I am Considered Tall Here and I Have No Idea How to Handle It

When I was at my principal's house (the one where I ate jellyfish by accident) I realized that I was a little taller than the other people invited there. I joked, "Now I can finally be tall! " My co-workers replied that I actually was two inches taller than average. This was the best news I have heard in a long time. All through college I was teased a lot for being short and often used as an arm rest but NO MORE. There are some interesting things I have discovered now that I am no longer the little people.

For those who do not know I am 5'3" or 161 cm and 130 pounds or 48 kg.

First, I am actually a medium to large size in clothes. In the states I always had to order small, and even those came baggy, but here I had to buy a large jacket in the men's section so it would fit! My shoe size is considered big too (8 1/2). It is kind of cool buying items in the larger sizes.

The second is that when people are short here they are much shorter than I thought they would be. There have been multiple occurences where I saw a family who were all around 4 feet tall (120 cm). I am embarrassed to say how often I thought a full grown adult was a first grader.

The third is that men are only 3-5 inches taller than me usually. It is pretty cool! Most men I know in my family and at my college were about a foot taller than me. It also makes going to the gym way less intimidating as the men aren't hulking giants of muscle. Now they are a little taller than me muscle.

One item I have to get used to is the fact that I am not considered short anymore. In boxing, I used to get close to my opponent and aim for their stomach as that is all I could reach and the opponent would have a hard time hitting downwards. Now in my boxing classes I am told to crouch down, stand further back, and aim higher. Basically, I have to relearn my workout.

Also, I still have to climb on counters and use chairs to reach items and when I complain about being short, I get second glances. That would be like someone who is 5'7" complaining about being short in Nebraska.

Before thinking, "Wow, if Chelsea is big there than I must be a giant!" Let me tell you this. One of the tallest people in the world is from China. Southern Chinese people are considered short but Northern Chinese people are considered super tall. It is obvious to tell if someone is from Northern China because they look like they are seven feet tall.

I like being "tall" here and am a little sad to go back to the USA if for the only reason that I will once again be used as an arm rest. I will enjoy my tall time as much as I can.