Found Myself A New Pastime

Today was my first day in dance class and my calves are so sore! you see, In a bid to keep myself busy I decided to enroll in a dance academy to fine tune my skills on the dance floor. There are many dance academies in Cali so one is really spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting which academy to check out. Fernanda recommended one of her friends who teaches salsa and together we went to check him out.

When I met Luis the dance teacher, we instantly clicked because his personality was very laid back and chill plus he was really sweet, funny and friendly. I knew I would have fun in his classes. The first time we went to check him out he was teaching a class so we got to meet some of his students and see their skills as they practiced their routines, those kids can dance! Luis introduced me to his class after rehearsals and they were all excited when they found out I was foreign. They asked me questions about the US, Kenya and what I thought about Colombia and the people in general. They were too adorable.

Today being my first day in class Luis went through the basic steps of salsa caleña which is the style danced here in Cali and boy was it tough on my calves. You have to basically dance on your tippy toes with your chest pushed forward, your midsection sucked in and your butt pushed out. Trust me, after one song on your tippy toes all you want to do is place your feet flat on the floor but Luis would call out: No pare! arriba! sigue! sigue! (no stopping, higher, continue! continue!). Even when I thought I had reached the highest point on my tippy toes he would still stay, "mas arriba" and laugh while saying that I should be standing on my toe nails, I told you the guy was funny.

It was a fun class and a good work out too plus I got to chat with some of Luis' students and learn some steps from them. I took a few photos from the class, check them out.

The girl in pink is called Camilla and she is such a sweetie with the cutest smile, she is nine years old and has been dancing with Luis since she was six. Every time she would make a mistake during a routine she would give Luis a puppy look and it just melted my heart, I just wanted to hug her and tell her, "it's okay, you danced really well."

The students going through their dance routine.

The first time I was introduced to the class and got to meet everyone.

 After my class with Luis, sweaty and tired but still smiling.

That's it folks, tomorrow I get to learn more steps and I can not wait. I love to dance so what better way to pass time than dancing to my favorite genre of music right?

Random Thoughts of The Day:

There is a cat that started coming to the roof of our apartment at night crying like a sick baby, first time I heard the cry I freaked out actually. I started leaving some milk on the roof thinking maybe it's a cry for food until Fernanda's mum told me that the cat is in heat and wants to mate so the cry is to attract a mate. Here I was thinking I am feeding a poor cat turns out the cat needs a different kind of satisfaction.

Now I understand why salsa dancers dance with heels and not flat shoes. Dancing on tippy toes is not easy so high heels help a lot because on heels you are basically on your tippy toes. That doesn't mean you can't dance with flat shoes in the club but professionally that's a different story.

Don't judge a book by it's cover, Luis may not look like a dance teacher but the dude can move. I like the fact that he treats his students like his own kids, he is very patient with them and doesn't yell when they make mistakes. The kids are very free with him.

Whenever I talk to afro Colombian men and the topic turns to dating which it always does, they always want to know if I prefer black guys or white guys. I usually explain how I focus more on compatibility and the guys will agree with me but in the end revert to their initial question, "so who do you prefer? black or white men?"

Today I had an interesting conversation with Fernanda's daughter, I don't even remember how it came about but she mentioned one of her grandma's sister who is racist against black people........she herself is black and so are all her kids so go figure. Anyway, she wanted all her kids to end up with white spouses but none did, they all ended up with black spouses and this made her so mad and bitter because she wanted mixed grandkids. Fernanda's daughter went on to explain that it doesn't matter whether someone is black, white, cute or not attractive, as long as they treat you well that is the most important thing. She then proceeded to use one of her aunt's spouse as an example, she said "He is dark skinned and my aunt's mum calls him ugly because of that but look at how he treats my aunt. he loves her so much and is a good man. That's the only thing that matters not his skin." I looked at this nine year old and felt very proud of her. Fernanda taught her well.