Sunday Surfing

My friend Lois and I had been talking about going surfing for the past two weeks, but we kept putting it off for various reasons.  Either it started raining (even though I've heard surfing in the rain is quite nice), we didn't wake up early enough to go or one of us had to work.

We finally went again yesterday.  Lois takes photos during the surf lessons for Mojo and one of the instructors wants to sell one of her boards.  Lois really likes the board so she wanted to try it out and see if it'll be a good board for her.  The only problem is is that Lois is a beginner surfer, and the board she used is a short one, which is more difficult to surf on.

I was able to use a surf board from Nomads in Byron because they sort of partner with Mojo.  Although they had long boards available, I wanted to try one a little bit shorter.  I assumed the one I grabbed was a mini mal, or a fun board, but it was actually just a hybrid board that was half of a foot longer than Lois'.  I figured I would give it a go anyways.

After we had finally gotten our boards squared away, Lois, Douglas, and I headed towards the beach.  There are several beaches for us to choose from, but we decided on Belongil Beach.  Douglas and I decided against wet suits, although Douglas probably should have grabbed one--he had to keep getting out of the water because he was so cold.

Belongil Beach

We headed out into the water where there were decent waves, but also plenty of seasoned surfers who intimidated the three of us.  We tried to somewhat stay in our own area just so we could stay out of the other surfers' ways.  Sets kept rolling in while we attempted to catch waves.  I had never even surfed on a regular board--I had only ever surfed on a foam board at surf camp--let alone a short board.  I tried, and tried, and tried, but didn't manage to stand up all day.

Regardless of my success, I had a fun day overall.  I also was able to successfully complete an Eskimo roll!  It felt good to get out of my tent for the day and spend it in the ocean, even if the only progress I made was tackling my fear of Eskimo rolls.  Eventually Lois had to go because she had to work at 4 pm so we grabbed our boards and headed back to the Arts Factory.

We were feeling determined to get a better day of surfing in, so the three of us decided we wanted to get up at 5:30 am the next day to surf.  Needless to say, we didn't get up this morning and surf because Douglas and I didn't have wet suits, and we know we would have been freezing this morning.  Even I wasn't that brave to surf in the early morning without a wet suit.  Hopefully today we will have wet suits, though, so that we can go in the morning.

I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to go to sleep early tonight so that I can actually get up early to surf tomorrow before work.  My upper back is sore just from the paddling, but I love muscle soreness, especially since I haven't worked out in quite a while.  Hopefully, if I actually get in the habit of surfing nearly ever day, I'll be more fit and in better shape in no time.

Eight-Legged and Eerie

Saltwater crocodiles, snakes, spiders, box jellyfish, sharks, blue-ring octopus, and centipedes all have two things in common: they live in Australia and can kill you.  I haven't even seen any of the creatures above except one, and they lurk around my tent at night: spiders.

I'm aware that many of them are harmless,  but they aren't the most cuddly looking animals either.  Some of the Huntsman spiders can grow to be larger than human hands.  True, they help keep mosquitoes and other pests away, but I still don't think I want to stare at 8 furry legs connected to a fat, black body lingering above my bed.

One of my friends lives out in The Jungle, and recently gained a new roommate: a Huntsman.  She was laying in bed and could see the spider in between her tent and its top waterproof layer.  I'm not envious of her in the least.

I laughed at my friend until I went into my tent one night to go to bed.  I went to zip the front of my tent and a spider moved from between my tent and one of the tent poles.  I shrieked like a girl, grabbed my flip flop, and turned the spider into a stain.

I felt relieved that it was dead, until I shined my cell phone light along the inner wall of the tent.  I ended up seeing two more spiders inside my tent, neither of which I successfully killed.  I only ended up knocking them off the tent wall, probably sending them right into my bed, under my covers.

I think in time I will get used to seeing spiders more often.  I typically am not afraid of them unless they surprise me, or are just massive.  That being said, I dislike that they are so small and can do so much damage if you tangle with the wrong one.  If I were to die from a deadly creature in Australia, I'd rather have it be from a shark or crocodile at least.

Hunting for Jobs

Although I am working for both Mojosurf and Loka, I really want to get a second job so that I can make some extra money and travel or even just save.  One of the things I want money most for is Christmas.  I won't be able to spend Christmas with my family this year so I really want to spend it with my boyfriend's family, which means I would need to buy a plane ticket. I'd love to even have enough extra money to buy everyone presents.

Then, of course, you have Boxing Day the day after Christmas.  My boyfriend told me all about Boxing Day; you dress up in fancy clothes, watch the horse races, and drink. Some people also dress up and watch professional cricket matches.  It sounds like a rowdy holiday.
Next is Falls Fest over New Year's.  I have never truly been to a music festival and would absolutely love to go.  Apparently, the festival in Byron is sold out, but there are work opportunities for bartenders.  I think even working for the festival would still be quite fun.

After Falls Fest is Australia Day, which seems to be the equivalent to our Independence Day in the U.S.  This seems to be another drinking holiday, but patriotic holidays are always fun regardless.

After Australia Day, I don't really have any other major events that I would need money for until my internship is over.  After March 1st, my plan is to go down to where my boyfriend lives in Bega so that I can stay and work for a few months.  If I actually do this, I would like to have some money saved just in case I can't find a job right away.  I don't want to be living off of my boyfriend like a bum.

In general, I have some big plans, and want to make the most of Australia while I'm here.  I just wish there weren't so many other travelers looking for jobs.  That's the biggest reality I've had to come to terms with: everyone wants a job, everyone applies for jobs, few people get jobs.

Everyday is a Journey, and the Journey Itself is Home

There are so many things going on constantly in Byron Bay; it keeps you busy and makes it easy to meet new people. The video above will give you a good idea of things to do while in Byron.  Below are events going on each week I am here:

On Sundays, the Byron Bay Brewery hosts Karaoke night.  People are invited to participate from all corners of the world. We can always hear the thunder of the bass and screeching of the untalented from the Arts Factory.  It makes for good entertainment nonetheless.

The Ginger Pig is a popular spot on Monday nights because it hosts Rasta night.  I haven't been to the Rasta night yet, but I have heard about the laid back music and atmosphere of the reggae scene.

Tuesdays are a big night at the AFL: the talent show.  People gather from both the jungle and mainland to participate as spectators at the famous talent show.  Acts include hula hoopers, guitarists, singers, and even comedians.  Like the karaoke on Sundays, not all who participate are talented, but it's still a good time.

Wednesday nights can prove to be very beneficial for those who participate in trivia at the AFL.  Each participant pays a two dollar fee and can win a number of free excursions, such as a trip to Nimbin, snorkeling, or even skydiving.  In addition, the winning team gets to keep all of the money from the entry fees.

Thursday night at the Brewery is another eventful evening: ArtsExposure.  This includes fire-spinners, decor, graffiti and DJ's, not to mention $3 beers and $4 hot dogs.  It's a perfect opportunity to check out the works of local artists without breaking the bank.

Fridays and Saturdays are pretty much fair game for any bar or club in Byron Bay.  Occasionally you will hear of beach parties, but mostly people head to the larger venues in town, such as Cheeky Monkeys, Woody's Surf Shack, The Northern, or Cocomangas.  Loads of travellers are seen wandering around the streets of Byron on the weekends.

And then it starts all over again. 

Sharing is Caring

Although we already share a room or even a bed with other people here at the Arts Factory, we seem to share just about everything else.  Yesterday I was hanging out with David and his room/bed mate, Louise, all day.  We went shopping and just hung out in town nearly all day.  While we were grocery shopping, we decided we were just going to share some of the things between us instead of each buying a bag of it.  When we finished, we sat down at a table in front of Legend Pizza, shared a cigarette, and demolished a bag of potato chips and Aioli.

When we came back to the AFL, we each contributed some minced beef, noodles, and tomato sauce so that we could make a giant pan of spaghetti.  Our friend Tyse came and talked to us, so we shared with him as well.  Everyone was very well-fed by the time dinner was over.

David and Louise

Then Louise brought out the chocolate chip cookies.  None of us had much room left in our stomachs, but we each took a cookie (or two) and continued talking.  Eventually we made our way downstairs and continued sharing stories between us.

The whole point of this post is that living in a community like the one at the AFL is somewhat socialistic.  I don't want to get crazy political, but the system we have here just works.  Everyone contributes and everyone shares.  Someone might make you dinner one night, so you offer to make them dinner the following night.  It's just like an unspoken agreement, even though once you give, you don't really expect to receive anything back.  You do it purely because you enjoy giving; you enjoy helping out others.

I think this works so well because no one here has a lot of money.  Sometimes you're up, and sometimes you're down, but nearly everyone has been in your place before.  I've realised that you need to take care of the people in your life above all else.  In time, money spends, possessions lose their value and grandeur, but loyalty can be infinite.  When you have no material possessions, you can still be the most fortunate person in the world.

Give Me Some Soup--I'm Homesick

I expected to feel homesick during my trip; how could I not? My parents are the most laid-back people in the world, always having fun in their own ways.  Their energy is contagious for sure.  It is kind of funny how you don't realize how good something is until you don't have it anymore.  It used to drive me nuts to visit my parents because they would be asking me questions nonstop, but now I'd love to just be sitting with mom, telling her all about my trip.

And the food. I miss my parents' cooking so bad.  They are both amazing cooks and always have gigantic feasts for special occasions.  Even when they met my boyfriend they had a BBQ with tons of food and good drinks.  They also went all-out for my Graduation/Going-Away party; my friends were very well-fed.

I always got along really well with my dad too.  When I was younger, I used to be in choirs and musicals--my dad never missed a single one.  He was like my #1 fan.  My mom went to the ones that she could, but she always worked pretty late at night.  When I was in Girl Scouts, my dad even chaperoned a trip; I can only imagine what that would've been like, being one of the only men for miles, and having to supervise a bunch of screaming girls.  And now that I'm older, I can just sit with my dad, have a few beers, and just talk about whatever.

I haven't gotten to Skype my parents yet, but I hope I can very soon.  It'll most-likely be just under a year before I even get to see them again, though I can't wait until I do.

You always remember those really painful good byes too.  I knew I landed this internship about 6 months before I left, so it seemed like it was ages away.  Then I had to actually stop by my parents' house to say good bye for a while.  I hugged my mom right when I got there and started crying.  But they had another BBQ for us, so I had to keep my spirits up.

Then came the BIG good bye. I gave my parents each a hug for about one second and then wiped my eyes and walked to the car.  I couldn't handle a long good bye.  I would've been bawling my eyes out.  Having to pull out of that driveway and head on to start the road trip was unbelievably difficult.  And now it's all I can think about. My heart is heavy.

It's Not Good-Bye; It's See You Later

Me with Maren and Yuan the last night I saw them

One of the most bittersweet things here at the AFL is meeting new people because it means eventually you have to say good bye to them.  People come to Byron for visits, not typically to stay long term.

Kyle

You make friends with them, hang out with them, go to the beach with them, and then they travel elsewhere.  The nice thing is that you meet people through people and the overlap of friendships is constant.  You're definitely never alone.

Alice

Nonetheless, I have still had a few people leave since I have been at the AFL. First it was Maren and Yuan.  They came to Byron when I did after our week at Spot X; they only stayed for a few days.  One of my friends from California left a week ago already, and now, my friend Alice leaves today at 11 AM.  I was fortunate enough to see her this morning in the kitchen so I could at least say good bye.  The nice thing about Alice leaving is that she just started her one year visa, so she plans on traveling, but also plans on coming back to Byron again.  That will be awesome to see her a couple of months down the road.  It'll be like a reunion.

Conor

Contrary to the people who leave are the people trapped by the cool vibes of the AFL, unable to leave.  Conor was one of those.  He had actually planned on only staying for 2 nights; it turned into over two weeks.  He even had a bus scheduled at one point; an hour before he was meant to leave, he decided he was going to stay for a few more days, even though he couldn't get his money back for the bus he missed.  I believe he actually leaves Australia today to head back home.

Douglas

 Then there are the people who get jobs and plan on staying in Byron for the long haul.  I am extremely happy for my friend Douglas in that aspect.  He was running low on money and was thinking about leaving Byron to head back to Sweden, but yesterday he found out he got the bus driving job at the AFL.  He already did his farm work so now he just needs to apply for his second year visa.  He plans on staying in Byron for another 6 months.

At Kelly's in Oshkosh. Note: Even the bar owner is in this picture.

It's funny because the AFL reminds me a lot of my home back in Oshkosh.  It's known as a college town--the university is really what keeps the town alive, in my opinion.  My favorite bar attracts all kinds of people, and it really becomes a big family.  So many of the people I hang out with back home either have worked at Kelly's, do work at Kelly's, or drink religiously at Kelly's.  The problem is that when they graduate and need to find real jobs, they leave Oshkosh, sometimes to different parts of the country.  They almost always come back at some point or another, but it feels like losing a family member.

I'm experiencing the same sort of feeling here in Byron Bay; bittersweet is the perfect word for life here at the AFL.

Optimism is Key

In preparation to come to Byron Bay, I had many expenses to pay, both planned and unforeseen.  Just to get here, I needed to pay the people who set up the internship with Mojosurf, pay for my Working/Holiday visa, and buy a plane ticket.  Then my goal was to just save, and save, and save.

Instead, I barely saved any money.  I needed to buy a new phone over the summer, which cost me nearly $800.  I also prematurely quit my good-money-making job because of a coworker I didn't get along with.  Luckily, I found a new job.  However, it didn't pay nearly as well.  I struggled to pay bills, let alone save money.  Then, of course, the month before I came here, I had a road trip out to the L.A. airport with my boyfriend, his brother, and two of their friends.  I was nearly broke by the time I got to Byron Bay.

But I still made it here, and I'm still surviving.  If I hadn't already invested so much money into this internship, I probably would've stayed back at home and tried to earn some more money.  I did pay a lot for the trip already, so I wasn't about to turn back.  

Now, I met a lot of people while I've been here, and many of them are short on money.  Nearly all of them have very little money, in fact.  But many of the people that I have met have also been traveling Australia for months and months.  I felt very unprepared.

I did talk to one of my friends who got to the Arts Factory two weeks before me and was in the same predicament.  My friend is like the happiest person I have met so far.  He never really has money to go out, like myself, but he always has fun around 'camp' and figures that something will happen for the better in the long run.

The optimism is powerful here.  You don't have to have a lot of money or tons of nice clothes.  If you can't afford to drink, you need to learn to have fun without alcohol.  The fun and the adventure are right in front of you; it's all about what you make of your situation.  My situation is pretty good at the moment.

Working in a Foreign Field

Being the intern at Mojosurf is the most grown up job I've ever had. I graduated from college this past May, and knew I was going to be leaving for Australia soon.  It would have been pointless to try to get a full-time job just before having to leave.

My first job was a ice cream scooper at Coldstone Creamery.  I absolutely hated it.  I got a different job at my favorite retailer and worked there for several years until I started bartending.  Back home, bartenders make a very basic wage, but they earn a ton of money in tips. And we can drink behind the bar too. For college students, bartending is the job to have.

Bartending at the Varsity Cub

I pretty much just bartended for the next 3 years or so and it honestly started getting really old.  Dealing with a bunch of drunks several times a week just got annoying.  I couldn't wait for a change of pace.  I had always been at a job revolving around customer service.  I was always on my feet, always talking to people, always moving around.

Bartending during Halloween

Now I'm in an office for about 40 hours per week.  I'm just now realizing how different it is than what I'm used to.  I can obviously get up and walk around, but a majority of my time is spent sitting in front of a computer.

It's hard to say which I prefer: bartending or marketing(desk job).  They are completely different.  At Mojo, I get to escape people instead of people-pleasing throughout my shift.  I can listen to music, eat, and sort of relax.  On the other hand, I'm secluded, away from everyone else.  I don't like the lack of movement just because I feel like I'm just being lazy all day sitting in a chair.  Before people turn into drunk idiots when you're bartending, it's fun to build relationships and just hang out with your loyal bar patrons.  I definitely miss that.

I'm still not sure which I prefer but I think this six months will tell me a lot about what I want to do in the real world.  Even a combination of the two jobs would probably be ideal: if that's possible.

Sunrise in Byron

One of things I have wanted to do while in Byron is see the sunrise at the lighthouse, seeing as it is at the most eastern point in Australia.  A large group of us, maybe 10, decided this past weekend that we were going to hike up to the lighthouse for the sunrise.  We planned on getting up at 4 AM, getting pies at the 23 hour-a-day bakery, and then trek on.  The problem is most of us stayed up well beyond midnight; it was, after all, a Saturday night.  I went to bed at around 2:30 AM myself and was hoping I would be able to wake up.

I actually woke up to my alarm.  Very, very tired, I shuffled my way to our meeting spot outside of the AFL to see who made it up.  Not a soul was to be seen.  I went to the bathroom and saw that Coner had actually gotten up.  We waited till about 4:15 to see if anyone else was getting up.  No one did, so the two of us made our trip up.

According to my phone, sunrise was meant to be at 5:45, but we could already see the day breaking in the distance.  We started speed walking because we didn't want to put in all the effort and then miss the sunrise.

Huffing and puffing, we finally made it to the top.  A few random groups of people were up as well.  We found a spot to sit and just waited.  Conor saw a whale jump in the distance but I totally missed it.  You could see them spraying up water though, which was cool anyways.  A pod of dolphins as well were circling in the water.

And then the sun broke.  Slowly but surely, the sun rose with the most beautiful hues of pink, orange, and yellow.  We just sat and watched while people snapped pictures.  It was one of the most beautiful and serene moments I had had in Australia.

Fitness in a Foreign Land

Every morning, I wake up at around 6 or 7 o'clock.  I don't need to be at work until about 9:30, so I have a lot of time on my hands.  Even after making breakfast and taking a shower I have plenty of time at my disposal.

One of my goals while in Australia is to get fit and healthy again.  I used to lift weights 5-6 times per week until stress got the best of me.  I wasn't eating nearly as much as I should have been. I couldn't figure out why I was neither putting on muscle or burning fat, but I discovered eventually that I was just starving my body.  So I sort of gave up on fitness for my American summer and just partied hard.  After giving up smoking for nearly 9 months, I went back to smoking about a pack per day.  And I drank. A lot.  I held two jobs over the summer so between the stress, the smoking, the drinking, and the inactivity, I was a pretty unhealthy person.

Since I have been in Australia, however, I have lightened up on my drinking (mostly because I can barely afford it), I have been walking into town nearly every day, and have almost quit smoking altogether.  When I do drink, I have been smoking off and on.  At least I've eliminated it as a daily habit.  And this morning, I even went for a run on the beach.

That felt fantastic.  I was red-faced, sweating, and could barely breathe, but the beach is so gorgeous at 7:30 AM.  A number of people were out with dogs or children, doing the same thing I was: being active.  I would say the vibe was definitely contagious.  My goal now is to do the same thing at least 4-5 days a week.  Hopefully that will get me back in shape.  When I'm not just a poor backpacker, I'll be looking forward to hitting the weight room once again.

Welcome to the Jungle

At the Arts Factory Lodge, there are two main types of  lodging: mainland and jungle.  The mainland lodging is  a number of 2+ share dorms.  These are right next to the reception area, the main bathrooms and the rec room.  Also, they actually have electricity.

The jungle is a whole different animal.  The jungle is where the Mojo Surf participants reside, but beyond them is a field of nylon tents.  Backpackers can stay at the AFL for a very cheap price if they bring their own tents and camp.  What's interesting about the tents is that many of the campers have couches and coffee tables inside of them.  I have never seen anything like it; the campers literally turn their tents into small homes. There is a kitchen and a bathroom with showers, however, the atmosphere is completely different: secluded.

If you walk around the camping area, you'll actually come to a garden with an array of vegetables growing. The plants appeared to be a mixture of random vegetables, planted by passing travelers.  It inspired me to plant a few things for over the summer while I'm here.  How fantastic would it be to go make your lunch with fresh tomatoes and lettuce?  I think I may just have to do that.

I had an Australian show me the jungle area--he's in Byron for a holiday, though he's not sure for how long.  He told me that the atmosphere was very friendly and I believe him entirely.  I have hung out on the mainland every night since I have been at the AFL--even though my tent is technically in the jungle--and even just walking through the jungle felt so much more relaxed and homey.  It was an area for people who behaved more like a family because they would be living with each other for a much longer period of time.

Food: America vs. Australia

You don’t really realize how bad certain aspects in life are if you've grown up with them.  The aspect I’m referring to is food.  Don’t get me wrong I love food back home, all kinds of it. The fact of the matter is that our food just can’t even compare to Australian food.  

American bread

Australian bread

Bread, for example. My boyfriend always said that America’s bread is so sweet.  Now that I've been eating more Australian bread, I can tell the difference.  And if you look at the ingredients in an Australian loaf of bread, you can pronounce all the ingredients and count them on your two hands.  America is a whole different story.

I’m not perfectly healthy but most of us Americans don’t even know what all of those extra additives do in the bread.  It’s just crazy, but that’s the bread I grew up on.

Another general thing that’s different is just the lack of stomach aches I get over here.  In America, you were bound to eat something almost every other day that would upset your stomach.  In Australia, even the pizza that I've had doesn't bother me.

The cheapest eggs I
could buy in AU...
the same as our farm
fresh eggs back home.

You can tell though that all of the food over here just tastes so fresh.  If you buy a prepackaged sandwich at the servo, the tomatoes are still firm, the lettuce is still crunchy.  I couldn't tell you how many times I bought a sandwich in the store at home that had wilted, brown lettuce and soggy bread.  I was walking home from a run on the beach this morning and actually stumbled upon a Farmer's Market...on a Thursday morning.  Everything looked so good; I just wish I had brought my wallet.

I think when I actually go back to the U.S. I am going to be very disappointed with the food options available.  Either that or I'd have to pay twice as much just for some of the better food. Eating while you're out, however, is almost a definite nutritional-letdown.  

JAWS: Byron Bay

In addition to the snakes and spiders and box jellyfish and other animals that can kill you in Australia, there is one predator that you fear as a surfer: a shark.  When I was at Spot X, we were asked to name some dangers in the water.  The two responses the instructors were waiting for were rip currents and other surfers, but someone almost always made a joke about sharks.

You know they're out there, but you just don't really focus on them.  If you only ever worried about shark attacks, you'd never venture into the water.  Besides, supposedly more people in the world die from being hit by lightning than from shark attacks.  But they do happen.

I was just sitting in the Mojo offices, catching up on my blogs, when I heard on of my bosses say on the phone, "Did you hear about the shark attack in Byron this morning?"  I stopped typing.  I turned around to the other marketing girl in the room and asked, "Did she just say what I think she said?!" 

http://stabmag.com/fatal-shark-attack-in-byron-bay/

Immediately I started Google searching this supposed shark attack.  Sure enough, a 50 year old man had been bitten by a shark on Clarkes Beach in Byron.  I was in shock.  It could have been a shark attack on any beach in Australia, but it just happened to be in the town where I'm living.  

Throughout the evening I kept talking to people at the AFL about the attack; everyone had heard about it.  Everyone was sharing stories because many people had been at or near the beach when it happened.  A guy I met from California said he had been surfing about 100 meters away from the man when he was bitten.  Other friends, unaware of the situation, told me about how they were in town when they saw police vehicles and an ambulance head to the beach.

http://stabmag.com/fatal-shark-attack-in-byron-bay/

There was a buzz everywhere about the shark.  To be honest, though, it doesn't detour me from swimming or surfing.  I don't plan on going into the water for a couple days, but if the weather is nice this weekend when I'm off of work, I will definitely go for a swim.  Terrible things can happen, but the possibility that they might shouldn't keep you from living.

First Real Day on the Job

I woke up early, like always, and headed into town.  I needed to buy a couple things from Woollies, especially laundry detergent because all my clothes reeked from sitting around the fire at Spot X.  

My diet has consisted of carrots, peanut butter, wholemeal bread, and apples since being back from the surf camp--I miss the food immensely.  Until I get a second job, I'll be eating on a college students budget again.  So every morning, I make myself some peanut butter toast and head on into the office.

I got to the Mojo offices and was told I needed to email my resume to my boss, Celia. I hadn't even looked at my resume in ages so that took quite a bit of tidying to do.  After I finished with my resume, then I had to start blogging.  And here I am. For the next 6 months I'll be discussing my experiences as a traveller from the U.S.

Our offices are very open which can be a good or bad thing. My first day it started pouring outside which was comforting for two reasons.  Firstly, I love the rain, especially when I'm not drenched in it.  Secondly, I was at work so it didn't matter if it was raining anyways.  When it's sunny and hot, however, I have a feeling I'm going hate that the outdoors are only several feet away.  It'll be the ultimate tease.

Work went by relatively quickly but I had an extremely uneventful evening. I spent ages submitting my resume and filling out on line applications to numerous jobs.  Then the Internet stopped working and I was out of luck.  Being in bed by 8 PM is sad for a 22 year old but I'm sure that'll change in time.

The Most Eastern Point of Mainland Australia

I woke up with a bit of a buzz and certainly a head ache from the night before. I was wearing an over sized sweatshirt that Conor had given me the night before.  I lazily made my way to the rec area and ran into Conor who said, "I'm glad you didn't lose my hoodie."

I sat down and started talking to him.  As I drank a Jungle Juice from the cafe (which is amazing), Conor told me all about his night in jail because of his drunk driving.  I was shocked but at least Conor didn't seem too worried.  He doesn't plan on going to court, which means he will have a warrant out for his arrest in Australia.  The life of a criminal.

Since I hadn't made it to the lighthouse the day before, I decided I wanted to go to sweat some of the alcohol out of my system.  Conor knew the way so he led me there.  I tried to get Yuan and Maren to come but they had other plans for the day.

 I had no idea what kind of a walk I was in for.  You have an easy, yet somewhat long walk just to the base of the trail that heads up to the lighthouse.  Then you have a very steep up-and-down climb through the bush to the lighthouse.  Then you'll eventually make it to the most eastern point in Australia.  We continued on and eventually made it down to a beach just off of the rocks.  The weather was pretty gloomy but the breeze felt great after such a hike.

It began lightly raining as we got closer to the main beach.  We walked up to the parking lot and the couple who's Kombi had died the night before was still there.  Conor wanted to go say hi so we walked over.  The look on the man's face was pure sympathy because he had to watch as Conor got arrested the night before.  He apologized but Conor just shrugged it off and tried helping the couple once again.  He had no idea what was wrong so we walked back to the AFL.

Conor, myself, 2 Swedish girls from the night before, Doug, and few other people just had a lazy afternoon/evening. It rained off and on all night.  We met a couple from the UK who was travelling the world, one country at a time, until they found a place they wanted to call home.  I admired their lack of planning and adventurous attitudes.  I thought it was quite brave.

Before long, we were headed back out on the town yet again.  This time we went to a small cafe called the Ginger Pig.  One of the guys who was staying at the AFL had a gig for 3 hours in the evening.  We got there and the guy was playing his own version of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. He was an incredible musician.  We stayed until he finished his set, grabbed some food, some wine, and wandered back to the AFL.  For the rest of the night we listened to music and talked about anything under the sun.

A short clip of the performer from the Ginger Pig

Back in Byron

I woke up Saturday morning in Byron with no particular plans in mind. I just knew I wanted to meet up with Maren and Yuan at some point.  I had been told about the Byron Bay lighthouse because it was a big tourist attraction.  It sits on the most eastern point of Australia.  Hiking to it would be a good walk for a Saturday afternoon so I asked the girls if they would want to go there.  

We met up in town and did a little bit of shopping before we headed to the beach.  It was partly cloudy but decently warm so there were plenty of surfers out in the ocean.  We watched and judged their moves as they slid by.  Promotional girls walked by handing out free entries to bars.  A girl from Cheeky Monkey's was all too convincing with the "monkey money" she gave us and the allure of $5 meals as well as free champagne for women from 8-10 PM.  Us girls decided we would meet up at Cheeky Monkey's around 7 for dinner and see where the night took us.  We each bought a bottle of wine and headed back to our hostels to get ready.

Someone in the past wrote on one of our blocks,
"Get naked on a surfboard"

After I got ready, I went into the rec room for a bit to charge my phone and finish off my bottle of wine.  While sitting there, a guy named Conor from the UK made a joke about me drinking my wine out of the bottle.  I started talking to him and his friend Doug as they shot a few games of pool.  I said good bye to the guys and headed to Cheeky Monkeys. 

I met Yuan and Maren in the front of the bar and we walked in together.  We ordered our meals--I spent a whole $2 more just to get the chicken schnitzel.  The dinners were wonderfully cheap and the portions were fantastically large.

  At our table, we also had a Jenga set to play while we waited for dinner.  Mind you, Cheeky Monkeys is a sort of club/restaurant; a DJ was already playing loud music and giving away backpacker tours and trips.  Some of our Jenga pieces were blank but many of them had commands written on them already.  For example, Maren was probably the most shy of us girls at the bar that night and one of her Jenga pieces read, "Give someone a hickey".  Luckily, we all had a decent buzz when we got there, and the free champagne was flowing steadily.  We all danced like idiots for hours.  I stopped drinking when the free champagne ran out, which was definitely a good thing.  

Eventually I darted back to the AFL after having more than my share of wine.  I thought my evening was basically over...but it wasn't.  The night was definitely a blur but I know a few things for sure: I met back up with Conor and his friends in the rec room, we walked back into town to go get pizza, we walked to the beach, and Conor got arrested for drunk driving.  He was trying to help this couple jump start their car, but, of course, right when he hopped in the drivers seat, the cops showed up.  After the cop incident, the mood of the night was destroyed, so we headed back home.  

I'm not sure where we got it from or why we took it, but I have several bruises on my body to prove that we brought a shopping cart back to the AFL and tipped it over at one point.  I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes...

Nude Surfing

My week at Spot X was so much fun, it was disappointing knowing you were headed to your last lesson.  To be honest, I almost didn't want to go surfing just because I really disliked being pummeled by waves the day before.  But I went anyways because after all, it was my last day to surf.

The tide was much lower that Friday and the waves weren't nearly as large as they were the day before.  Surprisingly, I actually forced myself to go back out to surf on the green waves.  And I am so glad I did!  All of us who were on our 7th surf lesson went out in the back.  I didn't stand up right away, but after a few tries I was getting the hang of things and stood up twice.

Yuan surfing in a bikini

Now, Yuan and I talked earlier in the day about surfing in bikinis, so her and I walked our boards up to shore, took off our wet suits and got back in the water in just bikinis. It was definitely colder without the wet suits but it was nice as well because you had much more freedom of movement.

Earlier in the week Josh said something along the lines of, "Now if you guys wanna surf naked, go for it! I have nothing against nudity so it's totally up to you."  I thought that was a random thing to say but as the week progressed I thought it would be pretty daring to actually surf naked.

Well I was already down to my bikini so I figured why not.  I waited for Colin to raise one finger, which meant you could catch one more wave and then the session was over.  I ducked mostly underwater, took my bikini top off, and then slid my bottoms down past my ankle and onto my leg rope.  I spotted a good wave, hopped on to my board with my bare butt in the air, and paddled like mad.

I actually caught the wave and flew right by Colin as I glided across the water in the buff.   His face was priceless. I hopped back into the water and quickly put my bikini on.  Sadly, none of the girls I had been hanging out with during the week got to see my nude escapade, but at least I had a couple of witnesses.  On the first day we were told to always surf with a buddy in case you do something really cool; then you at least have proof.

It was time for lunch so I had to tell the girls what I did.  They didn't exactly believe me right away, but at least Colin could vouch for the validity of my story. It was a great last wave.

During the afternoon session I just watched and took pictures.  I was hanging out with Lukas, who was mostly sculpting butts into the sand.  The weather was not the nicest and several of the people stopped surfing for the day quite early, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much.

Top to bottom, left to right:
Yuan, Me, Maren, Tom, Ben(Instructor), and Colin(Surf Academy)

We headed back to the camp and had a couple hours to just chill out before our 5:30 bus came.  It was a relaxing afternoon, though a bit sad because we didn't want to leave.  At least Izzy, Maren, Yuan and I were all on the same bus to Byron.  The bus came.  What was really cool though was the fact that Ben and Colin came to see our group off and gave us all hugs.  The relationships you can build in just 5 days are pretty awesome. I would suggest the surf camp to everyone.

Crash and Churn

Thursday proved to be a rough day for me...I woke up with a splitting headache from the wine the night before.  Squeezing into a cold, drenched wet suit only made the start to the morning worse.  Regardless, I was ready to surf again.  Thursday morning was my 5th surf lesson.  After warm ups and stretching,  we were taught how to make it out to the back of the last breaking waves in order to surf on the green waves. 

We were taught how and where to balance our bodies on our boards as we paddled out.  Also, with the less powerful whitewash we could do a sort of push up on our boards in order to keep up speed while making our way further out in the ocean.  Then we were taught Eskimo rolls.  I honestly didn't even attempt these because I was too afraid to try it.  Basically, when the bigger whitewash was about to hit you, you would grab onto the sides of your board, hug it tightly, and roll sideways with the board under the wave.  This sounded like a recipe for disaster to me.  Finally, when you needed to get through a wave just before its about to break, we were taught how to spear our boards through the wave.  And of course then we had the basics about how to actually ride the green waves.  

I was unsure as to whether or not I wanted to attempt to make it out to the back.  So I just practiced on whitewash first.  I was very flattered when Ben complimented my pop-up, saying that it was spot-on.  That was just the sort of boost of confidence I needed to take a step forward.  

I decided today was the day to graduate from whitewash waves to the big green waves.  I may have been a bit naive because the waves breaking looked absolutely gigantic.  I went for it anyways.  I got past the weak whitewash with my push-ups.  I got through the rougher whitewash by pushing my board over. No Eskimo rolls.  Then I waited for a lull in the waves.  I hopped on my board and puddled like mad so I didn't even need to spear my board either.  Then it was calm. 

I caught my breath and just sat on my board on top of the surging waves.  It was very peaceful.  Then Glen, the typical lean, tan, long-blond-haired surf instructor encouraged me to catch the next wave.  I had to quickly lie down, turn around, and start paddling.  

Before I knew it the wave was on top of me. It felt like I was under the water for ages.  My board pulled my body forward as it was dragged by the other waves.  I came up for air for only a second when another wave came crashing down on me.  The previous scenario happened all over again.  Under water for an eternity.  Dragged along by my board.  Terrified.  I came up for air again, my heart pounding, gasping for air.  I grabbed my board and started pushing forward.  I repeatedly got hit by waves but none like the first two.

Finally I made it to shallow water, exhausted and panic-stricken.  I remember thinking I never wanted to do that again.  My mind checked-out of surfing for the morning.  I was still a bit shaken up at lunch.  For the afternoon session I just worked on turning in the whitewash. I wanted to play it safe.

My mood improved just in time for dinner. That Thursday night it was Lasagna so we were all pretty stoked.  After dinner we had a relatively quiet night.  We sat around the fire because it was extremely cold and windy.  There was plenty of good conversation, ranging from talking about different jobs people held while in Australia to family demographics at home.  I was sad knowing I only had one day left.