Wow, is it ever hard to write about your own person! As I cannot seem to find a good way of presenting myself, I asked my dog Maya Papaya to tell you about me.
Here is what Maya came up with:
“You want to know something about Sarah? Well, there´s lots to say, I can tell you. She´s really fun and takes great care of me. She takes me on long walks at the beach and when we can, for hikes in the woods or mountains. Sometimes we run together too, or I get to relax next to her yoga mat in the mornings. We live together on a beautiful sailboat. I know that it´s old – classic- they call it, and Sarah repaired it by herself, even though she had never done anything like this before. She really likes those kind of things.
I know she was born in a far away country, called Germany and – because she has a talent with language – studied German Literature and – because she wants to change the world – Political Science. I have heard them talk about how Sarah, after finishing her Bachelor of Arts in Germany, travelled to the Canary Islands and found a boat to cross the Atlantic, even though she had never sailed before! She always tells me, she wasn´t really interested in sailing, she was just looking for a way to get to Central America to travel and surf. When she talks about that surfing thing, she gets a bit of a longing look on her face, since the last years she dedicated herself to boats and sailing and did not catch any waves. She does love her time on the ocean though. In her 6 years of sailing life she has crewed on many different boats in the Caribbean, Central America and Canada. One was even one of those big old pirate ships with the square sails and all is done traditionally, she mentioned it was called “Eye of the Wind”.
When she started repairing her sailboat, she found a job at Belize Sailing Vacations, a 5-star charter company in Belize with really nice people! For the first year, she worked the first mate and chef position. That is one thing about Sarah you definitely need to know, she loves food and is at least as passionate about yummy stuff as I am – the only difference is that I prefer the chicken, the fish and my kibble while she eats mostly plants.
By the second year with Belize Sailing Vacations, she moved into the captain´s position. Now, she sailed big catamarans, up to 50ft with 2-9 guests all around the beautiful Belize Barrier Reef. She also became an ASA sailing instructor, she´s pretty good at teaching, I would be the one to ask! During the three seasons working on the catamarans in Belize, she spent every free minute (and almost every penny she earned) working on her boat in Rio Dulce, Guatemala. And boy, this woman is not afraid to work hard. I saw her sweating long hours in the tropical heat when I joined her as a baby at the end of her project.
I know it has not always been easy for her doing all the things she does being a woman. She talks a lot about how important it is that every one on this planet, no matter what gender, sexuality, skin color, cultural origin, socio-economic background or religion should be able to live their life exactly the way they choose to. During her university time she did a lot of theoretical work about anti-discrimination and gender equality. And in Guatemala, she started employing some of her local girlfriends and teaching them to work on boats.
I have to say, living on a sailboat suits my furry self really well. As a dog, I have long since understood, that it´s the simple things in life that matter! A juicy bone to chew on, a shady beach to run in the morning, the fresh water of a mountain river to cool down, a nice peaceful nap in the afternoon or making some new friends on land. Sarah and I agree, that the simplicity of life in and around nature is a lot more fun and fitting for us than living in a big house with lots of things. She talks about something called a carbon footprint sometimes in connection with us not having a fridge, gaining our electricity with two solar panels and moving mostly with the power of the wind. She also says that this lifestyle it makes it easier for her to focus on what is really important in life and to slow down her busy and vivacious self.
Well, friends, I think you learned something about Sarah. I will stop talking now as it is getting about time for our afternoon walk and I have to start looking at her with my special let´s go-eyes and wag my tail a lot. Take care and cheers to you all!”
