Big Girl Adventures — when to let it go
Tap, tap… his hand gently patted the side of my hip.
I looked at him in surprise as he walked to my other side and did the same thing on my other hip, muttering something in Dzongkha and smiling gleefully the whole time.
My eyes widened in surprise and then a smile, that was at once born of both awkwardness and shock, crept across my face.
Did that really just happen? Did some old Bhutanese dude who lives in a temple just give me the Asian version of an ass smacking?!?!
Yep.
It happened.
My fellow curvy adventurous women, be forewarned that some places on this planet are just not used to seeing big booties.
The isolated corners of this world are some of my favorites to visit. Some such places may be modern, with cell phones and wifi, but they are yet un-afflicted by so-called “modern thinking” — that mentality which constantly compares and competes, that judges and calculates. They have such joy in simplicity and every day life. Why should they turn to the rest of the world to know what is needed to be happy when they have everything they need right at home? Bhutan is one such country and I fell deeply in love with it! However, this relative seclusion from the world outside it’s borders means that most Bhutanese people will see a woman shaped like me and do a double-take at the least. They are not used to seeing the wonderful variety of feminine shapes the rest of the planet produces! So be prepared.
So what do you do? Do you get offended when people stare, comment, or point? You could. It’s inappropriate and hurtful. But my take on it, especially in Bhutan and Nepal, is that it truly comes from a place of innocence and naïveté. They have joy, delight, and honest surprise on their faces when they look! I would rather take it as a joy to show them that women, beautiful women, come in many shapes and sizes than to take it as an insult.
Sometimes, you have to know when to let it to go and just keep adventuring.
