Cindy the Superstar

Hello everyone! Cindy here.
After many weeks of finding excuses to not workout (some were actually legit, some not so much) I have returned to running this week. I have heard that there is a gym on my street, but we have not been able to find it yet. With all the flashy signs here, everything pretty much looks the same and the last thing I want to do is wander into some place odd, thinking it is a gym, and have to use my best charades skills to explain my unexpected presence to the surprised Koreans inside. I have decided just to go running until I have someone to show me where this hidden gym is.

Running in Korea is a strange thing. Anyone who knows me knows I have no sense of direction. Since all the streets here look the same, I am very worried that I will get lost and never ever find my way home. So I simply run in a straight line for now. I have been running up and down the same street this week. It is a long highway, with lots of things to see.....and unfortunately smell. But that is not the strange part. Every time I go for a run here I attract a lot of attention. I think this is for a few reasons. I am a fair bit taller than the women here. I am an "outsider". I am wearing shorts and a tank top, and that is considered to be a big fashion boo boo in September.....shorts and tank tops are only in style until the end of August. And I am running, which I have not seen any women do here.

Today I strapped on my i-pod and headed out into the cooler weather (thank goodness we are getting a break from the humidity). I first encountered a group of women and teenage girls getting off a bus. The women all pointed. The teenage girls yelled "hello", some waved, many giggled and were commenting on my height by using their hands to indicate how much taller I was than them. I smiled and waved, grateful they were not commenting on the size of my behind (or at least they waited until I could not see them). Next I passed a man who was selling grapes alongside the road. He jumped out of his chair and did a half bow and said "hello". A few minutes later another man smiled and waved. A group of older women wearing face masks and sun visors pointed and chatted amongst themselves. As I ran past a gas station a young couple on a scooter was pulling in. The girl yelled "hello", and this made her boyfriend look and then yell "Oh hello hello!".

I feel like a superstar. I have not yet decided if I like all this attention. I miss the days that I could just run without all the stares and comments. I also miss feeling safe on the sidewalk......scooters, bikes, and small motorbikes use the sidewalks here, so running has become somewhat of an adventure sport. My i-pod has to be on low and I have to be ready to jump out of the way at any given moment. What I can say for sure is that running in Korea is never boring. And that's a good thing since I have to stick to the same street.