Run Run As Fast As You Can...

In Greece, women don't really exercise. Sure, there are a fair amount of women who belong to the gym here at Athens College, but they don't belong for health reasons. They belong for social reasons. It's expensive to join the gym, so it's a status symbol to belong (as it is at some of the more exclusive clubs in the US). To really get the status, the women do have to come to the gym, but that doesn't mean they have any real thoughts of exercise. They come to some of the classes offered, march around in place a bit and lift a few weights, but all the while they're really just checking themselves and their fellow socialites out in the mirrors. They wouldn't dare think of wearing a t-shirt and shorts to work out in; instead, they wear matching designer outfits and snazzy shoes (often not actually athletic shoes). They have their hair fixed and their faces are painted with make-up. If their cellphone rings during class (which it definitely will), they think nothing of spending half the class chatting away to whoever is on the other end. After their workout, they head to the gym canteen for a coffee or piece of cake and hang around chatting with friends. If you're a woman and you leave the gym a bit sweaty, they look at you as if you have some kind of disorder.

The best, though, is running. Hardly anyone, male or female, runs in Athens. Kate, Despina, and I, however, go for a run four or five times each week. Any time we pass anyone, they slow down and look at us and then look down the road behind us, expecting to see someone chasing us. Why, after all, would you run if it wasn't an emergency of sorts? There are also people who seem to think that we must be in a race, because their reaction is to cheer us on. Bravo koritsia (girls)! we hear as we run down the sidewalk. On Wednesday, as Kate and I ran up the hill leading to the mountain (yes the one with the ants,)a woman in a car slowed down, rolled down her window, made eye contact with us, and gave us the "Bravo Koritsia!" yell. We're running for maybe thirty minutes, but these people act like we're in the last leg of a marathon. It's quite amusing. Without all the fan fare, I don't know if I'll be able to exercise once I return home. Afterall, I'm only in it for the glory.