Bailoterapia (Dance Therapy!) Or, jazzercise with a Latin twist

So, a few days ago I went with my friend Laura to her “Dance Therapy” class. Now, I have been to a couple of classes with her, but I still have yet to figure it out completely.  It is a lot fun, no doubt, and great exercise, but it is certainly different from almost any other class I have been to. I would consider it to be most closely related to jazzercise, as a lot of the movements are somewhat the same.  Step right, tap, step left tap, arms up overhead, step kick, step kick, etc. However, with Bailoterapia you have to add the hips.. and the extra steps.. and the Latin flair with the hands.. and the random turns.  It’s so much to accomplish all at once!  I would get the basic steps right and then the teacher (a super slim Cuban guy with more hip movements than I could ever dream of) would add in extra steps. As in for every one step I did, he would do three. Or, sometimes five. And with those extra steps he would invariably add in some intricate hip movements.  A few times I managed to get the hips right, but then the steps would be off.  Then I got the hips and steps right and we would be on to the hand flourishes, which would always throw me off completely.

After the first class, Laura mentioned to me all the different kinds of dances we did and I was very confused. She said we did meringue, salsa, kumbia, and a whole host of other types that I had barely even heard of. I had no idea all the complicated steps actually pertained to real dances. Turns out most Latin American people are just born with the knowledge of theses dances and all their fancy footwork and that’s why everyone ELSE in the class seemed to know what they were doing so easily. But it was worth it! I really enjoy going, and its fun to try out the different moves to see how well I do. I just know it will be different taking exercise class at home and not be expected to move my hips faster than my feet.

Well, other than dance class, my life here is Zuleta is quite relaxed. I’ve been doing quite a bit of work but it’s all very enjoyable—riding horses with tourists, training the horses, writing the blog and taking pictures…  I also do a bit of translating and map-making with direction writing. Learning how to use a GPS has been the most challenging thing for me; I still don’t really understand it!  Luckily there’s a Wisconsinite here (the finacee of boss’s daughter) and he has an iPad with a GPS app on it that I have borrowed a few times, and that one is a bit more user friendly. But even with all the work I am still chilled out, loving life, making friends and having plenty of time on my own to make bracelets, read my books and converse with dogs and horses. 

Missing you all at home though, and hope all is well. Please write some time and update me! Love love love.

$ Maia