Work it out.

One of the things that I miss a lot about home is being able to go to the gym. At LMU, I can get into the gym as early as 6 in the morning to as late as 11:30 in the evening. In Gardena, I can go to the YMCA 5 minutes away because my family has membership there.

In the past 3+ months, I have gone on a run once and gone to the gym never. We were given information for the local college's gym, but in order to use the facilities I had to pay monthly. I figured I couldn't count on myself to go regularly so it would have been a waste of money to pay up. As for running, it was just way too cold for a while and I'm not good enough of a runner to deal with it. On the day that I did go, it was starting to get warmer and I still had to put on a bunch of layers.

So 3+ months later, I find myself itching to get back to the gym. Even though I walk everywhere here and have to climb about 86 steps to get up to my flat at the top floor of a Victorian townhouse (no lift!), I can see the difference working out makes. It helps me sleep better, eat better (working out on a full/bloated stomach is no good), retain more energy.

A big reason that 3+ months went by without me missing the gym too much was that gym goers are not very obvious around here. I don't see women in track suits or carrying yoga mats. I don't see a gym in every neighborhood. There are no monoliths of exercise centers like there are in LA (though I have seen an LA Fitness gym here!).

Don't get me wrong, I know that there are a good amount of Londoners who work out. I've seen plenty of joggers, especially on nice days. But a lot of the joggers I've seen look like hardcore marathoners. They don't look like your average exercise enthusiast going out to stretch their muscles. They look like they run for a living. I also haven't seen very many cyclists - though I have seen plenty of bike commuters. However, I have seen numerous cycle shops. So I suppose they're out there somewhere. Probably out in the suburbs where they're least likely to get hit by a crazy London driver (I met a British student who said he's gotten hit by a car while on his bicycle).

One of my coworkers also says she swims regularly to stay active. When I told her that my dad does triathlons, she seemed pleasantly surprised and asked if triathlons are a big thing in the States. She said triathlons have been popular for a long time around the UK and Europe. And I met another British guy who said that he enjoys marathons, not for the competition but for the exercise. Furthermore, aside from cycle shops, there are also lots of stores for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, rock climbing, etc., etc. So I'm sure there are plenty of people in London who work out regularly. My point is that it's a very different culture than that in Los Angeles.

Perhaps, the weather makes the hugest difference, but LA is just more friendly and open. It's not necessarily cleaner than London, but somehow parts of LA definitely feel cleaner. Especially around the beach cities. I love that people don't smoke as much, that refreshing food is easily accessible (I dared to have my first Mexican burrito here the other day and while it was tasty, it was very heavy and greasy, not to mention badly wrapped), that friends go out on jogs together to socialize.

So even though Los Angeles probably looks intimidating to visitors (who knows maybe I'll notice things about the people that I've never noticed before, once I come back) and even though I sometimes feel a lot of pressure to look my best, I do miss seeing people everywhere working out. I can't wait to get back and hit the gym!