Aug 242009
Hi…..I’m Costagirl
Let’s talk tennis and all racquet sports…and I’ll speak mainly tennis unless you introduce me to something just as cool.
Although I am headed off to teach tennis in Spain which we all should follow in relation to tennis & life…here is my most fabulous tennis teaching experience to date.
Special Needs… the most fabulous tennis athletes around on Boston’s South Shore…you will be missed
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Monday August 31:
Hi it's Costagirl…I've been terrible at getting anything started here because since landing in Spain i have only had internet access since yesterday, Sept 30, 2009….craazyy! So let me back up a little bit ok?!
August 31
Today is a bit overwhelming because I am leaving Boston tomorrow, seeing friends, heading home to Rehoboth Beach to ultimately leave for Spain. Because the entire month of June & much of July was rain, rain, rain, i would hardly say it was a financially comfortable time. So I decided to take lessons up until the very last minute..9 lessons today! Literally people were showing up to the court to take all of my balls, others wanted one last cocktail goodbye & others were coming to pick up furniture. It was sweet but i was cocktailed out, sleep deprived and nervous about the trip to Spain! Let alone I knew how bad i was at keeping up with my Spanish lessons..yikes!
I really grew to love my clients & in the Summer I was spoiled because I was virtually out on my own…and took my favorite people to spend my favorite season of the year with…Will Smith sings it best in…Summertime!
September 1…
So driving out of Boston is a bit of a trip! Don't get me wrong, i'm ready to move on but my friends…my friends…my friends!! I'm going to miss them ya know. It seems my fondest friendships came within that last year. It's weird that i went to Duxbury, MA for only 3 mths in route back to Los Angeles and stayed for 4 yrs!!!! What am i crazzyy??? But Summers in Boston make you forget about the hell of the Winters. I don't have a Winter sport so I just got through Winters in MA. And I may return to Boston for next Summer tennis season but that's about it. Boston is a tough community in terms of warmth….People say Boston & Philly are so similar but i feel Philly has a soul and Boston has great school systems! And if you didn't go to school and begin your career in Boston and continue on with your college cronies — it's tough to break in here. Not for me… but only because of tennis… other transient friends i made here felt the same way and didn't have the opportunities to meet people like i did…and so they left long before me. Tennis has always supplied so many opportunities in my life…for me it's been a life sport and I thank God for the good and the bad everyday.
September 2
Hey!
So now I am back in one of my old stomping grounds…Long Branch, NJ. I spent exactly one year here working corporate in NYC and exiting corporate altogether in NYC. Not for me..not my game.
But I do have a few amazing friends here and one from long ago in my Miami days. So even though I am making a pit stop at one of my favorite hotels at the beach…Ocean Plaza Hotel…highly recommended…both nights are sure to be cocktailed filled again. Like i said, I'm already waterlogged…but these friends are worth it. And NO they don't play tennis…but the stories and lessons learned from each of them…marriage, affair, cancer.. that's just in 2 nights..and god knows I have my stories to contribute are well worth the stop. Ultimately when you are making a big life change at my age you want to make sure that everyone is ok and smiling as you pass through and move on. It's your way of saying, "Im sorry I wasn't there and thank you for having me" all at the same time.
I actually have another college friend from ASU that I am missing her wedding because i have to fly out earlier than expected. I don't think she feels my experience is as big as hers and so i haven't heard from her since i've been in town…and well..it's all relative. We`always remember those people who were major supporters in our lives when things weren't good. People who even decided simlpy to call — stand out. And when that's not the case…we remember…and decide not to make their lives a priority over our own. After all this is a love situation for me too..i just may not be walking down the isle..and also, may never need to…I'm soo Goldie /Anjelina
Long story short..the stories, support, love & respect were well worth the visit. Each person with a total different life perspective and each with a great respect for adventure and me as someone who doesn't slow down and NO JUDGMENT EVER happened. And believe me, when certain people here you want to give it a shot abroad…there are ridiculous looks, stupid comments, (do you want to make less money)have you no sense of reality…etc…all out of jealousy and self doubt and as long as you don't suffer from the same illness…and you have the life ability to do so…GO!
signing off…..
Costagirl xoxo
Septemeber 3
Ohhh my God I am hungover & heading home to Rehoboth Beach today to spend time with my parents before leaving…I'm a little stressed! Not because of them but bills, cell phone, health insurance, visas, the dollar $$ (which sucks),
new boss, Argentinean man named, Tito..teaching methods in Spain! And ohhh godd..pllsss no machismo bullshit i have to deal with..that's always the worst. And in the tennis industry as a woman…it always trickles in somehow…and god knows I am NO MAN HATER…but please…act accordingly!!
So onto a ferry me & my car roll for one last time for awhile. I sit in the car during the ride trying to catch up on Spanish podcasts & enjoy some new found Spanish music that of course has a hint of reggae & the workers are loving & decide to dance next to my car instead of man the ship! ahhaha….my kind of guys
But the vibe was good…and that's all i needed. The best was that I ripped the interior door handle off my BMW on the ride down, so either i climb out the other side or open from the outside in…embarrassingly so. Mind you this will be the last time i ever mention a title like BMW. Or act privileged in any way simply because i am American because this doesn't exist overseas. Rightly so.
Costagirl…xoxo
Septemeber 4
I fly out the 8th and the plan is for me to come here and relax…I mean technically I am in Bethanny Beach, DE NOT Dewey Beach (party) but i just can't pull it together. I usually walk from house to house declaring my visit to the neighbors who love it, but also want my preposterous wedding date as well & this time my stress showed to everyone!! They commented to my parents saying…"I've never seen her this stressed!" I think the older you get no matter how young you remain these big moves get harder. Unless your Jennifer Anniston and you have boatloads of money. You think of consequences more..freak out…and then..move forward tepidly. But i am in love, happy, nervous, adventurous, curious & inquisitive. And focused myself on a whole lot of listening if i was going to learn the language.
Aahhh the language…this was going to be the challenge. Luckily i am going to live in South of the island (tourist) and not the north (locals) although this is where i wanted to be all the time. But NO ONE~ here speaks a lot of English so i plan to advertise "Perfect English" lessons to make friends, money, and develop a somewhat new skill. Why not, right? What do i care…when i say I am open to all things new I mean….EXPOSE ME TO ANYTHING AND LET ME SUCK IT UP! Also a bit of When in Rome doesn't hurt…i mean for god sakes…have something to offer, right?
xoxo Costagirl
September 5 – 8
Let´s sum up these few days in Rehoboth Beach with my parents & little brother, Max (dog) sooo hectic that i never fully relaxed. ZERO sleep for weeks…I didn´t feel settled, the Argentian boss, Tito, had been MIA for a couple weeks on both email and skpe…it was Labor Day weekend and the tourists were everywhere which made the outlets packed. I hadn´t done everything i needed to…convert the NON Almighty $$, suspend my cell service, get new tennis gear, prescriptions filled, cancel health insurance,
check in online…bikini wax…yep typical me to save everything till the last second. God that is so not a good thing about me! But i think i am one who needs PANIC to get it shaking, ya know what i mean!
The best was that i found (what i considered at the time) a GInormous piece of soft luggage that had 8 wheels on the bottom for $29 dollars, i really thought i scored! I can fit everything in it…more than enough…turned out to be ¨a nightmare¨. It weighted a ton…they charged me upwards of what i would have paid for a new set of proper luggage and when i got to Spain all my stuff was a disaster. Literally one hot mess!!
Note to self…don´t be such a cheap ass!
Most importantly…PACK SLEEPing PILLS….and of course here i will refer to them as ¨natural pills.¨ Yep i forgot that too!
The flight leaves at 6:30pm out of Philly into Barcelona no one is sitting next to me and so i can really pull some zzzz´s, right¿? Maybe the Spainish dude from LA in front of me has them or the Barcelona girl across from me…for god sakes she just sat down and she´s already passed out! She must be on something!
Nope nothing! I´m on my own…i´m up & down the aisle like a junkie looking to score all for a proper night sleep. If I only had the courage to bend down and simply say, ¨mira, perdona, tienes una pastilla para dormir¿?¨
No joke…we sat on the runway in Philly close to 2 hrs prior to take off and then…..not one minute of sleep. You know when you panic because your miserable and had NO sleep with a major time change…on top of the fact…that i sorta needed to look good. I had a hottie picking me up
That being said Barcelona´s new international terminal is beautiful..and my first taste of Spain. It was more sophisticated, quieter, gentler..and well, Europe. I actually got quieter too!
xoxo Costagirl
September 9
So you would think that your there right….Barcelona!? At the very least you are right around the corner. Nope! Board another plane to Gran Canaria and another 3 hrs in the air. No lie, I'm like, where the hell am i going? 70 km off the coast of Africa is where i am and when you say Africa…it hits you.."I'm not in Kansas anymore!" And they don't even speak English..ohhh shit!
I have to say from the moment i landed i hit the ground running. i was able to play off how tired i really was cause now i was on adrenaline but even that can only last so long. And i was on fumes when i boarded in Philly. And I went nonstop with friends back & forth from the south of the island to the north and back again. Meeting new people, receiving hugs, kisses, warmth & kindness. I'm use to being in the States and every time i change locals i NEVER get this reception
Usually it's trepidation, disbelief, calculated looks and of course the once over to see what I really want from them….as if! But Spain was different..i don't want to declare a soul, but a familiarity… i certainly could. No one really quite understands the things i do or the moves i make..and quite honestly I don't really care. But the judgment wasn't there this time and believe me it could have been…when the doors opened i was genuinely greeted on both cheeks accompanied by hugs and smiles…and guapa..guapa…it was really very sweet. And i fell in love with it immediately.
The terrain here is volcanic mountains, a tad bit brown and then of course the ocean and beaches and the feel of what you expect from Spain…at least in the north…good ole' colonialism in the city mixed with modernity. There are 2 million people here on this island…parts of it bustle…others remind me of beach / Santa Monica. And then of course the south is filled with tourists on holiday here from Germany & London..and me! I haven't met anyone here from the states…and thank god for my most treasured friend here who translates everything for me! She truly allows me to continue to be "me" albeit a little quieter.
All I can say is…there's a lot of body language reading going on
xoxo
Costagirl