When I arrived in Canada, to improve my English, I preferred to register for a sport class rather than a language course. In the West Vancouver Community Centre program, I found a canoe-kayak course in swimming pool. Many technical words were unknown to me and today I have forgotten most of them. Anyway, the expression eskimo-roll has never left my memory. This is the act of capsizing the kayak, flicking the hips and using the paddle. I remember the sensation experienced when I was upside down at the bottom of the water and have to manage to go back to the other side. If it was relatively “easy” in the swimming pool, the exercise is certainly more difficult in rough waters. It is the same in life, no? It’s easier to get your head out of the water when the water is quiet than during a tempest.
Atelier Anne-Lise Ravey 