i upgraded a board today from a beginner board to a lighter one. it didn't go as well. i had a hard time finding my centre of gravity, and kept pitching myself over the right side of the board. that, and i have a hard time going from a laying to a standing position in one easy quick jump while being swept in a wave. hence, i end up on my knees part way and get a rash on them.
i cut my foot, burned my bum (despite sunscreen and a completely overcast day), and then my board hit me in the face (it was my fault, i had it parallel to a wave so it picked it up and pitched the board into my face.) i had a swollen lip for the afternoon but that settled down.
it hasn't been sunny at all, very overcast and cloudy but obviously the sun is getting through! i met a girl at the hostel here who is also working on her surfing, so it is nice to be able to leave my stuff on the beach and not worry about someone jumping out of a bush to take it.
we had a little viewing party at noon today. we were both laying on the beach when i noticed a few figures emerge from the trees and park themselves on a tree stump. they just sat and unabashadely stared at us. then in my right peripheral vision i saw movement, and lined up on the grass were 6 other construction workers. they kept coming and coming. i think there were at least 15 guys sitting and watching us some point. they were obviously on a lunch break, but were mysteriously not eating lunch. filling themselves on the eye candy i suppose.
i had to bring my surf board back and ask them to downgrade me back to a beginner board so that i can get more practice actually standing instead of falling. when i get better at that, i will try the smaller lighter board again... i just have the expectation that i should be good at things immediately. i don't want to wait to get better; i only have a week darn it!! :-)
so it will be back to the beach tomorrow. tamarindo is a good place for beginners to learn, waves aren't too big and it isn't crowded due to low season. good time to come...
hope you are all well and that there is no snow!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
surfs up - and so is alida (on the board)
well, took the first lesson today. i have rashes and bruises and a sunburn despite sunscreen, but it was fun! surfing is definately more difficult than i had hoped:-) it takes alot of effort to swim out, and stand up, and try to stay standing up (if i even get that far...) i was totally exhausted after an hour, but darn it, the lesson was two hours, so i just kept going and going (being the good dutch person i am, i have to get the full money's worth)
i managed to stand several times, once even going all the way to the beach, where i had to jump onto the sand to stop. that was exciting. i fell more than i stood though, often leaning too far over the right of the board and going head first into the water. i am not so nimble as to jump right up like the instructor either. it takes actual effort to push my body up. i provided some entertainment for people walking by on the beach. good thing i am okay with laughing at myself!
i hung out on the beach the rest of the afternoon and read. the beaches are pretty quiet because it is low season. this is good and bad. it is nice because you don't have to fight for a spot. it is bad because you don't want to leave your stuff on the beach lest someone leaps out of a bush to steal your stuff. that and, strange costa rican men sit and watch you and do other stuff...
i was getting a little uncomfortable with a guy sitting about 50 feet away. he was looking over too much and there was no one else around (to hear me scream) so i decided to head back to the hostel and then find food. that guy didn't bug me, but as i was walking back, i saw a guy ahead of me stop on his mountain bike. i thought he was going to try to sell me necklaces or something. i would have preferred he do that, after what transpired. as i walked closer, i noticed he was fiddling with his pants, and then doing motions with his hands that can only mean one thing. apparently, he gets off pleasuring himself in front of gringo girls on the beach. as i walked by he starts saying "hola, hola, hola, hola"
well buddy, "hola this"... of course i don't say anything as i don't want to give him even an inch to go with (sorry, a bit pun like).
my hostel manager wrote down for me " leave me alone or i will call the police" in spanish, so i will practice this tonight. she assures me this is an unsual activity and that i should have gone to the police (doesn't help if i don't know where the police station is)
i plan to rent a board tomorrow and spend the day on the beach, taking rest breaks inbetween my efforts to stand on a surf board.
i managed to stand several times, once even going all the way to the beach, where i had to jump onto the sand to stop. that was exciting. i fell more than i stood though, often leaning too far over the right of the board and going head first into the water. i am not so nimble as to jump right up like the instructor either. it takes actual effort to push my body up. i provided some entertainment for people walking by on the beach. good thing i am okay with laughing at myself!
i hung out on the beach the rest of the afternoon and read. the beaches are pretty quiet because it is low season. this is good and bad. it is nice because you don't have to fight for a spot. it is bad because you don't want to leave your stuff on the beach lest someone leaps out of a bush to steal your stuff. that and, strange costa rican men sit and watch you and do other stuff...
i was getting a little uncomfortable with a guy sitting about 50 feet away. he was looking over too much and there was no one else around (to hear me scream) so i decided to head back to the hostel and then find food. that guy didn't bug me, but as i was walking back, i saw a guy ahead of me stop on his mountain bike. i thought he was going to try to sell me necklaces or something. i would have preferred he do that, after what transpired. as i walked closer, i noticed he was fiddling with his pants, and then doing motions with his hands that can only mean one thing. apparently, he gets off pleasuring himself in front of gringo girls on the beach. as i walked by he starts saying "hola, hola, hola, hola"
well buddy, "hola this"... of course i don't say anything as i don't want to give him even an inch to go with (sorry, a bit pun like).
my hostel manager wrote down for me " leave me alone or i will call the police" in spanish, so i will practice this tonight. she assures me this is an unsual activity and that i should have gone to the police (doesn't help if i don't know where the police station is)
i plan to rent a board tomorrow and spend the day on the beach, taking rest breaks inbetween my efforts to stand on a surf board.
Monday, May 28, 2007
not so funny comedy of errors
i can't believe i actually made it to costa rica, never mind tamarindo - the small surfing town i am staying at. it has been a pretty ridiculous chain of events!
it started in houston, texas. they announced we would be leaving late as the pilots were still flying from atlanta. they boarded us an hour late and told us the pilots would be "just a few minutes" and "they are landing on the runway now". well almost an hour later no pilots - apparently they got stuck in a line-up on the tarmac for 45 minutes.
finally, the pilots get on the plane, and awhile later... "well folks, it seems like we don't have enough fuel, so we just need a few minutes to fill up"
30 minutes later, "well folks, it seems something was miscommunicated, they didn't give us enough fuel. i would like another 5000-6000 pounds on board. just a few more minutes"
another 30 minutes later... "well folks, the fuel truck is now stuck on the tarmac, within our sight. apparently they are being blocked by a medical emergency in another plane"
finally, about 2 1/2 hours of sitting on the plane watching every t.v. show they have on their old vhs tapes, we start the taxi down the runway.
and we are off...
and finally some good news... "well folks, to thank you for all your patience, alcoholic beverages are on us tonight!" well, i admit i had a margarita, and i am surprised that the whole plane didn't get wildy drunk off their faces because there were some very irritated people! everything seemed to be going well... i had missed my ride pick-up at the airport and tried to email from houston, but i had a hostel booked and i felt good. i was even laughing!
but there is more... we started our descent into san jose, costa rica, when i noticed the nose of the plane started pointing more and more upwards. i thought "this isn't how you are supposed to land a plane" and what do you know
"well folks, there is alot of fog here in san jose, and we CAN'T FIND THE AIRPORT" ( i add the emphasis). so we have to circle around and try again"
so we fly in another circle with a few dims lights showing through the fog. and we fly in another circle... and some more...
"well folks, it seems that we just can't seem to land here in costa rica, so the plan is to land in nicaragua. we'll fill you in on the details as we know them"
so it is now 11:30 pm, we were supposed to arrive at 8:30 pm and now we are going to nicaragua! well, i thought, i haven't been there before! now i will be able to say i dropped in! they tell they will put us in a hotel for the night and announce more plans in the airport. and oh, by the way, the airport in managua, nicaragua was closed for the night, so they had to call all the employees and ask them to come back!
so we land and shuffle into the airport. no announcements, no direction. just 2 11 seat vans to shuttle about 200 people to different hotels. i took one of the last shuttles as some very ornery people pushed their way to the front. i could sleep another day... they told us, we'll announce in your hotel what the plans are for the day in the morning...
so, 1:30 in the morning i finally fall into bed. i am supposed to be catching a separate flight at 8:30 in the morning on a different airline to get to tamarindo...
in the morning, do you think there are any announcements. no, why would they do that? based on heresay from other passenegers i find out about the flight and spend $13 on a phone bill to rebook my other flight and arrange transport to the other airport. 20 minutes later, another passenger tells me a different departure time which screws up my other flight. i sent a fax cancelling everything and have no idea what i am going to do.
we finally get to the airport and i meet an american couple who are also trying to get to tamarindo. we decide to make a run to the other local airline to try to snag a last minute flight.
in another miscommunication between the pilots and airport staff, we spend another hour on the tarmac in san jose right in front of our gate...
no such luck with the other airline... they have closed their gate... we are all wandering back to the main airport wondering what the heck to do.
a costa rican man approaches the guy (of the couple) and offers transport in a van to taramindo. we check his van, he looks legitimate, has a friendly face, so we negotiate a price and jump in. so i just take off in a van with americans i met an hour earlier, with 2 strange but friendly looking costa rican men. everything the travel books say not to do!
but i arrived safely, made two friends on the way!
i am now in a hostel that is called "a bottle of milk" with a bunch of people almost half my age - one of whom constantly paces the room - i think he is a little high. i also think i may look for a new hostel tomorrow... but FIRST i must take a surfing lesson!
wish me luck! i think i am going to need it!
it started in houston, texas. they announced we would be leaving late as the pilots were still flying from atlanta. they boarded us an hour late and told us the pilots would be "just a few minutes" and "they are landing on the runway now". well almost an hour later no pilots - apparently they got stuck in a line-up on the tarmac for 45 minutes.
finally, the pilots get on the plane, and awhile later... "well folks, it seems like we don't have enough fuel, so we just need a few minutes to fill up"
30 minutes later, "well folks, it seems something was miscommunicated, they didn't give us enough fuel. i would like another 5000-6000 pounds on board. just a few more minutes"
another 30 minutes later... "well folks, the fuel truck is now stuck on the tarmac, within our sight. apparently they are being blocked by a medical emergency in another plane"
finally, about 2 1/2 hours of sitting on the plane watching every t.v. show they have on their old vhs tapes, we start the taxi down the runway.
and we are off...
and finally some good news... "well folks, to thank you for all your patience, alcoholic beverages are on us tonight!" well, i admit i had a margarita, and i am surprised that the whole plane didn't get wildy drunk off their faces because there were some very irritated people! everything seemed to be going well... i had missed my ride pick-up at the airport and tried to email from houston, but i had a hostel booked and i felt good. i was even laughing!
but there is more... we started our descent into san jose, costa rica, when i noticed the nose of the plane started pointing more and more upwards. i thought "this isn't how you are supposed to land a plane" and what do you know
"well folks, there is alot of fog here in san jose, and we CAN'T FIND THE AIRPORT" ( i add the emphasis). so we have to circle around and try again"
so we fly in another circle with a few dims lights showing through the fog. and we fly in another circle... and some more...
"well folks, it seems that we just can't seem to land here in costa rica, so the plan is to land in nicaragua. we'll fill you in on the details as we know them"
so it is now 11:30 pm, we were supposed to arrive at 8:30 pm and now we are going to nicaragua! well, i thought, i haven't been there before! now i will be able to say i dropped in! they tell they will put us in a hotel for the night and announce more plans in the airport. and oh, by the way, the airport in managua, nicaragua was closed for the night, so they had to call all the employees and ask them to come back!
so we land and shuffle into the airport. no announcements, no direction. just 2 11 seat vans to shuttle about 200 people to different hotels. i took one of the last shuttles as some very ornery people pushed their way to the front. i could sleep another day... they told us, we'll announce in your hotel what the plans are for the day in the morning...
so, 1:30 in the morning i finally fall into bed. i am supposed to be catching a separate flight at 8:30 in the morning on a different airline to get to tamarindo...
in the morning, do you think there are any announcements. no, why would they do that? based on heresay from other passenegers i find out about the flight and spend $13 on a phone bill to rebook my other flight and arrange transport to the other airport. 20 minutes later, another passenger tells me a different departure time which screws up my other flight. i sent a fax cancelling everything and have no idea what i am going to do.
we finally get to the airport and i meet an american couple who are also trying to get to tamarindo. we decide to make a run to the other local airline to try to snag a last minute flight.
in another miscommunication between the pilots and airport staff, we spend another hour on the tarmac in san jose right in front of our gate...
no such luck with the other airline... they have closed their gate... we are all wandering back to the main airport wondering what the heck to do.
a costa rican man approaches the guy (of the couple) and offers transport in a van to taramindo. we check his van, he looks legitimate, has a friendly face, so we negotiate a price and jump in. so i just take off in a van with americans i met an hour earlier, with 2 strange but friendly looking costa rican men. everything the travel books say not to do!
but i arrived safely, made two friends on the way!
i am now in a hostel that is called "a bottle of milk" with a bunch of people almost half my age - one of whom constantly paces the room - i think he is a little high. i also think i may look for a new hostel tomorrow... but FIRST i must take a surfing lesson!
wish me luck! i think i am going to need it!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
moments
i have been contemplating again... daydreaming a little, reliving moments in my life. i thought i would write some of the down (and share them in this very public forum). not all my moments are happy, significant, or inspiring. they are just moments that somehow have significance for me...
calling
it was not one exact moment in time, but a collection of experiences that solidified my calling in life. it was the month of november 2005, and i spent 12 hours a day at the mkar christian hospital seeing patients, doing rounds, reading xrays, and then falling, exhausted into bed every night. the gravity of HIV astounded me, the abuse of women angered me, the abandonment of children broke me. but the joy in bridget's face as she hugged her pink balloon moved me, the tears of an infertile woman drew me in, the children's songs and games made me laugh; and i knew without a doubt where i had to be personally, professionally, and spiritually. i knew i was called to work in hard places that i would loathe and love at the same time. many "moments" collected in a calling.
gelatto
and on to something lighter! much lighter! October something, 1996. Lost in Venice, Italy with 4 friends looking for a cheap place to eat which we didn't find. i decided to get icecream for supper - cappucino gelatto- from a place about to close. i don't think i have ever been closer to ectasy. i was so engrossed in relishing this gift from the icecream gods that i almost walked/fell into a canal. and then began my love affair with anything and everything coffee flavoured.
fear
people always ooh and aahh when i say i have been to nigeria - "isn't so dangerous?" or "won't you get kidnapped?" i can say i have rarely had fear there - even when highway police officers have tapped my window with their machine guns (only for me to turn to look and then they wink and offer me a life of bliss with them).
the MOST fear i have every experienced was in innsbruck, austria in december of 1996. i took a late train from budapest to this "idyllic" mountain town. i arrived at 2am, expecting there to be a nice little warm waiting room (most stations i have been in europe have these) that i could fall asleep in until 7 am, and i would then head to a hostel, before going snowboarding for the day. well, innsbruck had no such wonderful little room. so i had to hunker down in the cold, drafty large entrance. there were a few other sober people there, so i thought i would be in good company. it was not long before the local drug addicts descended... one man in particular scared the daylights out of me.
the next part is not a delusional dream of mine - it was real. this man, on some pretty unbelievable drugs and alcohol, was smashing his empty wine bottles on the floor at the other end of the station. he then made his way to me, all the while screaming what i assume to be disturbing things in german, and snapping a large rubber whip-like thing on the ground. his beard came to his xyphoid process and had dinner still stuck in it. he had on what looked to be a large costume from the "sound of music", complete with a very large cowbell tied around his waist (his other friends had similar outfits on). he ran up to me, and on and off for 3 hours, waved broken wine bottles in my face, snapped his rubber whip at my feet, and topped it off with a few rings on his giant cowbell, all the while screaming and singing at the top of his lungs.
i told Jesus i looked forward to meeting him that night, but hadn't expected to die at the hands of a psychotic whip-snapping, cowbell ringing, drug addict. i literally sat there imagining what my parents might write in my obituary!
well, i made it through the night, went to the hostel at 6am, slept in a 6 footx 6 foot temporary plywood porch with another tourist (who spoke no english), slept at the hostel until 8am, then caught a bus and went snowboarding all day in the austrian alps - thankful to be alive. (i ended up cracking a rib after catching my front edge but that is another story/moment)
that was a very long moment...
?poverty?
the first time my idea of poverty was flipped on its head for me was september 1996. i was travelling the transylvanian countryside with 15 other north americans, being hosted by the most gracious, humble, and grateful people i have ever met. by social and economic standards, they were poor, impoverished, "lacking" what many of us "developed" people consider essential. they had lived through the hell of Chouschecu's regime, but were grateful to be alive, to be free. They praised God. (praised God after that hell? wow) my understanding of poverty was kicked in the butt. they may have been "impoverished" in material things, but i was equally, if not more, impoverished in the gifts of gratitude, hope, humility, contentment...
thank you hungary, thank you romania
rockies
every time in drive into the canadian rockies (jasper, alberta especially), i have tachycardia. my heart beats faster, my breaths become shallow. i am always in awe, always astonished, always grateful that such a tiny human being such as myself was made to enjoy such grand showcases of God's imagination.
those are a few moments. more to come. (if you haven't noticed, these are more for me, than for anyone else - a personal journal so that in case i have dementia one day, someone can read them to me;-) )
calling
it was not one exact moment in time, but a collection of experiences that solidified my calling in life. it was the month of november 2005, and i spent 12 hours a day at the mkar christian hospital seeing patients, doing rounds, reading xrays, and then falling, exhausted into bed every night. the gravity of HIV astounded me, the abuse of women angered me, the abandonment of children broke me. but the joy in bridget's face as she hugged her pink balloon moved me, the tears of an infertile woman drew me in, the children's songs and games made me laugh; and i knew without a doubt where i had to be personally, professionally, and spiritually. i knew i was called to work in hard places that i would loathe and love at the same time. many "moments" collected in a calling.
gelatto
and on to something lighter! much lighter! October something, 1996. Lost in Venice, Italy with 4 friends looking for a cheap place to eat which we didn't find. i decided to get icecream for supper - cappucino gelatto- from a place about to close. i don't think i have ever been closer to ectasy. i was so engrossed in relishing this gift from the icecream gods that i almost walked/fell into a canal. and then began my love affair with anything and everything coffee flavoured.
fear
people always ooh and aahh when i say i have been to nigeria - "isn't so dangerous?" or "won't you get kidnapped?" i can say i have rarely had fear there - even when highway police officers have tapped my window with their machine guns (only for me to turn to look and then they wink and offer me a life of bliss with them).
the MOST fear i have every experienced was in innsbruck, austria in december of 1996. i took a late train from budapest to this "idyllic" mountain town. i arrived at 2am, expecting there to be a nice little warm waiting room (most stations i have been in europe have these) that i could fall asleep in until 7 am, and i would then head to a hostel, before going snowboarding for the day. well, innsbruck had no such wonderful little room. so i had to hunker down in the cold, drafty large entrance. there were a few other sober people there, so i thought i would be in good company. it was not long before the local drug addicts descended... one man in particular scared the daylights out of me.
the next part is not a delusional dream of mine - it was real. this man, on some pretty unbelievable drugs and alcohol, was smashing his empty wine bottles on the floor at the other end of the station. he then made his way to me, all the while screaming what i assume to be disturbing things in german, and snapping a large rubber whip-like thing on the ground. his beard came to his xyphoid process and had dinner still stuck in it. he had on what looked to be a large costume from the "sound of music", complete with a very large cowbell tied around his waist (his other friends had similar outfits on). he ran up to me, and on and off for 3 hours, waved broken wine bottles in my face, snapped his rubber whip at my feet, and topped it off with a few rings on his giant cowbell, all the while screaming and singing at the top of his lungs.
i told Jesus i looked forward to meeting him that night, but hadn't expected to die at the hands of a psychotic whip-snapping, cowbell ringing, drug addict. i literally sat there imagining what my parents might write in my obituary!
well, i made it through the night, went to the hostel at 6am, slept in a 6 footx 6 foot temporary plywood porch with another tourist (who spoke no english), slept at the hostel until 8am, then caught a bus and went snowboarding all day in the austrian alps - thankful to be alive. (i ended up cracking a rib after catching my front edge but that is another story/moment)
that was a very long moment...
?poverty?
the first time my idea of poverty was flipped on its head for me was september 1996. i was travelling the transylvanian countryside with 15 other north americans, being hosted by the most gracious, humble, and grateful people i have ever met. by social and economic standards, they were poor, impoverished, "lacking" what many of us "developed" people consider essential. they had lived through the hell of Chouschecu's regime, but were grateful to be alive, to be free. They praised God. (praised God after that hell? wow) my understanding of poverty was kicked in the butt. they may have been "impoverished" in material things, but i was equally, if not more, impoverished in the gifts of gratitude, hope, humility, contentment...
thank you hungary, thank you romania
rockies
every time in drive into the canadian rockies (jasper, alberta especially), i have tachycardia. my heart beats faster, my breaths become shallow. i am always in awe, always astonished, always grateful that such a tiny human being such as myself was made to enjoy such grand showcases of God's imagination.
those are a few moments. more to come. (if you haven't noticed, these are more for me, than for anyone else - a personal journal so that in case i have dementia one day, someone can read them to me;-) )
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