If I had 47 pesos for everytime I heard.....

"she is not fat!" from one of Richard's relatives I could buy........

The only picture of us they have seen is our engagement one. I was not fat. I was bigger than i am now but not plumpy:) The picture does make my face look very round I noticed but I loved that picture. Anyway....every relative that has met me has said that expression. It is followed with "she is so thin" and then asking "how she lose weight". And you have to say "fat" like /fot/ to have the same effect.

It doesn't bother me at all....i think it is pretty comical. It makes you think about Americans and our body image. Later I told Richard's family it would be extremely rude if you told a lady she was getting fat or just fat. And it would be a double whammy if a man said it. Those kind of insults cut deep with American women. But here it is ok.

Yesterday we visited Richard's cousin who owns a salon. She, of course, commented on my shape and that led into the whole exercise discussion and then a little later she was talking to Richard's SIL and told her "you are getting fat". It is just OK to tell people that I guess. I did hear one of the cousins...she is 15...make a comment after eating cake that made me think she was talking about her weight. She probably weighs 110 pounds. i guess no one, no culture, is totally immune to the body image blues...whether it is too fat or too skinny. i did notice the actresses here have healthy bodies with an actual layer of body fat! Something we never see in Hollywood....we do see healthy women but they are clothed! The women I saw were in bikinis or on the show Wowwow wee ....think Solid Gold Dancers meets Game Shows...they all were healthy.

Here everything revolves around food. Every relative we have visited has something for us to eat. Every meal here is homemade and large. It is a sign of posperity if you can offer your guests food and if you are a little larger than normal it means you have plenty. I will come home with a little more baggage than I left but I am not worried. Just another souvenir! I can bring it to the gym with me:)