Is ESOL really my calling?

8/25/09

I have no idea what just happened! I got up a bit earlier than usual, straightened the house, and took Rich to school. Then, as agreed, I drove to Body Flow, the local gym owned by Juanita. She had invited me when we met last Wednesday with an imperative tone that Panamanian women of a certain age use, and which doesn’t brook refusal. It was clear that she wanted to exchange something in return for the English practice I agreed to provide.

Now I don’t really like gyms. I prefer natural exercise, walking and working on the house, and I always feel foolish running or gyrating in place on a machine. Still, gotta be polite. We had agreed that I would come at 7 am, exercise for an hour, take her pilates class, and then we would go to my house to talk. I was mildly anxious about the state of our house (never completely clean) and had baked some oatmeal bars so we could snack when we got back. I also made some iced tea, although I have never seen a Panamanian drink it.

I approached the front door of Body Flow and was buzzed in by the receptionist. I said (in Spanish) that I had been invited by Juanita (la Senora). She nodded as if she had been told of my visit and buzzed me in the next set of doors. Inside, several men and women exercised on treadmills and elliptical trainers. I sat down on a bench at the entrance and busied myself changing into my tennis shoes. After about 10 minutes, a bleached blond, buff, athletic young man came to get me, leading me to the elliptical trainers. He motioned for me to get on, gave me some instructions which I mostly did not catch, and started the machine. Great. He had set it on a low setting, but my legs ached within five minutes. Only fifteen more to go! Of course, it got easier, so I finished the set and went to the water fountain for a drink. After a few minutes, he looked at me and said, “Ya?” which meant, “Ready?” I then followed him to a treadmill, on which I walked for another 20 minutes. After the cooldown, I stepped off and got another drink. No sign of Juanita. My “trainer” said something about “10 minutes” and motioned for me to go upstairs to the classroom. I spent the next 20 minutes up there alone, stretching on a mat. Finally, he came up, and said something about “not today. Can you tomorrow?” Was he talking about Juanita? I said not tomorrow, but Thursday, in order to stick with our tentative plan. After a little while he left me, and I figured it was time to leave. I walked downstairs, got my bag, and said to the receptionist, “Please tell the Senora she can call me, if she wants to.”

No idea what just happened… Was Juanita sidetracked by traffic? Family? Or was she nervous about coming to my house or about speaking English? QUE PASO??? I was ridiculously relieved to get home, take a shower, and do some chores. It’s just totally AMAZING how much emotional “juice” I have to summon for these encounters!

Now to prepare for my little 8 year old neighbor’s English lesson this afternoon!