Cautiously calculating each step, the gusting winds were
going to make this obstacle course a challenge.
Narrow balance beams, tires and planks suspended by ropes, which any and
every bit of movement sent the platform in a different direction. While this might sound like any ordinary
obstacle course, it was suspended 10 meters (30 ft) above the ground (scary
that I am finally starting to understand meters, liters, and Celsius). And with each turn, I would have to adjust
the safety harnesses to the new direction.
The course was fun, but the 8 suspended tires, and moving platform which
required you to swing onto by a rope Indiana Jones style, were made more
challenging by swirling winds. In our
first timed run with the team, we experienced some delays, as we needed to become
familiar with the course but on the second try, I fared much better.
The next challenge took us over to the paint ball course
where our team of 10 would face one of the other center teams in a game of
capture the flag. Immediately as the
whistle sounded, I sprinted to the small hill which housed the flag. By now, paint balls were crisscrossing all
throughout the course, and I was really not ready to start and be pelted from
every direction. I crouched against the
hill while constantly monitoring both sides as the enemy approached. I felt if we were going to win the first
game, it would be now or never to attempt to take the flag. Rising to my feet, and climbing to the top of the
small hill, the flag was no where to be found.
Through my hesitation, the other team had quietly run off with the flag,
even as I lay nearby. However, the flag
did not make it far, as it was dropped near a makeshift shelter. As I crept closer to the prize, I felt three
pinches and had green paint splattered across my mask. While we lost the first game, we did win the
second, and the third game became an all out “use all your paint balls
regardless of how many times you get hit” brawl. The rest of the day’s activities consisted of
football (soccer…which I am a terrible goalie), sand volleyball, 4x4 wheel
driving, and finally, a giant 20 meter swing/drop. And of course, there was good food and beer
to enjoy the day with the team and other center members. In all, we had about 250 people, and everyone
had a great time, especially since Slovakia
won their hockey game against Canada
to advance to the semi-finals.
Finally, it seems I have found the new favorite food of the
office which everyone has enjoyed. As a
standard staple for most American diets, similar to peanut butter with jelly,
or burgers with fries, chips and a dip are a required combination. And while I have not found any Dean’s French
Onion dip, avocados are plentiful, and my guacamole recipe has been a huge
success. While I am not sure what the
traditional use of the avocado is in Slovakia, taking a couple avocados, a
tomato, onion, red pepper, lime juice, and adding a prepackaged mix brought
from the US, the dip has become a favorite of many. To take the tasty snack to another level in
flavor country, I started making cheese quesadillas which become an instant
hit. Now I need to convince family and
friends who visit me to carry onto the plane a suitcase full of guacamole mix.
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