Testing out of Salsa Level One

At the dance studio I've been going to, you take level one salsa for three months before you can "test out" into level 2 . Tonight I did just that. Liked joining the club of the ones who are really into this. Doesn't mean I'll stop going to level one classes exactly, it just means I can add on level 2. More salsa every week. And tacit agreement with my peers - this is fun and we'll all in it together.

I almost never talk to anyone in class or before. Saturday I broke my silence and told this woman I've been admiring from afar that we were next to each other in yoga class the previous Sunday. "I thought that was you," she said. And during the next break she added, "And wasn't that you on KLRU for the Last Days of the San Jose? I was watching and thought, hey, she's in my dance class. Then I looked you up online. You had something to do with that Reel...Fiji... movie? How was that?"

"The movie or the experience?" I ask. "Both." she replied. And so the friendship begins. This woman I've been admiring for her looks and dance, is interested in me. Friendships are mysterious, as all attraction is. Later I saw her talking after class with one of my other favorites - the short, very cute Doctor. In fact, he's the only guy I've a clue what he does outside the studio. It feels like the circle is forming.

When I first went off to sleepaway camp I remember my dad saying, "You don't have to pick your new best friend the first day." It feels like that. It feels like it always does, how the strange newness dissolves into warmth and familiarity. People pick up on one another. Friendships form. At every age.