Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Hot Room

The community centre I use for swimming is a great place to hang out. There is always something strange happening, this week there was flower displays and a photography exhibtion, old men sit outside different rooms and entice you in with biscuits and bananas. It is impossible to say no.

While swimming last Wednesday I met a man who worked in the city hall, he had fantastic English and enjoyed stopping me every few lengths to tell me I had ‘beautiful swim stroke’, what a nice thing to say! He said I was like swam, an animal that looks like it is gliding from above but infact it is secretly very fast. A strange observation that I couldn’t quite get my head around but still seemed like it was ment as a compliment.

Eventually I managed to pull myself away and headed for a quick sauna, (usually I pop in for 10minutes after a swim). I always thought it was odd that every time I entered people would wait a few minutes then quietly excuse themselves, but I had heard that it is quite common for Japanese to do that if foreigners entered and I wasn’t complaining having the place peacefully to myself, (even though they blast a television in the room). After my ten minutes when I was leaving Mr.City Hall man was calling me from the pool. I smiled, bowed and kept waving saying goodbye nice to have met you, secretly trying to run away as the whole pool was watching. He then jumps out of the pool and comes running over. ‘Hannah san man only hot room, MAN ONLY’

Oh dear lord, the embarrassment.

So for a solid two months I have been swimming maybe three times a week, using the sauna 90% of the time…the MENS only sauna.

I laughed, he laughed, the entire pool laughed. I found the womens only today and it just doesn’t feel the same!

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