Lancelin Surfing Trip (out of song lyrics)

...click on the photos to expand them...



A few weekends ago we went to a weekend surfing camp up to Lancelin, which is about 2 hours north of Fremantle/Perth. For only $180 we got two days of instruction, all meals, and even sunscreen. 8 of us US students went in a group, 6 domers and 2 girls from Sacred Heart who live in our dorm. There were also a collection of Brits, Irish, Swiss, and a German. We had to get picked up at 6:30am saturday morning, which was terrible as some of you know i am by no stretch of the imagination a morning person. we arrived at our destination after picking up the europeans in Perth and driving for around 2 hours. The drive was fun, as we finally were out in the bush. It was a mix of completely brown dead looking grassy pasture, and exotic looking shrubbery. We may or may not have seen our first kangaroos, as it looked like a herd of them were in a field off in the distance but they were so far away that they might have been farm animals instead. actually on the way back we saw one for sure, but it was roadkill. Apparently kangaroos are pests, the equivalent of deer back home, getting hit by cars and eating people's gardens.
Anyways we finally got there roughly around 9, applied sunscreen and zinc (a very aussie form of sunscreen... it comes in neon colors in a stick and you put it on your nose for extra protection), got issued our boards and rashies (rash guards) and wetsuits to those of us who wanted them and hit the beach. There was a really bad smell around the whole area which was most likely due to the mounds of seaweed washed up on shore but luckily we walked about a mile down the beach to get to the sandy non-smelly part. We got some instruction, some of which i knew already from surfing in hawaii, and some of which was actually very helpful. We then went out to try our skillz and then the fun began. With the new tips that i got combined with my prior, albeit brief, experience i found it to be so much easier than in hawaii. I stood up on one of the first waves i caught and i think i was the first one in the group to get up. After that we had morning tea, which was just a snack of fruit and granola bars to keep our energy up. The main instructor came over to me and had me switch to a shorter board bc he said i needed to challenge myself more, which of course made me feel special. He took me and another guy (an Irishman who surfs in Ireland a lot, go figure) out to the back of the lineup (past where the waves were crashing) to try and get the really big waves. It was a lot harder but it was cool to get a wave right when it was cresting and surf down the front of it. But then i would wipe out and get thrashed around underwater which wasnt cool. Then we had lunch, a classic Aussie sausage sizzle.
That afternoon they drove us inland to a massive sand dune area where we attempted sand boarding, which was basically snowboarding but with sand. The scope of the area was just massive, there was acres and acres of massive dunes like the one in the picture and they formed a sort of bowl in the middle of them all. people were riding dune buggies and motor bikes all over them. apparently scenes from the famous movie Gallipoli were filmed there. also, further down there is a section fenced off that the aussie military uses as a bombing range and also for war games. our instructor, Phil (one of the coolest guys around), told us that when US aircraft carriers come by on their way to the port they launch jets that are allowed to bomb there also. i really hope i get to see an aircraft carrier, he said its so big it looks like its own island city out on the water. the rest of the day was ours to do with as we pleased so while most of the europeans stayed back at the camp we went back out surfing to get our money's worth and came back right as the sun was setting. we all pitched in to make a dinner of spaghetti bolonese and salad which was amazing. after that we sat around and hung out, drinking a few beers and looking at the stars which were absolutely incredible. i've been out in the country in ohio and thought there were a lot of stars there, but that can't hold a candle to what we saw that night. I really can't describe it but it was just incredible to see millions of stars, it was more intense than a planetarium. there was a certain part that was packed more tightly with stars that ran across the whole sky, it was like we were peering out into the galaxy. we slept outside in swags, which are very aussie; they are traditionally what workers out in the bush slept in, basically just a canvas sack that you put your sleeping bag in.
sunday we got up early around 8:30 and surfed until around 2 with breaks for morning tea and lunch. i did really well that day, riding a few reallly far in; one i got out in the back and took it literally all the way in, it had to be around 100 yards. one time murph and i caught one and rode it standing side by side for around 60 yards, which was sick.
that's about all ive got on the surfing trip, it was a great time altho my feet, knees and hands got really torn up and i screwed up my elbow. we got back to freo around 5pm, ate dinner, and passed out from such a tiring weekend.

originally i was going to post about surfing last week but i never got around to it (oops), so now ive gotta throw in a little about this past weekend. there was a huge concert in the esplanade (the park across the street), the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival. it was a 2 day deal with multiple stages but the tickets were 125AUD for a one day pass, so i passed on that. luckily we could watch from the roof so i got to see OAR saturday morning and then sunday night we grooved to John Fogarty of CCR. it was exciting to have music and people around all day, and since we are so close you could hear it no matter where you were in the dorm, but its nice to have some peace and quiet for once.
this past sunday the our RS's organized a bus trip to caversham wildlife park. it was great, we got to feed kangaroos, pet koalas, and hold a big fat wombat. i'll post pictures eventually but as of right now it looks like there is a 5 pic limit.
thursday morning we are taking off for our easter holiday trip to the ningaloo reef and coming back monday so my next post will be all about that. sorry its been so long between posts, i know you are all craving to hear from me haha

Early Update

first off: your lack of facebook has forced me to do this on a public forum, sooo HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY JONAH BAUTISTA!! we'll celebrate both of our bdays at college park come august... not as good as last year's joint bday hawaiian bbq at north plains beach or wherever but it'll have to do

now that that's taken care of, a few updates... earlier this week dan and i joined the local footy club for only 30AUD. we are now card carrying members of the South Fremantle Bulldogs. yesterday we both utilized our membership for the first time. he lifted and i did a lot of running around the oval (field), which is realllly big. i did all that running b/c i realized i was out of shape after we played the australians in american football, or gridiron as they call it here, on wednesday. The Friendship Cup is a series of sporting events throughout the semester between aussie and american students. Unfortunately Dan and I were the only American guys who knew about this first event, so the teams were about 14 really athletic australian guys against dan and it, several US girls, and some aussies that the athletes didnt want on their team. needless to say it was quite a mismatch... but we pulled out with a tie so it was a moral victory. it was funny to see them play, they set the rules in the beginning so they knew what they were doing for the most part but then they would pitch the ball forward or keep going after an incomplete pass. While I'm on the subject of football, this afternoon we have our first training session for the study abroad footy team, so that should be interesting.

Yesterday was the first cloudy day since we got here two and a half weeks ago. It was nice though, since it was not so hot. This morning (i'm writing at 7:30am) we are getting a lot of rain, there was even a little thunder and lightning. I think the change in air pressure or whatever happens when its going to rain kept me from going back to sleep, i could tell something was different even before it started raining.

well thats about it for now, i should go eat something and maybe shower before my 8:30 class. looking ahead, tonight all the study abroad guys on the footy team (dan, myself, one iona guy, and then the 15 or so guys from st. john's in MN in the other dorm) are going to go see the West Coast Eagles, Perth's AFL team, play in their big stadium after practice tonight. Then my group is getting picked up at 6:30am saturday morning to go on a weekend surfing trip to Lancelin, which should be great. Also, we booked our trip for the easter holiday last night... we are going up the coast to Exmouth to explore the Ningaloo Reef national marine park, the second best reef
in oz after the Great Barrier.

You Better Run, You Better Take Cover

fremantle markets building
cottesloe beach (x2)
sunset at bather's bay in freo, 2 minutes from our dorm



This past week was the first week of class. i'm sure i've said this before but its just crazy to me that i have only a single week of class under my belt and my ND friends are home for spring break. madness.

anywho before i talk about classes i have to say that last weekend we went to cottesloe beach for the first time. its off the train between freo and perth and def worth the ride, no need to describe it, just look at the pics! that night we went to metro's back in freo. it was different, as so far we have just gone to bars and pubs, but this was a legit club with techno, strobes, neon lights and what not. it's pretty funny to watch australians dance; in the states guys just kind of dance with a girl or not at all, whereas here its perfectly acceptable for a bunch of guys to dance with each other in a group, which is very humorous to all of us. the club experience was, well, an experience and i prefer the more low-key bar scene i must say.
sunday we went back to the fremantle markets. they are open on weekends and i feel like it will become a sunday routine to go there. i did a lot better, buying apples, carrots and bell peppers which pretty much serve as my only side dishes throughout the week. (i also did a lot better at the super market this week getting deli meat and cheese and eggs, pasta and all that good stuff... i think i'm liking making my own meals) i also got the same delicious cheap malaysian plate of food at the markets. playing music or singing or whatever in the street for money is socially acceptable here and is called "busking". its odd to see a couple of really well dressed guys doing it, but i like it. on our way back from the market we saw a guy dressed as a pirate climb 15-20 feet up a pole and eat a flaming sword on top, it was nuts.

i was just scratching my head now and i realized ive had sand in my hair for at least a week now. it wont come out and probably is there to stay!

so classwise i am taking australian literature, strategy and security in asia, aussie theatre and cinema, early church history, and australian history and society. classes are 2 hours often followed by a 1 hour tutorial so i usually have 3 straight hours of a class which i really hate. it allows the professors to ramble off course often, which makes it difficult to discern what is important and what isn't. also although we get a short break halfway through each class sitting that long really irritates my back. the first week of class really wasnt bad, tho, just a lot of course outlines and professors pounding proper citation rules and sources into our heads. i feel like australia is just coming on board with using proper accredited academic sources, since it was all old news to us but it seemed like it was a new thing for the australians since they were stressing it so much. first week was pretty uneventful, we still went out most nights since we weren't doing anything in class. i do have two 8:30 am classes so once the course work sets in i'll be staying in those nights! one noteworthy thing during last week getting "middies" at the Orient wednesday. middies are like half-pints, i would guess, and the Orient, the on campus bar, has afternoon specials on them so some of us went up there one afternoon and just sat at the sidewalk tables taking it easy. these two old guys behind us started talking to us, one was english and the other irish. both had been in australia for over 30 years. they talked to us for awhile about anything and everything. the irishman quizzed us on us state facts and told us about ireland and stories from when he was in the RAF (royal air force). he oncer flew a plane under the golden gate bridge and at one point in the cold war they were "seconds away" from taking off on their bombing runs before the order was cancelled. it was really interesting to hear his stories and he was a funny guy so it was good fun to joke around with him.

this past friday night we took the train into perth and walked up to the part of it called northbridge which is a good spot for nightlife. it was a girl's 20th birthday here so she picked a club called geisha house... again not my scene but there were a few aussies there who were clearly on some type of pill and in a trance so it was really funny when bridget and i went out there and tried to dance like them. on the walk to northbridge i had a close call with an aboriginal. we were walking past a group of them in a pretty well lit area just across the street from the pub district when a younger guy came up and grabbed my shirt, spun me around, got in my face, and started yelling things at me like "listen up, f__ing wanker!" another of them pulled him away pretty quick but it really caught me off guard... another example of the racial tension simmering under the surface over here.

ooh also friday i went to my first australian rules football (aka footy) game. there is a large group of american guys from st. johns in minnesota staying in another dorm and they joined the local footy club (all sport teams are "clubs" that have club houses and stuff that anyone can join... they are basically social clubs that field a team. even the major league teams are clubs). dan and i, along with another port lodge guy from iona, met up with them and took in the first game of the season for the south fremantle bulldogs, which are in a semi pro league. the game is most easily described as a cross between soccer and rugby, its really crazy. we are going to join the club... for only $30 we get access to their gym, bar, and get to learn how to play. every year the study abroad guys get taught how to play and compete as the Yankeroos... i think we are going to be training twice a week starting here soon.

saturday was a lazy day, as most people went to cottesloe beach but my friends and i took our time and just went down to south beach to relax for the day. that night we went to final showing of the fremantle film festival and watched a movie at a little impromptu outdoor theater. it was a western australian filmed movie about a nerd in college who learns shakespeare to get a girl... ive already gone into too much detail about it... it had its moments though. after that the ND girls headed back and dan and i went out with the iona students from port lodge, who are all fun to hang out with.

wooo this post is getting long but i've gotta write about today before its over... today we got up and met up with the americans staying in the P&O (another dorm) and the big group hopped on the train up to cottesloe beach for some beach volleyball organized by our RS's. the waves were the biggest they've been so far, so we did some body surfing after volleyball. i ate my first meat pie today, kind of bland, nothing remarkable but it did hit the spot. sunday is a big going-out day for aussies, so we headed up the street to partake in our first "sunday sesh" (session) at the ocean beach hotel... i dunno if i've said this yet but "hotel" = bar here. we all just grabbed a pint and hung out there before coming home for dinner, since we were all really tired. for dinner tonight i ordered my first fish and chips, about time since this is a port city after all. they were real good... and now here i am utterly exhausted and hitting the sack for some well earned rest before my 8:30am class tmr.

thanks for all the comments and updates... keep 'em coming!