So playing at the beach was a blast, I had forgotten how strong the ocean can be. The waves were only 8ft high, but the current tossed us around like rag dolls. I got rolled a few times, once flipping my legs up over my head, but I recovered just as quickly and dove in deeper. We only stayed out for 1h’ish but that was enough, I can now see why everyone is so fit, that was a massive workout. Swimmers are only allowed to swim between two flags posted on the beach, the lifeguards move these flags as the conditions allow. There are a number of these areas up and down the beach. One thing we kept noticing was that the washback of the water kept pulling us outside of the flags. It’s really easy to see how people get quickly get in trouble.
After drying off, we headed back to the hostel to relax for a while. I pulled out some dice and taught Kristen how to play Farkle and she taught me Cadis. (I like the game but, per Kristen, it is earning me the name butt-head 🙂 )
Yesterday I wandered around Surfers Paradise and found a Surf shop that does rentals. I spoke with Sean for a while and started learning the differences on the sizes of the surfboards, bodyboards, different fins, clothes to wear, etc. It turns out that the water doesn’t get cold here until (their) late winter (yay). I’m seriously looking at buying a board.
Today we had to return our cute (AC, cd, auto windows, auto locks, automatic transmission) KIA for a Nova (no ac, tape player, manual windows, manual locks, stick shift) until we can buy a car. Given our price range, I think we are going to end up with something more like the Nova in the long run. I have to say, driving stick wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Shifting on the leftside seems more natural. I thought I’d have to do some practicing before getting on the road, but I just hopped in and went.
Since we’ve been here, Kristens eating habits have rubbed off on me. I’m eating about (1/3 to 1/2) of what I used to which is actually working out great, I’m losing weight and still feeling pretty energetic. I’ve started revisiting and old time comfort food for breakfast (tea + toast and sliced chedder cheese) I used to eat this back in Cyprus all the time. Most of the other meals we’ve been splitting, this has helped cut costs quite a bit. The few times I’ve cooked, we’ve had some stir frys (round one bombed, round two was much better), and I found all the ingredients for tacos (which turned out great, and then turned into taco salad for two more nights), and the other night we ordered and split a small (by American standards) pizza. I’ve found it is hard to cook in a shared kitchen.
Today we found out that we might have to wait until Thursday before we can enter the new apartment, which sucks for Kristen because her orientation runs both Tuesday and Wednesday. We are hoping to talk to the current residents and see if there is anyway to speed up the transition. (wish us luck)
congrats on all the good stuff happening for you! yay…sorry about the phone call…sheepish grin I misunderstood your time directions…hehehe…oops… hope to talk to you soon… 🙂