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Published: November 30th -0001
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first day at Anglesea
proof that I went surfing...well at least that I held a board I've already gotten into the mode of procrastinating and homework in July just seems wrong from every angle. Last weekend, I went with the surf club and mostly international students to Wye River, which is the town we stayed in at a bunk house and then actually went surfing at Anglesea. The ride there was somewhat treacherous since we had stopped to eat on the way and then went on Great Ocean Road. Beautiful rode and scenery when visible but it was at night with a full stomach. For you that have been up to Grandad's bluff in La Crosse, think about the curves in that road and multiply it by 10 and then add about an hour and a half. I apparently decided to catch my mom's motion sickness which was not a good feeling for the rest of the trip to our shelter. It led to a few of us going to bed quite early while others stayed up til the wee hours socializing. At one point, the crazy surfer people tried getting us out of bed by telling us it was time to go. They got one of the guys but us girls were too smart.
So
learning the techniques
Day 1 of this awesome new hobby ;) in terms of temperature in F...it's about mid 50s in the day and then 30-40s at night. It was frigid. When we went surfing on Saturday, we got suited up with a wetsuit, shoes and a hat and everyone looked quite attractive. Upon entering the water, it felt like 10 needles were poking into my ankles but that quickly subsided due to numbness. The first day, I basically worked on just "catching" a wave which means riding along with it towards shore instead of getting left behind while it proceeds on without you. Others managed to even get up on the board. I don't think being weak helped my situation. One of our instructors was originally from the U.S. and it was apparent since he lacked the Aussie accent.
We spent the afternoon in a city called Torquay and is a big surfing city. We checked out the outlet surf shops and just explored. Headed back to the bunkhouse of which a pajama party took place and some of us braved going to the local pub. Similar to a Pella pub where everyone turns and looks to see the strangers and let alone, ones in pjs. Another difference than
with home is that there's drive up liquor stores here where if you know what you want, they'll just put it in the car for you. Also, most pubs have a separate area to just buy what you want to leave which isn't typically done at home.
The second day of surfing seemed to not be as cold probably since my body was ready for the shock but it still took several hours to warm up my hands. I managed to stay up on the board thanks to some tips from the instructor but it was very shortlived. No, I never actually "rode" a wave into shore but I plan on going again at some point to sharpen my skills 😉 That afternoon, we went sightseeing and checked out some people that could really surf. It looked amazing. We proceeded on Great Ocean Road and towards the Twelve Apostles. It's actually land that's been washed into a tower of rock from waves breaking it apart from the rest. There's only about 7 that remain because they eventually collapse. Regardless, it was amazing scenery that we hit as the sun set. Most of the people left but we stayed because
Ahh yes, so refreshing
too bad it's winter, otherwise I might have to go swimming penguins hang out off of shore in pods until dusk hits and then they come onto shore. It's a spot that's separated from any other land so foxes and animals can't get to them. They're not very smart though because if they get spooked, they run back into the water and everyone follows the other. It took about 2 times to get 2 of the groups in before they manned up.
Some of you (ahem...parents) will be happy to know classes started. It wasn't busy though because there's an hour tutorial with every class which is like a discussion and those don't occur the first week. This week should be a bit busier but the way things are run is soooooo different. Most classes put all the weight of your grade on like 2 essays and a final. We'll see how that works out.
And yes, last but not least, I got a hold of Mandy. She ended up getting tickets for Beth and I to a footy game. It's called Aussie Rules with several sports combined. Rugby, some dribbling, kicking, volleyball sorta. Very different than anything I've seen before but it was awesome. She's a member of
the cheer squad for the West Coast Eagles out of Perth, since that's where she's from and our seats were right behind the goals. Afterwards, there was even a members party where the players came out and took pics and signed autographs. I got one from the guy who can kick the ball the farthest in the AFL. Apparently going to one of those games is a definite must do when in Australia so I can check it off. The season end Septemberish so I'll have a couple more chances.
Hope summer is going well for all of you!!
Angie
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