But anyway, I haven't updated this blog in about a month. Not much really happened between my last update and mid-semester break besides surf weekend, love boat cruise, and writing papers. Surf weekend was an awesome experience. I'll get to that a little later on. The love boat was a bust. Heavily unorganized and crowded, the only good thing was free alcohol and pizza (if you were lucky enough to get a slice). As it turns out, I was a paparazzi that night, but I'm pretty sure you won't be too interested in those photos. Writing about writing papers? That just sounds dumb, like the Harvard citation style. Go APA!!
Surf Weekend
Yes, it's as hard as it looks, especially for people with absolutely no balance like me. That's why I love tubing. No balance required. But, before I get ahead of myself, let's start from the beginning.
Friday:
We had to be downtown at a random hostel at 5:10 for a 5:30 departure. I planned on leaving around 3:30 to ensure we got there on time. Having never traveled downtown on a Friday rush hour before, I wanted to ensure we had plenty of time. My friends, of course, disagreed. You worry too much, they said. So instead, we left at 4. We get downtown at around 5:10, however we still had to get to the hostel. Being the "worrier," I was, of course, the only one who vaguely knew where the hostel was. Little did we know that it was more than 10 blocks away. We arrived at 5:29, just in time for our 5:30 departure. They were all mad at me for making them walk so far, but hey what can I say, they wouldn't have made it without me.
The bus ride was about 6 hours. I had the wonderful pleasure of sitting next to the toilet on the bus. It wasn't too bad until after we stopped to eat at Hungry Jack's (Aussie name for Burger King). This one girl came back and said "I'm sorry" and then went into the restroom. I can never look at her the same anymore.
We finally arrived at camp around 11:30 and got our rooms sorted out. I was in a room with 7 other guys. It was your typical hostel type layout. After sorting everything out we went to the fire out in the middle of nowhere. The stars out there are absolutely amazing. I've never seen such a spectacular night sky. The sky was completely filled with stars and galaxies. The Milky Way was very prominent in the sky.
Saturday:
Of course all good things come to an end. We woke up around 6:15am. After breakfast, we were given wetsuits with interesting names. Mine was Xtra Large Nipples. Sorry, I have no pictures of me in it. Wetsuits aren't exactly the most flattering things to be wearing. We then went to the beach and walked...and walked...and walked...and walked...and walked...and walked some more. It was at least a 2 mile walk from when we first stepped on the beach to the spot where we were going to surf. It wasn't so bad the first time.
Surf lessons of course started on the beach with us practicing how to stand on the board. I couldn't even stand on the board on land, so you can imagine what it was like in the ocean. After teaching us how to stand, they basically threw us in the ocean and said go. I was able to get up and ride the waves 2 whole times during the 2-3 hour morning session. Afterward, we made the wonderful trek back to camp for lunch.
After lunch, we got an hour to rest because, as moms always say, you gotta wait 30 minutes after eating before jumping back into the pool. Of course, who actually followed that rule? The break didn't last long enough though, because before we knew it, we were back on our way to the beach. I wasn't so successful in the afternoon session, as I only got up once, and of course, no one was there to notice it.
Dinner was on us before we knew it. We were all so hungry that we lined up for food before they even put it out. Then, of course, they declared it ladies night and let all of the ladies eat first. The guys weren't too happy. I mean, women want society to view them as equal to men, yet demand certain benefits that men don't get. You can't have it both ways. Either admit we're (men) better than you, or plan for chivalry and ladies night to cease to exist. I understand that you have the "burden" of carrying our children, but we also have the "burden" of taking care of you especially during your wonderful time of the month. But before I awaken the feminists, I should probably get back on track. What a wonderful argument that is. Nonetheless, dinner was a buffet of steak, hamburger, and sausage.
After dinner we divided into groups and played Jenga to decide who got the honor of doing the dishes. There were 7 groups. I was in the 7th group. The 6th team caused the Jenga to fall. We didn't even have to play, lucky us. After Jenga, we all got out beverages and went to the campfire. I don't remember much from that night, and it's probably a good thing. That's all I'll say.
Sunday:
The next morning we woke early again and made the long trek to the surfing spot. Most people were unable to go surfing for various reasons. I went at it the entire time we were out (about 2-3 hours). I never got up once. My balance was worse than Saturday for a combination of reasons. All good things come to an end though. After the bus ride home, we barely made it back to our apartments. Every muscle in our bodies hurt including our toes. My feet hurt so hard that walking was a humongous undertaking. It was worth it though.
New Zealand stuff will come later. I have to get through two midterms this week first.
