June 17, 2017
Before actually starting a blog, I alluded myself to think it would be easy breezy. Actually starting one up and attempting to run it is a different story however.
My tendency to overthink has been not only amplified, but put under my own microscope for me to realize. I am too much of a perfectionist when it comes to sharing my thoughts with others via this blog.
It can be so much more simplistic and enjoyable.
That’s what I plan to do from here on out. Post what I want, when I want instead of saving several drafts to a file I will never push ‘publish’ on.
So here it goes..
Over the past four months Sam (US), Mille (China), Hylkje (Friesland) and I paired together as a little hangout group. We get together for little hangouts, make meals for each other and have gone on little trips together.
Four entirely different backgrounds but we mesh together pretty well. All of our weird dance moves and awkward conversation topics of choice seem to balance out with one another.
About a month ago Hylkje made risotto for us and proposed an idea that would lead to one of our best adventures yet. She would teach us how to operate a sailboat in Friesland.
You should know she is a certified sail instructer in the summers so she was entirely trustworthy for the task of teaching us. Last summer her and her dad even went on a sail excursion up to Norway.
Needless to say she’s the coolest of us all.
And while the weather app showed anything but ideal sailing conditions we were not going to let our plan of going out on the lake die now. So on Friday we set off to Hylke’s homeland.
Before setting sail we were provided with traditional Friesian treats courtesy of Hyl’s hospitable (and super cute) mom.
Sugar bread and orange cakes.. which are actually pink.
Once on the water the sun made its way out from behind the clouds to ensure for a nice day.
For some reason beyond me Hylkje trusted me to steer as we took off and then switch to watching over the front sail after that. I felt like a true craftsman holding onto the ropes and doing all other things necessary to help guarantee we didn’t tip all the way over.
To be honest though I was scared out of my mind for the first half hour we were sailing. The boat would do this crazy thing where it goes almost all the way on its side over choppy waves.
Not my cup of tea considering one of my biggest fears is large bodies of water.
Other than being soaked from head to toe in the first half of the trip everything else was very pleasant.
We shared laughs and stories. We took pictures that could probably be mistaken for a Vogue cover. We gave away half of our cookies to ducks that swarmed our boat and plunged into the water for a swim.
It was one for the books.
