Survival of a naive travel nurse.

Surfs up

Now it's time to get ready for my next big vacation. I saw an ad for an all-inclusive surf weekend on one of the walls of the hostels that Leona was staying in, so I decided to give it a shot. I've always wanted to learn how to surf, and this company says they have professional surf instructors. Lodging, meals, and drinks are included as well. Sounds great, but it's too bad that Leona can't come with me. It would have been fun to have someone who I know along to talk to. Oh well, this is why I moved to Australia. I came to meet new people and have as many adventures as I can.
So, I'm on the bus headed to our lodging for the surf weekend and am a little apprehensive. Our drivers seem to be the same people who will be teaching us to surf and they don't seem to be very professional. They were late getting to our meeting point, the list of names of guests didn't match what they had on their papers, but it didn't stop them from continuing with counting us as present. The other thing I noticed is that they say "no worries" in every other sentence. Their laid back attitude is making me worry.
I just hope I don't get lost in the ocean because I have a bad feeling that they wouldn't notice I was missing and if they did notice they would just say "no worries mates I'm sure she'll turn up." Oh well, it's too late now; I'm on the bus so I might as well try to enjoy myself. The music is cranked up and everyone else is having a blast so I think it's time I get in the spirit and join in. The song overhead is men at work's "land down under" and everyone is singing along so I join in right as they are singing about the vegemite sandwiches. I can feel my worries start to subside.
We arrived at our lodging around six o'clock and were told to get settled in and meet in the main dining hall for supper and an opportunity to get acquainted with everyone. First of all, let me take a minute to describe this place. We are in the middle of nowhere, which I like. Open meadows and trees off in the distance surround the cabins. Kangaroos are hopping about and it feels like I'm in a whole new part of Australia. There is the main cabin where tables are set up for us to eat and it looks like they have a kitchen there as well. The other cabins sort of encircle the main area and there is a decent looking pool that we are allowed to use if we so choose. Our hosts have set out a variety of snacks and there are big pitchers of liquid at all the tables.
I'm assuming our free alcohol is in those pictures. Why do I assume it is our free alcohol? My first hint is that people are downing it like it's the last drink they are ever going to get. I'm told that those pictures hold our choices for the evening, which are beer or sangria. I've never had sangria before so I think I'll start with that, besides it kind of looks like juice so I should be able to drink it with out much worry.
Ok, so an hour into the evening and I realize the juice is really strong, and I'm completely drunk along with everyone else. This is the wildest party I have ever been to. People are dancing on the tables, our professional surf instructors are not wearing as many clothes as they came in with, and people are playing truth or dare. I'm not going anywhere near the truth or dare group, so I settle on watching the people dancing on the tables. At least they are entertaining and who knows I may even join in thanks to the courage I've obtained from my fifth glass of sangria.
After an hour and a half of watching and attempting to participate in the dancing, I'm exhausted and my head is spinning a bit. I'm thinking now is a great time to head back to my bunk for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but tonight was a blast so I suppose it will be worth it.
The next morning hits me like a ton of bricks.
"Could someone please stop that horrible noise?" I seriously feel like I'm going to throw up, and the pounding is making my head feel like it's about to explode. Turns out that the innocent looking sangria packs quite a punch, and now I'm supposed to be bright eyed for our first surf lesson this morning. Bring on the caffeine, because I'm going to need it.
How is it that our instructors could drink the night away last night and look like they don't have a care in the world this morning? I'm jealous, but also kind of intrigued. I'm sure they do this same routine every weekend with each group they bring here. They must have some serious tolerance built up because they look very chipper and are telling everyone how much fun we are going to have today. Meanwhile, I'm thinking a nap would be great, and maybe they can come to pick me up this afternoon.
No such luck on the nap, because they are herding us to the vans and we're about to head out to the surf spot.
As we're heading out, I'm able to take in my surroundings. The views here are extraordinary. The ocean comes into view as we round a corner. There are good-sized waves and the landscape is gorgeous.
Our instructors set us up in a semi circle on the beach and go about the task of teaching us the basics. They encourage us to get out and just give it a try. This is why we came, so off I go.
I'm genuinely enjoying the surfing. I like the feeling of sitting on the board and feeling the waves beneath me. Standing, however; is not as easy as it looks. I assumed that since I know how to ice skate and roller skate my capacity to balance on dry land would help me in the water, but no such luck. Fortunately for me, our fearless leaders otherwise known as the drunken instructors from last night's party are here to help. Surprisingly, I'm able to catch a few waves with our instructor's help. For being total party animals, they are exceptionally useful at teaching people how to surf. Either that or I'm just naturally talented and could have done the surf thing on my own.
I'm guessing that my original thought about them being good teachers is more likely than me having a hidden surf talent. Oh well, it was a great weekend and I'm ready to head back to Sydney and start my next adventure.