One of my New Year's resolutions was to learn something new, take classes, better myself. There are a million things that I would love to try, and most of them can be done here in the city. So, naturally, my first thought was to check out the websites for discounted activities. Groupon was a bust, Living Social didn't have anything that interested me, but Amazon came through in the end. I found a coupon for six salsa dancing lessons for $35! I immediately signed up, and had my first class on Wednesday night.
Before arriving, I was a tad skeptical that for the price, this would be a legitimate class with capable instructors. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the studio and the amount of people who showed up. They split everyone into three groups, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Obviously, I belonged with the beginners, and if there had been a group to fall below that, there I would be. Maybe a group of children would have suited me better?
Six girls, one old man and an instructor who looked like he enjoyed sweets a little too much....this is what we had to work with. Did I mention that one of the girls was a professional dancer? She justified her presence there by saying she had never done salsa, just ballet, tap, ballroom, blah, blah, blah. I stopped listening after ballet. We shall refer to her as the Black Swan going forward. Black Swan loved to shimmy all over the dance floor, and in so doing, knock me into the wall.
The older man would remind you of Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, in fifty years of course. He was actually quite adorable, and caught on quicker than I thought he would. Since he was the only male student, it was his responsibility to do the spin move with every girl in the class. While counting out loud in a very thick accent, he was able to do this successfully with most everyone there. With the exception of yours truly. Apparently, I'm not very good at spinning, following or counting for that matter. I also have, quite possibly, the worst rhythm of any white female who has ever lived. However, this will not stop me from going back. I will conquer this activity!
In one week, I will be the happy participant in a two hour training course at the only gun range in the entire city of New York. Westside gun range will teach you how to shoot a .22 caliber rifle for just a mere $65. Following the training course, you are able to go back for $30 sessions. Why would I be interested in a course of this nature, you ask? It's not like I can legally carry a gun here, nor do I want to. The reasons are threefold. 1. It reminds me of home. 2. It actually relieves stress. and 3. I am a pretty decent shot, thanks to a three year relationship with a Kentucky boy who loved guns. I am excited to try my hand at it again.
So I am off to a good start for the year fulfilling my resolution. At some point, there will be cooking and acting classes. I also think I want to try fencing, which happens to be offered for free in front of Bryant Park every Wednesday in the summer. There is something pretty empowering about learning new things, or maybe just having goals in general. It has become a very effective way to preoccupy my mind and motivate myself to improve. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to do that here.
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