“I’m foreign and I know it”

This morning I felt like I was running and walking to the beat of LMFAO’s “I’m sexy and I know it,” except I had a different set of lyrics running through my mind.  I woke up in my pitch-black room at 8AM and decided it was time to go for a run.  My room is great, and its also terrible all at the same time.  It’s great because when to sun goes up at 4:30AM in Odessa I can sleep in.  But when there is a power outage or I need some motivation to get out of bed, it’s terrible.  I forced myself out of bed and changed into my running gear.  Mace and iPhone in had, I hit the streets.  People don’t really run here.  I have seen gyms around town that are mostly for muscle heads, so I am not sure where the average person works out.  People looked at me strangely as I bolted past them on the streets, but “I’m foreign and I know it.”

I did the Potemkin Stairs a couple times, which is rough since there are 192 steps all together.  Then I ran to the end of the large dock that overlooks the Black Sea, and back to the stairs.  I did some triceps, pushups and jumping jacks on the larger stairs then ran the rest of the way home.  I ran for 30 minutes and did the rest over the course of about 20 minutes – not too shabby.

Ready for some jumping jacks?

After I got back home and showered, I put on a dress and my cowboy boot and walked to my favorite café, Kompot, where I went with Claudia on our first trip to Odessa.  Again, “I’m foreign and I know it.”  People were definitely not rude to me, but I could tell maybe they weren’t used to seeing average people in cowboy boots.  On my way out, the lady that works here asked me if it wasn’t too hot to be wearing boots.  It’s funny, because I never really thought about how strange it is that Texans wear cowboy boots so often, even when its so hot out.  Anyways, it was nice to sit at my café, work on my personal statement for grad school and just people watch.  My application is definitely coming along thanks to friends like Lori and my sister, Diana, who are helping me read through some notes.  I am glad to have friends and family who support me in my desire to go to PA school.  I won’t let y'all down!

After changing into sandals, because, yes, it was too hot for cowboy boots, I went in search of the market place I remember frequenting last time I was in Odessa.  With some random walking, I managed to find it.  I had some basic items on my list, which I found with relative ease.  After doing a little shopping spree, I grabbed some lunch (which would also serve as my dinner) and headed back to the apartment.  I spent most of the afternoon working on my application, and reading The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker.  It is so good that I am nearly done reading it after just a week.  I have a low tolerance for boring books and rarely finish them.  I plan on giving it to my dad to read when he gets here, then maybe a friend who I think will benefit from reading it as well.    

Well, that’s about all I have today.  It looks like it might start pouring again tonight!  I am glad it seems to clear up in the morning, because I definitely did not pack for rain.

Dirty street kitty on a moped