On another note, I had an interesting evening at kickboxing recently. I've been going to the Wednesday evening kickboxing classes at my gym. It's a great workout! Well, this week I was unable to go to the regular kickboxing class, as we had made dinner plans with some friends. Instead, I opted to check out the earlier kickboxing class. It's only an introduction to kickboxing, but I heard that it gives you a good workout as well. I got there just as class was started, so I hurried up and headed for the back corner of the room. I find that I gravitate towards the back of the classes here... It's easier, being that I don't understand what the instructor is saying, so I stand in the back and watch. :) Well, after about 10 minutes of warm up, the instructor turned off the music and started talking. Normally, when the instructors start talking, I start daydreaming because I have no idea what they're saying. :) So, I was off in my own little world, when I suddenly notice that people are quickly turning to other people in the room and talking. I quickly tune back into the real world, and realize that everyone is partnering up... Uh oh! Now this is something that NEVER happens in the advanced kickboxing class, so it caught me a little off guard. I started looking around, and I suddenly realized that everyone had a partner... except for me. Great! The instructor then starts talking again, and I notice that everyone is walking towards him and he's handing out boxing gloves... Hmmmm? I, not wanting to stand out like a sore thumb, joined the rest of the group and went up to get a pair of boxing gloves. After receiving them, I hurried back to the back corner and waited to see what the next direction was going to be. Needless to say, I didn't have to wait long...
The instructor began looking around the room and checking to make sure that everyone had a partner... His eyes immediately landed on me when he saw me standing in the back by myself. He took his finger and motioned for me to join him in the front of the room. Go figure... Who's the only person in class without a partner? Me! Who's the only person in class that doesn't speak the language? Me! The odds were definitely stacked against me! Literally, at that point, I think my face turned 5 different shades of red... I was soooooo embarassed and extremely nervous!! I, very slowly, walked towards him, and as I'm walking, I noticed the rest of the class making a circle around us... I began to get very worried. When I finally reached the instructor, he started talking in German again. Now, being that I'm standing directly in front of him, I really had to act like I was paying attention. He's rambling away, and then suddenly he looks at me and motions for me to do something... And, I had no idea what he wanted me to do... yikes! He repeats the directions to me, and I again, looked at him with a very confused expression on my face. At that point, I could feel my face getting redder and redder, and all I wanted to do was crawl into a little hole and stay there. I think at this point, he realized that I didn't understand him, so very quietly he asked me if I spoke English. When I nodded my head very vigorously, his response was "Oh boy"! :) He then tried to explain to me what he wanted me to do. I apparently was supposed to help him demonstrate the next move for the entire class... Lovely! Somehow, I managed to do it correctly, and he told the rest of the class to go practice that move. He then turned to me and told me that he would be my partner, but that he couldn't work with me the entire time as he needed to help the other students in the class. I told him that was fine and we were able to work together for a few minutes... He then hurried off to help another student, and I was left to do the move on my own. Let's just say, that's when the feeling of homesickness really set in!
I was standing there by myself, in the middle of the class, punching the air (being that I had no partner) and watching all the other partners practice the moves. At that point, I felt so very alone, and completely ridiculous at the same time. I was so very close to tears, but the only thing that I could think was, "You're not supposed to cry in kickboxing!" :) I honestly debated about just leaving the class and finishing my workout on a treadmill, but I didn't want to admit defeat that easily, so I stayed on. And, to be honest, I'm quite pleased that I stayed...
After a few minutes, two women noticed me standing by myself, so they came over to see if I wanted to work with them. When I explained that I didn't speak German, they immediately began speaking English. They were so friendly! We ended up working together for the remainder of the class period... We actually had two other people join our group as well, and we just alternated partners for the entire session. It was great! After class, I thanked them for partnering up with me, and we actually made plans to see each other in next week's kickboxing class. :)
As I headed home, I thought about how things had turned out... There are some days when I get so frustrated with this culture, and all I want to do is come back home to the U.S. where things are normal, or at least "normal" to us. But, then there are days like that, when I realize what a great opportunity it is for us to be here. There are so many positive things about this country. We may not be able to see them every day, but they are there, and they tend to show up in the most unexpected of places! :)
On that note, I'm off to the gym and the grocery store... Have a fabulous weekend! Miss you much!
No comments:
Post a Comment