Swim little fish, swim

I have taken up swimming. I watched a two minute video on YouTube on how to do the front crawl, dug out my bathing suit and went to the pool.

This was a big step for me. I have always been intimidated by the people who glide smoothly back and forth across the length of the pool, their eyes alien-like behind their goggles, their mouths contorted as they take in air, their arms sinewy and strong. Despite numerous attempts by friends, boyfriends and family members to teach me a proper stroke, I have always returned to my inefficient doggie-paddle slash frog swim. "Turn from the hips!" said a friend. "Elbows out first" said another. "Breath from the side" suggested an ex-boyfriend. It never worked because I was never sure.

But then I watched that video on YouTube and I thought, "really, how hard can it be?"

The first time I went, I swallowed a lot of water. I would stop mid lap, coughing and sputtering. The lifeguards kept a close eye on me and frequently asked if I was ok. The second time I went I bought goggles and choked less though my movements in the water felt awkward, stilted and ungainly. The third time I went, I didn't swallow any water and in the last ten minutes of my one hour swim, I felt, albeit briefly, a sense of symmetry in my movements. For the fourth swim I bought a proper swimsuit instead of my mom two piece for hanging out at the wading pool. I was able to do more laps, sometimes several in a row without stopping to catch my breath at the edge of the pool.

And I started to look around. Pool culture is very interesting and I bet each pool has it's own culture. I want to explore this. I feel a need to swim in different pools, in different neighborhoods and cities to see what their pool culture is.

At my pool, I share the lanes with North African men for the most part. It is interesting to watch how some swimmers are full of bluster and competitive edge while others splash along at a snail's pace. During women's swim, the pool fills with Muslim women transformed from their hijab-clad identities to Speedo wearing dolphins. It is a transition I secretly love to behold. Also during women's swim is an elderly Greek lady who wears a shower cap and complains loudly if anyone bumps into her. She grumbled when my hand touched her toe, saying, "oh, you're too fast". I was flattered.