn vegetarian so they can all be thin like Nikki. And my students are always exercising and dieting. It's crazy.

I may understand why they intially thought I was thin. Their last foreign teacher was a bigger girl (fat in their words) from Africa.
"Jane was very fat." I've heard that tons since I've been here and I can't believe how rude it sounds. I don't want to know what they'll be saying about me after I leave.

[khmerhit]

Excellent responses in the Size thread----keep em coming!!

A few minutes ago a talent agent called me. They need a man who wears a size 42 jacket for a specific part in a Russell Crowe vehicle called Cinderella Man.

Yeah, I said, that sounds about right. Then I called her back after taking out the measuring tape and wrapping it around my chest: 47!!!--

Ah well, maybe she'll call me for the crowd scenes. she said she would.

thespianiacally yours
khmerhit


PS fat_chris exclaimed

[fat_chris]

Oi! I wear a 42 jacket. Tell that talent agent to give me a call and then aforementioned agent will realize that I should be playing the main parts, not Russell, in all of his future gigs.

[fat_chris]

I previously mentioned fat referring to sheer obesity, not having a few extra pounds, which is perfectly acceptable in my book.

But I also agree with the point Ollie made--the other extreme.

It's all about taking care of oneself and trying to be as healthy as possible while not worrying what the world thinks. There is such a thing as too fat as well as too thin, neither of which I find attractive.