Sheba, sorry to hear that your trip wasn't what you would have wished. It is the great gamble of traveling. I do think one's experiences in a place are totally colored by the people he or she meets, and one trip can be totally different than the next. The first two times I visited Paris, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. When I had a chance to live there for a while, I totally fell in love with the city and am constantly dreaming about going back...

anyway, on the topic of comments about weight... When I lived in Chile, one of my English students was Spanish. She was constantly complaining that Chileans made her feel horrible about being overweight (she had a thyroid problem and was a/o 5'3" & plump). They would do things like hand out chocolates at work, and when they got to her, would say, "oh, you can't have any of these. You need to lose weight." Her perspective was interesting, due to the fact that the Spanish family I lived with nearly drove me crazy with all of the weight conscious comments. By the way, their daughter was bulimic, i heard her throwing up in the bathroom a few times.

Anyway, I know about buying out of anger. Remember the store clerk in Italy? I wasn't sure I wanted those sandals, until she implied that I was too poor to pay for them. I bought them - $135 - the most exhorbitant amount of money I have ever spent on something that wasn't a business suit...

What the store clerks said to you was definitely rude. I do think it almost tragic how body perceptions are totally screwed up, and it has taken me some time to get really comfortable with my body and its shape. Nonetheless, I think the tendency for sedentary lifestyles and obesity in the States are equally unhealthy. Both can be debilitating ways of treating your own body. That said, after biking to work and back, I will probably sit down to a dinner of chicken curry, made with butter and cream and smoke my after-dinner cigarette. so who am I to talk?

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: Nicole ]