FRANCINE has
written about A Moment of
Happiness.
This is how
she recalls this very special moment
and how one
of her dreams came true!
I must add
that when she told us about this in class,
her classmates spontaneously reacted to her photos
and wanted to know a lot more.
What was surprising ...she was
really fluent while adding
information that wasn’t
included in her text.
I personally
think, as a teacher, that her presentation
was also another special moment, right there in class!!
Ever
since I
saw the movie « La Grenouille
et la baleine », I have had
a dream … to go
swimming with dolphins. So in January of 2002 my dream came through! I went
to Mexico on
The Riviera Maya
with my husband. On
January 9, my birthday, while we
were on holiday, my husband
decided to give
me a special
gift. We reserved
a day trip
with a French
guide and the
day of my
56 years , my dream finally
came true . That day ,
I went swimming
with dolphins at
the Interactive Aquarium
of Cancun. It was a
fantastic experience!
First, we
visited the Aquarium .
We saw starfish , sea urchins
and a lot
of weird marine
animals . I touched a
baby shark , a sting-ray … a
big and very
ugly sting-ray. Then
I approached the pool. My husband was on
a small bridge
above the pool
with camera in hand. We
were a group
of 12 people. The
instructor explained what
we had to do
while in the pool . He
spoke just in
English but our
French guide repeated the
explanations in French to
be sure that everything was
clear for everyone.
We
then went into the
pool . While a
group of six persons
were playing in
the water with
two dolphins , the
other group of six
stayed by the pool
with the instructor
and another dolphin . I
was in this
group . The instructor gave us a lot of information about a dolphin’s
mouth , teeth , tongue , the
hole on its
head , its skin (very
sensitive) and more. He showed
us how to
feed a dolphin . Each of
us fed the
dolphin . I gave it
a fish . After
that , the instructor said to
the
dolphin : « You
eat too much . You
are going to
be on a diet
» and the dolphin
answered : « No
diet…No diet…No diet…
» It sounded like
that! After the lesson, we played
with the dolphin .
We splashed water
at the dolphin .
It moved back
or it hid
its head under
the water. After
three or four
times , the dolphin
put its head
under water for a few seconds
then…it approached quickly
and it splashed
a lot of
water on us and
it laughed and it
applauded itself. It was cute.
Finally
, one
by one , we had to kneel down
on the side
of the pool
close to the
water : we were
ready for the
« kiss ».
I got
down and
I put my
hands into a
« V ». The dolphin
approached… I gave it
a kiss on
its nose and
then I turned
my head. The dolphin
got closer and gave me
a kiss on the
cheek . Of course , the
photographer was there
to take a
photo. After the kiss ,
I went into
the water with
my group : the six of us
formed a large circle. We
didn’t go toward
the dolphins . Dolphins swam
around us, behind us and in front
of us. I was
very lucky : a
dolphin stopped in
front of me
three times, it turned on
its back and
I touched it then I stroked
it. It felt like rubber. A
very pleasant moment!
I
was more anxious for
the next step : the
‘foot push’. To experience a dolphin
‘foot push’ , we
are in the
water , one by one . We
lay flat on
our stomachs with
outstretched arms . Our
legs are also
stretched out and we had to
keep our legs
stiff , very stiff . When we
were ready , two dolphins swam
quickly and pushed
our feet just
under the heels . We
were propelled out of the
water .
To complete
the activity , we stayed
in the water
for some minutes . The
three dolphins did
a show just
for us . They jumped , skipped , danced ,
one by one
or together . We
finally made a ‘Bye , Bye ’ sign
and the dolphins reciprocated by passing
in front
of us to also say: « Bye, Bye! » with their
flippers.
DOESN'T everybody
just LOVE dolphins!!
I personally think that the emotion that Francine felt that day
is a GIFT from this most amazing creature of the seas!
Suzanne
*** Don't forget to COMMENT,
I'm sure they will appreciate!
*** Don't forget to COMMENT,
I'm sure they will appreciate!
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