Movement, and Anti-Movement

Windboarding?



Yep, this is for children.




Honestly, I just asked her for a photo in the rose garden, and I get this.

You can't stay in NZ for very long without thoughts of recreation, exercise, and general movement. There is so much of it here, mostly outdoors. Well, there are a few indoor rock walls for training. Recently, we passed the bridge where the famous first Bungi jump took place (in Queenstown), and it was fascinating even to me, a woman who would never fling herself off of anything, much less a bridge.

Indeedy, I go down to the basement every morning to the exercise room. I made this decision to exercise, not only for general health, but because of my intense love for Cadbury chocolate, TimTams, and all other forms of chocolate. In short, I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to eat what I cook.

So, my measly little work-out prepares me for my day of walking to wherever it is I need to go. So, why walk in the basement? I just don't know. I can sweat with my iPod and hope that it makes a dent in the day's caloric intake. Often I am not alone. There is one girl I call "Exercise Freak" who must go on and on for at least an hour, from the bicycle to the the stair-master thingy to the rower to the weights....and never once breaks her concentration or makes eye contact. I used to call her "exercise Nazi", but that wasn't very nice, was it?

Anyhow, she cannot be from NZ. No way. No self-respecting New Zealander would be in the gym for (gasp!) exercise. They burn calories the natural way, like on a board in the ocean fighting the wind, or rollerblading dangerously close to the edge of water with rocks below on lunch break, or kayaking home from work (I made that up). I mean, are there any New Zealanders who do not play cricket or rugby? Exercise freak, I have decided, is from Germany.

Yes, the children are primed pretty early for extreme sports. I mean, take a look at that playground contraption above. It reeks of spinal injury. You may remember previous pictures of kiddy zip-lines on playgrounds as well. Kids are encouraged to recreate, and I am not referring to teenage pregnancy.

So, my attempts to move are countered by frequent spells of anti-movement, when the god of ibuprophen is called upon to have mercy. Maybe Susie's picture attempt above is just a statement of exhaustion. She has to walk uphill (and I do mean UP a big HILL) to school. Well, she could take a bus, but that would deflate the whole fun thing.

So, I am off to take her food UPHILL, for a picnic. God bless my bones.