Partaking in Aussie Culture, or: Surfing!!!

Last weekend, one of our hall tutors (like an RA) arranged a trip for surfing lessons. Of course I signed up, and it was AWESOME. We drove down to Victor Harbor, about a 45 minute trip from Adelaide. The day was cloudy and a little rainy, but in the 80s so it was pleasant. And we figured we'd be in the water anyway, so the rain wasn't an issue, either.

We arrived at the beach and suited up, and I was SO EXCITED.
Ashley and I demonstrating our surfing poses in our sexy yellow rashers.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any more pictures because we were in the water for the next two hours. We spent about 20 minutes jogging along the beach and stretching, then having a quick lesson on the sand teaching us how to stand up on the board. Then it was into the water! There were tons of huge waves and the most difficult part of the whole thing was getting far enough out to catch a wave in the first place. Getting on the wave was the easy part, and sometimes it was just so much fun that I forgot to try and stand up. Surfboards go much faster than boogie boards! However, I *did* manage to stand up a few times!!! Once, I stood relatively early on and was able to ride the wave in almost all the way, and at the end I just hopped off the board. It was an incredible feeling. After that, though, I wasn't so successful; I'd stand up for only a second or two before tumbling down. It was still a ton of fun, though, and sometimes I was just dumb about it: I'd stand up and be so excited that I'd literally jump off of the board. The two hours went by incredibly fast.

Our staff, who were amazing. They were extremely encouraging and seemed genuinely happy when you were able to stand or catch a wave. There were fifteen of us, and they gave each of us personal attention. Sometimes they would come over and tell us to get into the position to stand, and they would push our surfboards onto the waves for us.


Afterwards, celebrating the waves and showing off how chubby I have become! Also, I have started smuggling cantaloupes in my calves, apparently.

In other news, the end of school is fast approaching. This is the last week of classes, and then we have a week of study and two weeks for finals. I have two essays due this Friday, and an essay due on 14th November. I also have a final exam on the 13th and one on the 23rd. I also have a ridiculous amount of travel plans. Here is what they look like!

This Sunday me, Soxi, and Ashley are taking a road trip to Melbourne to see the Melbourne Cup, the most popular horse race in Australia. We'll have four days in Melbourne, and on the way we are going to stop by small towns and various sights, including Mt Gambier's blue lake.

In the ten day interval between my exams, Ashley and I are taking a trip to the Sunshine Coast for a week. We're going to Noosa, an area of Queensland where the rainforest meets the ocean. The water is supposed to be warm year-round and have great waves for surfing and boogie boarding, plus fantastic hiking in the rainforest areas. We are going to take a day trip to Fraser Island, and we may do sea kayaking as well.

After school, I plan on doing a two day trip to Kangaroo Island (this I am looking forward to greatly), and then my plan is as follows:

- Tasmania for a week or ten days, exploring the island and completing at least part of the Overland Track with a group (one of Australia's most famous hikes)
- Cairns, obtaining my open water license on a liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef, including night dives!
- Townsville, home of some of the best Great Barrier Reef diving in Oz, with a famous wreck dive, including some inland Queensland for rainforest exploration
- Brisbane, including the city, Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise, and Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo
- Down to Sydney for a day or two to explore on my own, then picking up my parents and Emily at the airport!!!

I figure this schedule will keep me busy for at least a month between school and meeting my family :)