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Park Fitness Chronicles
A Short Story Of A Non-Verbal Acquaintanceship
Each morning in my local park in Taichung City, Taiwan, you can find elderly people doing many different things: people walking their dogs, jogging or cycling the perimeter, practicing tai-chi and kung fu stances, playing badminton, using the exercise equipment (pullup bars, air ellipticals, and other thingamabobs), and groups of ladies with matching shirts having dance class.
A few days a week, I’ll find an open, flat surface to practice my acrobatic skills for capoeira and a few other unrelated tumbling skills just because I really love [and miss] gymnastics.
Being a foreigner in Taiwan means a lot of staring if you don’t look like them. Now combine that with me being shy of 6 feet tall (1.82m), and contorting my body in abnormal ways. Hiding from the stares is completely unavoidable.
Some people stop and watch for a second with an amused look on their faces. Some people compliment. Some people give me thumbs up. Some people ask me how I learned these skills. Usually, they’ll stick around for a minute and then…
