I met Beth at the bus depot at 8:30 to go to the beach. We found the kayak rental place that Dorothy went to last week and we went kayaking. We went in a two seater for it was very choppy and the guy said the two-seater was more stable and [...]]]> Thursday, 20 December

I met Beth at the bus depot at 8:30 to go to the beach. We found the kayak rental place that Dorothy went to last week and we went kayaking. We went in a two seater for it was very choppy and the guy said the two-seater was more stable and better to use to get out of the waves. So we put on live vests, got our paddles and walked out into the water. The water was very shallow for a long time so we walked out a good distance. Then Beth and I got in and waited for the guy to tell us to start paddling. The waves were at least 4 feet tall and he was waiting for a calm spot so we could get out. While we were waiting waves were crashing over the front of the kayak and Beth and I were getting drenched. It kind of felt like white water rafting without moving or paddling. There was finally a calm point and he yelled ‘Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!’ and so we did. We made it out a little ways and passed a surfer who also yelled ‘Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!’. After we got through the waves and had a chance to catch our breathes I was reminded of Tom Hanks in Cast Away trying to escape the island. Our waves was no where as bad as his, but that is kind of the feeling we had. The water out in the ocean was rolling a lot, again about 4 foot swells. I did not pay any attention to this at first but after about a half-hour, I started to get queazy.

There are some rock formations and little islands off-shore so we headed for those. One of the formations was two very good size boulders that were next to each other with a gap of a few feet between them. We watched the waves hit that gap and create a huge splash. I wish I had a water-proof camera for there were a lot of cool shots. After we passed that rocks we headed towards an island that the guy said had a lot of birds on it and possibly some dolphins if we went around the island. On the way there I got more sick and eventually had to pray to the blue/green gods (i.e., pray to the porcelain gods). Luckily Beth was cool about it and at one point told me to just throw up so I would feel better. I did feel better at first, but I decided that we should head back for it was not a great feeling. I got a little woozy off and on while coming back in. When we got closer to shore we were worried about the waves on shore and being tipped over. Luckily, we caught a wave just right and surfed the top of it all the way in to shore. The guy was very impressed and said that people usually tip over in these waves. Yeah – solid ground!!!

Beth and I walked down the non-populated part of the beach and then walked back. We were about to get on the bus to go home when Katie and others got off the bus. I decided to stay so I could spend ‘quality time’ with Katie. We ended up sitting with Omar’s wife and kids and Sally ( a former TEFL student that is living with Omar’s family). Katie and I went in the water to play with the waves. The rest of the time we were sitting on the lounge chairs chatting about whatever. We took the bus home and when I got off the bus I was still feeling a little woozy. I went home and took a quick shower and then headed back to school to give the assessment test. What a way to spend the day, huh? Go kayaking, spend time on the beach and then go teach. I picked up crackers on the way to school to try and help my stomach.

The assessment test went fairly well. It was awkward sitting there for about an hour and not saying anything – just looking at the students and going to them whenever they had a question. Which was another problem – we were not supposed to give them any additional info other than what the directions told the student. I understand the reason for this but it is so hard to not just tell the student the answer to their question or where to find the answer. While we were waiting for the class after ours to finish their test, I finished reading my book. We were given a feedback form to fill out and turn in tomorrow morning but I just did not feel like filling it out at the time. After the last class finished, some of our students threw a little thank you party. They brought in food and drinks and we all got to talk for a little while. A few of the students talked in front of us and it was cool to see them using what they had learned. I noticed that while we were eating, we were all separated into our groups – teachers and students. Katie broke the ice and went to talk to one of her students. After I finished eating I went and talked to some of my students. It was nice to learn what they do outside of class, what they think of the program, etc. We took a few group photos and then we all went our separate ways. Most were going out but I was still feeling a little weak in the stomach and decided that drinking would not be the best idea for me so I went home. I gathered the materials that uVolunteer needs (passport, insurance info, resume, etc) for I will need to scan them tomorrow at school and then email them to the organization.

Overall, everyone had a good time:

The only down side was that we [...]]]>

Back in February, Hans and I took a kayaking class through the City of Tempe and it was very, very cool. The class was at an indoor wave pool and in the last session they turned the waves on. This was by far the best part.

The only down side was that we could not figure out how to do the eskimo roll. We hope to take another class so we can get this part down.

The picture was taken when we went back to the wave pool for a kayak-only night. There was one other person from our class there, everyone else knew what they were doing (like doing front flips on the waves). Hans’ better half took the pictures and she has more on her flickr site.

In June and July, we rented kayaks from Saguaro Lake Ranch and took 2 trips down the salt river. We did the 3.5 and 5 hours trips and they were a lot of fun. Right now the water is running high so we did not need to worry about running into rocks at all. Well almost not at all.

We are doing another trip this weekend with 8 of our friends. I will post pictures of this trip before I take off for china