I had one such joyous (though short lived) experience yesterday. I've been going to the same gym since I moved to Berlin and frequent the same classes most weeks--all of them with amusing Denglisch names like Fitness Gymnastic, Aerobic und Shape and Fatburner (which has to be pronounced with a German accent, "Fett-burn-a", if I want the girl checking me in to know what class I'm asking for). Most Wednesdays, I sweat through Aerobic & Shape with two of my lovely teammates, but this week both of them were otherwise engaged, so I was left alone.
Halfway through the class, I was wiped out enough to quit had it not been for the 10 other women grapevine-ing and leg curling right along with me. It's some combination of intrinsic motivation, peer pressure and we're-in-this-together-ness that gets me through every time. Being a goof to distract myself from how tired I am never hurts either. So when Baracuda's "I will love again" came on the stereo, I couldn't help but mouth the words along with the music. I do this on a fairly regular basis, but usually, I try to avoid making eye contact with anyone for fear of getting caught looking like a weirdo. On the second verse, though, I caught the eye of one of the girls behind me in the mirror. She was singing along, too. We laughed, then both kept singing in time with the complicated footwork like we were trying out for some kind of 90s music video. "I will love again//Though my heart is breaking I will love again//Stronger than before//I will love again//Even if it takes a lifetime to get over you//Heaven only knows..."
I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the class.