Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Bondi Beach Living

I'm living in a quiet, small, eastern suburb of Sydney called Bondi. The community is full of surfers, skaters, and dogs... just my luck, I can't believe I live here. The first day we all arrived, there was the annual Festival of the Winds. We were treated to a crowded beach, pretty flying kites, and great weather.
Kite Festival of Bondi.
I'm already feeling anxiety about leaving in a short 8 weeks. I bought a longboard and I'll be getting a wetsuit in the next few days. The water is COLD and it's been quite chilly (although the locals swear it's warm), but I'm ready to learn how to ride... there's really no excuse, I can walk to the beach in 5 minutes.
The North end of Bondi. Smaller waves. 
The beginning of a gorgeous coastal path.

The scenery is beautiful and I feel really fortunate to start my Australian project here, but there are a few caveats. Australia is the most expensive country I have visited thus far. Transportation, housing, and food are money suckers. The suburb is not very diverse and the local community is quite small- shops close early and last-call at the bar is 12:30. Australia is stingy with their internet... plans go by data used, so although I finally have access to PANDORA AND SPOTIFY!!! I won't be able to listen in too much or FaceTime.

It seems I'll be unplugging more often over the next few weeks, which has its benefits. I have no problem being outside enjoying the morning surf and coastal evening runs.


2 comments:

  1. Those waves remind me of the waves in hawaii, the structure and everything... when you showed me this pic before, that night kauai visited me in my sleep. I had a dream i was wading in the water on a surf board for just the right wave to come.

    i got horrible burns from the board. you should definitely take a lesson. my surf instructor did like a 35 min lesson on the beach first to get your footing right...

    keep trying babe!


    xx

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    1. I actually had a really good session the other day. I was out in the water with just one other surfer - a 55-60 year old man. He's a Bondi local and has been surfing he was 6. We were out there together for about an hour and he was teaching me the whole time. I was catching some big waves but wasn't standing.

      I thought I saw him walking towards me the next day while I was on the beach looking at the water. I couldn't really tell because he was wearing sunglasses, but all I could think was: PLEASE DO NOT TALK TO ME. He was wearing just a speedo! He didn't say hi. So hopefully I see him out on the water again, soon.

      Looks like you and I are up for a little surfing retreat in the (hopefully near) future!

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