Forget the Gym . . . Be a Tour Guide!

I've always thought gym memberships are a little silly. Why waste your money on a gym that you have to drive to, when you could walk that distance to the gym; enjoy the outdoors; avoid the fishbowl; save the time, money and environment; and call it done? Our grandparents never had gym memberships and were likely in better shape at our ages than many of us. They simply used their bodies more than modern conveniences to get things done, and therefore didn't have to add exercise to their to-do list every day.

Though I believe this in theory, I must say that since I've been in India, my level of exercise has been slim to none. Riding my bike and walking places isn't quite as easy, enjoyable or safe here as it was in Texas. Having household help is nice, but adds inches and pounds to me. And the hotter-than-Texas heat makes going outside a little less palatable. But I still intend to resist the gym craze that has even come to Delhi. So here's my current ideas:

* Walk to the park with my kids. Do underdogs on the swings as many times as Russell wants. Run races with Isaac around the park. Lift Graham onto the monkey bars over and over.

* Run up the stairs often to put laundry or toys away, happy for the exercise instead of annoyed to be doing it over and over. Run races with my kids up and down the stairs.

* Walk to the corner grocery store to get exactly what I want instead of getting frustrated that I can't communicate what I want to the home delivery guys.

* Clean more toilets, sweep and mop more floors, dust more shelves.

And here's a fun one Rich and I discovered this weekend: Be a tour guide in Old Delhi!

This week we took Dawn's parents, her sister Kristen, and her nephew Ryan on a tour of the Chandni Chowk market in Old Delhi. This favorite spot of ours is the wholesale market where masses of commerce happens in tiny ancient alleyways in seeming chaos. We normally get a bicycle rickshaw or two so we can get around faster and more safely, but this time we decided to get rickshaws for our guests and walk alongside them. This seemed like a good idea because normally the traffic is so heavy that walking alongside the rickshaw is no problem. But since we had come on a holiday, the streets were relatively deserted. So we ended up RUNNING to keep up with the rickshaws!

This really became a problem when the rickshaw carrying Kristen and Ryan sped off without us while we were negotiating with the second rickshaw driver. Once we realized this I started running with all my might to catch them since I knew they had no idea where they were, couldn't communicate with most people around them, and didn't have any idea how to get home! I nearly got run over by a motorcycle and lost sight of them in the process. Rich and I then split up, and after some silent prayers and 10 long minutes Rich found them in the labyrinthine streets. Phew!

After that we were sure to keep up, even if it meant sprinting. The rickshaws had to stop a few times to wait for us, but our thirty-some bodies did okay and we got a good workout. You can't usually have such adventures at the gym, nor have the chance to associate with such great people in the process.

Here's Kristina and Ryan, relieved to be with familiar faces. We really loved having Dawn's relatives visit. They were so interesting, well-spoken, optimistic, and at-ease. I can see where Dawn gets all those great characteristics.