This weekend, I had an 8 mile long run,only one mile less than last week, but being able to run outside with my friends in San Juan made a huge difference. This time I ran with my friends Ana and Anna ( I didn’t realize the coincidence until now). 

We ran the usual San Juan route, from the capitol to El Morro Fortress and back to the oasis at the capitol to refuel, before heading down to the next oasis. I had never gotten all the way down there, doing everything I can, to finish my run without having to cross the street at the bridge. This time, with my friends, I finally made it across that complicated three way intersection to the area where I used to walk and run with my dogs back when I lived there. It made me think it would be nice to take them running again sometime but maybe not on a Saturday long run; they’re not that young anymore and that’s probably too long for them now.

Before I knew it, I had made it to the second oasis, where I got to stop, get something to drink, say hi to some more friends, before heading back to finish. 

I was tired after the run, but the day wasn’t over yet, I had plans to go to a Salsa Night at Casa Bacardi that the Salsa instructor told us about and encouraged us to go to. He says the best way to learn is to go out and dance, so as terrifying as it is to dance in front of people who actually know how to dance, we did it.

We only danced like four songs before leaving early, the DJ wasn’t playing good songs. I know that may seem like a bad excuse for not trying but we’re still new to this. I’m still not that comfortable dancing, even in class. 

On Monday night, during our fourth class, when we were practicing what we had learned last time, the teacher called out a student near me and “the one with the blue dress”. I looked around, trying to find who he was looking for, until I remembered I was the one wearing a blue dress. 

I got scared. Me? What happened? What did I do?

It wasn’t anything bad, aI were just having a little trouble with the turn to the left but he asked one of the teachers to  take a few minutes to show me step by step how to do it until I got it. 

I was scared at first, until I realized that it was just fine. No one is judging me because we’re all learning and it’s great that I corrected something I was doing wrong quickly so I won’t continue to do it wrong.

It’s a lot, both running and learning salsa, but they’re both a lot of fun. I’m in trouble if salsa gets as addictive as running.

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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