The Life Course Scholars came trickling into Bayside Community Center on an early Wednesday morning in groups of 4 or 5. We put our backpacks down on the tables, and stood amongst ourselves. Everyone seemed to be a little wary of what we were going to do, but mostly excited and open to what we were going to do next. I looked around the room-- there were a couple of workers walking around wearing green aprons, and a couple of elderly people at the edge of the room talking and arranging their belongings.
It was quiet, but as soon as our Zumba instructor walked in and plugged in the aux cord to the speakers, the energy in the room rose. We were immediately up and on our feet. We congregated and spread ourselves out on the floor in front of the mirrors, behind the Zumba instructor. She didn’t start off easy-- I was definitely feeling a bit sweaty by the second song. We danced to this one song where we had to jump almost the entire time and swing around with a partner, and I was out of breath. It was cool seeing some elders doing the same workout and having just as much fun!
After Zumba was over, we had time where we could eat some snacks and talk amongst ourselves. There were only a couple of community members who stayed after the workout, so some of us could only say a couple words before they had to leave. I heard that the community center had Zumba workouts every Monday and Wednesday, and more difficult strength training workouts on different days. Though I wasn’t able to connect to many of the community members who were there for Zumba, I got closer to my fellow classmates! I love that this class is a nice break from lecture heavy classes and that we get to go out to site visits to experience and learn.
Leaving the community center, I looked around the building even more and noticed that Bayside Community Center was super welcoming and active in providing many different types of activities for everyone. It was clean, open, and decorated with murals and posters. It was close to residential homes so that people could easily access this center. As we walked out of the building, we saw two elderly ladies who made hats for each other and were complimenting each other on how great it looked on them. At this moment I realized that this is a great, open space not only for group exercise but also to connect and make new friends!
It was quiet, but as soon as our Zumba instructor walked in and plugged in the aux cord to the speakers, the energy in the room rose. We were immediately up and on our feet. We congregated and spread ourselves out on the floor in front of the mirrors, behind the Zumba instructor. She didn’t start off easy-- I was definitely feeling a bit sweaty by the second song. We danced to this one song where we had to jump almost the entire time and swing around with a partner, and I was out of breath. It was cool seeing some elders doing the same workout and having just as much fun!
After Zumba was over, we had time where we could eat some snacks and talk amongst ourselves. There were only a couple of community members who stayed after the workout, so some of us could only say a couple words before they had to leave. I heard that the community center had Zumba workouts every Monday and Wednesday, and more difficult strength training workouts on different days. Though I wasn’t able to connect to many of the community members who were there for Zumba, I got closer to my fellow classmates! I love that this class is a nice break from lecture heavy classes and that we get to go out to site visits to experience and learn.
Leaving the community center, I looked around the building even more and noticed that Bayside Community Center was super welcoming and active in providing many different types of activities for everyone. It was clean, open, and decorated with murals and posters. It was close to residential homes so that people could easily access this center. As we walked out of the building, we saw two elderly ladies who made hats for each other and were complimenting each other on how great it looked on them. At this moment I realized that this is a great, open space not only for group exercise but also to connect and make new friends!