Visit a “strange” place and tweet your observations. Include those tweets in your blog post. Then discuss how your experience compares to the characters’ experiences.
The strange place I decided to visit was my gym, Future Fitness in Berlin NJ. I was intending to visit a different strange place, but when I went to the gym one day, I looked around and realized what a strange place it was. The first strange observation I made was the wide range of members. I noticed big people, small people, young people, and old people. There were very fit people, and some not so fit. Everyone there was on a mission to work out, and the gym smelled of sweat and body odor.
I made many strange observations during my two hour visit. First, I ran next to a young man in his twenties. He was walking on a treadmill at the speed of 3.0. This may not seem strange, but his apparel was another story. He was working out in jeans and a wife beater. I couldn't help but think to myself if this guy had thought about his apparel before arriving at the gym. There is actually a sign at the entrance of the gym that states "Please no jeans!" I wondered if someone on staff at the gym would approach him, but alas no one ever did.
People at the gym have some bizarre rituals and rountines. I saw many people logging and timing their work outs. Others were running from machine to machine as though they were on a tight schedule and needed to get their work outs over with. I watched some women in the aerobics room taking a Piloxing class. It was interesting to see how many of the women were actually doing the moves correctly. Outside the aerobic room there is a large dry erase board with the monthly schedule of aerobic classes. One elderly gentleman came over and studied the board for several minutes. I couldn't help but wonder if he was interested in a class or just wasting time.
At the end of my visit I went to the locker room to retrieve my coat and keys from my locker. A water aerobics class had just ended and the locker room was crowded with half dressed elderly women. I was surprised to see that most of these women were not shy and had no problem changing in front of everyone. I quickly grabbed my belongings and made an exit. As I was leaving the gym I made the strangest observation. There was a man, probably in his mid forties, working out on an elliptical machine, wearing a fanny pack. What could a person possibly need a fanny pack for while working out?
I have been a member of this particular gym for about eight years or so. In all my years at this gym I never thought of my gym as a strange place. In the "Native Hill", Berry states that when he returned to his native place he began to see the real abundance of it. He really looked at it for what it was, like he was seeing it for the first time. That is the approach I took with my strange place. After all these years of visiting this particular gym I never really noticed the strangeness of it. I really looked around and observed my surroundings.
RSS Feed