New Zealand

I am now in New Zealand, and having a blast. i am traveling with my Ecuadorian friend Stefan and my roommate Chad. i am now 6 days into my journey and enjoying every bit of it. after staying the night in a little dive motel in Auckland i picked up Stefan at the airport and headed to Raglin a small surf town on the west coast of the north island. the poor weather and late arrival of Stefan's flight forced us to stop and pick up a hotel in hamilton. all hotel except one were fully booked when we arrived, thus we were forced to stay at what was by far the worst hotel i have ever seen much less slept in. in a short description the room cost only $15 US and the mattress were so old and slept in that you could nearly feel the box spring, the bathroom was down the hall and it smelled of formaldehyde, and stale urine, the only other people that we say that night appeared to be either prostitutes or crack heads, it was a bit dilapidated to say the least. but the good news is from the next morning on things have only gotten better. we arrived in Raglan at around eight, and headed directly for the surf. the waves were okay, and it was a little windy, but we managed too have a good time. after the morning session we headed into town the grab a bite and check into the campground. while in town we stopped by the local surf shop to see what the locals had to say about the swell in the next couple of days. the shop owner only had positive things, stoked from the local swell forecast, we set up camp and headed out for an evening surf. the conditions were still a bit ruff and windy but the swell was building, which kept our hopes up. while out in the water i met a two guys one from hermosa and one from San Diego. Paul the guy from San Diego is a lifeguard has done a lifegaurd exchange program and will be working as a guard in NZ for about 6 months, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. he ended up to be a really nice guy and invited Stefan and I to the local surf club to have a few beers with him and the other guards. they were all very nice, and most of them ended up being from the states. one of then went to uc santa cruz, and new and hung out with mike fran and all the manhattan guys that go school up there, small world. the next day we awoke early to find the wind had died over night and the swell had kept building, producing some great surfing conditions. we surfed for nearly three hours with a relatively small crowd, i didn't think it was going to get much better than that. i was wrong. after a protein shake sandwich, and a little nap for Stefan we headed back out for the second surf of the day. as i hopped off the rocks into the surf i did not know what i was about to experience. in the next three hours i would surf some of the best waves of my life in a nearly empty lineup. over three hours i sat in the water with a guy from carlsbad, his girls friend who did not catch any waves. Boden (the guy from carlsbad) and i sat at the peak and traded 6-11 ft waves for almost two hours. i don't know which was more tired my arms from paddling for so many waves or my cheeks from the smile that was glued to my face because i was so stoked. it was nearly surreal, as i looked around in the water i could hardly imagine a more beautiful image. the sun was shining, the landscape was pristine, and the sets just kept rolling in. unfortunately the swell died off the next day, but that was okay with us, it gave us a reason to head south, and see more of the island. we spent the next night just south of New Plymouth in a truly beach front camp site, the only thing that separated use from the sand was a wood fence, and it only cost $14 Kiwi, i don't know how but i didn't ask. being thanksgiving we treated ourselves to a nice dinner and a few drinks at the local tavern, for god sakes my $40 meal cost more than my accommodation for the night, what a deal. in the morning we rose early and drove south, making a pit stop at Stent Road, known for being one of  the most consistent breaks in the area, we figured we would at least give it a look. when we arrived we were surprised to find rather good  surf, and although the water was a little chillier than i would have like, Stent Road provided us with very enjoyable 3 hour session. the past 24 hours has been relatively uneventful filled mostly with driving and a nights stay in wanganue. we have just arrived in wellington and have plans to meet up with chad and take the ferry over to the south island at 9 PM. 

It is Early

So it is 3:30 am and i am going surfing at 4:30, i don't think i am going to sleep. we went out to the bars last night and i was home by 1:15 i just was not ready to go to bed yet, i began to talk to friends on line and before i knew it it was 4, wow how time can fly. basically i would like to say that today is my last chance to surf in australia for a long time, the swell dies after today, so pray that in a hour and a half when i paddle out that there are at least a few waves to be caught. there are only going to be a few more posts on this blog, and for those of you who have read, i hope that you have found some joy in hearing about my experiences, fore i have truly enjoyed telling the story of my time spend down under. i am off to make some PB&J for a snack. i will soon let you know whether my session was successful. 

I'm Tryin Here, Help Me Out

As I sit here i can hardly keep my eyes open,  this is due the the fact that i awoke at 4:30 this morning in the effort to head south and catch some surf. in the past week i have been pretty determined to get a last couple days of surfing in before i leave for New Zealand, but just cant catch a break. after studying swell forecasts and maps of surf spots down the coast i decided to rent a car and head south for two days. accompanied by Travis, Stefan, and Steffen, i headed south this morning at 4:30. we were not expecting anything epic just possibly some fun waves and a good time spending the night in a little surf town called Lennex Head. instead we encountered quite the opposite, on the drive down it started to rain , then it poured, and then the wind started to blow, to say the least the weather was terrible. We pulled up to four different breaks, each worse than the prior, and the conditions were only going downhill. So after some deliberation, and frustration, we swallowed a bit of our pride and turned back. the forecast for tomorrow did not look any better, and at least by coming back we will be saving some money by sleeping at home. as for the rest of the day we are settling for a movie as a source of entertainment. you cant say i didn't try. maybe by some miracle i will get just one last day of surf in OZ

In Order: My long Hair, The Champaign Pools, The 4X4, A little Guinness Beard, Rolling into Lake Wabby, Lake Mckenzie

Fraser Island

We decided that Fraser Island would be the destination for our final trip within Australia. Myself and seven friends rented a car last Saturday and drove three hundred Km north to Hervey Bay, where we Hosteled for the night and catching a ferry first thing in the morning. On the drive up i came to the realization that the consumption of alcohol  while driving is legal in this country, bringing this to the attention of the others we immediately stopped at the nearest bottle shop and picked up supplies. it wasn't long till i was listening to what sounded like a bunch of spring breakers speaking billeze (like a drunken sailor) and singing along to their favorite 90's hits. the arrival to the hostel could not have come sooner, i had done most of the drive in the dark on a narrow two lane highway with a high population of 18 wheelers, my eyes were tired from all the lights, and due to the in car antics i was more than ready to start drinking. the rest of the night was fun we found a local irish pub and drank pitchers of Guinness which did more than the trick. 6 am came to soon, as we awoke we were all wishing we had Advil and about 3 liters of water each. after a short briefing from the car tour company we headed to the loading depot where we were given our 4X4s and camping supplies, from there on out we were on our own. we picked up groceries and headed to the ferry, which we almost missed after a wrong turn (that was my bad), when we got to the Island we picked up our permits and lowered out tire pressure in preparation for the off-roading and sand driving to come. being the most confident at driving a stick shift, i took the drivers seat and headed in the the interior, i really had know idea what i was in for. the driving was tougher than i expected, the tracks were filled with steep and deeply rutted sections, as well as stretches of extremely soft sand that was nearly knee deep when walking on foot. we drove the island for three days transferring between the many beaches and the lakes spread across the island. each destination was unique, my favorite of all being Lake Mckenzie a crystal clear lake that was such a deep blue it rivaled the waters of The Caribbean. among other things we played games in oversized sandy tidal pools called The Champaign Pools rolled down a giant sand dune into Lake Wabby. on the first night we made an attempt at drinking and playing games in camp but failed miserably retiring to our tents within a half-hour, the next night we were much more successful. we laid a tarp on the beach and cooked dinner and asked our Ecuadorian friend to teach us spanish drinking games, needless to say we had a blast. as the weekend wound down we all came to the agreement that this would go down as one of the better australian weekends. 

     The freedom of having a car was amazing, we were not restricted by bus and train schedules. after living here the adjustment to driving on the other side of the road was rather effortless as well. this just reassured that my only regret of this trip is not purchasing a car. today i came to the realization that i leave in just over a week, i can hardly believe it. this experience has been more than i could have ever hoped for. i can only hope that in the coming weeks that i spend in New Zealand that my experiences can continue to be as amazing as the months that i have spent here in OZ. i am now proud to say that i have lived abroad, and would not trade my experience for the world.

Canoeing in Noosa and Indy week

Two weekends ago i went on a canoe camping trip on the Upper Noosa River. i went with 14 fourteen others, only two of which i had ever met before this trip. upon introduction i knew i was in for a weekend of laughs. most of our parties looked like they had never set foot in the woods. there packed in plastic bags and athletic bags, had there blankets and pillows tossed over their shoulders and three out of the six guys wore there hats sideways. (You know dad, just like when you take my hat and put it on, and make that goofy face, and go huh huh.) I was laughing so hard with that image of you in my head. none of them had any idea what they were in for. we hopped on a bus for an hour, then a train for three, and finally another bus for thirty minutes, and finally we arrived at the Noose Backpackers, our lodging for the night. this place was special, the rooms smelled of feet and mothballs, the lights flickers when they were turned on, and not a single mattress was without a stain. needless to say i did not sleep well that night. for those of you that do not know, i have a bit of a bed thing, if the bed is what i would deem dirty or even just the least bit slept in, i just cant sleep in it. it was all i could do to fall asleep that night. i was the first one up eager to get out of that bed, we had to go to the store to get food for the weekend. i had the idea to get pasta and PB&J stuff, i figured this would be light and filling, as well as not spoil. i'm not sure the others considered there factors, people were grabbing things like raw chicken breast, and bacon, one person even bought milk. we had no idea whether we were going to even have a cooler, i couldn't help but try to give a couple hints on what to bring and what not to bring. at first they looked at me with blank stare but with a little explaining, they began to understand why chicken and milk were not a good food choice when you are canoeing up a river in 85 degree heat. the canoe company provided the the camping supplies and a general itinerary, and sent us up stream. you should have seen us paddling up the river, it was like pinball, for most boats going straight was not an option. when we got to camp it was a similar story, you should have seen the tents. people were using the rain fly as a tarp, setting up tents only using one pole and then standing there baffled that there were left over poles and sagging sides. but with a little teamwork we got everything straightened out. we had a fun time that night drinking and singing songs in the campsite. in the morning we paddled another 6Km and went on a hike up to the Sandpatch. the Sandpatch is just as it sounds, a bunch of sand in the midst of a a forest, but at the same time it is a lot cooler than it sounds as well. we ran around for about an hour rolling down sand dunes, and laying in the sun. another name for the Upper Noosa river is the river of mirrors, and on the paddle back form the sand patch we found out why. the roots of the trees that line the river banks dye the water red, a color the locals call tea, i guess it is this color that makes the water so reflective. as we paddled back to camp we our eyes were glued to the water looking at the perfect reflection of the setting sun, an image i will never forget. unfortunately the picture i have is not of the image i have just explained, but it gives you an idea of how beautiful it could be. we had another great night in camp and packed up and headed home in the morning. we had come a long way since day one, most of the canoes were now going straight and moving right along. it was a great weekend, its great to get out of the hustle and bustle of surfers paradise, but at the same time this city also produces some of the greatest parties.

which brings me to my next point, Indy Week. the last four days were were some of the craziest i have seen. The Indy circuit makes its last stop here in surfers paradise, and with it comes over three hundred thousand visitors. for four days there was a nonstop party here in Surfers. starting at eight every morning the cars roared around the track, and the partying began. the room three stories above us along with many others throughout all the other high-rises, turned on their massive stereos and started to rage. these antics proceeded throughout the day and into the night. it was not an uncommon to see hired girls dancing with or without clothes, entertaining the passers by. it was a site to see. it put spring break in Cabo San Lucas to shame, and really proved to me that Australians do party the hardest.

i just sat down at my computer to write the rest of the thailand post, but before doing so i took a took at my friend chads blog, let me tell you he does a wonderful job of telling about our adventures. instead of writing another post i have decided to plug my friends blog. have a look the address is chadbyersblog.blogspot.com. i will warn you it is long, but i could not agree more about his opinions and thoughts about our journey through thailand.

Pictures of stories to come

Thailand

      First off, sorry it has taken me so long to write this. i have sat down on at least two other occasions to write this entry, but have been torn about what to write. originally i thought that i wanted to write a long and extensive post containing nearly all the details of the trip, but i do not want to bore any one. so instead i will summarize the trip highlighting the experiences i enjoyed most. .

      on the morning of out departure i found myself nervous about the days to come. we were about to take an eight hour flight to a third world country, and we only had a hotel book for one night. my friends and i had decided that we wanted to make plans as we went. we had heard through friends, that it is cheaper to book things there, and the idea of a spontaneous adventure seemed like an exciting way to travel. upon our arrival to bankok we grabbed a van and headed to our hotel. the driver appeared to know where he was going, but apparently he did not. he took us to three hotels, pulling up to each one, then turning in his seat, and saying "OK!", and we would reply with "no no" and then repeat our hotel name another 3 or 4 times hoping he would all of a sudden understand.  at the third hotel once we realized he had no idea where he was going, i hopped out and asked the bell man for assistance, he happily gave the driver directions, and thankfully for him we made it to our destination. after a few hours of sleep we were up bright and early for a flight to the northern city of Chiang Mai. my Computer is going to die but i will be back soon with more.

D Bah

This is one of the breaks i get to look forward to surfing 

Feeling a little down

     As my mom can probably tell just by talking to me on the phone, i was a bit down yesterday. i was feeling lonely and pretty homesick, missing my friends and family in a big way. during one of our orientation meeting they told us we would go through phases on this trip, times of extreme happiness and also low points. when i heard this, i thought how could anyone get depressed in a place like this, on a dream trip of this sort, but now i know. i'm not sure how it happened or why, but it hit me out of no where, and it left just as quickly. so sorry mom if i scared you yesterday, but i'm back to happy normal me, loving life and being positive. this short experience made me realize that depression is no joke, i could see how people could fall into a slump and have a hard time getting out. i think if that were the case, it is important to acknowledge that your down and work hard to overcome it, get outside, talk to your friends, explain how you are feeling, and tell yourself that your feelings are normal, and you can get over them. i looked to the trips that i had planned in the future and the thought that i would be surfing soon, even though there were not waves right now they will come again. it may sound silly to some, but surfing is my cure all. I don't know what it is, weather it is the water, the feeling of the wave itself, or the continuous opportunity to improve. but whatever it is i cant get enough of it. if i am feeling depressed, have problems sleeping, or just want to pass some time, all i have to do is close my eyes and think about surfing, and usually my problem is solved. wow, even just this little talk about surfing got me a little giddy, ha ha. 

I still have sand in my ears

We got back to Byron Bay this last weekend, what a BEAUTIFUL spot. we left on Saturday morning and returned on Sunday. it was really great to get out of surfers for the weekend. when we got to byron it was pretty windy, but we went to the beach any way. after living through a sandstorm that puts the Sahara to shame, we moved up to the grassy knoll above the beach to finish our sunbathing. Byron is home to Australia's most easterly point, being only a short hike off the beach, we thought we would give it a go. it was a great little hike that produced some picturesque views and a few sweaty armpits, lets just say a few of us are a little more out of shape than we thought. that night we had a great dinner at a little pizza and pasta joint down a back ally, and finished the night of with a drink a a local bar, and a warm nights stroll down the beach. the next day we relaxed by the beach did a little shopping and caught the shuttle home. all in all a great weekend. 

     In other news, as you know i have been looking forward to getting a car now for a while. i had a big lead about three weeks ago, supposedly there was going to be an police auction on September 17th. i learned this news from a policeman i was put in contact with by a couple of my friends who studied here last year. i spoke to him today to get the details about the when, where, and hows of the auction, but unfortunately no such information was offered, instead he informed me that he had the dated mixed up and the auction was already held on the 17th of August. thats a bummer, but i guess i'll have to resort to other means of getting a car. 

Sydney, Again

         Maybe staying up all night when I had to catch a 4:25 AM bus to the airport in the pouring rain, was not the greatest idea. when i arrived in Sydney it was still only 7:30, i haven't been up that early on the gold coast much less when i am on vacation.  as i arrived to the hotel i expected to find Chad's parents checked in, and a nice bed ready for me to pass out in, but this was not the case. Instead as i walked into the Four Seasons they informed me that Mr. and Mrs. chad had not arrived yet and they did not have any record that i would be staying with them, but i was welcome to wait until they arrived. exhausted, and smelling of beer and a wet wool jacket I headed up to the business center on the 32nd floor to use the internet, i figured in a hotel of this quality a service such as the internet would be provided free of charge, but was i ever incorrect. a kind lady at the front desk of the business center explained, as if it was no cost at all, that i could gladly connect to the wireless, it will be $7.50 for the first 15 minutes, $22 for 35 minutes, and $30 for one hour. i may have let out a small gasp in astonishment, and said "i think i'll just watch a movie or something." after nearly falling asleep countless times at the large mahogany table, over three hours time, my mother gave me the idea to spend my remaining time in the spa. after a little sweet talking and little white lie i was able to obtain a key to access the pool and the mens locker room. aaaahhh was it amazing, i spent the next two hours in and out of the spa, sauna, steam room, and finished it off with a cold refreshing shower to clean the remaining sent off. 

    Chad and the rest of his family ended up arriving a little passed 1:00, shortly after we left for an amazing lunch over looking Bondi Beach, it was a shame the weather was so stormy. when we got back to the hotel i finally was able to get some shut eye. that night we when out to this great steak house, in a complex called Ivy, it is a new center made up of  a number of restaurants and night clubs, after a number of recommendations we choose to go to a club within Ivy called the Den. we had a got a few drinks then moved on to another bar and soon after retired to the hotel. The following day Chad's parents left and the stormy weather continued. Being the Vegas loving youngsters we are, we decided what better way to spend a rainy day than at the casino, right. lets just say it wasn't the most productive day. That night we went out Kings Cross, and had a blast at the bars. we returned home on sunday in time for me to catch just the tail end of the weekends swell. all in all a blast of a weekend.

So We booked our flights to thailand, and I can't wait. we have been researching things to do as well as talking to a couple friends that have gone. we are looking forward to doing things like elephant trekking in the jungle, bamboo rafting the rivers, relaxing on pristine white sand beaches, and getting matching tailored suits for cheap. we have tentative plans to take a place ot phucket an island in south thailand, from there you can take boats to the surrounding places like the phi phi islands, after spending time exploring the surrounding area, we want to go back up to bangkok where we flew in and take a train to Chang mai. this is in northern thailand were we can do the elephant trekking and go to the tiger and monkey temple, along with hike to ancient temple ruins. it is still a work in progress but we are getting there.  

back to australia, chad's parents have been here for a week, and have been all to kind. we have gone to some great dinners and played some good tennis. chad's parents brought down a couple of racquets for us to use. i have not played much tennis but i find myself liking the sport, and seem to pick it up fairly quickly. the surf is still pretty inconsistent so there is not much to update you on in that spear of my life. but on a positive note i am going back to sydney this weekend with chad and his brother. super excited to go back i am hoping to get to see a little more of the night life that sydney has to offer. 

We may or may not have built a sandcastle

I've Been Lazy

The car search continues, i have been looking in the paper as well as just asking around. i looked at two cars, one nice but to expensive, the other not to expensive, but also not nice enough. It was a 91 Ford Falcon that i could probably drive around town but i don't think it would have made the longer trips i want it to. the other promising lead that i have is a friend of my Buddies Mitch and Jon, they met him while they were down here studying last year. he is a police man down in Culungatta about 30 min south. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday, real nice guy, he is going to let me know when the next police auction is, and he also told me that he is going to come pick me up and bring me down there for it. I thought that was very kind. 

 

Chad's parents fly in this weekend, they go directly to Sydney for the weekend, then they come back to Surfers for a couple days then they're, off the the Whittsunday's with chads brother Blake as well. the Whittsundays are a chain tropical island about an hour flight north of where i am. Blake is going to stay the next week, and the following weekend we are all going to Sydney with him. that should be a lot of fun. as you may be able to tell it has been pretty uneventful the last few days so sorry about the boring post. but don't worry as soon as i get a car they will get meaty again. thats all for now. talk at you soon

 

Bored

this week has been rather uneventful there are no waves, and the weather has not been that great either. chad travis and i are trying to put together some spring break plans but we are not getting very far with this. we want to go to thailand but do not really know where to go or what to do, does anyone have any suggestions. apparently the beaches are unbelievable and it is supposed to be super cheap as well. chad is sitting here and as i ran the idea by him he seamed unsure about the whole thing, he had no idea what i looked like. he just pulled up pictures on google, and it blew his mind. they are pretty amazing, to tell you the truth i did not know it looked that incredible, even though i have been playing it up to him for about a week now. lets not tell him that thought. oh and by the way any one who reads the blog, if there are any besides my parents, feel free to comment i would love to read feedback.

just a few pictures from this past weekend and my 21st Birthday, the top picture was taken was at the Sydney aquarium, we were in a shark tube, and although educational still slightly eerie, ha ha. although some of the sharks in the tank were up to 12 or 13 foot long Lemon and Nurse Sharks, the information plaques  assured us that none of these species of sharks are man eaters, and that in fact most species of sharks have historically been harmless to humans. statistically more people die a year from falling coconuts that shark attacks. although this is slightly comforting, one cannot help from being a little nervous.   

Sydney and the BIG 21!

Sydney what a great place, my sister flew in on Saturday the 2nd to Brisbane where i met her to jet-set to Sydney. being that my mom made the reservations we truly had no idea where we were staying, so we handed to taxi driver the address, and crossed our fingers. Just kidding, we knew it would be great mom, your good at this kind of stuff. we ended up being just a few blocks away from the harbor, and a little park were there were great views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera house as well. the next day we hopped onto a bus to Bondi beach, this is one of the most visited beaches in the world, if i'm not mistaken i think it is in the top three. even in the winter it was still a happening place to be, people crowded the streets and the beach throughout the day. it was a very  fun and beautiful place to go we also visited Manly Beach during our time in Sydney, this is very different than Bondi in that it is much quieter and further out out the way, you take a 30 minute across the entire harbor, so Beautiful, and arrive at and amazing bay with a stunning white sand beach. we did all the touristy stuff and loved every minute of it. it was a great trip and i cant wait to go back in a few weeks with chad and his brother, my sister and i went out to a bar one night and had a fun time, it should be fun to go out with the guys as well. we flew home from Sydney on the eve of my birthday i arrived home to find the house cleaned up and a little surprise party waiting for me. and at twelve o'clock i took my ceremonial drink with every one, and then we all proceeded to drink and go out for the night. it was really great having people who were just as excited as i was to celebrate my birthday. i had sent out and invitation via facebook to go out on the fifth for my birthday, and we had a great showing everyone came out and were ready to party, i drank the whole night for free and had a blast with everyone. there has been no surf lately and i am going as little stir crazy. but as we were in Byron Bay yesterday were were looking at some of the pictures in the shops and there are some great breaks along the coast. we are planning a trip to go up there in the next month or so there better be waves. still loving this place, hope all is well with everyone.

School, Bugga

Well unfortunately school has now started, but fortunately i have managed to arrange a great schedule. I and taking a full load as well as the classes that i wanted to take, and some how only have to go to school on tuesday and wednesday, grated it is for about 5 to 6 hours a day but it is definatly worth it. a few night ago my roommates and i met a couple of Brazillians in the apartment jacoozi, they are here learning english and seem to love practicing with us. we went out to the bars with them on tues and had a great time dancing, and they are actually coming over tonight for dinner, they wanted us to cook them something "american". So we arte going to serve grilled chicken over rice with asparagas, and a salad. How does that sound? It should be pretty good i think. Mom and Dad i hope it tastes as good as when you guys make it. Caitlin comes in on satrudays i am super excited, we are going down to sydney for a few days then she is coming back to the Gold Coast till the following sunday, i am super excited. this morning i awoke at 5:40 am to get on the bus for Culungata, a town about an hour south of me, Ian Dan and I wanted to check out the surf at a spot called D-Baa. on the ride down we were super bumed because all down the coast the surf looked super flat, but as we walked up to the break we were pleasantly surprised to find some pretty fun little waves. We surfed for about 2 hours then called it quits as the tide pulled out and the waves died off. it was a cool little adventure. well i'm off to see if i can get some intrernet at my house. i'll have more soon. adios

At Last, Surfing

As i mentioned in my last post i was super excited to get into the water and surf, well i finally got in, and it was amazing. yesterday i paddled out at Burleigh Heads point, it is about a 25 minute bus trip south, that runs about $3, which by the way really sucks when you have a board with you. it was big probably about 8 to 9 ft faces super hollow meaning barreling, and pretty powerful at that. when we first paddled out (Ian, Dan and I) we apparently did it in the wrong spot, because in a matter of 8-9 minutes we were 250 meters down the coast and forced to get out. on the second try walked much further out the point and paddle our little hearts out and got out relatively easily. i didn't have the best session, it breaks right, and being goofy footed surfing backside, or with my back facing the wave, is a little harder for me. Dan had a really hard time not having to much success at all, he is goofy as well. this session did get me pumped to improved my backside takeoffs and turns. we paddled out again today and the waves were much smaller, almost to small, but there was the occasional fun set rolling through. the waves were much more manageable, and i did much better with some good turns here and there. on a slightly random note, i learned australia is now the fattest country, they just overtook the US, but i find this surprising, i do not see a lot of fat people here, and there are tons of people working out and running along the beach all the time. whatever at least were not the fattest any more. i start school this week and thats a bummer, but i guess i do not have to much to complain about. i don't know if i've mentioned but this place is amazing.

Well unfortunately the first few entries that i wrote in a word document, and had planned on posting will not upload on to this page, so here is a little brief overview. Chad and i met some cool people in LAX that were also studying with my same program, and we actually ended up living with one of them. we flew from LAX to Brisbane then Straight up to Cairns for our orientation. Cairns is sweet, is a really cool laid back city, that reminded me a lot of Hawaii, like the North Shore not Waikiki. We stayed in a really cool hostel and took some really cool trips. We went to the Great Barrier Reef, now that was amazing. We sailed out there on the 80 to 90 foot catamaran, and i did my first real scuba dive. The dive was amazing i saw so much sea life, even a white tip reef shark. on the way back we come upon two or three humpback whales doing magnificent breaches, it was truly breath taking, and we could not have asked for better weather either.  we also went to the rainforestation, this is like a Zoo and cultural center. here we looked at all the sweet australian animals like crocs and snakes, we even got to hold a koala and pet lots of roos. we watched aboriginals dance, throw spears and boomerangs,  it was a blast. after a few days we returned to brisbane, and now i'm out on the Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise. I'v been here for 8 days and i'm just starting to settle in, we finally got a place after 6 days of looking, and were super happy with it. its on the beach and just a bit outside the hustle and bustle of the city. I live with chad my friend from school, and Travis, a guy who sat next to us on the plane. he by chance also goes to Boulder, but i have never met him before. the beach out front of our house is beautiful, it reminds me a lot of Manhattan, its a long straight white sand beach, and the waves are very similar as well. i finally got a chance to get a board yesterday, and i am super stoked, and today i went down to the point break in Burleigh Heads, it was big and blown out, so we didn't go out,but it will be getting better later this week.