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Published: February 7th 2008
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Sorry I haven't written in awhile, the internet has been really bad. Got some really good surf on Saturday. It was pouring rain and the swell was picking up a little. It was super fun surfing in the rain and warm water. Sunday Richard left for the States and we just sorta hung out all day. It was raining again so it wasn't a beach day. We lounged around until evening and then we went for a run up to the lighthouse at palm beach. Its a run along the beach and then up stairs to the top of a hill. It was a good tiring run. Along the way we encountered some leaches! I found two on my hand and Maya had three on her arms. They were small, black little guys with yellow stripes. On the way down we say three more on a rock. These ones were big, 2-3 inches long! They were inching along the rock towards my leg like an inch worm. I think they could sense my blood somehow because they were moving with a sense of purpose. Well anyway none of them actually bit me and we left the disgusting buggers behind.
On Monday I skipped school with Maya and we went to the city with Conner, Elise and Marti. It was raining Monday also. We took a ferry into the city. It started at Manly Wharf and we landed right next to the opera house. From the dock we took a subway into the city. We came up right next to the Queen Victoria shopping mall which is a multi story building with low quality merchandise and fastfood for all the tourists. The mall was packed and we quickly went through dodging the crowds. From there we went down the road to a climbing shop where Maya tried on some shoes and we all tried on the helmets and took pictures. After that we went to another climbing shop and then to lunch at a little cafe called candies. After lunch we started to head back towards the dock to go back to Manly wharf. I thought that Manly was a strange name for a town because everything is manly: Manly fruit shop. or Manly Chemist. (Chemist = Pharmacy) Just sounds weird to me. Once back in Manly we went Max Brenners, a chocolate shop. Elise and I split a plate
of chocolate and strawberrys. They were good.
Tuesday I went to school and it was... well school. Nothing special. After school though we all went rock climbing at a climbing gym. Elise and I were climbing buddies. I've only rock climbed twice before so I'm not that great but it was really fun. By the end of the session I was really enjoying myself. I could do most of the medium, medium-hard climbs. Maya and Conner though are freakishly awesome climbers. They could do any climb in the gym. Conner made it look so and graceful. Me, I would just go haphazardly up the wall and look like a total dork. But I had fun and thats what counts. Also I went in this tunnel thing that went up inside one of the walls all the way to the top. It was a narrow passageway and it cut back and forth in a series of switchbacks in total darkness. It was an interesting experience kind of like the spider caves in Yosemite. Ii just had to feel my way through the passage.
Wednesday was school again. We had an assembly at the beginning for the first two periods.
It was a motivational speaker who came to talk to us about the HSC exams. Our equivalent of the SAT I guess. Except you can only take it once and it decides what you are allowed to study. e.g. if you wanted to study medicine you have to get almost perfect marks. So if you don't get good enough scores then you're screwed. It's kinda complicated but that's it in a nutshell. Well anyways this guy talked to us for 2 hours and it was rather boring for me because none of it was relevant and I didn't know what he was talking about half the time. After the assembly Maya and I got told off by one of the head of year 11 for not being at school on Monday. He wasn't very happy about it even though we handed in a note. (Maya had residency stuff to do and jet lag had finally caught up with me.)
Today I went to school again and it was poring rain with lightning and thunder again. School is the same ol' same ol' but I've started to make a few friends. Everyone is very nice to me and very welcoming.
Well I gotta go do maths homework and some physics too. Man I swear the Physics teacher doesn't know what she's talking about. We all agree that she either doesn't know how to teach physics or she doesn't know physics. She keeps contradicting herself and its driving me nuts. I don't understand what's going on. But all my other teachers are great so thats good. Well I better go hit the books so I can surf this weekend if the weather clears up a bit.
I'm bummed I'm missing lacrosse. They kinda know what it is but no one plays it here. Hope everything's great, I'll write soon.
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grandma
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Chet with all that running,surfing,and climbing, you'll come back to the states with huge muscles!!! sounds like your in the rainy season... What sports do they have at your school???any soccar or basketball? We are both fine.. I got a new washing machine today!!isn't that special!!!! we think of you often take care love you grandma and grandpa