I went running yesterday, for the first time in a while, which made me so happy. The trees are all changing color, especially down by the river, and it´s gorgeous. Annnnd running wasn´t nearly as painful as it could have been! It was, however, slightly emotionally scarring, since I have never before felt so judged by little old ladies - some of which actually glared at me. (I mean, I know it probably wasn´t a joy to watch me run for the first time in a month, but still...)
Women here just don´t do physical activities. One of our orientation leaders, Mari, was telling us about her all-girls high school, where the nuns only allowed them to play "girly" sports, like volleyball (nothing against volleyball), and only in P.E. classes. I´m really surprised by this; Spain´s not that conservative. I mean, I guess a lack of sports activity is fairly true for most of Europe. Take France´s President Sarkozy, who likes jogging, but the press attacked him for liking such a tacky American activity.
Even still, people go running here. There are lots of running/biking trails right along the river, actually. But it´s all men or American girls. Ay ay ay, the men are very noticeable, too, and not in a good way. They really like their spandex here. And short shorts, if the weather is good enough.
So, the last time I went running, I was doing laps in a park fairly close to the apartment. As always, there were no other girls out. I suppose this is weird for me because at Santa Clara, it seems like everyone is constantly running, not to mention my triathlete stud roommate (who often unintentionally makes me feel like a lazy bum). Anyways, I notice someone coming towards me from afar, and I happily think that it´s another girl. Solidarity!
Nope. It was a Spanish man. Running in shorter shorts than I will ever wear, and with long, flowing dark hair. Oh, Spain.
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