Differences between gyms in Austin and Kuwait

           

           After I settled in Austin, my cousin and I decided to sign up for a gym. At first, I thought of the University’s gym, but I was told that it is always crowded. So, we searched up online for a close gym, and 24Fitness popped up. It’s located near Hyde Park on 38^th street. We were lucky because on the day we went to sign up, there was a great discount that was going to end at that same night.

            I have been going to 24Fitness for about five weeks, and I realized something that was very different from Kuwait. First, the gym included men and women. Back in Kuwait, all gyms are separate. But that’s not the thing. The thing that surprised me the most is that there were many old people who worked out. I am talking about seventy years old and above. Wow!! I understand that this might not surprise you, but if you were Kuwaiti, you will be astonished. Back in my country, most of the old people just sit at home, eat, watch television, and that’s it. Nevertheless, here you can see how people care about their health.

            Also, I noticed that people respected the gym’s policies. For example, if they finished from a dumbbell, they would return it to the appropriate place. In Kuwait, teenagers outweigh the older people, and most of them don’t respect the rules; they would just return it to the wrong spot and don’t care about it.

            That said, there is something that annoyed me. Here in Austin, when gyms get full, you should wait for people to finish their whole sets, and then you could go after him/her and use the machine.  However, in Kuwait, you can go to someone and ask him to share a machine. For example, you would do a set, and rest while the other is doing his set.

** If there is something that confused you, please ask me in the comment box below. Thanks!!

Texas Longhorns > San Diego Aztecs

Texas Longhorns

                 

Did you notice how Austinites take football so seriously? When I go for a walk, or cruise in a car, all I see is people with orange shirts walking everywhere. When I first came to Austin, I didn’t know that people would take football so seriously. When I saw the people's enthusiasm, I decided to go to a football game.

It was the first match of the season. My cousin and I had a seat that was too close to the field. I was completely lost. I wore a white shirt and navy pants. On my way, I realized that I had made the biggest mistake in my life, but there was no time to change my shirt. People were so excited as they chanted on their way to the stadium. Some were tailgating. I think they weren’t too excited; furthermore, they were just focused on drinking beer, chatting, and hanging out. When I entered the stadium, I was astonished. Wearing orange tops, people fulfilled the stadium, and no empty seat could be recognized. Wildly chanting from their hearts, Austinites provided an intense environment. Atmosphere was phenomenal and we had lots of fun.

Last weekend, I traveled to San Diego, California. I truly loved the place; beautiful weather, nice beaches, amazing views, and lots of activities to do. My cousin took me to San Diego State University so I can see the campus and the engineering building. The campus was beautiful. When I was on my way out, I went to Starbucks and saw a drink called The Aztecs.  I asked my cousin, “What does it mean?" He told me that it was their university mascot. I was surprised because in Austin, you can quickly notice that Longhorns (Orange) is the university mascot. But in SDSU, I didn’t even know what their color was. So, I realized that there was a huge difference between the Longhorns and Aztecs.

Photo by: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947808-texas-football-recruiting-meet-the-longhorns-2014-class