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Swimming Fun!

OK, so a few of these pictures are quite embarrassing (like this first one) but oh well :) haha!
My favorite way to exercise is swimming!! I've always loved water! It's so great!! I've been really looking for ways to exercise here. It's so hot that the regular ways I exercised before just aren't working for me - I've tried walking, running, taebo, etc... but it's just so HOT!! and I just can't motivate myself to exercise when it's that hot! (Last night at 8:00 pm it was 103 degrees!). Anyway, I found a swimming pool that is pretty close by that I joined!! This pool is AWESOME!! It's actually pretty huge! The width of the pool is about the same as the length of pools that are considered "Olympic size" (which one of my FSU professors said that there was no such thing as an 'Olympic size')...
Now, you're actually not allowed to take pictures at the pool (which is a good thing because if they didn't have that rule then guys would be taking tons of pics of the girls) but I was sneeky and took a few pics... Anyway, most pools around the country have specific times that girls can swim and times that guys can swim (and it's usually random 2 hour periods during the day)... and they have tons of hours that they're closed (usually during the hottest times of day). BUT this pool is open 6 am - 10 pm!! and is open 7 days a week! AND guys and girls can swim whenever (which makes for some funny experiences)... I've learned which times of day are the best times to go - when there are less people (like in the picture above) - It's actually pretty fun because most of the people there are girls that are trying to become 'air hostesses' and are taking swim classes.... so I get to meet a lot of fun people :)
Anyway, I got a membership this month and so far I've gone 5 out of the 6 days of my membership and I love it!! I can bring Adam in with a guest fee, so him and Aashini have come with me a couple of times...The people at the pool have freaked out about us bringing Aashini in the pool... I guess they aren't used to people doing that - they weren't sure what to say :) Aashini loves it though (I'll try to sneak another picture soon). She'll sit in her little raft and kick and kick! She loves it! The other day when we took her swimming - we totally wore her out!
Now, here comes the fun part....
SWIMMING COSTUMES!!!
They don't call them swim suits here... they're called costumes! It's actually a pretty good word for them :) They really look a lot like the swimsuits in America in the 1920s... Most people wear costumes like the pic below. It has sleeves, skirt AND shorts. The women really dress modestly. Sometimes they'll have long sleeves or long shorts/pants with their costume. Some girls will wear long sleeved shirts under their costume or leggings under it as well. It's quite modest...
Now guys on the other hand...
They are the total opposite! They wear the skimpiest clothes! haha! They LOVE speedos... Most guys wear "bikini-cut" speedos - yeah, pretty gross.... some wear regular speedos, some wear short bike shorts and some wear their underwear.... Now, I don't have a picture of this, but this picture (below) is from the front page of the paper not too long ago will give you the idea...
And last, but not least :) - my costume. The pool we're at is more modern, so you don't have to have sleeves if you don't want to and you have the choice of shorts OR a skirt.... When I started at the pool I had to buy a costume there. They gave me a lot of choices of suits with skirts - but I just couldn't see myself in them... so I went with a costume with shorts... haha! Funny thing about this suit... I wore it backwards the first two times I went swimming ;)... so here it is..

oh yeah, I have to wear a swim cap too- cute isn't it?

Comments

Emily said…
This is just great!! Such a great post, from the info about swimming pools to the description of the costumes, and yes of course, the best is YOUR costume. YEA!! I'm glad you put up the pic. It's honestly not *that* bad. Looks like fun! I'm glad you snuck in some pics.
Kelley C said…
The fact that you wore it backwards is one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.
Laura said…
That's not a bad suit! I like the pink and black! Looks good!
Deanna said…
That was a great post!!! It's funny to hear about how modest they are in your part of the world. At our pool here, it's all gender mixed and very, how shall I say...non-modest to the extreme. And the photo of the speedo guys is just hilarious! Thanks for sharing and glad you've found a way to get some exercise.
Joy said…
I loved your blog! That's so funny! Actually, I would prefer a swim costume now that I've had a baby!
Wow... informative and entertaining...what a great post! I'm glad you're able to cool off, even if you have to wear your "costume." Not thinking I'll be doing any "public swimming" after we move. The CR is incredibly NOT modest! :)
alicia said…
I love it! Andrea - bathing beauty :) That suit cracks me up!!!

But - I sort of wish we wore suits like that over hear, I would love to wear a skirted suit without looking like a dork. A skirt would so cover up what my children have done to my stomach! Although - I think I could do without the speedo's (ewwwwww!)

Alicia
Barbara said…
I LOOOVE it! :) I want one :)
Jill said…
awesome post! the fact that women have to cover up and the men wear bikini-cut speedos cracks me up!
Jeremy's fam said…
you are so funny! I wish some girls here were required to be covered... although, i'm glad our men atleast are covered. have fun keeping cool-er :D
allhisblessings said…
Your costume is awesome! I'll bet it stays in place when you do a dive! And the tan lines... yee-haw!
Erin G said…
I love swimming too! and you look just like an olympian with your suit on - lots of women race in the shorts suits now! the pink is very fun! if you want, I can send you some great swimming workouts so you can learn to increase your speed and distance, and then meet lots of fun people by competing in open water events! we'll make you a swimmer yet!

and it's true about the olympic sized pool thing. since the swimming for the olympics is in summer (duh), that's long-course season for swimmers. which means that olympic pools have to accomodate races of 50 meters per lap - but there's no standard width - in number of lanes, or in lane width. and since some pools use multiple bulkheads to section off diving wells and warm-up sections, the total pool length can also be longer than 50m, even if the race course is correct. And VERY few pools that claim to be olympic-sized are even the right length. drives me nuts.

have fun swimming!!
ha ha! so funny! i too liked the part about you wearing it backwards! i suppose these bathing suits would be very popular out there: http://www.modest-swimwear.net/ my aunt sent me the link b/c i'd mentioned that i liked my girls in the swimsuits with a shirt (rash guard?) b/c it covers more in terms of UV protection...but she took it to mean we'd like to be amish...heehee!
SouthAsiaRocks said…
Erin g - I'd love to have those swimming workouts and stuff - that would ROCK!

Greenland - that site cracks me up! That's totally like the swimsuits we have here!
Brown said…
What a fun post! I love the "costume!" I bet it seriously turns some heads! :-) In a very good way of course ... Oh and I love that link Katie sent with modest swimwear- You'd be burning up in that with 100+ weather! Ha!!
The Agarwals said…
Oops! I posted under Rahul's account- sorry!

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