Surfing

I have discovered my new favourite hobby-regardless of how often I'll get to it-surfing is absolutely awesome. I got up early and went to the pick-up point for the Surf's Up surf school and met Doug who was also waiting to be picked up and after a bit of a wait our instructor Dean pulled up in beat up Truck. Turns out the winter season is not a popular time for people learning to surf and it was just Doug and I giving it a go today. We drove to one beach and had to check the surf since every day is different based on the current, temp and winds it can bring in an array of surfing waves. The beach was a bit too sheltered for the wind today so we moved on to another one just up the road and it turned out to be perfect. The waves were about a metre high and were just right for us since neither of us had surfed beforehand and after a few minutes of dryland training we hit the water. I was surprised as on my 3rd go I got to a standing position on the board (only for a second or 2 mind you) and was instantly hooked. We spent a couple of hours in the morning getting as many waves as we could and then had a bbq on the beach only to get back out for another couple hours on the surf. There's something exhilarating about catching a good wave and getting up, a sense of accomplishment, like you've conquered something that the ocean's just thrown at you. I loved every minute of it but by the end of the day my legs were exhausted. The steadiness of controlling your board and standing up quickly was surprising hard and by the end of our 2nd session I was definitely ready to head back into town. I can't wait till the next time I'll get to go surfing, and don't know where it'll be but am already looking forward to it. For anyone who hasn't tried it, definitely do it if you have the chance but get lessons since I had no clue what to do and having an instructor nearby to give feedback makes a huuuuge difference.
Tonight I have the unfortunate task of packing up my things in hopes of getting back to Canada tomorrow. For anyone who doesn't understand how my Air Canada passes work, I fly standby so only get a seat if there's room available on the plane and am given a seat based on my seniority on the standby list-in tomorrow's case it's quite low. The numbers are not looking good so there's a chance I'll be back in Sydney for another night (or 2 or 3.....) but tomorrow I'm heading to the airport with an optimistic attitude. Please pray!!
I've had a blast here in Australia and am so glad I did the trip even though I was a little overwhelmed at the beginning. If I get the chance again in the future I'll definitely be back with a better perspective on what to do and what not to.