I went surfing... and I didn't drown!

"All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." After hearing Sean Penn's greatest character ever, Jeff Spicoli of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" utter this iconic line, I knew I would have to give the waves a shot once I got down to Australia. Still, I had no idea it would happen so soon.

Now those of you who have known me for a long time know I'm not exactly the most aquatic creature- I don't swim, as much as I simply avoid drowning. I don't know if it's because I nearly drowned in the pool at a Puerto Rican resort when I was 8 (fact) or that my sister used to water-board me as a child (mostly fiction), but water has just not been my thing. Nonetheless, standing up on a wave was on my to-do list for going abroad to Sydney and damnit I was going to check it off.

The Surfin' Waves van pulled up to the curb to pick up myself, housemates Zach, Spencer, Kayla, and Jackie, and neighbor Dave. After about an hour of traveling, we arrived at the gateway to the Northern Beaches. Another 10 minutes of roller coaster driving over sand dunes got us to the most pristine, desolate beach I have ever seen -pure white sand and beautiful waves as far as the eye could see.

We opened the day with a 40 minute surfing lesson from our instructor Max, followed immediately by putting on wetsuits, and heading out to the water with our boards. Whereas my friend Spencer got up on his second attempted wave, it took me some time to get the hang of popping up on the board with a wave rushing around me. After spending a good chunk of time learning from my consistent failures, it was time. I selected my wave as it began to build in the distance. As it grew, I raised myself upon my board in a laying position and started to paddle. as the wave came breaking behind me I took four monstrous paddles and pulled my hands into a pushup position on the center of the board. As the wave rushed by me, I bent my upper body upwards, then raised my legs, leaving my palms and toes as my only pivots on the board. I moved my right leg to a stable position and swung my left leg to the front in the classic surfing position. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world... until I came tumbling down seconds later and swallowed an olympic swimming pool worth of ocean water.
As the day continued I got up a few more times and felt the familiar childlike euophoria, although none rivaled the first. After about 4 solid hours of surfing, we were spent by 3:30 PM and ready to head back to Coogee.

We relaxed at our house for a bit before heading down to the beach for a sunset barbecue, with a bunch of our friends and neighbors joining us for some good ol' burgers and conversation. As evening turned to night, I looked back upon my experiences that day and smiled: I had checked off the first thing on my to-do list.
Stay tuned for a recap of Gay Mardi Gras in Sydney!

The site of my first surfing experience:


Housemate Spencer mans the grill as friends socialize around him: