Sunday, October 28, 2007

New student

Yesterday Amy (the girl) and I went surfing. She has been wanting to learn how to surf so I started to teach her. It is amazing to teach people things. I love to learn new things, especially things that are very different from something I've ever done before. I really enjoyed being part of that process with someone else. Learning to surf is not easy and can be very frustrating. It is physically exhausting and a beginner often feels so weak and inefficient before something so massive and unforgiving. Still, Amy did great. Yes, she go tossed around like a small mouse under the paw of large cat, but she came up out of the water, hair in her face, mouth and nose full of salt water, and still managed a smile (most of the time). We were sharing my board and when she got tired I would paddle out and ride a few waves in and then give the board back over. She would want to know how I made it look so easy and I just promised her that by sticking with it what seems so foreign and uncomfortable now, will gradually become part of her catalog of abilities like typing, yoga, or playing the flute.

1 comment:

Leora said...

hee. i loved this image, jeremy, thank you for sharing. she's a fighter, that lady, and i'm sure you were an incredibly patient teacher :)