the russian pool

at my gym in Israel, there are 2 pools, an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. The outdoor pool is a "see and be seen" pool, weather permitting. The water is full of sunscreen, Israeli college students in bikinis, children, and thus most likely urine. I liked that pool when they first opened it at the start of summer, but the aforementioned factors got to be a little much. The other pool is a year-round indoor heated pool, jam-packed with Russians. A term from freshman Economics comes to mind, "trade-offs". Despite my general tendencies for the outdoors, the indoor pool was often a more viable option. But therein lied the inherent issue of Dirty Old Russian Men with weight problems and staring problems. Though I tried to dress as conservatively as possible when entering the Russian Pool, the fascination with my ass knows no international boundaries. What other business would a Russian have with an American? I had to just concentrate on my swimming while looking straight ahead, feeling the many pairs of eyes upon me, with their wandering imaginations. Not the most comforting feeling, but temporary, and good discipline in building my mind over matter, grin and bear it.

Now imagine now a brand-new, beautiful, clean, series of pools, complete with jacuzzi and diving boards, a deluxe Aquaplex. Imagine further that this heavenly paradise exists in an exclusive membership-only environment, in an ideal outdoor setting with the most beautiful weather on the planet year-round. If this seems too good to be true, let your imagination wander even further, to a place where English is the only accepted language of fluency, and everyone in the vicinity has beautiful, perfect bodies. This is a real place, the SDSU Aquaplex in Sunny San Diego, an earthly reward for my having endured the Russian Pool from hell during the last 8 months.

As for Russia's relationship to the West, the contrast between communism and freedom has proven beastly over the years. The Beast from the East, threshing and threatening; the Best from the West, progressive and proud. Recent dilemmas regarding missile placement along the Russian borders has caused speculation about Russian involvement in World War III, and their loyalty to the Quartet. I often wonder about the thousands of Russian immigrant citizens in Israel, whether they will be part of the solution or the problem. The interrelated scenarios between Russian women and Bedouin men in the town of Beer Sheva are common and known. So there we have the Russian-Arab love affair which we may project onto the global political sphere. I hope the illustrations in this blog entry have provided you with an outlet for your cultural imagination, and you may consider these thoughts as relevant in the future.