I have wanted to start swimming regularly again
for many months now, even before leaving for Bangladesh. My family here has
gone out of their way to help me get to the pool and the other day I went for
the first time. They are members at the Gulshan Club, which is a very nice club
not too far from where we live. I had no idea what to expect from the pool,
locker rooms, or even the other women (it’s ladies swim time in the afternoon).
At a quick glance, as I removed my sandals and passed through to the locker
room, I saw that the pool area is very nice and well maintained. I was surprised
to find there were no floating lane dividers and the usual black lines painted
on the bottom were absent. As I was walking around the locker room barefoot, I
had the feeling that I was doing something terribly wrong. I am engrained to
wear shower sandals in any public shower. As I pushed the idea of athlete’s
foot out of my mind, the pool attendant arrived with a key for the locker and
offered (for the third time) a rainbow tie-dyed rubber swim cap. I had been
warned about the need for a swim cap and had brought my own which seemed
confusing to the pool attendant who spoke limited English. I was instructed, by
signs and the attendant, that I need to shower prior to swimming, no problem. I
donned my modest, a bit too big for me, brown and tan flower pattern, conservative
(by US standards) maternity swim suit, added a bright red cloth swim cap,
showered and was off to the pool.
I have not swum laps in quite a long time so I
took it very easy. I would swim to one side, rest and float for a bit, just
enjoying the water, swim to the other side, tread water for a bit, rest and repeat.
There were four other women in the pool, who were clearly new to swimming, and
after a few laps I noticed that each of them is wearing a short sleeve t-shirt.
Besides feeling quite exposed in my tank style suit I suddenly remembered that
I also have a few tattoos that were exposed and imagined that I may have been
causing quite a scandal. At that point another woman arrived who was clearly
meeting her friends. After changing, she jumped into the pool wearing not only
the same type of fitted t-shirt as her friends but also bright pink with white polka
dots stretch pants. It turns out that all the other women were wearing tight
cotton stretch pants. After that, I was busy contemplating not only my “modest”
suit, how my pregnant belly seems to float, but also how in the world they
managed to swim in all those clothes! No wonder it seemed like they were
working too hard to stay floating and moving forward at the same time. I also
decided that scandal or no, I am not wearing full cotton clothes while
swimming. Not long after making the discovery of the pants, another woman
arrived and was wearing a black one-piece Speedo, which furthered my resolve
that my swimsuit was fine.
I finished my time in the pool and went to rinse
off. The locker room felt like an icebox after the pool so I stayed under the
warm water for a bit laughing to myself about the “Sham Poo” bottle on the
wall. The power went out while I was enjoying the warmth, which means the A/C
went out too. Thinking nothing of this at the time, I finished rinsing myself
and my suit, dressed and went to go meet my mother-in-law and Sara who were
picking me up. As we paid for my swim time, 70 taka ($0.84), I started to get
quite warm. I forgot to bring a water bottle. We waited for our driver outside
for just a few minutes in about 98 degree heat I was quite uncomfortable and
wished I would have showered in cold water. We then made a stop at a market to
drop off more fabric to the tailor for my shalwar-kameez. As I stood waiting
for my mother-in-law while she bargained about the price, (this woman is the
best at bargaining!) I thought I was going to pass out. I moved under a fan to
try to get more air. A kind man at the shop must have been able to tell that I was
not feeling too well and gave me a stool to sit on. As Sara was begging to sit
on my lap or just be picked up I was really hoping that when I faint I do not land
on her and that the floor was not an appealing place to land either. The fan
must have helped enough that I was able to make it back to the car. We had half
a bottle of warm water in the car, which I chugged.
After a lot of water and lunch, I felt better
until after dinner. We tried the Pizza Hut here and it was very good. The
chicken sausage and beef pepperoni tasted just like the pork they were
replacing. It seemed like a “slice” of home. As tasty as the pizza was I
believe that it was also very salty and sucked the little water I had replaced
right out of my system again. Once again, I was ready to faint. I took a cold
shower, which I felt could have been colder, drank ice water and turned on the
A/C. I finally started to feel better after all that. I think yesterday was the
closest to heat exhaustion I have ever been. I guess exercise, dehydration, and
98 degree temperatures will do that to a girl.
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