Something New, Something Old

This week was full of culturally enriching experiences :)

To follow up with last week's post, I did finally see a doctor and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. She prescribed me antibiotics and said I was free to exercise and dance! Happy Day!

FOOD
New - Met up with a group at Lebanese Taverna for Alma's birthday. I had to look up where Lebanon is; I should brush up on my geography.

Sometimes, I like to be a food critic...

The cuisine is Middle Eastern, so I was really disappointed by my watery mango lassi because the only other one I've had was at an Indian restaurant and it was delectably thick. Melanie let me try her refreshing Pomenade - pomegranate was all over their menu!

Cheesy flatbread (too greasy) and Tabouleh (extremely potent parsley, onions, mint, and lemon juice). They balanced each other out.

Chicken and lamb shawarma with garlic puree and tahini sauce, and bitter tasting pickled onions. The chicken was well-seasoned and moist but the lamb was overcooked (tough and dry). The best thing on the plate was the rice - I don't know what they did to that stuff to make it so tasty!

Verdict: Good cultural experience but I would not go back

Old - Malted milkshake! Mmmm try Good Stuff Eatery's Black & White shake - so thick that it doesn't move when you turn it upside down!

Got our dose of lactose!

DANCE
New - African dance class at Dance Place, specifically from Mali, Senegal, and Guinea (western Africa)! Now this was definitely something new! I also had to look these countries up on the map.

We started with 20 minutes of warm-up, accompanied by awesome drummers who set the cultural mood. This part was fine and comfortable for me.

Then she started teaching a set of moves for a short routine, and I struggled to keep up with the foreign footwork, rhythms, and especially styling. The moves were loose with huge ranges of motion and extremely high energy.

After that, she divided us into lines, beginners first (definitely me). Notice how extremely awkward I look (and felt!) and how much I stick out as the only Asian and person in shorts and a T-shirt. The only other non-black participants were 2 white girls my age and 2 older ladies, all of whom had obviously been done this before.

This picture of turned in feet pains my soul - it goes against all my years of gymnastics/ballroom/Latin/ballet training. I was embarrassed to be representing BYU with my shirt haha.

The class ended with everyone in a loose circle and people took turns dancing in the middle (like at a hip hop dance, which is an African American genre that draws alot from African dancing). The coolest cultural thing I learned was you show appreciation by touching your hand to your heart, then the ground in front of you.

I also learned some things about myself:

* I prefer structured, more controlled dance styles requiring lots of discipline and technique
* I prefer dances that emphasize elongated body lines and posture
* I prefer dances that require pointed toes, turned out feet, and extended fingers
* I prefer dancing with a male partner because the nuances of connection are exciting to me
* I prefer teachers that give lots of specific instruction, rather than demonstrating it a few times and letting us do whatever

I've tried many different kinds of dances and will continue to explore many more. It's always humbling to get pushed outside of my comfort zone, but I like how it increases my body awareness, appreciation of others' talents (D&C 46:11-12), and empathy for how awkward others feel when then learn dances I'm comfortable with.

More dance adventures to come :)

Old - dance-posing in front of a fountain. This one in Crystal City is big and loud enough to drown out the traffic - a good place to ponder.

Had a way bigger turn-out at The Salsa Room than usual!

It felt soooo good to be back in my comfort zone :)

CHURCH
Old - It also felt so good to go back to Church after being sick
New - Leslie came with me for the first time! (wish we got a picture)

It's great to be regaining my health again :)