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BY HOLLY BENNETT

COMMON GROUND

Theres nothing like travel abroad to point out cultural differencesand some universal truths.

Even in certain parts of the U.S., people still dont grasp the concept of triathlon. Tell the uninitiated that you swim, bike and run straight through for hours on end, and you may as well claim that your fathers a unicorn and you can shoot magical laser beams from your buttocks. Imagine, then, me trying to explain the sport to the friendly receptionist at the hotel where I recently stayed in Bali, Indonesia. She noticed me going for a run one morning, and the next day was eager to chat about my activity. You like run? she asked.

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I nodded eagerly. Me no like run because tired, said the girl who is naturally more lithe and lean than Ill ever be. No t, she continued, for some reason stroking her tiny forearm to show me her supposed lack of strength. But me dance! Balinese dance, she said excitedly. Then the conversation turned to why I was visiting Bali. I tried to explain that I was on holiday in between covering the Laguna Lang Co Triathlon in Vietnam and Challenge Taiwan. Me journalist for sports magazine, I said. You know triathlon? Her quizzical expression prompted me to continue, Swim, bicycle, run, I said, pantomiming each discipline, All same day! You like sport, she said, contemplating for a moment. Maybe you like badminton? There is actually at least one triathlon in Bali, as well as an international marathon in its second year, but my hotel friend had obviously not been exposed to these events. We all only know the things that are familiar to us, and any divergence from our perceived norm can seem odd, indeed. For example, take my rst conversation with this hotel receptionist, a few days prior to our sports chat. She asked with whom I was traveling, to which I replied, A friend. Maybe next time you come with family, she replied hopefully, but with a twinge of sadness. Marriage and the family unit are of such extreme importance in Balinese society that the idea of an unmarried adult truly troubles the locals. You can sense their worry for you. When we later visited a temple, the women crafting offerings therein asked me immediately, Married? When my response of, I have boyfriend in United States, was met with a blank stare, my friend informed me that the best response would be, Not yet, therefore assuring the women that all would someday be well in my world. I didnt mind the blunt line of questioning from these women whatsoever. Despite our cultural differences, there was something familiar to me in their straightforward approach. After all, consider the average triathlete. We dont balk the slightest when someone asks our age (although we do have an annoying habit of responding in veyear age-group increments). Pretty much throughout Asia its common to inquire about a persons agemuch of the social structure is built around the associated hierarchies. Likewise, health issues and bathroom habits are not exactly taboo topics. My childhood friend in Indonesia (with whom I traveled to Bali, leaving our imaginary husbands-to-be
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behind) works in the international school system. Prior to her position in Jakarta, she worked at a school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her introduction to the culture came in an email during her rst week in her new role. A letter went out to all staff, explaining that the human resources director was out sick: Mr. Hussain will be out today because he is having the diarrheas. He may also be out tomorrow if the diarrheas continue. I laughed aloud as she recounted this story, not only because it was hysterical but because it was 100 percent normal by triathlon standards. Sure, some of us prefer the term GI distress, but lets be real: Were not afraid to discuss the diarrheas. What we put into our bodies is another source of common groundsort of. The rst time I ducked into a 7-Eleven store in Taiwan looking for a quick snack I discovered a bag of almond strips and sh! Yes, dried minnow-like things inltrated my otherwise ideal protein x, eyes and all. As a non-sh-eating mostly vegetarian with gluten-free tendencies Im hardly an adventurous eater; I even left some of the allowed foods on my diet list untouched in Taiwan, simply due to the daunting sight or smell. I did try a preserved egg however, guring it to be a perfect protein and thus prime picking for a hungry athlete. These eggs are packed in a clay and saline solution for more than a month, turning the yolk to a black cheese-like substance and the white to a translucent orange jelly. But truth be told, apart from looking bizarre, the taste was not all that bad. I heard talk of bug eating throughout Asia, something we Westerners tend to eschewunless by accident when cycling open-mouthed. But Im pretty sure a lot of non-rst world folks would nd energy gels as frightful as a handful of earthworms would seem to me. Honestly, given how much certain pockets of our society (such as the triathlon community) do have in common with certain pockets of other societies around the globe, its a wonder to me that culture clashes even exist. Really, were all a lot more alike than is obvious at rst glance. I suppose my outlook is an innocent one; I know that in reality, issues of economics, politics and religion trump triathlon, toilet habits and taste buds in the quest for unication and world peace. But Ill leave it to those in positions of power to debate the weightier matters of the world. Meanwhile Ill keep traveling on, proselytizing the virtues of swim, bike, run (and matter-of-fact mentions of bodily functions) along the way.