Monday, November 16, 2015

Catch a Wave and You're Sitting on Top of the World

Playing in the water is part of who we are.  Chad grew up swimming on his school’s team, I had a pool in my backyard and we both were lifeguards in high school.  When the kids were little and we lived near Lake Michigan, I would load them into the car a couple times a week and head out to the beach.  There’s just nothing like sand between your toes and waves to play in.  The last island we lived on, Chad, Damon and I got our diving certifications.  Diving hasn’t turned out to be my favorite sport, but I tried it because I love the water.  Now we find ourselves on an island once again.  We’ve been out to the beach a few times, Chad and Elena played in the waves.  Taiwan isn’t a “lay on the golden sand and bask in the sun” sort of country, but it is a “grab a surf board” sort of a place.  

We set up lessons with Rising Sun Surf Inn 1½ hours away.  On the sand, we laid on top of our boards following the instructions from our teacher.  Theoretically, if I paddled hard, placed my hands on the board then hopped to my feet I would be surfing.  Of course it was much harder than that.  After a few tries though, I found myself flying ahead of the wave, popped into the air and raised my arms in victory.  Not exactly what I was supposed to do, but the feeling I had of success simply expressed itself in pure excitement.  

Surfing turns out to be loads of hard work.  There’s this big board you have to drag out into the ocean while battling the waves.  Then you have to turn the board around and get one top of said board.  As the wave approaches, you paddle like crazy.  This is more of a mental activity rather than anything that propels you towards shore. Then comes a moment when you are completely connected with the water, wave and your board.  You plant your hands and pop onto your feet in one smooth movement.  For a brief moment or two, I experienced the sheer exhilaration of riding a wave.  It's completely addicting.  



No comments:

Post a Comment