Article by Brock Higdon
I started taking Spanish classes in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica in August of 2006. I had taken a vacation to Costa Rica in 2005 and had spent a few days relaxing on the beach in Tamarindo, so when I decided to learn Spanish in Costa Rica I thought Tamarindo would be a great place to start. It is located on the Pacific coast, in the province of Guanacaste. I knew it was famous as a surfing town and a destination for sun worshipers from all over the world.
After getting settled into my classes and learning my way around the school and town I started meeting other students. I noticed most of them were surfing every chance they got and having a great time doing it. I could also be found most days after class jogging, working out and just enjoying the beach although I had not yet tried surfing, but I had definitely been bitten by the surfing bug. It wasn’t long before I could wait no longer and had to see what everyone else was enjoying so much. Next thing I knew I had rented a long board from one of the local surf shops and was off to join the other great wave riders. I thought it would be easy. The locals and the other students made it look so easy although a lot of them were from California where surfing is in the blood. One of the first things I noticed was how far out into the ocean you could walk, there were no step drop offs and the water was so warm no need to suit up. It was very nice to surf in just my shorts. Some of the students gave me some pointers to get me started surfing, so I tried it on my own for a while and soon realized it was a lot harder than it looked. At that point I still was not ready to pay for some much needed lesions that would soon change.
One day I was out with a couple of my friends from the Spanish school who knew what they were doing. We had ventured out into a little deeper water just deep enough to be over your head. We had not been there long when a big wave started to form, we all started getting ready, and soon we were all paddling like our lives deepened on it. I was hoping to catch the wave my friends did, but I was not so lucky. As the wave was over taking me instead of setting back on my board and letting the wave go by I soon found me flying over the board. This would be the beginning of a wild ride, I felt like I was in a washing machine. After trying to get out of this precarious situation for what seemed like a life time I soon realized I was out of air. The next thing I knew it was over and thank God there was not another wave behind me as is often the case.
After that I decided to spend some money on some much needed lesions, which I did. Wow what a difference a few lesions can make. The first thing I learned was about safety and how to set back on my board and let the wave go by sometimes and if you get caught up in a big wave just hold your breath and let it go by. Do not try and swim because you do not know which way you’re swimming when you’re being tossed around. The moral of this story is if you’re a beginner spending some money and get some instruction from a qualified surf school.
Brock Higdon is a former Spanish immersion student and the owner of Learnspanishandsurf.com Brock lived in Costa Rica for over a year and has attend many Spanish schools.
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