Jour 16 - The Instructor

Inner Pilot
Jul 15, 2011
2 min read

Updated: Dec 14, 2024

Mots du jour: ici (here), assiette (plate), foret (forest)

Lacanau Ocean, SW France

Dimitri at Lake Mouchtie

There was some fascination about the little black book I carry. Each time I wrote in it, curiosities peaked. Eventually, those surrounding me at the table were borrowing my little black book to draw their own pictures, write their own notes, and inspect my past entries. The French are very social.

Dimitri (from Return to Oz - Day 16) had brought me to a house party filled with young people in their 20s who were working seasonal jobs in the community. Benny wrote this: “T’es une star pour les gens qui t’aiment. (You are a hero to those who follow you.)" Dimitri wrote the name of his favorite musical artist with two songs: Serge Gainsbourge - Elaeudanla Téitéia and Serge Gainsbourge - Valse de Melody. Marion wrote her e-mail address. The House Party Video

Dimitri

I asked Dimitri, who’s 24, what kind of girls he likes. He replied, ‘some people say they like blondes and some people say they like brunettes. What does that mean? That’s stupid. She has to do something for me.’ That’s an example of the kind of insight and perspective he shared with me throughout the evening.

Dimitri Instructing in Surfing

Dimitri took pleasure in teaching me to pronounce French words correctly too. His method was effective. He’d walk me through a pronunciation of each letter in the French alphabet, which is often much different than English for the same looking letter, so I'd understand the basics. Then we’d pronounce a word. It was like a light bulb going on for me, and something Rosetta Stone (the language learning software I use) should incorporate.

Dimitri Instructing in Surfing

Dimitri’s a surf instructor for Aola Surf School here in Lacanau Ocean, on the west coast of France. “What do you like best about instructing”, I asked. ‘When you find out your student is a lawyer’, responded Dimitri. What he’s saying is that it’s an honor when smart, accomplished people humble themselves to you as good students. I'm a flight instructor and can relate.