Directionally Challenged

So as most of you know, I am pretty much the most directionally challenged individual on the planet; yes the entire planet. Today I was sent on a mission to pick up a guest who unfortunately had to go to the emergency room this morning. He tore his Achilles tendon in a cardio kick boxing class and it was only he and his wife’s second day of their first visit to Hilton Head Island. Anyway, it is super easy to get to the emergency room and last week I drove there with my supervisor to make sure I knew how to get there, and I was indeed confident that I knew how to get there. Well this afternoon I was given a map from one of the ladies at the front desk and she highlighted the route for me to make it easier; it didn’t make it easier. I don’t know how many of you have ever been to Hilton Head Island but none, yes I mean none, of the street signs are in the MIDDLE of the traffic lights. They are ALL either to the FAR left or to the FAR right of the intersections or side roads. Even with my glasses or contacts in I seriously cannot read the signs until they are passing me or I just miss them altogether. So I was driving along, map in hand, and I noticed on the map a road that was supposed to be right before my turn off so at this point I knew I was in the right place. Well the road I was supposed to turn on never came up so I kept driving straight; passing roads on the map that I could see were clearly beyond my turn point. I knew that I was heading in the wrong direction so I turned around and started heading back the way I came. Only somehow I wasn’t on the road I had been driving on. Honestly I have no clue how that happened because I made a U-turn at the light I was turning around at. It amazes me how somehow I ended up on a different road, heading in an entirely different direction. But leave it to me to have this sort of super natural direction change phenomenon happen to.

Long story short I ended up going the wrong way at least 3 more times, over the same toll bridge 4 times (which was never supposed to be crossed in the first place) before I actually made it to the emergency room. I apologized profusely to the couple waiting for me and especially to the man who had already experienced enough pain and annoyance for one morning. Praise the Lord they were extremely nice, friendly, and understanding. I told the man I was so sorry that he got injured; his response was “thank you but it’s my fault for letting myself get to this point; being so out of shape that I get injured this easily.” I thought it was an amazing outlook on the situation. They asked how long I’d been on the island and when I told them a week and a half they laughed at me. They said that my total directional incompetence was no big deal because I was still getting used to the area. Also, I got them to the nearest pharmacy and back to the institute without getting lost… again… so I think I scored a few extra points.

Thank God the rest of the day went well. I lead sunrise beach walk and the afternoon beach walk so I was able to mingle with some of the new guests that arrived on Sunday. I have met some of the most amazing people with incredible stories. Learning about where they are from, what they do for a living, their families, etc…is truly fascinating. I continually remind myself every time I get one on one time with these individuals to not take the short time for granted. I taught an ULTRA circuit class today, and transported guests to their tennis lesson at the tennis pro club a mile down the road. Because only 3 guests signed up, I got to participate in the private lesson. It was a blast and it’s amazing how people can improve so much in one session when you make exercising fun.

The photo I posted with this entry is from a hip hop dancing class the girls and I took last week. The move you see us so gracefully performing is called the “Little Miss Sunshine.” This move is complicated and takes serious skill. Ask me to show you the full movement sometime and I will be delighted to :-) The movie Little Miss Sunshine really wasn’t that good, but if you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend you watch the very last scene where the little girl performs her final dance. This move is a classic and everyone must know how to do it. It’s a quality move that guarantees laughter and/or some serious awkward stares in your direction. I know this because Brigid and I went out to the bars here on Saturday night and took it upon ourselves to share this move with the public of Hilton Head Island. We did indeed provide laughter and plenty of awkward stares.

I love and miss you all.

More to come…

Dessert at last

My first full week has come to an end and I am exhausted. Praise the Lord we get weekends off even though we still have to make it to breakfast by 8am. The days are long but they go by quickly; this week flew by. As the work piles on each week it looks like the days and weeks will only go by faster and faster.

I taught my first Hydro Circuit class on Thursday afternoon. Cones are placed around the edge of the pool with signs on them with a different exercise at each cone. Everyone picks a station to start at and when the music gets started each station lasts 2 min before it is time to switch. The class is long enough to go through each station once at 2 min each and then again at 1 min each. All I had to do was explain how to perform the exercise at each station, turn the music on, and cue them when to switch. It was a gorgeous day so it was fun dancing around the pool edge cheering everybody on. I love watching each guest sing along to the music and working hard. At the end of class I lead them in some stretches and that was about it. It’s pretty much the easiest class to teach; hence the interns being in charge of instructing it.

Every meal here is made by a professional chef and is healthy and delicious. Each meal is portioned and the calories and grams of fat are calculated; even all of the snacks have signs next to them with how many calories and grams of fat it contains. Friday night dinners however are “gourmet dinners” so this evening because it was so nice out we had our gourmet dinner out in the courtyard. The meal is still healthy and there are still calorie and grams of fat signs placed next to each food item but it is buffet style. This way we are allowed to go back for more if we wish; instead of having our dinner given to us portioned out on a plate. We even got dessert (3 flavors of gelato)! The guests went nuts because there is no junk food, dessert, convenience foods, etc… on the grounds. If the guests want to adhere to the program they are not allowed to go out on their own and consume any liquid or food item that is not provided by the institute.

Anyway, tonight was a Hawaiian theme so many of the guests showed up with flowers in their hair, Hawaiian clothing, leis, etc… A few of the men were wearing coconut style bras over their t-shirts except instead of coconuts they were a bunch of flowers pasted on a cup. The men that wore them are some of our favorite guests. We are told not to pick favorites but how can you not? These men have the greatest sense of humors and are great conversationalists. Some of them are doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and are extremely smart. Interns are to sit at their own table away from the guests and we are served after all of the guests are served. Usually by the time we are finished with our meals the guests have gone but because we were outside this evening many guests remained in the courtyard enjoying the comfortable warmth of the evening shade. This gave us a chance to sit and chat with some of the group that we have bonded with over the last week. I have to admit I haven’t laughed as hard as I did this evening in some time. There were so many jokes and wise cracks about the flower man-bras we couldn’t contain ourselves. One man couldn’t get his untied in the back so he ended up shimmying it down around his ankles and stepping out of it like you would a pair of jeans. Oh the jokes that followed his clear lack of skill of knowing how to take off a bra. All ages, cultures, and walks of life sat around one table laughing, joking, and enjoying each others company.

A phenomenal way to end the week; laughter and gelato!

The Pale Faces (aka ME)

To my fellow Washington pale-faces: (ya that’s right I’m using a term from Twilight)

Multiple times I have been approached by guests either on a beach walk or during a fitness class and have been told that “darlin’ now you have very pale and fare skin.” I want to fire back “yeah lady like I didn’t know I’m pasty but thank you for pointing it out.” But I politely smile and say “yes, well I am from Seattle, Washington where we get sun about 3 days out of the year.” This makes them laugh and respond “oh yes, well if you’re from Washington that explains it. And doesn’t it rain a lot up there so far north?” Yes, yes it does.

On that note, I am loving the sunshine down here. It did rain last night for the first time since I’ve been here (a whole 5 days) but during the days it’s been sunny and hot! We spend about half the day inside and half outside doing different activities always remaining active.

I have gotten to participate in numerous fitness classes including Zumba, belly dancing, water fitness, resistance band training, cardio kick boxing, cardio tennis, Pilates, and many more. Some of these classes are super easy for me in terms of a cardio workout but I continually remind myself that this time is not for me. I’ve already witnessed guests enjoying exercising now more than they ever have in their lives. Watching them smile and having a blast while being physically active is a spectacular experience. Two men joined a fitness studio full of women in a Zumba class this afternoon and were just having a great time. We couldn’t stop laughing while we all tripped over ourselves trying to keep up with our Latina instructor who had a noodle for a body.

Every single individual here has a story. A story of why they are here and like everyone else, experiences that have molded them into the person they are today. I’ve met people from all over the country/world who have shared amazing information with me and the other interns. They look up to us for support and guidance; I can’t express enough the satisfaction I feel when I have pushed them just a little further during an exercise and get to see the excitement on their faces that they accomplished something new. An enthusiastic high-five and a statement like “you did great! Nice hustle!” goes a long way with some of the guests here. You can tell that you made a difference in their day and maybe in their journey to living a stronger and healthier life.

Interns are in charge of leading SUNRISE and afternoon beach walks. That’s right. Not only am I up before sunrise, but I’m dressed, beautified, and have driven to the beach BEFORE the sun as come up. I have posted some photos from the sunrise beach walk myself and the other interns lead yesterday morning. Watching the sun rise over the ocean is truly spectacular. The girls who have already been here for their 4 months and are leaving this weekend say that the beauty still takes their breath away. Also, down here they don’t call jellyfish, jellyfish. They are better known as jelly-blobs. So I have posted a photo of a jelly-blob as well. Jelly-blobs are conveniently located all over the hard sand like land mines; blobbed everywhere.

That’s all for now, I must try to get some sleep before another long day tomorrow. I love and miss you all.

More to come…

Sunday Outing

This morning after breakfast we biked along the beach to a place called South Beach. All along the beach there were beautiful homes that I will have to take pictures of some other time. It astounds me that these mansions with beach front property and personal pools are some people's summer and vacation homes; that most of the year these houses are vacant.

It was truly amazing biking down the beach as the waves were crashing near us and the sun beaming down. We biked about 5 miles on the beach and about 2 on the bike trails until we got to South Beach. At South Beach there were a bunch of different shops and restaurants along a boardwalk and we got our picture taken in front of the famous Hilton Head Island 'Salty Dog Cafe.'

There were wild Macaw Parrots perched on their swings outside a couple of the shops; I posted a photo of them for you all to see :) Their feathers were vibrant blend of reds, blues, and yellows. Down the boardwalk there were jet-skis you could rent and boats/yachts everywhere.

On our way back we stopped at a golf course where this year's Herritage Tournament was going on. We happened to ride up to hole #12 where Brian Gay (last year's Herritage winner) was just walking up to after hitting the ball onto the green. He was about 5ft away from us and we could hear him and his caddy discussing his next putt. I got a couple photos of him but we weren't allowed to have our cameras out so my 'being sneaky taking pictures' didn't turn out that well; I just got him walking to the next hole.

The girls went to the pool when we got back to our villa but I had to get ready to go to guest orientation. I was finally introduced to my supervisor and got a tour of the main building where the gym, fitness studios, lecture rooms, and dining areas are. The outdoor pool is kept at 82 degrees and is right outside the main building.

Tomorrow my first week of the internship begins. Wish me luck! Thank you so much to those who have helped calm my nerves and prayed for me. I have needed your support and appreciate it more than I can express. The girls who are about to finish the internship said they put in about 40-60 hours a week so I will be exhausted by the time next weekend rolls around.

I love and miss you all.

More to come....

Arriving at Hilton Head Health

1.) Flying red eye is super annoying and exhausting. I left Seattle at 11:15pm Friday April 16th and arrived at Hilton Head Island at 12:30pm Saturday April 17th.

2.) It's sunny AND hot here in SC and I LOVE it!

3.) The taxi dropped me off at the resort around 1pm. The very first sign I see opon arrival reads "for your safety, please do not feed the ALIGATORS!" These signs are posted all around the resort by all the water banks.

There was some miscommunication between my supervisor and the front desk so the people working didn't know I was arriving this afternoon. Luckily, 3 of the interns that are already here walked around the corner on their way to the beach. The lady at the front desk said that it was ok if I checked in tomorrow and let me go with the girls. Soooo... I dumped my stuff at our villa (4 of us to a villa) and went to the beach. The beach is only about a 5 minute bike ride from our villa so we went along the bike trails until we got to the beach. I can't even describe how beautiful it is here. The beach was packed with families and college aged kids all playing soccer and volleyball and blasting music. We stayed there for a few hours just talking and getting to know each other. On our way back we biked around a lot of the trails to see more of the resort and there are aligators literally everywhere just chillin' by the water. They walk along the golf course and let you take their picture. We got off our bikes and walked a little closer (but not too close) to take pictures. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me but I will next time and I'll post some photos! For those of you that know what the deer are like on Bainbridge Island, the aligators are like that here at the resort. Crazy. There are also turtles in the creeks and they sit along the banks. When you walk close to the water a ton of them (about 15) at a time will swim toward you hoping you will feed them.

Eventually I unpacked and got as settled as I could before we went to dinner. After all of the guests are served the interns walk back in to the kitchen where the culinary interns serve up our plates. Then we go back out into the dining area but sit seperately than the guests. When we are finished eating we walk back into the kitchen and rinse our dishes.

Two of the girls only have a week left so they are taking myself and the other newest intern out tonight to one of their favorite bars. I'll have to report on the night life later :)

Anywayyyyy... that's all for now....

More to come...

Night Before Departure

Hello everybody,

I am new to blogging but decided that it will be the easiest way to keep all my friends and family updated on my new adventure. Tomorrow, April 16th, is the big day. The day that will take me to my new temporary home, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Those of you that know me well know that flying is not exactly my favorite way to travel so a red eye with two lay-overs is stressing me out just a little bit. Not to mention I still haven't started packing for this 4 month outing...

Anyway here is the link to Hilton Head Health Institute where I will be interning for the next 4 months http://www.hhhealth.com/. I am going to try my best to keep up with this blog so everyone will know what I'll be up to but feel free to check out their website to see what this nationally ranked health resort is all about.

My excitement is out weighing the nerves but I can't help but feel uneasy about what my future holds. I shot for the stars when I applied for this internship and I wasn't entirely sure I was going to even land an interview. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to be offered one of three spots as a fitness intern and I am about to experience the adventure I was hoping for. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I can't wait to get started!

Thank you to all of you who have supported me and encouraged me from the beginning of the application process all the way until the pep talks over the last couple of days before my departure. I love you all dearly.

That's all for now...

More to come...