I went for a run today on our farm road. I caused quite a panic; my in-laws had never seen such outlandish behavior. They had heard of people running for exercise, but never seen it in the flesh. They thought that I was running towards a crisis.
They’re never quite sure what to do with this crazy American with the strange ways. Here’s a short list of items that have caused much entertainment for the locals:
- Running for exercise.
- Eating basil. (It sprouts all over our farm. I gathered armfuls and made pesto. When my brother-in-law learned of my latest recipe he roared with laughter and shouted: “Uau! Why, next you’ll be eating grass!” I have yet to confess my love of fiddleheads).
- Making starfruit cake.
- Wrapping cord around a beach ball to make this.
- Thinking that swinging a scythe makes a great cardio workout.
- Paying the kids to clean up the trash in the back yard.
- Eating fish.
- Petting the stinky farm dogs.
- Drinking milk with meals (and being over 10 years old).
- Loving vegetables, not rice & beans.
and my husband added… “Left America and married me.”
Obviously, crazy is relative.
I really enjoy your chronicles. I like that shot of the shoes against the
landscape. For me, living in that landscape would make up
for just about any kind of difficulties of adjustment there.
It didn’t come out clearly in the photo, but the road that I run along is immediately behind my shoes. And yes, the landscape makes up for a whole lot 🙂