An unusual metaphor

So yesterday (Tuesday) I made my first visit to the local gym to get back into the workout routine. I had signed up for the gym several days earlier without any problems but I sensed that for some reason my first time actually working out at the gym would be interesting since I was unfamiliar with the building, what I was permitted access to, and general spanish gym norms and practices. Of course, upon arrival when I swiped my membership card the door refused to open despite the green light signaling access granted. I swiped the card again...and again...and again. Nothing. I didn't know if my card wasn't working or if I was trying to open the door the wrong way and naturally the clear glass door allowed everyone inside on their treadmills to have a good laugh as I tried several different (including some pretty unconventional) ways of opening the door. Finally, I gave up and went to the front desk where they told me they would open the door for me. Upon return to the entrance door, however, my efforts were again futile much to the content of the observers inside, who at this point had taken their eyes off the tvs and ipods and redirected them towards this new kind of show.

At this point I was somewhere so far outside the realm of embarrassment that I felt no embarrassment at all. I returned to the front desk sharing a laugh with the receptionist who said I should try one more time. Sure enough, the third time was a charm and I entered practically expecting an applause. I made my way to the locker, changed, and hit the weights. Lying down at a chest press machine I put in an appropriate amount of weight considering my long hiatus from any lifting but when I tried to lift it, it felt like I was pushing on a brick wall. I thought to myself, "Have I really lost this much muscle?!" Then it dawned on me that the 110 that I had selected on the machine was not 110 lbs but kilos! I was currently trying to lift over 240 lbs!

You may be wondering why I am describing with such detail my gym experience. Well, after leaving the gym feeling somewhat embarrassed--yet accomplished that I had learned something new--I realized that this experience was not far from what my experience trying to learn spanish has been like. At first I was reluctant to speak, sometimes embarrassed after speaking, and generally unconfident about speaking spanish. However, once I put forth the effort I was able to get past being embarrassed or disheartened. I now speak uninhibited and I find that, as a result, I am understood more often and I am learning so much more. In fact, the more mistakes I make in front of Spanish speakers the more I am corrected and therefore the more I learn.

Last night I continued this sentiment and attended and "intercambio" or exchange session for language. This meeting, put together by the "couch surfers" (a very cool website for travelers) featured people from all over meeting up to talk in different languages all with the goal of learning new ones. I had an unbelievable amount of fun and learned so much, not to mention I felt very important knowing the much sought after English language. Well my class starts in 5 minutes so I must go, but I just wanted to share this experience. Adios.