In some earlier posts I mentioned a place called SESC, or actually several places in São Paulo called SESC. I think there are something like 12 or 14 of them scattered around the city, and more in other cities as well. Although they are privately owned, and oriented primarily toward business people, they are, in most other respects, like huge community centers. The one closest to me is a modern building 8 or 9 stories high. It has multiple spaces for performing arts, a restaurant and coffee shop, a room with 25 or 30 computers for members´use, a reading room, a huge swimming pool, a gymnasium/health club as big as a basketball court, and who knows what I´m forgetting. Their business-person orientation is a little bit odd because so many other things here have a bias in favor of seniors. But it is a private organization and you know there is more money to be made from business types.
Once per month, they have a day in which business people can sign up for regular usage of the gym. Then, if there are still spaces available, they open it up to seniors. On the specified day in May I went and sat in line waiting for one of the 15 available positions. I was number 11, so I got one. But, because I was over 59, I had to make an appointment with a doctor on site for the next day. Then, because I haven´t been on any regular exercise regimen for several years, she told me I had to have a stress test before I could be ok´d for the gym. And, no, they didn´t offer that test at SESC. I would have to arrange that on my own, wherever I wanted. Obviously, if it had really been up to me at that point, my gym experiences would have ended right there. But Heitor got on the phone and found a clinic that gave me an appointement for 8 am the next day. I aced the stress test and now have a regular schedule at the gym at the cost of $R20/month. Unfortunately, I only get 2 days per week. I chose Tuesdays and Thursdays, which works nicely with my class schedule of Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But 2 days doesn´t seem like enough. Maybe I´ll have to join a health club eventually. And my gym enrollment is only good for 1 year. If I want to continue beyond that, I´ll have to go through the same process and hope the business types leave a few crumbs for us old folks (mostly old ladies, by the way).
Tonight I am off to a party for one of Heitor´s ex bosses who has a book that was recently published. It is nice to know that I, perhaps alone of everyone there, won´t be expected to say how much I loved it or how eagerly I am awaiting the opportunity to read it.
One more thing to add to the list of things I don´t like about Brasil. People don´t know that, on escalators, the rule is stand to the right and leave the left free for walkers. It isn´t as minor a complaint as you think. Every Metro station has a series of escalators, and I only get to go to the gym twice per week, so this is part of my exercise routine. Get out of my way!!! At least some of the stations have the option of stairs.
Next time: it is actually kind of cold here in the winter. I bought a stocking cap on sunday.
Tchau
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