I'm a fatty...

It's interesting what different symbols are taken to mean in different cultures. I have a BMI of about 19, which makes me, as my mother would say, a skinny lil' drink o' water. But the other day my host mom and I were about to carry a large bucket of tamales over to her daughter's house for a party. She asked me "are you sure you can handle the weight?" to which I replied "I may be skinny, but I'm not weak." She smiled proudly and remarked "You're not skinny. You're fat!" I was a little taken aback, as I am clearly more of a line than a circle. It occurred to me, however, that this is a woman who grew up with very little food security, and that now she was preparing my meals. "Fat" to Manuela, I suspect, has more to do with a family's financial prowess in covering the basics than in BMI...