My First Job in Canada (drumuri printre amintiri II)

One other place I visited in my was the remnants of Swim School and Recreation Center, where I got hired for my first job in Canada.

As I hinted in State of Flow, I’ve been swimming regularly since I was a kid, even before I learned to ski. I always enjoyed skiing and here in Canada, with a swimming pool right in our high-school, I jumped at the opportunity to try my luck in the Swim Team, thus swimming competitively.

About the time I was to graduate high school, I’ve decided to “monetize” all that time spent in the swimming pool and become a lifeguard (“salvamar”). Here in Canada that involves getting certified by the Royal LifeSaving Society (RLSC). The minimum certs are Bronze Cross and Bronze Medallion which you get after passing some exams that measure your endurance swimming abilities, your understanding of the lifesaving concepts (the “ladder” approach, CPR, etc) and your leadership capabilities. The latter are necessary to control a swimming pool of mushrooming kids who yell at each other, pee on each other’s head and jump in the water at the shallow end.

The reason I worked there for an entire summer is simple: it’s the first place I walked in, resume in hand, and was hired on the spot. It was only 100 or so meters away from home. [to be expanded]

Today only a shy sign somewhere on a corner reminds us of what used to be there. The building seems to have been take over by YMCA.

Sources / More info: [drumuri] ess

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