Swim, Skate and Ski

One might think, that if you can't swim and are thrown into a pool, you will drown. At least while skating you can still breathe when you tumble. But with skiing, if the ski doesn't get you, the ice will surely. So let us see how I performed the following activities with such vim and vigor :-

1. Ice skating
 The first time we went ice skating was with my Masters buddies in Syracuse. I managed to stay on my feet but I fell hard at one point. That didn't deter me from trying again. My second time was at Bryant park with my family. She told me she hadn't skated since she was 8. When asked, I boasted "yeah, I've done it a couple of times". As soon as we entered the rink, she went flying like a bird on ice, only short of a camel spin. I barely left the rim. Well, she forgot to mention that she learnt figure skating. The third time was with K-man. For a person who claims hasn't taken a class, he did awfully well. K-man, you are not fooling anyone. He tried so hard to teach me, risking his own butt to keep me afloat. I think I did better than okay for a person who didn't leave the rim last time.

2. Swimming 
 In case of ice skating, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. So it was all a gamble. It was a fun activity and no one cared if you didn't know it. But swimming, now that's a life skill you should have learnt when you were a kid. I remember my friends enrolling for swim class when I was 12 but I was too shy to wear swim wear. That was my major hurdle. Not water, not being scared if I drowned. But as I grew up, my inability to swim introduced the fear of water. My first swim class was nerve-wracking. But to my surprise, there were many others like me. The instructor had me do everything in the first class like doggy paddle, front float, back float, backstroke. I kept watching the time and hoping it would end. That was three months ago. Now, you are looking at a girl who completed courses from beginners to advanced in three months. Next stop English Channel.

3. Skiing

 While I was learning to swim, I got this newly found confidence in me. I could do anything, learn anything and excel at it. I was so wrong. I enrolled to learn how to ski. The instructor asked me do you play any sport? Hmm does galli cricket, midnight carrom, hand table tennis count? Instead I said I don't. It looked simple when he showed it but it's definitely not as simple as it looks. It's like you have extra long feet which make it difficult for you to walk and sloping ice does not make it easy either. I did not do well at all! While my fellow learners were ready to go down the mountain, I was still trying to get on the lift. And yes I fell down a lot. After coming down the mountain with great difficulty. "Can we go again.. please?" he asked. I said with almost tears in my eyes, If we don't leave right now I am going to sit down and cry. I guess that was good enough to convince him to leave. Will I be doing it again? Knowing K-man, the better question is When?

Honorary mention : K-man, Thank you for being present during all my classes, encouraging me and associating with me when I could barely swim, skate or ski. You know who you are. You are the best. 


                                  ***  Do one thing everyday that scares you - Eleanor Roosevelt  ***

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

So it's been a while since a blog post. What you gonna do? I got a birthday invite for my grandfather's 75th. It was a little before my birthday. I booked tickets right away. I've always driven to Canada through the Niagara falls. This was my first time taking a flight to Canada or was it? I was under that impression until the following happened. 

I was studying for my Masters in SU and decided to take a trip to India before I had to start looking for jobs. I attended the travel seminar and filled out the necessary documentation. While I was booking the tickets there was an option that looked the cheapest. It was flying from Syracuse-Canada-Mumbai. I was happy, I saved about $200. My dad being the skeptic that he is, asked me if I needed a visa to make such a travel. I asked at the student center and my brother looked through the website. There was no sign of what I need to do if I'm in transit. So I decided to just take the flight. Ignorance is not bliss.

On the day of the flight, I boarded without any hassles. Furthermore, the flight crew looked very inviting until I reached the immigration desk on the Canadian side. She looked at my passport twice trying to find a visa. I said I don't have one. At this point, I had a pretty good idea of the fix I was in. 

She pointed me to a small room.  I had exactly one hour until my next flight plus security. I went in the room. It looked like it was for special cases. The police officer stared me down through the glass window. My voice was shaking as I started to explain how I was a student and I didn't know I needed a visa since I was in transit. He asked me to take a seat. He went in to discuss with other officers while I was constantly checking my watch. My dad's suspicions were running over and over in my head. After very difficult 15 minutes, the officer called me and said you have two options. One is to pay $200 and get a Canadian visa. I was thinking the second one is obviously jail. There goes my $200 which I'm not sure I have at this point. And he continues, the second one is to sign on this document stating you will be leaving the country within 24 hours. And he smiles. Well, it must have been my lucky day since it's very rare to find anyone behind a glass window smile. I signed and ran like bolt and made it for my flight.

No, this is not the end of story. The next time I drove to Canada, the officer asked me at the border, if I've visited before. I could tell by his face he knew my dirty little secret. I explained the story and he nodded as if matching my answer to the information written on his screen. I still had to park and go to the small room on the side of the road. One would think it was the end of my misery and I had undone everything wrong I did. Until this time while visiting Canada for my grandfathers birthday party, I was still given the small room treatment. They are never going to let me forget I entered their country without a visa. I thought I had washed away all my sins and forget.

But who wants to forget, I got a great story out of it. It's high up there with my other gems. Even though it was a wee bit traumatizing. 

I'm over it until the next visit to the small room,

PARAB JANHAVI K

P.S. My grandfather's birthday was a great success. I met four generations of PARABs, including my parents.