vendredi 9 février 2007

Fencin’ USA

So how should I stay in shape in burger-nacho land? My residence has the usual treadmills and stair masters, which are good enough to keep me in shape - for about two minutes. The machines have nice personalities, but we just don’t have chemistry together. Fortunately, I had a long standing back-up plan.

Before coming to Arizona, I had decided to import a hobby from home: fencing. The challenge is that fencing alone is even less interesting than bowling alone. So I hit the Internet. Surely, a university that values sports enough to have a 56,000 seat stadium will have a fencing team or club... or not. I discovered the U of A was fencerless, but the same research also provided another hit: the Arizona Fencing Academy.

Upon arriving in Tucson, I phoned the number on the website. A sturdy voice told me to come to an address on Broadway Boulevard - I can now say I’ve fenced on Broadway! A few days later, I show up. The address corresponds to an industrial strip mall, with a Christian right billboard on top of it.

Between a taco stand a VCR repair business, there are tinted windows and a door with small glued-on letters: AFA. When I push the door, touché meets U-Haul. An industrial space has been converted into a large fencing gym, with modern equipment. Since that discovery, I have been going twice a week. The coach, to whom I had talked on the phone, is indeed sturdy - and she knows what she wants. Let me tell you, that fencing coach trait simply transcends borders...

Perhaps FedExing my fencing bag across North America was geeky. But you have to admit that there is something cool in being able to say: I got speared in Sonora.

L'esprit ne peut rien contre l'épée, mais l'esprit uni à l'épée est le vainqueur éternel de l'épée tirée pour elle-même.
- Albert Camus

3 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit...

Julien, le maître du double-entendre!

Greg Dingle a dit...

next time we get togther, we should go fencing!

Elyas a dit...

Salut Julien,
Je te lis de temps en temps, je trouve magnifique tes aventures scolaires. Bref, un petit bonjour pour te souhaiter le succès dans tes études. A bientot!

Elyas