Magnetic Island

I will never forget the weekend I just had.
On Friday Siril, Gigi, Hugo, Stefano, Marina and I went to Magnetic Island for the Full Moon Party! Magnetic Island is gorgeous with beautiful banyan and palm trees. The first thing we did when we got to the beach was go for a swim in the twilight. The water was so warm! I'm never going to be able to stand California beaches again!

   
As night fell, we partied on the beach -- cracking jokes and goofing around. Alex and Tara joined us later after successfully passing their dive exams! Gigi had us all on our toes, because if ever anyone burps, the whole group has to put our thumbs on our foreheads and shout "Catalonia!" or else be smacked on the head. Once it got to be ten o'clock we trekked to the Full Moon party at x-base.
It was a sweet outdoor venue complete with firedancers and a DJ stage. This month's theme was colour, so you'd go to these buckets filled with powder pigments and throw it on all your friends. Everyone looked really goofy. Poor Gigi banged her foot and nearly ripped her toenail off and the guy with the first aid kit didn't do a great job wrapping it up.


Around midnight, we got tired of the blaring dubstep and headed back down the beach to where we began our evening. We all put on some extra clothes and bundled down for the night. IT WAS SO FRIGGEN COLD! It must have been about 40F (4C) and the humidity made everything damp. I only slept for about two hours and then I gave up. Marina and I both got up at around the same time, then Marina had the brilliant idea to use the public BBQs on the beach to warm up. We roasted over the BBQ for a few hours and even cooked a banana! The stars was what made it worth it. I could see Orion climbing over the sea. I can hardly describe how bright they were and the clearness of the Milky Way. Gigi joined us for the last hour before sunrise. The sky started to become lighter at around 5:15am, so we went back down to the beach and woke everyone up. For 45 minutes or so we huddled together waiting for the sun to rise.
 
As soon has the sun crested over the horizon, we fell asleep. It was so warm that I felt like someone came and put a blanket over me. Hugo got up before everyone else to go explore the island. Later, Stefano, Gigi, Siril, Marina and I rallied for a morning swim and a breakfast of muffins and crackers. Gigi went off to fix her toe and the rest of us went to explore. We found ourselves at Alma Bay, which is perhaps the most beautiful little beach I've ever seen.

Marina and I toured the boulders lining the cove for while. You could tell Marina loved jumping around the boulders and she told me all about the crabs and calms we saw.
And then I went for the best swim. The water was so calm and I just loved diving in and out of the rolling waves. I was so content and happy to just be swimming in the warm water. That was just one of those few moments when I felt so at peace.

I'm not sure if I've ever had this much fun in my life. Honestly, I think that's what I'm came here for. I just want to have fun. The last few years have been life changing and maybe I just needed a break. Australia isn't as challenging as India or even Europe would have been, but I don't think fun is a bad reason to go abroad at all -- as long as I do well in school. I wouldn't be doing this well, if I hadn't had learned so much over the last few years. I feel like coming out here has been like cashing in all those life lessons. I haven't felt this satisfied and happy with life in a long time. I feel so unencumbered. I'm happy!

First Week Sum Up

You will notice as you read that I'm very ambiguous about naming some people in my blog. That is because I haven't gotten their permission to mention them by name yet.

Saturday 20/07

That night me, Siril, and Gigi and one of Siril's roommates met up with a friend to have a nightcap on the beach (aka The Strand). It was this beautiful moment where we all soaked in the fact that we are in Australia! Upon leaving the beach, we decided to check out what was going on in town. We ended up at an Irish bar called Flynn's where the live music was so good that were dancing until 3 am!


Sunday 21/07

Somehow, Siril, Gigi and I got up at 8 am the next day to go to the farmer's market. The fruits and vegetables were so fresh and so cheap! I'm 95% sure this is going to be a ritual for us (unless I'm out climbing of course). We met up with our friend Hugo who showed us the stunning free pool located next to Ross River. Next we went over to Hugo's house for lunch. We ate a fresh tomato salad with homemade bread. We met his roommates who are two really nice girls. After lunch, we played volleyball with our net being a hose draped from a clothes hanger and wrapped around a palm tree.    
 Free pool!                                                                                          The De-feet team!

Monday 22/07
Bike day. That morning we went to the K-mart at Stockland to buy some bikes. To our surprise, they weren't already assembled. We had two options: waiting three days for the K-Mart employees to do it or assemble them ourselves. Well, we decided it would be faster if we did it ourselves. So we bought the bikes and necessary equipment, loaded it all up in a shopping cart and pushed it all the way to Hugo's house, which is about a kilometer away.
The directions said it would take 20 minutes to assemble the bikes. It took us a few hours. The hardest part was getting the brake pads the right distance from the wheel. Somehow we got them in barley good enough shape so we can ride them home -- although my fingers could reach the brake lever.


Tuesday, 23/07
Luckily, there's a free bike shop on campus, so we where able to get them tuned up and working properly. That day was orientation, so I got to see a bit of what my classes are going to be like. And they all explore story and technology! Which is exactly what I came here to study.
That night we went to a club called The Bank and danced to pretty crappy music, but it was fun because I was with great friends.

Wednesday 24/07
This was the day of the O-mazing race! Which is a event that the student association puts on for orientation. We got into groups of 5 and traveled around Townsville on a massive scavenger hunt! I got to know the malls a little better -- like where to buy pajamas and where to get the best muffins. Tons of fun! Later Siril, Gigi and I watched Savages which was pretty good!

Thursday 24/07
I spent the morning booking the flights for my surf camp trip! And then I went to The Rock Pool with Gigi, Siril, Hugo, Alex, Marina, Tara and Stefano. This is the crew that's my family. The Rock Pool is on one end of the Strand and it's a pool filled with sea water. Personally, I like the lagoon better. We chatted in the sun and I started my reading for school. After that, we went to the Brewery and I discovered my favorite beer: Ned's Red which is a delicious red ale. Later, Gigi and I went to a party hosted by some American students who are getting their masters degrees in marine bio. It was fun. I meet a guy from San Jose, so it was nice to talk about home for a bit.


Friday 25/07
That's the day I wrote down everything you read above in my journal, so I don't really remember the rest of that day. I was sitting with Siril on the beach -- working on my tan. :) We meet up with the family and I remember it was really windy. We went to Flinder's to get some coffee, but the shop was closed, so we went to the Brewery -- of course. I got a hard cider or am I getting confused with the day before? Anyway -- it was an amazing week! Oh and we took this scary picture.

Black Magic

I finally got to go climbing yesterday! We went to Mt. Stuart which is about half an hour away from campus. I was feeling pretty confident starting out. Most of the people we were climbing with had little to no experience. I had all my own gear, I could talk the talk, but could I walk the walk?

Not really. The climbing was rough. The rock was really solid, but the handholds were crimpy and the footholds required an acute sense of balance. There isn't a guide book for that site, so I'm not sure what they were rated. The club leaders were really nice and very helpful in getting everyone up and going.

I tried my hand at a difficult climb called Black Magic. In my defense, I was trying to stick a dyno while the rope was stuck over a bulge in the rock. It wasn't until I was giving it my last shot that the rope had found its way into the right corner and by then I was out of energy. You have to start somewhere I suppose.

I was crouching on that ledge trying to jump up to that crack in the corner.
(Photo by James Ragan)

The president of the climb was nice enough to take me, another study abroad student, and another club member to the lookout point over Mt. Stuart. We watched the sunset over Townsville. The perfect end to my first day climbing!

(Photo by James Ragan)