My friend GP would say to me "don't worry Marco, I'm sure you're
handsome in your country", trying to make me feel better about myself
(in some way it felt like failing a test badly but being graded on a
bell curve so that i barely pass). I haven't noticed anything like
that but in this case it turns out its true in terms of height - I am
vertically exaggerated in my country. Its a bit hard to believe but
imagine this: Lori likes to go around pointing out all the "little
people" (not dwarves or children) and when she says it that way, it
makes me think that she's somewhere in middle earth with strange
creatures.
It is true though, there a lot of little people (under 5 feet). My
grandmother was under 5 feet - I was taller than her by grade 7. And
since I was the oldest of the brothers I was tallest for a long time,
especially since when I went to boarding school and came back during
holidays I was only reminded infrequently that I wasn't the tallest
anymore.
During university, my roommates were all under 6' - in fact I'd say
all under 5'10". I lived in a land where that height was the norm. It
was only when I moved to Calgary that I had moved from the land of
hobbits and realized what the real height distribution was.
Anyways, all that to say its been quite different to suddenly be on
the tall end of the spectrum. Maybe I walk around a little more
confidently; maybe I don't have to stand on my tippy toes to see over
people and watch the street performer. Maybe I have to duck to get
into the art store whose entrance is only 5'5" tall; maybe when I get
in the rental car, I have to move the seat back. Maybe I notice that
the coffee I ordered was for "the tall guy", or that all my cousins
are shorter than me (the ones I've seen so far). Maybe... But I don't
judge people by how tall they are. That's beneath me.
PS. I'm not actually a giant here, but definitely above average.
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