Boxing Day

It's time again for another trip to Haddins Gym for my weekly Kettlebell abuse.  So far I've survived two of them, and last week wasn't as brutal as the week before, which makes me think that I'm getting used to it - but maybe it was just a light week and we'll get pounded into submission again today.  While I decided to not attempt the month-long Primal exercise program (discretion being the better part of valor), I have added another session: boxing.  And, as compared to kettlehell, boxing was actually a lot of fun.  Don't get me wrong, it was really tiring, but what a great stress reducer.  Mainly I just paired up with my good friend Laura (we're the last of the Remnants remaining), the mastermind behind the Haddins Gym experiment, to swap jabs, hooks and uppercuts, and try not to break any noses.  My experience is that the best way to survive, and prosper, overseas is to set up a routine and get out and about. However, as is typical of the UAE, I'm mainly getting out and about with the ex-pat community.  It's been estimated that by 2020 the Emiratis themselves will only comprise around ten percent of the UAE's population, so that's a more challenging group with which to interact.  One of the great things about teaching at Zayed is that is has given me the opportunity to get to know many Emiratis, and especially the female students, that would be imposible for most ex-pats.  That said, working out at Haddins Gym adds another surreal wrinkle to the generally surreal nature of life in the UAE.