Zumba Gets Me By

I had a great workout this morning. And that workout was Zumba. As you get to know me more, you will come to understand that I have a great love for Zumba. I first went to a class over Memorial Day weekend last year and since then I may or may not have become an addict. For those of you who don't know, Zumba is a Latin-inspired fitness class of dancing done to music like salsa, merengue, reggaeton, African beats, etc. And I love it! It's seriously fun and an intense workout at the same time. Their tagline is "Ditch the workout, join the party" and a lot of times, that's what it feels like.


I think one of the reasons Zumba stuck with me and why I like it so much is because it reminds me of my life in Chile. When I'm in Chile my life is different and I think some people would be surprised at how I live my life there versus how I live my life here. Now, it's not that I act like a totally different person there, I'm me (and I'm proud to be me) wherever I am. But when you're in another country, of course you're going to lead your life a little bit differently. In the United States, no matter if I'm living in Minnesota, Wyoming, Ohio or wherever, I don't go out very much. I don't go to bars really or clubbing. But in Chile... I love going out! I love being part of the big(ger) city nightlife and I LOVE TO DANCE! Especially with Andres. And especially reggaeton. 


The music is just fun, the beats are awesome, and the atmosphere is a little invigorating. I will admit, sometimes the lyrics can be a bit dirty and so I'm thankful that I don't understand most of the Spanish that they sing so fast (I guess I'll have to come out of my naivety and deal with that once I start understanding the lyrics more). But for now, I just really enjoy staying out until 4 or 5 in the morning, dancing all night. And I think that is what is surprising because I never do that here in the U.S. But I do miss it. One thing is where I'm living now, there's not a whole lot of places to go out to. Another thing is that I don't really have people to go out with here. So I have to bide my time and wait to go dancing until the next time I go to Chile. And sometimes waiting for that is surprisingly hard. Tengo ganas de bailar! But until I have that chance to go out dancing all night again, Zumba gets me by.