A tale about a western girl and a gym in China!

My gym….mmm…so much to be said!

Knowing how much I loved the gym (and how desperately I needed to get back) my boss signed me up at the newest, latest and greatest gym in Cangzhou…a comfortable 15 minute bike ride down the road!

It's decent…comparable to any of the good ones back home for sure. All new equipment and most of what I would have used back home so it keeps me happy! But they gym is a daily experience in itself.

On arrival I am greeted with the usual over enthusiastic attempts at 'hello'. I oblige and quickly scoot on before I get stuck in yet another conversation I can't understand! Heading in, I am greeted with multiple pairs of eyes very surprised to see me there and I watch as their eyes widen as I head to the WEIGHTS section. What? Chinese Rule #1 - girls don't lift weights!

I get stuck straight in as I have had my warm up with my 15 min bike ride! I set up my iPod to override the ghastly chinese pop music, set up my towel to avoid catching some disease from the sweat the men leave behind - there isn't a 'no towel, no workout' policy like home - eww, I stretch my muscles and start pumping some iron!

The gym used to be my domain, my safe place. I felt alive in the gym just pumping iron with the rest of my gym family in bris! This is a whole different story. Every now and then I will look up from a set to find not one but about four of the gym staff sitting on the bench beside me just staring at me push out another chest press. Or if not the staff, a random stranger and his mate. This happens for the first 10 mins or so! Then it will appear they have left me alone but alas, I look up again from another set and there they are!

It doesn't help that the weights area has a glass wall the is adjacent to the inside of a mall…so all passer byers who are catching the escalators can see inside. So every now and then I will look up and find a group of seven teenage boys staring in wonder, giggling and waving! Man, I sometimes feel like a genuine freakshow. I really need to start selling tickets.

Chinese Rule #2 - girls don't sweat. Working out for me has never been a glamorous or classy affair! I sweat, and sweat a lot! Between the lycra, pumping iron and cardio I have a nice amount of sweat build up and it's not pretty! So the strange looks also re-appear as I am constantly towling myself down and puffing and panting.

Chinese Rule #3  - wear more clothes - the less skin the better. As far as the girls go, gym attire is conservative….lots of clothes and long pants! Even in this scorching summer. Well as I have already stated the sweating dilemma, my motto has always been the less clothes the better - this also brings about the stares!

Although the boys are more than happy to strip of their t-shirts and singlets and work out half naked! Ewww! Sweating straight onto the bench! Disgusting!

Chinese Rule #4 - Heavy weight is unnecessary! This one is for the boys. As stated, girls don't lift weights! They are happy to bicep curl their 5kg dumbbells! Really? Ridiculous! There has been one time where I have seen two guys lifting serious weights. The rest is token lifting and I usually exceed them. Even now, not being in any weight lifting shape compared to what I was!

Chinese Rule #5 - the gym is primarily for hanging out - working out optional. Yep, the gym is more for a social hang out than actually exercising. People just standing around and maybe just maybe throwing in an occasional set! There is a pool room (with bar), ping pong room, basketball room etc so it's more like a pub than a gym!

Not to mention the girlfriends that accompany their men just to stand beside them and hold their belongings! I want to shake them! And shake them hard! Haha!

So the gym experience is something very different to what I am used to! That comfortable 1.5 hours a day I used to love and cherish has become the most self-conscious experience of my life! All good! The upside is I stepped on the scales this morning and it has been paying off!

Oh, to add to my experience - every time I rock up to the bicycle parking lot and pay my 7cents parking fee the old Chinese ladies 'tsk' 'tsk' me about my freckles! Well ladies, welcome to western skin! Haha! I can't very well explain to them that I am a natural red-head and that's my natural skin! No! so I get disapproving looks that my skin is being marked by the sun! haha!

I am also not wearing the appropriate attire: hat, sunglasses, long sleeve shirt on backwards to make sure all exposure to the sun is completely avoided. God forbid I get a tan! They would be mortified to learn I lay out on my balcony sunbaking each day with the exact intention of exposing my body to the sun! haha!

I learnt yesterday that the love of white skin is because it looks cleaner! Mmm…I just use soap! Haha!

Oh China, you never cease to amaze me, bring a smile to my face and a roll to my eye!

Hangzhou....China's heaven on earth

 

This weekend I got to take another little holiday off too Hangzhou to meet Martha, my friend from Prague. The train ride down wasn't so bad…although I promised I would never to a seat train again I decided to bite the bullet and took the fast train down with a fairly comfy seat. Comparable to planes - actually a tad better!

It was easy peasy! I took the 1.5 hour train to Beijing, ate some AMAZING McDonalds (not sure why the heck it tasted so amazing) and jumped aboard my 11 hr train to Hangzhou! Pretty sweet…I got seated next to a guy who could speak a little English and was more than stoked to have me next to him. I tried to study a little bit but slumber found me on route to Hangzhou and I pretty much slept until I arrived the next morning!! Alright!

I managed to make the giant taxi trek to Martha's alright. Very impressed with her chinese directions. It was a typical reunion…running at the sight of each other! Haha! Makes me laugh to think about it! The whole time we were hanging out we were just thinking how surreal it is that she is from the states, me from Aus, we met in Prague and now teaching and living in China! It really is amazing how you meet and make friends along the way! I definitely count myself lucky to have her as a friend here! We had such a great two days!

Our two days literally consisted of breakfast (western style), walking around the lake, a boat ride on the lake, real coffee, a foot massage, drinking and hanging with her expat friends on rooftop terraces and clubs that played western music, another massage, more food and drinks, a head and shoulder massage,  more walking, tea @ a tea house on the lake and a sad goodbye! Man, it was the best two days and I definitely was grateful for the western injection, the night of chatting with the Brits and COFFEE!!....oh and FACEBOOK! I'm back baby!! Back!

Hangzhou is absolutely gorgeous….I really was amazed at it's beauty! And the fresh, breathable air that smells of trees and flowers. Oh, and the highlight for me was sitting down to some fantastic Indian food! So good! I had been craving it so bad. Martha and I started the tradition in Prague so we had to continue. It got me excited about eating the real deal as if I couldn't be any more excited!

Ah, the club experience was hilarious. We walk into a busy club, empty dance floor….take it by storm and get every chinese person up dancing with the novelty westerners! Haha! It was such an experience to watch people mimicking my lame dancing as if I was some celebrity. Too funny!! We also turned the shy guy at the bar into a god by making him show off his breakdancing moves and cheering him on! Good Night Indeed!

The trip back was pretty sweet also….I had a soft sleeper this time and was in a compartment with three other Chinese women who didn't snore thankfully! I pretty much slept the whole night…although your mind does play tricks on you when you are half asleep and the train seems to be derailing! Haha!

The rest of the morning I spent reading a teeny bit of study and messing about….I did however forget to eat for 24 hours so I was a little weary when I got home…..not to mention I was so flustered and frustrated as the taxi drivers at the station were just being pain in the ass hawkers who wouldn't let me just get in the taxi and show them the way…and put their dam meter on….so I started walking in the scorching heat until I found a lady who was willing to play the game properly! Ah, so annoying when you live in a place and get treated like a tourist!

I am loving these little trips away and glad I did them while I had the opportunity. I will be off to Beijing with Martha at the end of the month to see the Great Wall if all goes well! I have to also go to Hong Kong this month to sort out my visa to stay here so I will be still flitting around the place.  I also plan to do some of the south west of China when I finish up here to head over to Dubai. About 10 days so that will be sweet! I didn't really think about travelling in China when I was planning to come but now I am here I realise how much there is to see.

My friend Kasey is now in Chongqing which is one of China's furnace cities. 40 degrees celsius and super humid makes it one of China's furnace cities. She is from Colorado so I am a little concerned for her! Haha!

In other news. My friend Chelsea who I also met in Prague has said she wants to come over for the three months that I leave to replace me in my job. I am super stoked….she will be great with the kids and I reckon she will have an amazing time. I am sad that she will be here while I'm not but I am sure we can still spend some time together when I get back! So it is all working out nicely!

Uni started this week! I haven't even got a chance to touch it as I have been away! Whoops! But I will knuckle down next week and give it a good hard kickstart. I have also been a little distracted catching up on facebook - haha!

My backpack arrived today for my backpacking trips! Man, my life just keeps getting more and more condensed!! I will be a pro light traveller after this!

It is getting super hot here in Hangzhou….it is heating up quick smart. Between the dirt and sun, I think I will come back a different colour! Haha! Nice! I have quite the tan coming along as it is from riding my bike around! YAY!!

Gotta fly….got a big day of uni tomorrow! Haha!

Love to you all….

HJ xx

P.S. I uploaded a million pictures to FB - check them all out there! :)