Work Out Resumes

I’ve always struggled with my weight. Just putting it out there- I mean what women doesn’t? As much as I hate Mel Gibson, I will the scene in “What Women Want” when the women go running by a thoughts such as “I wonder how many calories that tab of butter has” and “I wonder how many calories I’m burning now” stand out as the few understandable ones. Anyway, I think as an adult I’ve become somewhat obsessed with my weight. That is partially not my fault. My metabolism has slowed considerably since I turned 23. Of course, I didn’t realize this until I turned 25, but that’s a whole different story.
When I was an adolescent- and partaking in sports 11 out of the 12 trimesters possible in high school- I considered a good meal a huge bowl (think cereal) of ice cream. I also liked to nuke bowls of pasta sauce- which is neither here nor there. In boarding school, I was one of the few vegetarians. Being such, my options were limited to bland pasta that I got to nuke in the cafeteria with the equally lacking red sauce. There was salad, but at that time in my life, I had not yet discovered salad.
Now, I have discovered salad and become an ardent fan. In addition, I have learned how to motivate myself to work out alone and am slowly starting to learn how to enjoy running outside. Today I did the Biggest Loser DVD and realized that I really need to get serious about getting in shape. This is partially because I always feel better when I’m in shape, partially because I always feel better after working out and the harsh reality that summer is coming up really soon and I live in country full of beaches. Getting in shape is exceptionally hard for me when I’m a perpetually broke volunteer tempted with a hot and delicious 25-.30 cent Burek made so delicious because it is dripping in oil. The decision to run in the Athens marathon and rapidly approaching summer should provide some motivation. Hopefully, I’ll stay committed to the dvds. Also, this week will certainly help to me to kick the bread habit and burek habit.
Today, for example I bought a yogurt and some tomatoes for lunch. I’ve actually never bought yogurt in Shales because yogurt is made at home and therefore hard to purchase. Even milk is a rarity in the stores in my village. People either have a cow or buy milk from their neighbor with a cow, as my family does. Today, however, we went to Elbasan to language class where yogurt and milk are readily available.
See, Albania officially celebrates two Easters: Orthodox Easter and Catholic Easter. They’re not picky- if only Americans would follow. Both are national holidays and are celebrated on the Monday after. Because today was the first Easter, we were locked out of the school. Now, since we only get the exact amount of money needed for travel to and from Elbasan on city days and a few dollars for lunch, we did not have money to get to the city. The PC car came and whisked us off to Elbasan. We had classes in the PC office in Elbasan. During lunch Ornela took us to the best burek place in Elbasan. I could not partake so I bought the yogurt.
Being in Elbasan was such a treat. We rarely get to go to the city, so it’s always fun. Plus, today we had a personal chauffer meaning we didn’t have to wait in the rain for a potentially full furgon with frequent stops. The driver took us back to the village and en route solved a mystery. The house on top the hill in Than is actually not a house, he told us, but a hotel. Ah… we thought.