Beautiful views on the bus ride!
Sunset!
Eli, Amy, and Helen
The next morning we woke up at 8am, had some toast, and then went to the area where the wet suits ("wetties") and surfboards were where we learned about the rules of surfing. Then we were handed our boards to carry down to the beach. Oh my goodness, you should have seen me trying to carry the board! It was HUGE and almost impossible for me to carry. Finally, we got down to the beach and formed two big circles around 2 of the instructors. We then learned about the different techniques for standing up on the board and had to practice countless times until we were finally allowed to go out in the water. The water was pretty rough and we really had to fight the waves, which was so exhausting. There were way more students than surf instructors, but it worked out well. I would try a few times by myself, and then one of the instructors would come over and help me. It was pretty funny because the instructor would grab the back of my board and hold onto it to keep it steady as I surfed. When I finally stood up on the board it was the best feeling ever! I've always felt like a surfer at heart and it was so incredible to finally be surfing! I don't have any pictures to post of me surfing yet, but I'll have one soon and I'll put it up (I paid for a photo but they took a TON so I still have to look through them all and choose one)! (update: I finally chose the picture!!!) I stood up a good number of times and it was SO much fun!!! Then we went in for lunch (sandwiches that weren't very good haha) and then laid out on the beach for about half an hour before our next lesson at 1:30. I didn't do as well during that lesson; I think I was just really tired at that point. It was still an awesome time though! Afterwards, I laid out on the beach for awhile, watched some people play volleyball on the beach, and took a walk with Amy and Helen. Then I went and showered, which felt amazing after such an exhausting day! That night for dinner I had a veggie patty, which was really good, and "chips." That night we all just hung out. A lot of people stayed up late, but Amy, Helen and I were so tired we just went to our room and read. I also called my mom to tell her all about my day because I was so excited about everything that had happened!
I LOVE SURFING!!!
Me and my surf trip roomies!
Amy with her surfboard!
It was such a struggle just to carry!
There were a ton of these little balls of sand on the beach, so I did a tad bit of research and here's an explanation of what they are... pretty cool, especially if you're a science nerd like me!
A few of the "wetties" were hung in the trees to dry faster!
There were some specks on my lens when we took this, but I still love it!
Peter, Amy, me, Eli
This was where the music was played. There was some sort of speaker system in the trashcan ("rubbish bin")- so cool!
The next day we woke up at 8am again for another 9 o'clock lesson. This one was by far my favorite! The waves were much better (in my opinion, at least) and I stood up a ton of times! One of the instructors brought two of his dogs and his dogs surfed with him and a few other people, which was SO adorable! Once I got to the point where I was standing up almost every time I tried, I asked one of the instructors what to work on next. He told me to work on steering my surfboard. He explained about how it's totally different than snowboarding, so it was a little weird for me at first, but I got it after a few tries! I was so excited! After that, I went and bought a tank top ("singlet") at the gift shop and then had lunch. They also sold sweatshirts ("jumpers") that said "Living the Dream in Australia", which would have been perfect for me (I mean, look at the title of my blog!), but they were $70 :(
View from outside of our room!
Not even sure what to call this, but this is where we stayed! 2 bunk beds with a tiny bathroom! The floor got disgusting by the time we left because the pathway outside was made of dirt, plus we tracked in a ton of sand and ocean water too... oops
I TRIED VEGEMITE FOR MY FIRST TIME!!! That's the brown stuff on a tiny part of the piece of toast. Definitely not the most delicious thing I've ever eaten...
Love these rules haha! "Yeeww" is a word surfers call out at each other
Where we had our first surfing lecture!
These are the dogs who went surfing!
It was so big I resorted to carrying it like this!
Then we all got on the bus for a 3 hour bus ride to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is like the Australian beachy version of Boone. It's weird how many places here remind me of Boone- it might just be because I miss it so much! Anyways, we got to our hostel, The Arts Factory. Such a cool place! Apparently it used to be a hog factory and then they transformed it into a hostel. We picked out our rooms and then showered. We weren't allowed to use hair dryers, straighteners, or curling irons in our rooms, and there was only one outlet in the girls' bathroom which a ton of girls were sharing, so that was a bit frustrating because we didn't have long until we were supposed to meet back up with the group to go out! We had all paid to go on a bar crawl, which was awesome. We started at the bar at the hostel, where Amy, Helen, Peter, Eli and I met some really nice Australians. We talked to them about Byron Bay because they live there, which was awesome. One of them guaranteed me that I'd see a whale in the ocean for the first time the next day (which didn't happen haha). Then our whole group went to a bar called Woody's. Some of us lucky ones caught the free bus there! Once we got there we got wrist bands and then left and headed to Cheeky Monkeys. This place was crazy!!! Really fun though. Then we went back to Woody's, and then back to Cheeky Monkeys, before heading back to the hostel. Falling asleep that night proved to be nearly impossible. It was SO cold and the hostel hadn't provided blankets for us (we could have paid money to rent some but hadn't had time and hadn't realized it'd be so insanely cold), so I was shivering as I tried to fall asleep. All in all though, it was a great night!
Helen and I with one of the surf instructors!
Me and one of my new friends, Andrea, who's from Nashville
The next morning we made ourselves wake up early enough to have some time to spend in Byron Bay. We got free pancakes and then headed to a little restaurant where Amy and Helen bought a salad and chai tea. Then we headed toward the beach, which was BEAUTIFUL!!! We walked down the beach for awhile looking for whales, but sadly didn't see any. Then we just sat on the beach (where I continued searching for whales with no luck). Then we checked out some of the stores. I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt, YAY!!! My goal is to get (relatively cheap) t-shirts from as many places that I go to as possible, especially in case I never get the chance to come back to this magical country!
Our room in the hostel!
There were surfboards hanging from the ceiling in the lobby!
Awesome table outside of the hostel!
The hostel had graffiti everywhere!!! Loved it!
There are so many cool cars here!
Most crowded beach I've seen here yet!
I will never get over the color of the water here!
Me and Helen
There were surf patrol people out in a boat and they were practicing with the people in the helicopter! It was really interesting to watch!
A man who was making art had an audience!
I believe this is an Australian White Ibis, but I'm no bird expert yet...
Awesome art!
Railroad tracks we crossed to get back to the hostel
Super cool statue!
$426.53 on gas!!!
On the bus ride back we were all so exhausted, so most of us slept! It was definitely the most incredible weekend I've had here!!!
That night we celebrated my 21st birthday, which was the next day (August 27th). Some of my friends came over and then we all went to a bar called O'Malleys. It was pretty fun. When we got back I Skyped one of my best friends, Muhammad, and at one point burst out crying. Then I did the same when I Skyped Katie and Megan, and then when I Skyped my mom and cat the next day. I was kind of an emotional wreck. Never thought I'd be so homesick! All I did on my birthday (other than Skype my mom and Bootsie, which was the highlight of my day!) was go to the grocery store, but oh well. My roomies made me a delicious cookie brownie thing, which was delicious!
Pat (on the right) made a hilarious face in this picture and every time I look at it I crack up!
Me and Stefan, my friend from Norway!
The cookie brownie thing my roomies made for me!
Then the next day, Tuesday, which is actually yesterday but feels like it was centuries ago, I went with my Integrated Marine Systems class to Fraser Island. Oh. My. Goodness. I don't think I have ever been anywhere so beautiful in my entire life!!!!!!!!!!! It's past 2:30am here though, so I will write about that soon!
Hope everyone is doing well, love and miss you all lots! <3
