fitness

For the first few weeks we were here I didn't think people in France worked out at all. I thought maybe just the fact that everyone here walks all the time must have been sufficient to keep everyone super skinny. I'm not sure they are so healthy, being as most of them smoke all day, but being a little more interested in getting cardio activity, I tried running on the streets. Mutliple problems with this proposition. The first being that it is super cold outside. I didn't so much bring clothes for running outside every day and we've already discussed how expensive laundry is. Secondly, I live in the middle of the city so there is not really a good area to run where I don't have to wait for street lights, etc... There is a park, but I ran around it once in 3 minutes. Running a few miles in it would make me dizzy.
Then, I heard from the other American students that they found a gym! Woot woot. Promptly signed up for it, it is decently priced and has classes and a pool. Sounded like a pretty good deal to me. I went to spin class for the first time on Friday. Whew. Class wasn't hard, I mean it was as hard as a normal spin class, but I definitely didn't learn the vocabulary necessary to participate in a spin class in a different country. You wouldn't think it would be hard right? You would, in theory, just follow what the teacher is doing. Problem was the room was so packed I couldn't really see the teacher, so I had to follow the people in front of me, but I had no idea what was going on next, etc...He was saying it, I just wasn't getting it. Oh well, it was a good work out none-the-less. The weekend hours are of course screwy, being that we are in France and all. The place is open from 10-12 on Sunday. Uh huh. So I'm headed back this week for all kinds of fun-filled activities. I'll keep you posted.