“Gym Dynamic”
As I mentioned in a few earlier posts, I joined a gym here in Amman because people don’t really run outside and especially not women. Since I signed up at the gym I have gone nearly everyday after classes and honestly it is just a big sigh of relief to be able to work out while I’m here. Today, however, I went to the gym right after I woke up and ate breakfast, so around 12 PM, and I was faced with a completely different dynamic. There were only women there. Now, when I first signed up for the gym, I was told that it was women only from 6 AM-1 PM everyday and then co-ed after that. But, being as I never went before 1 PM, it never really crossed my mind except today when I went into the gym and saw my first ever Jordanian woman in shorts! Of course they were not like short American shorts, but it was a start! So I decided to go for a run on the treadmill and such, following my personal trainer’s instructions for the day (which is free in Jordan, pretty snazzy!), and then a little while later a woman walks up and says to me in Arabic, “It is 5 minutes to 1 PM.” Now, me being in my own little world at this point and on an adrenaline high, I respond with, “Oh yeah? Is the world going to end then?” Yeah…you can imagine that joking and sarcasm doesn’t translate well because she just stood and looked at me, dumbfounded and mouth agape for a moment before she quickly explained that the men were about to be let into the gym space and if I would be more comfortable leaving, I should do so now. Yup I get the idiot award for the day. Furthermore, as if I hadn’t made enough of a fool of myself at the gym that day, after working out and showering I proceeded to walk back to my locker dressed in a towel when the locker room girl (I have no idea what to call her besides this because all she does is monitor the locker room and see if we need anything) told me that there were changing rooms over in the corner that I could use to change to which I responded, um…I’m American, we just show it all…yup, I was on a roll today. Thank god one of the female personal trainers was in the room and just burst out laughing at this point and eased the awkward silence that I’m sure would have ensued!
“Walking Group”
So, I have found that getting close to my host family in such a short period of time is extremely advantageous! It turns out that my host uncle is one of the leaders of a walking group in Amman that basically walks between 7-9 km (about 4-6 miles) three times a week and basically you get to see the sights of Amman while exercising and meeting new people. It was amazing! I went today with a few of the girls from our college group and we had a blast just walking around Amman, today it was around Abdun (a wealthier part of Amman) and we got to wear our signature yellow (reflective) vests! We’ve decided that we are going to try to walk with them every week in order to get in hiking shape for all of our hiking excursions over mid-semester and spring break!
ThisSpaceBetweenUs 