Surfing in December

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This weekend the international students (some of them anyway) spent a wonderful time in St. Ives. It's a little village on the west coast of England in Cornwall. We stayed at a surfer backpacker's hostel. The town seems to be the destination of surfers. And, yes, I SURFED!!!! It was GORGEOUS. As soon as we arrived, we went and rented "gear." I wove through little cobblestone alleyways with a surfboard that I couldn't even carry myself. In a beautiful bay surrounded by cliffs and jagged rocks with a tiny chapel on the top of a hill, I squeezed into a wet suit (which doesn't keep the water out by the way, was I the only one that thought that?) and ran into the icy icy water. It was invigorating and really fun. I only surfed for about thirty minutes because it is exhausting. By the way, it's MUCH harder to stand up on one of those things than I ever thought. So, I've surfed in December, who would've known. St. Ives is a wonderful place; everyone was extremely friendly and smiling all of the time. Today we drove to Land's End, the apparent most western point of England. There isn't much to do there except look at the scenery, but this is enough. It's beautiful and serene and makes you feel as if you really are at the edge of the earth. Angelica and I climbed under a rope and went on a "forbidden path" and walked along the cliff's edges. It's places like these that inspire poetry. The grass is thicker and more soft than any mattress I've ever slept on, to the point where I questioned if there was earth between me and the ocean far below. I waved to the States (or in that general direction) so I hope you guys could feel it.
I've had guests for two weeks. Two weekends ago, I went to London hoping to meet Tom and Andy, friends of Erin (my old Knoxvilian roommate). Much to my surprise, they called Saturday night and said "we're in Exeter!" I took the first bus the next morning and got home to learn that my incredible roommates had taken them both dancing the night before and had been more than hospitable in my absence. They are great and completely pulled through. It was more than nice to have two people in my "house" for a while from America and I already miss them. They were wonderful cooks and now I am spoiled! I think they enjoyed being here too, because they had been sleeping for a long time in the alleys and field of Ireland with a broken tent, living mostly on honey and bread. It was great for all of us for them to be here.
I am getting anxious about my christmas travels and feel a teensy bit homesick now that the holidays are closing in.

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Photos

"That was amazing!"
and I'm freezing

squeezure
the hardest part of the surfing experience =) And, yeah, we had to change on the open beach

Land's End
The edge of the world

Feeling invicible
clean air in my lungs and only green in front of me!

Angelica and I making wishes with rocks
So, we didn't actually make it to the water, but it was the idea...

Comments

[anonymous]

Smile
What a nice smile! You look like you had fun and are cold. - Bud

[anonymous]

and i said
it looks great dear. enjoy yourself and no regrets please. ne - no name