Strolling back from lunch today (my first Bangladeshi lunch - consisting of 5 tonnnes of rice and tumeric coated vegetables and well disguised chillis - since my recent bout of gastro) I detoured past Kate's desk to ask if we were going for our usual lunchtime walk in the park, when I happened upon a huddled group of Bangladeshi colleagues.
I thought I'd stumbled upon a party... Yes, a 'let's get together at lunchtime and weight eachother party". FUN
"oooh, whats this? a party?" - Casey (poor, naive Casey)
"no, no Casey, ha ha. We are weighing ourselves...Mahkles is 79kg today. Let's weigh you! How fat do you think Casey is Khokan?" - Salma
"aaaah, no really it's okay" - Casey (oh the futility!)
"Just less than 60 I think" - Khokan
"Mmmm, I'd say 62 or 63" - Mahkles (Gee, thank you Mahkles!)
"No, I think 58kg" - Zia.
(Casey, manhandled onto the scales)
"oh, but I've just eated lunch...I have my shoes on and my orna and...let me put down this banana and my purse" - Casey (oh the futility!)
"mmm 59.8. mmm" - Salma.
Some mumbling from the others. I'm not hearing the words as, head down, used and defeated, I slink off to Kate's desk to warn her.
(There's no point not publishing it here, I'm almost certain everyone in the Communication Section were informed yesterday, and if other completely inappropriate all-staff emails are anything to go by, its probably a topic of conversation around the building)
Ah, the cultural differences. I can't imagine this popular lunchtime activity being well received in Australia somehow.
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I loved this. I feel your pain. I recall one lovely comment where I was told by my Bangladeshi colleague I was "fatty" and needed to start walking to work again. Hmph.
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