So I am now a proud owner of a new surfboard and wetsuit and I am ready to venture out into the Atlantic Ocean and surf the basque country. Pretty sure not many people can say they've done that with their life so needless to say I am STOKED!! Yesterday I went with my roommates, Laura and Morgan, to Puka's surf shop which it right on the beach here in Gros where we live in San Sebastian, and also where the the surf beach is located. We went in, picked out our boards, waxed them and the purchased them ready to embark on a new adventure of climbing on our boards and paddling out figuring out how to surf for the next three months that we will be living here. IT IS AWESOME!. Laura and I also went to the surf and skate shop next door to where we bought our boards and purchased wetsuits as well. The guy that worked there was named Yuri and he spoke English and was one of the nicest people I have met while abroad. He was so helpful and friendly and got us set up with what we needed for a good price. I will definitely be going back there and visiting him since he wants to know how our first few days out in the waves have been going.
My board is a a Black on White 7.2 board that is Bright orange and fades into yellow throughout. It is sick! I feel like I need to name it, since I name every other inanimate object but I have not found a fitting name yet. Its gonna take me a while I believe, gotta get a few waves in to finally figure out what is worthy haha. Today was our first day our in the Atlantic and it was INSANE! We should have realized it was going to be when we headed to the beach and no other surfers were there. It was mainly white cap waves which means that it is very rough and really hard to surf. We all learned the hard way after we were tossed around my them for a good hour and decided that we all didn't want to drown or get hurt and safely made it back to shore. I body surfed a few on my board and got the feel of it but it was a little difficult with sough hard waves. Sunday when we venture out it should be a lot smoother and a whole lot better for surfing! SWEET! It was really funny when we walked back to shore and set down our boards and laid in the sand and our friends Jake, Michael, and Alex came up to us and said hi, and also admitted that they had been watching us get rocked by the ocean the entire time. They really enjoyed our wipeouts!
I am really liking where this whole surf road is taking me. I came here for an adventure and I am not afraid of a challenge and I feel like taking on this endeavor is really putting both of those traits to the test. It was a great feeling walking back to my apartment today and feeling tired. That kind of muscle tired that I have not felt since swim team in high school and it felt so good. Like I was working hard, pushing myself, and working out. It also felt good to be back in the water where I truly feel at home, another great feeling.
Our new schedule is that every morning we are all waking up at 9:30, heading to the beach by 10:30 and surfing until 12:30 when we will return to our apartment and get ready for school.Not a bad life if you ask me. Live 5 blocks for the beach, surf in the morning, go to school in the afternoon, and reflect on how amazing this place is on my awesome walk home by the beach after class. I really could get used to this!
Another thing that was really awesome was that I took my first midterm for my Spanish 1 class yesterday ( which I received an A on) and after taking the exam our professor brought us to the cafeteria and bought all seven of us (the classes here are VERY small) a round of beer. So we sat there for the remainder of class drinking a beer with Paco talking about our hobbies, the government, and just simple nonsense. It was a great time and really fun to hang out with everyone and get to know our professor on a normal level. Paco is a great person and an AMAZING Teacher. I really enjoy class everyday and he is so helpful with learning spanish words and phrases. Although sometimes there is a little bit of a language barrier especially when the 7 american students mix up the days of the week and come prepared to take a midterm an entire day early! Mierecoles means thursday, not wednesday just FYI. Paco is my hero!
Pedro came by tonight to collect our rent and I can tell that my spanish has improved, I was actually able to communicate with him and hold a conversation which felt really good and accomplishing. I am starting to feel home here, (although Chico will ALWAYS have my heart) but I really am starting to feel like a local rather than a tourist. It was pretty hilarious though as the three of us walked back to our apartment after surfing and the entire bus stop a few blocks away from our house STARED at us as we walked by. Im not talking like one or two people. I am talking about a good 15 people just straight staring at us as we walked by. haha. It is highly apparent that we are americans when we are paler than snow, we all have freckles, and Morgan and Laura are blonde! but that is something you get used to and kind of learn to not bother you, although I will say I have a whole new respect for foreigners in the U.S! Its tough!
Tomorrow we are visiting Mundaka where a lot of surf competitions are held and is said to have some of the biggest waves in all of Europe. It is a small fishing and surfing village and it should be really beautiful and a whole lot of fun! Pictures of surfing and my board will ensue soon but I thought I would keep you guys updated! Its been a fun, awesome, insane, exciting, week so thought I would share it with you! Miss you all and I hope you all are enjoying small adventures of your own.
Much Love,
The Koose
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