Ever since moving to my new neighbourhood last August I'd been looking for a gym. There is one at the main intersection which was quite ridiculously priced at $100/month with old equipment and not that much selection.

Previously I'd paid $150 for a six month membership at my first gym and $250 for an annual membership at my second gym, so their outrageous price of $100/mth with a poor selection of equipment was not worth it.

I continued biking till about the end of October when the weather cooled down then didnt have any fitness opportunity for the rest of winter. Exploring the neighbourhood I did in fact find another much reasonably priced gym for $25/month.

This gym belonged to the high rise apartment buildings but they open membership to non residents for some extra money. It wasnt too fancy but they had treadmills and some weight equipment which should be sufficient. Winter was arriving so I didnt want to pay yet and decided to wait till the spring.

Being cooped up all winter was bad enough except for holiday getaways to Taiwan, The Philippines, and Uzbekistan. Spring didnt seem to arrive and when the weather finally turned warmer in March I went back to the gym to sign up for a membership

I paid $100 for a three month membership which included workout clothes and shower facilities. The guy working there found me curious as they dont get foreigners and this is just a local community centre for the high rise apartments so outsiders dont normally know about this. Even Korean teachers at my school that live in the neighbourhood were surprised to know a gym was there.

The guy that works there seemed friendly and was showing me around for the first day. He speaks very basic English but my Korean is better now and we are able to make conversation. Some of the locals also found my curious. It was brave of him to make conversation even though he cant speak much English as most Koreans would not have.

This is more of a hangout joint for the locals and there is one older guy that seems to be there everyday. He was bragging he was 62 years old although he was in very good shape and could pass for ten or more years younger. He kept calling me 'Abdullah' before I told him my name.

The locals find me somewhat of a curiosity and in the first few days they all knew I was from Canada and worked at the local school even though I only spoke to a couple of people. They tried adopting me and feeding me food when they all gather for dinner. It was polite but I'm here to work out not to eat more.

Another time I was on the treadmill and someone kept shouting. After a minute I realized it was a botched version of my name. I turned my head on the treadmill and the older guy was offering me food again. He also likes to point out the "sexy ladies" in the gym.

When I work out they like to gather round and watch. Its nice but at the same time I would like to be able to just work out. Its like having a personal trainer as they do give technique tips. Then we have some bizzare conversations.

"Why are you fat? What do you eat? Do you eat rice at home? Do you eat lots of cake?"

So in my limited Korean I try making conversation explaining I dont eat rice as we get that everyday at school, so they wanted to know what I eat and cook at home.

Then they replied "lets order chicken and beer"! Excuse me, didnt you just say I was fat now you want to feed me beer and chicken!! I joked with them about it and politely declined. Another time they wanted to know my salary so I exaggerated how much rent I pay.

One time I was trying to bench press and the older guy tried to shove kimbab into my mouth. That was actually dangerous and you could choke someone like that in the middle of bench pressing, not to mention I dont eat kimbab.

I found out some of them are parents of my students. One lady showed me a picture on her smartphone, I had no idea who the student was. I tried to ask them in Korean to tell their child to say hello to me but I dont think they understood. Another guy is also a father but I dont know who his child is and I wonder when does he goto work if he's here everyday?

One of the students did come to the gym one day to talk to his mum and now he often asks me at school whether I will be going to the gym or not. Then the weather turned bad for a few weeks so I stopped going.

When I came back they wanted to know why I didnt come. I just said I was busy in Korean. They wanted to know why and what I was doing. Its nice that I get to talk Korean with locals but at the same time there questioning can be like talking to an inquisitive child. I guess some of them are retired and the see the same faces everyday so I break the monotony and bring something unusual.

One time I wasnt going to come in for one day so I told them that tomorrow I'm not coming. They wanted to know why so I said I was meeting a friend for dinner. They wanted to know who, whether it was a male or female, and why I was meeting them. Then after they wanted to know where I went for dinner and what we ate.

Its getting comedic now and I know what questions to expect based on my attendance patterns so have Korean responses rehearsed.