I’m sure that those of you that knew me pre-Peace Corps will chuckle to yourselves when I say that one of the jobs I find myself doing in my village on a continual basis is that of group fitness instructor. Sporty. Coordinated. Athletic. Fit. These are all words that would not often be used to describe me. I’m not trying to be too self-deprecating…I just know my strengths lie elsewhere. It will probably surprise you even more to find out that this was one of my first projects to take off.
Yes, Ms. Jesi’s Zumba class is now a regular occurrence in the village, and although sometimes attendance wanes, people are slowly-but-surely showing up to get in their daily exercise. The class is three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons. (Did I mention that being a PCV is a 24/7 job? Yeah, we don’t just get to “take weekends”…) To be quite honest, the class was not my idea. The principal of the Catholic school asked me to start the group for some interested parents in our first meeting together. I was really nervous about it, but I wanted to start off on a good foot so I enthusiastically agreed.
Most of my apprehension about this aerobics class was related to the fact I had never instructed group fitness. I did not have direct access to Zumba video, songs, or choreography. (Was I even fit enough, myself, to do high-intensity aerobics for an hour three times per week…in front of people?) So, I decided to not make it too hard on myself and downloaded a few Youtube videos of off-brand Zumba, as Zumba brand videos are copyright-protected. (Search keywords include Latin Dance Aerobics, Dance Exercise Class, etc.) For the first class, we used a projector to simply follow along with the videos, and the format has stuck. Whenever we need a challenge, I just download a new video when I have access to the internet.
I would consider this activity a success because, to date, the Zumba class has met over thirty times. Sometimes, it’s really hard to gauge your success as a PCV because you want to judge your impact by the numbers, but it’s not just a high turnout that makes for a successful activity—it’s the lasting effect. PCV’s are quick to measure their success by comparing themselves to other volunteers, too, which is equally as dangerous. How can you try to compare between communities when their are unique challenges in each one? Some of my fellow volunteers are in villages that have 3.000+ people, others have barely 200. You simply cannot expect the same programs to function the same way in every village.
The moral of the story is I like Zumba, now. The ladies that show up regularly have become my friends, and I think the fact that I am not super-buff may have made the class that much more inviting. I’m right there sweating and panting with them. One of the ladies in the class, and the most frequent attendee, has lost over 10 pounds. Even if there is only one person that is truly losing weight, I’ll take that as a triumph. In training, we learn to celebrate the small successes, and it’s true; that’s what you have to do to stay sane doing development work because change is slow.
Love always,
Jess
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