Freiburg and Beyond: A Stag in Germany

So I went to the gym in Freiburg today for my first big work out since I got here. Consequently I am extremely sore and ready to go to bed. However, I thought it best to comment first on the experience. As anyone who regularly goes to a gym will attest, there is a certain comraderie that develops between those working out in the same place. Whether it is all the testosterone flowing, or a sort of primal totemic ritual arising a collective effervescence (a la Durkheim) I do not know, but there definitely is some sort of communion that develops almost immediately when working out in a small weight room. I thought that it was particularly interesting that this feeling trancends language and culture barriers to function even in such a different place. Everyone in a weight room (who legitimately works out) understands one another. I was able to communicate far easier with the guys in this weight room than I have with any other group of Germans that I have met. Granted it is probably because the conversation consisted of a few words and grunts, but I felt as if I was actually getting my point accross. I really felt at home for the first time since I got here. I will post some other time on my Eliadian interpretation of why this is, but for now, suffice it to say that in a weight room I feel as if we are all related despite the barriers that exist in the real world.

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