el gym

Today my host friend took me to the gym. Hold it right there, you’re probably thinking. You went to the gym? In A*stan? How? Why? and Where? are good questions that you also might be pondering. Well, just so happens that for about 3 hours in the middle of the day this particular gym is open for women. There are apparently several gyms in the city, and the gym we went to is the “nicest.” “Nice” must be a relative term, for several reasons. 1) The place smelled like feet; 2)the weight machines were made out of old car seats, bike chains, bike seats, and anything that could be measurably heavy, 3)there wasn’t a track, so the women just ran around the weight machines. Rather, they frolicked around the weight machines. I didn’t have to wear my head scarf, but I did have to wear my salwar kamis, the traditional shirt-and-top combo that most Af*gs wear. I didn’t exactly bring my track pants and tank top to this country. Also, as is tradition, we had to take off our shoes when entering the building, just like we do everywhere else we enter. But, I also left my running shoes at home, so I had nothing to change in to. I did about an hour workout in my sock feet. I don’t think you’d even be allowed in a gym in the States without shoes on. I channeled some of my creative energy into weight lifting techniques, as the dumbbells the women use are about 1lb each, and neon-colored. This country never ceases to amaze me…


check out the handle bars and old driver seat from a car.


this is a shot from the locker room, with a burqa in the foreground.


again, the bike seat…


Lisa Frank school supplies would have fit in nicely here in the free weight section.