In this country were ex-pats come and they lose weight due to the heat and food choices, frustratingly, I have gained weight. I won’t bore you with my theory on the “why?”, but my goal since returning from the USA is to increase my exercise in an attempt to slow the process.
So, this week, after being asked for about six months, I joined my friend in a Zumba class. I had been putting her off for about five months since the class started at 8 PM, and I am getting ready for bed at that time. But they now have a 6 PM class and I could not think of any other excuse!
So, last Tuesday night, with some anxiousness and questioning, I donned my yoga pants and tank top and arrived promptly at Junior’s Gym at 6 PM. The first thing I noticed was that my friend had a towel and a 2 liter bottle of water. The second thing I noticed was that the room was 12 x 20 feet, and there were about 25 ladies there. The third thing I noticed was that every wall had a mirror on it. I do not see myself in a full length mirror on a weekly basis. Now was going to get to see myself “dance” in tight clothing. Hmmmm!
We started out with a warm up which consisted of more vigorous exercise than I had done in a while, and then moved into dance. Did I mention that this is all taking place in an un-air conditioned gym in the humid season in Nicaragua- 90 degrees with 100% humidity at the time. I understood the towel and water that my friend had.
When the dancing started, I realized that I was in over my head. Not only was this the first time that I was exposed to most of these moves, but to put it bluntly, I have a serious lack of rhythm. I looked around and saw all these bodies that were made for salsa, Zumba, etc. They moved their hips, waist, arms and legs with amazing rhythm to the music. Even with the close quarters, they moved in unison. I was the big, awkward, white girl, and I got to see it all in the mirror. J
The truth though is that I tried it, and I liked it, and I want to get better, and I feel better when I do it.
So, this week I spent $5 that were very well spent. The first was on an electrician that fixed the very low pressure in my shower that I have been dealing with for 6 months- yes, $4 for an electrician to come to our house and fix something. The second was the $1 I spent on Zumba- Fun! Great exercise! And I look forward to going back!