Surfs Up Down Under!

That's right, I can surf! We went to Surf Camp this week for 4 days. Each day we had 2 2-hour lessons. The camp was held 2 hours away from Sydney. We left the city at 7:30am and once we got to camp we had a quick orientation, then they distributed our wetsuits and it was straight to the beach we went!

Sarah and I both were standing up after our first lesson! The weather was horrible for the first 3 days of camp, it was raining SO hard but that made the water feel warmer so it wasn't that bad in the water. But on land it was awful. Throughout the week as you got better they would give you smaller and harder boards. That was going great, until Sarah and I collided and her hard-edged board hit me square in the face. My eyelid got cut and was bleeding a little but my teeth and jaw hurt so bad I kept checking to make sure none of my teeth were loose. After the lesson my nose bled a little but I think that was just aftershock or something. Sarah did make a LOST nosebleed reference that had me a little concerned....

Its been 3 days and I still have some numbness in my jaw and gum area. "Not here, or here so much....but right here." (Name that movie!) I have a little bruising around my eye but that's alright, not too bad for my first surf accident! How hardcore am I? Haha, totally joking.

Surfing was so much fun but man! what a workout! Everyone was so exhausted at the end of each day that we usually just ate dinner, played some cards, watched a surf dvd and then went to bed around 9pm.

The last day of camp we got up at 6am and were in the water at 6:30am for a sunrise surf. The weather FINALLY cleared up and it was beautiful. Surfing at sunrise in Australia, doesn't get much better than that! The waves were perfect, too! During our last surf session there were dolphins in the area. Ahhhh, perfection.

Friday we moved into our new "home" in Bondi Beach. Its sorta like a dorm. Sarah and I have our own room which has 2 twin beds, a sink that won't stop running, a 9'' flatscreen tv and a wardrobe. And about 2 square feet of floor space. The house had 17 rooms, and there are probably 20 people living there. Last night we hung out in the lounge room and rooftop area and met most everyone. They are all really friendly and from all over the place! England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Oklahoma. The best part of the house is that it has a rooftop kitchen and hang out area that looks straight out to Bondi Beach. (see picture in the post below that was taken from the roof.) This morning Sarah and I ran along a trail that connects Bondi Beach to the neighboring 3 or so beaches. The view was just amazing. The path follows the coastline around and we stopped to watch some surfers along the way.

Today is Anzac Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZAC_Day) so tonight I think we'll head over to the pubs and celebrate with the locals and our new housemates. Earlier today we went to the mall and bought some much needed new clothes! Don't worry Dad, we will get jobs soon!