Don't Give Up, Just Keep on Movin'

A few weeks ago I went to Step Aerobics to see how I would like it.  For those of you who think that step is an activity for the weak, I encourage you to go to a class anywhere and then get back to me.  It is hard.  There is always a lot of movement involved, plus the step, so you have to be somewhat coordinated.  Let me tell you about my experience here.

My first night, I showed up not really knowing what to expect.  The first thing that surprised me was the amount of men in the room.  Much like everything else in Iraq, they outnumbered the ladies.  The second thing that surprised me was that the instructor was in Army PT gear.  His name is Will.  The music was BLARING.  I walked in, put my step on the back row, in the corner, so I wouldn't look like a fool and got ready.

7 p.m. came and we got started.  For an hour I had no idea what was going on.  I was pretty much lost the whole time.  My only saving grace was that every single time I turned around, there was an older and bigger gentleman behind me who was even more clueless than I was.  By then end of the class, I was exhausted, sweaty, and my face was as red as a fire engine.  I had SO MUCH FUN.

A couple of things about Step-Military Style.  There is an incredible amount of yelling.  A big part of my confusion the first day was the fact that people were yelling.  Will would say, "Let's do the T-Step."  Everyone would yell, "HE SAID THE T-STEP."  And so on.  It was crazy.

It has been at least 3 weeks and I think I have missed twice.  I really do have fun.  Last night was Will's last night.  He gets to go home and has trained a replacement.  I wish I would have taken some video of the class, because even this description will not do it justice.  I will probably have to tell you about it in person sometime.  I am sure the new teacher will fine, but we will all miss Will.  Out of all of the yelling and encouragement in the class, my absolute favorite was when he was trying to get us to do a certain step sequence that was particularly difficult.  He would say (on beat), "Don't give up.  Just keep on moving.  Just keep on moving."  It gets stuck in my head and while walking around base, I will think it.  I have found that applies to my life in Iraq outside of step classes as well.  Whenever I get frustrated about the way things are going-or not-while I am here, I think, "Don't give up. Just keep on moving."