Yep, feeling pretty good and revitalized right now! Around 5:48 pm, I started the walk from my house to my aerobics class at the Catholic Cultural Center. I arrived approximately 15 minutes later. I just got back; it’s around 7:20 pm. And since the electricity isn’t cut off tonight (as it was cut off all day) I was able to walk back and on my way, I paid for 4 bananas – 10 cents for all 4. But actually the woman gave me one as a cadeaux, which means “gift” in French. The aerobics class is composed of women-only (most of the time) and is not very rigorous but it is so much better than sitting at home working out finger muscles while jamming fatty foods into my mouth. Those who know me well should know that I live with very few regrets. In fact, it is rare for me regret anything because I see mistakes as life lessons and life lessons tend to make one better, stronger, and wiser. But, I can say that there are two things that I wish I would have done earlier in my sojourn here in Cote d’Ivoire 1) commence with aerobics and 2) buy a radio.
Aerobics, although I wasn’t working out regularly in the U.S., serve one well here in Côte d’Ivoire. I find that the cuisine here is quite rich in fats. I have all but lost weight here in Africa! I am easily 5-10 pounds larger than I was in New York! Now, chew on that! I do walk a lot here. In fact, I walk to work every day but the food I eat here in CI sticks! I would even say that I have consumed more oil (palm oil mainly) in these past 8 months than I have in all my years on earth! Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration because I have eaten a lot of fried chicken and fish in my day but still….it’s not a serious embellishment, believe you me. With that said, I am looking forward and not backwards and feel very satisfied that I have started working out this month.
The week of May 10th, I purchased a radio and I have never been happier! The only thing that I’d wished is that I would have thought of buying it sooner. Why? I do not have a TV (unlike most, if not all, of my neighbors) and a radio is the next best thing! Why? Because it allows you to stay in-the-know with current events and allows you to listen to music that you wouldn’t have otherwise heard. And for me, the biggest benefit of it all is that at the same time, I am training my ears in French! Each day I listen to the radio, I hear a new word or phrase or a reinforce something I already know. I think that having a radio is better than having a TV because I can’t use my eyes. I have to really listen!
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