Lessons in Salsa and Humility

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to dance, more specifically to swing dance. In Abbotsford I’d been going dancing for years! I’m not that great, but it’s fun and I just enjoy it so incredibly much. Unfortunately, as expected I can’t find any swing dancing in Bogota, but salsa is everywhere. So I decided I want to learn salsa. Fun!

I've gone salsa dancing a couple times in BC, but I know I have a lot to learn, so I looked for classes to take. The host family I was staying with took me to salsa lessons for beginners very close to where I live. I've gone several times with a colleague from the office. It’s been fun, great aerobic exercise and a very humbling experience.

Humbling, you ask? Well yes. With swing dancing I had passed the beginner stage a while ago. I knew there was still a lot that I didn't know, but I was at a comfortable middle level. The instructor in these salsa classes is very exact in what he wants. It’s not just memorizing some steps, but everything about how you move your body. I know this is the best way to learn a dance, to get it all from the beginning, and he teaches a much better foundation than most lessons I've seen in North America.

But it’s so frustrating! Just when I think I’m getting something, he shows me I’m not stepping forward properly. ‘Point your foot,’ ‘don’t step so hard,’ ‘smoother,’  ‘posture: pull your shoulders back,’ ‘stop jumping,’ etc. I can feel swing movements coming out, without trying. So I need to start from the beginning with salsa.

I keep telling myself that I know this is good to learn, I want to learn this, but it requires a lot of patience. I one of the last classes a little discouraged. Will I ever get all these small things down? I can go dancing without them, but I want to dance well! And to dance well I need to practice and learn this stuff. And that’s why I’m going to go again. I know the instructor will correct me on the same little things, countless times, but that’s what I need if I want to learn it.

And yesterday I got to practice salsa with a different teacher, and it was a great time! I started to feel like I’m getting it a bit more J

So here is where I can transition my story into some sort of life lesson or teaching moment, right? I have been teaching and sharing in church settings for a long time, so…

Let’s just say that salsa is an obvious example of lessons in humility I’m having in learning and getting used to a new city, a new country, a new culture. What I've learned before can help me pick up new things here, but I still need to go back to the beginning in a lot of ways. Especially to learn the small intricacies that makes a good foundation for a new way of doing things.

Random update: My apartment has had repairs made! All the bills are paid and internet has been installed. And I have new furniture, including a bed and couches. The apartment finally feels more like a home. I finally finished the blanket I was crocheting! Can you believe this is the first blanket I’ve ever crocheted and finished? It’s really warm and I am very happy to use it in cold Bogotá J