Lifeguard Training

This is where it all starts

It has been 9 days since the start of my lifeguard training. Seems as if everyday there is something special that keeps time running on and on without stopping a moment for me to process. Lifeguard training is fun, you learn something new everyday and you master a new "set" of skills as well. The difficult part is the fact that lessons are in Chinese. As a CBC, adapting to a new cultural language is quite an exhausting task, not mentioning the lifeguard Jargon which almost is impossible to understand. Nevertheless, training is fun, partially because I've always been fond of spending time in the water and playing around. Give me anything to do with water and I'll be as obedient as a lab rat.

My skin has by now turned from a white-ish Asian color to a dark tan, almost as if nations are devolving into small nation-states (especially when the boundaries are so clear). This lifeguard program takes place in the hot tropical mornings of Taipei, under the clear blue sky. The funny thing is, in the afternoons, dark cloudy skies level above and begin to drench the ground with water. In addition, it begins to rain just after I leave a comfortably dry building heading home. At this time I'd play a game I call Fate. It works like this:

Due to the fact that as I am just walking out of the building, it starts to rain, there must be a certain number of minutes that I wasted inside the building which led me to encounter with the rain. I think back at the events and the places that I walk through, the times I took to descend the escalators, or the little conversations I make with ongoing by-passers. Fate works in mysterious ways, had I not stopped and wasted those times, would I have made it out of the building earlier and into the train station to get back home and not met with the rain? Well, currently, nothing comes to mind.

Fate brought me to meeting 16 new people, diligent and amicable people, whom are currently training with me. Just in these few days, since July 1st, I have created a bond with them. At first, we were all assigned numbers, which led on to be our names. However, today, each of us identify one another with specific nicknames created by the actions, the appearance, and the possessions, each of us had that inspired these names.
Allow me to introduce Uncle, a 23 year-old security guard working nearby the swimming pool. He has a good sense of humor, often gets into trouble (by swimming extra laps), but he is modest person, a friendly figure that will do anything to keep you happy--including showing a bare side of his butt that is completely white while his thighs and hips are sunburnt. He is named after his white strands of hair and wrinkled complexion, hence, Uncle.
Next, 28, for appearing younger than Uncle is actually 28 years-old. As an ex-swimming he is challenging himself to take on the lifeguard course further expand his knowledge of swimming.

For now, these two, analyzing all of them will take longer than I think, until next time Steven.