Tayana and I went sailing!
More accurately, we went to down to my family's beach house and my Dad took us out on his boat. But really, as anyone who's ever gone sailing on anything other than a yacht knows-- when sailing, everyone is a first mate. Tayana got to see sailing up close as we both handled the rigging, and watched for changes in the wind. She got to see how important it is to keep your lines organized especially when you 'come about'...Does this sound like life advice to anyone else? She saw how to tie off a boat, and raise the sails...and of course how nice it is out on the Gulf after a long day.
Today was the day Tayana and I had presented our lesson on idioms to the class. It had been a tricky experience for both of us, so we needed to get on that island time. Live Oak Island time to be exact.
When we first got down to my parents place on Live Oak (near Shell Point) we sat out on the deck, just sipping and soaking, my Dad trying out his 30 year-old Portuguese on Tayana, and doing surprisingly well, as Tayana reported to me later.
After our 'jaunty sail' we went back to my parent's house on Lake Ellen for dinner. On the way, we stopped and caught fiddler crabs in the road and I picked a few blackberries for her to try.
At home, she got to meet Jack (my cat and life partner) and I showed her the paradise that is my life. We walked out to the dock at Lake Ellen and I could tell, I could just tell, that she had one of those 'take a picture' moments. Do you know the moments when things surprise you so much that you're caught off guard and you take a mental picture with out even meaning to? She just seemed kind of captivated. As we left the dock, she told me how she knew she lived in one of the most beautiful spots on Earth (the Amazon) but she had never really explored it.
Tayana and I are very different, and we know it. I'm not big into shopping or movies, she's not big into say, being outside- but we're both passionate people, and 'experience' people. And we love enough of each others loves that we really do get each other. I told her she would just have to go back and see what the Amazon was like.
My mother made a delicious pot roast with mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner and a peach cobbler for dessert. My mom had been nervous about feeding Tayana (?) and I assured her afterwards that it was the perfect U.S. dinner. Tayana and I did the dishes and then headed to bed. She slept in my sister's old room, next to mine.
In the morning, we drove back up to CIES. She told me how much she was going to miss Florida and her friends. She got a picture of the Wakulla County water tower, and I told her she was always, always welcome to come back. And maybe I'll have to go and see this crazy Amazon place.
:)
Best time, yet.
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