Thinking out loud

Almost six years ago, on December 1999, I took a trip to France and stayed in Paris for ten weeks. My trip to Paris was a good experience. First of all, I was going on a vacation out of Iran. I was living in Tehran at that time, and I hadn’t traveled to a foreign country for twenty years. I expected to experience new deeds in a different culture, and I wasn’t disappointed. What I liked the most was the fact that I wouldn’t have to wear a hijab when I would appear in public, so like a child delirious for her special gift, I took off my scarf the moment I stepped out of the airplane in Paris’ international airport. Not wearing a scarf, I let the air flow through my hair while the sun gently caressed it. Secondly, I met Susanti. I only knew her through written communication since she was my internet friend. I had a notion of her, and I was excited to meet her face to face, for I wanted to know if my perception was true. We had less in common than I thought, but I learned more about her during the day that we spent with each other than the whole year through the internet.As an example, when I went shopping for our lunch, I bought lettuce, tomatoes, fish, mushroom and rice thinking she would like them, but she liked bread, Swiss cheese, ham, and yogurt. Last but not least, I got trained in advanced aerobics which served me very well when I went back to Iran since I already was a part time aerobics instructor. I could get a hold of various video tapes in Tehran, but exercising in the real environment as a student was the perfect opportunity for me to learn new and improved skills.For example, I realized the important role of the instuctor for keeping the class alive. I liked one of my teachers the most because I was hearing his directions even when I was in the last row since his voice was louder than the music. Also, he moved around in the class smiling while he was exercising with us, so I felt welcomed in his class. I left Paris with nice memories that after six years, I smiled when I recalled them.