August and the Art of Vegetating

Yes, I know it's already September. But it's worth, even belatedly, documenting the way summer progresses here in Italy. So in the wake of the re-entry that is fall, I will try to capture the state of summer here that can only be described as comatose...

As we moved into late June, a strange thing started to happen to the American. School was ending, and suddenly all her activities began to be curtailed. Dance classes ceased. Why? she asked, naively. Well, nobody would be here. Hmmm. Next, hours at the gym were drastically reduced. But, why? again, she asked. Because nobody would come. It was too hot. People just want to go for walks now. Hmmm.

By July, the dance studio was closed. Pilates classes were cancelled. The gym was open only every other afternoon. Yoga had stopped. Finally, by August, the pool shut down. This, for the 24/7 fitness-based American, was really the last straw. All the excuses - the heat, the kids, the walks - had been exhausted, and what else was one to do if it was too hot, but swim? At her wits' end, she left the country and flew to the land of the midnight work-out, the US of A.

Now, I admit there are many nice things about the slower pace of a small Italian town. The stress of daily life here is dramatically lower than that of Washington, DC. Food is cheap, time with family is plentiful.

However, the Italian attitude toward exercise is just about as far away from American-acceptable as one could find. Remember that delightful older gentleman on the Shuttle flight that I quoted some months ago? The one who remarked that Italians were really good at vegetating? And remember what I said about that? That it was lovely to have all that leisure time to visit with family and friends? That vegetating was really a positive thing?

Forget it.

Vegetating in summer, with camp for kids that finishes at the latest by 4:00, weather too hot to be out until dinner time and EVERYTHING in town closed from 1:00 until 5:30 pm, is tough.

The mentality seems to be that once school is out, life loses all focus and discipline. No one wants to exercise - it's hot. (Hmmmm.) No one can do anything at all because the kids are around. (Hmmm, again.) Fitness is not really a lifestyle here. The only person I've met who truly believes in it is the woman who owns the gym where I do Pilates. She is amazing. And she says she would be happy to stay open, but it's too depressing because no one will come. So she, too, closes down.

It's like exercise belongs to adults only when it's convenient. And it's prohibited to plan it during the summer. There is really no understanding of exercise as a way of life, an enjoyable, everyday part of existing. I ran into yoga friends (English, Canadian and German) at a party in June, and one suggested we start a center for ex-pats who actually wanted to exercise during the summer, and hire our own teacher. Hmmm, indeed.

So while back in the States, I rejoined my old jazz dance group at the most wonderful of studios, Joy of Motion, in Washington. God, do I miss it. And was delighted to find that my double turn is still intact. At the pool I went off the diving board and managed my standard jack-knife and half-twist. And I found the greatest Vinyasa Yoga studio in Richmond, where I sweated my butt off and loved it. Because this year I turned 50. That's right, the big FIVE-OH. And I read my new bible, Younger Next Year, courtesy of my almost-fifty sister.

The moral of the story is this: Move it or lose it. I don't intend to lose it. I made my husband take a photo of me diving. And it's not bad. (If anyone out there recalls my competitive efforts of 30 years ago, please be kind.) Thanks to yoga and dance, I can stretch much farther than I could in my twenties. (I've lost the back walk-over, though. A new challenge?) And I bounced on the trampolines at the beach this summer with my nine-year old daughter, and taught her how to do a front flip.

So move it or lose it all year long, Italy. There are lots of charming things about European life. This isn't one of them. I know that sooner or later I will figure out how to organize myself around a town that shuts down completely for four hours in the middle of the day. But I hope I am never defeated by a society that discourages exercise.

For now, it's back to autumn and all the programs we've missed for the last three months. Who knows, maybe next year we'll found that ex-pats' summer exercise studio? Always an opportunity.....