Kitesoul Magazine #17 English Edition

166 Experience
A day in the life of a Kite Instructor
Multilingual lessons? No problem
Sitting back on the beach in my red plastic chair,
exhausted, another instructor walks up to me
and says someone wants a lesson but doesn't
speak English. I get up and walk over to the person
to quickly realize he is Brazilian. Thank god,
I lived in Jericoacoara from 2007 to 2009 so I
can speak Portuguese. He wanted to start a lesson
right away so I put on my instructor shirt on
and fumbled my way through a lesson. I have no
problem chatting in Portuguese but I have not
taught a lesson in the language in more then five
years so it was a struggle. Somehow, he managed
to understand me and got up riding by the end of
the lesson. Success!
At 3 o’clock, I was starving so I jumped in the
work van soaking wet and sandy to the corner
store for a Haitian patty. For two dollars, it fills
you up and tastes good enough. As I jump out of
the van, a group of locals whistle from the bushes
and all I hear is dam girl. I laugh and wave at them
because I see them everyday. The exchange is
harmless and flattering. It’s nice to be noticed.
Teaching kids is the true challenge
Back to the beach for the last lesson of the day,
an 8 year old 54 lbs girl. I’m not going to lie I was
nervous about teaching such a small girl but the
tide was very low and I knew her parents well. Her
dad had her flying a trainer kite for years already
so she had a good concept of the kite. As soon as
they arrived she came running up to me yelling
“Jessica, Jessica”, I’ve never been a kid person