More Than Exercise

I arrived at the gym this evening as I often do. I changed into my exercise clothes, walked upstairs, plugged in my earphones, and turned on some music. After lamenting the occupation of my favorite elliptical machine, I had literally just hopped on the stationary bike when the owner of the gym, a friendly, older man, walked over to the bike and motioned for me to take my headphones off. "Some Americans are here," he told me, in Turkish. "Can you translate for me?". I was taken aback at this request - it was so completely unexpected; I would not expect to see any other Americans (besides my friend Charlotte, who also joined the gym) walking into this small gym in my neighborhood. I immediately replied in the affirmative, rose, and walked toward the front desk, where I immediately recognized the "yabancı" - the young blonde woman standing next to a tall and equally blonde man. "Hi?" I said inquiringly. When the woman replied, I realized from her accent that they were, in fact, German, and not American - an easy mistake to make, though. "Could you help us explain?" she asked. And I did! My first real work as a Turkish translator! It was a quick conversation, consisting of a couple minutes worth of inquiries about the price of the gym and length of membership and so on, but the Germans were complimentary of my Turkish and thanked me for my help.

It was only afterward that I realized how easily I had done it! This was something that would have been impossible, even ridiculous, for me to have done six months ago. Even three or four months ago it probably would have been a challenge. But today it came easily to me, without much thought or issue. As I came back to happily find my favorite elliptical empty, I smiled and put back in my headphones. As I ran, I remembered my conversation, and I thought about how I would be doing it even more in the future, especially when my family comes from America in little under two weeks!

I joined the gym a month and a half ago merely for exercise. I've found it to be much more than that. It's a haven for me away from my home here, even though I love my home and am happy there. It's a time to be by myself and a time for me to meet new people and encounter new experiences. It's a place for me to wear myself out and renew myself at the same time.