Day Two: Poletential

My last thought as I turned off the light and put my head down last night was, You're In San Francisco, Jamilla!  Both to remind myself of how blessed I am, and to ensure that I didn't wake with a fright in a strange place in the morning.  It worked; I woke rested and aware of my surroundings, and a little anticipatory as I always am before I meet students in a new studio. 

But first: breakfast with Christina at local food haunt, Stacks!  Mmm-mmm, scrambled eggs with chili and salsa!  Followed by a "real" northern Californian coffee from Peet's (it pays to know the locals!), and on to the studio, buzzing from my protein/ chili/ caffeine fix (now that's a real coffee - take note, Starbucks!).

It's the strangest thing to finally meet in person those you've only known of online.  From distant characters, they are suddenly there, flesh and blood... I guess it works the other way too, and everyone I meet has the same experience in meeting me.  First we walked by Amy Richard teaching her class; then the girls coming to my workshop arrived one by one.  Several were Poletential instructors, including the current USPDF West Coast Champion, Amber Richard (yes, Amy's sister!).  As much as I'm here to "be" the teacher, inside I have this huge excitement and anticipation and knowing that I, too, will be inspired by the girls I meet.  Pole classes are definitely a two-way street.  Class was GREAT - first of all, the Poletential studio is a fantastic space, with high high ceilings, big mirrors, great lighting, floor... everything (photos tomorrow)!  From my opening nerves, everything just fell into place; I know my groove in front of a class, so once I got started, we were off and running.  The end of class came all too soon, but in the meantime some fine dancing was done!  

Later in the day the Poletential instructors and owners and I went out to a local eatery, Tarboosh, for some delicious mediterranean food: Hommous, Baba Ghanoush, and Fool M'damas (Simmered fava and garbanzo beans flavored with garlic, lemon and extra virgin olive oil)... seriously, YUM!  Nutritious, and not too heavy.  Maybe the mocha afterwards was, but the night was very chilly!  Those who know me well, know that I'm a very private person, so it was a kind of change of pace for me to spend my downtime in company like this.  And I loved it!  These women are so much fun, and full of positive energy.  There's something about the women I'm meeting from the US, and moreover from what the women here have told me about the industry,  that is refreshingly... positive. Supportive.  It's not about only pushing ones own business.  These women get it.  It's about Synergy - working for the whole.  These women are interested in supporting everyone, so that together they can grow their industry, bring it to ever more women, and just basically spread the love!  Exhuberance is another great word to describe this.  Joie de vivre!  I'm looking forward to my onward journey more than ever, simply because I can only imagine the abundance of positive energy I'm going to discover along the way.  The women here are just a delight to be around, and I know that Fawnia (at the other end of my journey) is one of the most dedicated and positive people I know...


Ellen, Amber and me!

On top of all this pole inspiration, I'm actually having the opposite experience in terms of diet from what is normally expected from traveling:  I'm eating light, and well.  No more Easter Eggs under my nose, no refrigerator in my hotel room; two simple meals today that were pure nutrition (and tasty as a bonus!)... plenty of water... I'm feeling good!  Now for some more of that wonderful thing, Sleep... hasta mañana, amigos!