Sharks

So it's summer... many things have been happening lately- just when I was hoping life would finally slow down! There's graduation announcements to send out, scads of tests to finish, forgotten tests to all-of-a-sudden take, driving skills to acquire, a basement to be cleaned out and readied for the next tenant (who shares my first name, oddly enough), and, to top it all off, I've joined the neighborhood swim team. The Sharks.
We started practice a week ago Monday. Let me explain. I have not "exercised" (regularly at least) in all of 9 months. Before that, the only exercise I got was walking around my city/town in Catalunya. I have not been on a sports team since I was 8. For all of these reasons, this week has been a very interesting challenge.
Day 1: learn how to freestyle. Oh, and nevermind that everyone else (mostly ppl 3-4 years younger than me) are already experts and the coach literally says "Everyone knows how to freestyle!" Add to that the fact that I had no goggles and couldn't tell where I was going half the time. Let's just say, I got a little... scraped up. We were also told to be doing flip turns. I had no idea what this was.
Day 2: This time I came armed: I had goggles. Keep swimming for dear life. On day 2 I finally came to understand the panic some people get when they start to drown. You feel like you just CAN'T move your arms any more, no matter what anyone says, and if you swallow any more water well.... Still, it was a good day- I mean, no one really DID drown or anything. Still no hint as to how to perform the mysterious flip turn...
Day 3: More freestyle. I discovered that rhythm is the key to swimming. If you have rhythm, things go smoothly. You can move faster, slower, focus on your stroke. No rhythm equals swallowing lots of water, floundering, stopping, re-starting, and generally not knowing up from down. Finally learned how to execute a flip turn.
Day 4:--
well, but I will not bore you with the day-to-dayness of freezing waters, rainy skies, cramping legs, cute guys, fun girls, and chlorinated water. After all, it's just a normal part of life, right?
Gotta run!
I'll try to post a more thoughtful something later. When things calm down... (if.)