When was the last time you cut your grass with a sickle?

The park that I have been doing most of my running at is fairly large. There are probably 12 to 14 soccer fields surrounding a large monument in the center and it's probably about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) around the sidewalk that borders the soccer fields. There are workers, both men and women, there everyday that keep up the maintenance of the park. Since I'm training for a marathon, you can imagine that I run several laps around this park everyday. Unfortunately for me, running on the street is NOT an option so many boring laps around this park it is! As I run, I watch these workers, that I am positive make next to nothing for the job that they do. And it is no small job considering that they cut most of the grass with a sickle. I have seen a push lawnmower, however, even that would prove difficult when keeping up with 12 soccer fields, but apparently it was not working today since I saw several people just chopping away. There are always patches of grass that are longer than others because by the time someone gets done cutting one section by hand another section has already overgrown! They also sweep the sidewalks to clear away the leaves and any garbage with brooms that can hardly even be considered brooms. They are more like bunches of straw tied together. It's amazing what we take for granted back in the States...

Speaking of things we take for granted... I haven't taken a hot or even a luke warm shower for that matter in 2 months, so think about that the next time you scald yourself because you've turned the water on too hot!