Yesterday, a friend mentioned being a (stand-up) paddleboard instructor.

It reminded me that I had once taken paddleboard lessons in Mexico.

By mistake.


I was staying overnight in La Paz before flying to New York the next day.

I had met up with some couchsurfers, and we were in a bar, talking about beach volleyball.

My Spanish at the time was really bad, and I didn't understand that the conversation had changed to taking paddleboarding lessons. When I was asked if I wanted to sign up, I immediately said yes, thinking I was signing up for beach volleyball, on the general principle of
Just Say Yes.

The next morning, people started changing into their swimsuits and I began to realize that I'd signed up for paddleboarding lessons, not beach volleyball!

I left my wallet and passport with the paddleboard company, and really hoped to be able to learn paddleboarding without falling in the water, as I was wearing my only pair of short pants, which I would also be wearing on the plane that afternoon.

I didn't manage to avoid falling in, but I learned to paddleboard!
And by the time I got on the plane, the shorts had mostly dried, and the dampness of the shorts as I sat in my seat just reminded me of how much fun I'd had because I'd
Just Said Yes.