Friday was delightful. Claire had to work the first part of the day, so she dropped off Isaac and I at the beach with her friends (Chris, Derek, and Derek's brother Anthony). Chris is half Malaysian, half Scottish, and has a Scottish accent. Derek and his brother are from Manitoba, so it was fun being around some Canadians again, eh. We all drove over to Shelly Beach and hung out, eh. Ok-eh, I'll stop. :P Ike played volleyball with the guys, then watched the stuff while Chris and Derek snorkeled. Anthony and I decided to swim while we waited for the others to be done with the snorkel gear. I didn't mention to him that it was my first time actually swim-swimming in the ocean. It was very pleasant, although I admit I kept feeling really panicky about sharks every so often (I also didn't tell him that). I suppose it's all about what you're used to, because I wouldn't bat an eyelash at bear. But then, I'd not mess with a mountain lion. Maybe they are the mountain equivalent for jellyfish? Anyway, we went in, then the others gave us the snorkel stuff. I honestly was not to hot on the idea, but they were all so enthused that I doubted I would get out of it, so I pretended to be excited, instead.
Anthony was, I suppose, a good enough teacher - even though I'm sure some things got lost in the Candadian/American translation. Crucial things. Like, "Don't try to breathe underwater." Things like that. :)
At any rate, we got the gear on and headed out. My mask was foggy and hurt my head. The whole idea of having my face in the water was weirding me out, too, and I felt really out of breath for the first few minutes. Did I mention that I didn't actually want to do this? So I finally get my breathing down, and Anthony dove down underwater. I followed... and I really don't know what my thought process was, but somehow I concluded that I could breathe IN underwater.
I inhaled. :) My mouth filled with savory, delicious saltwater! Okay, not really. I nearly puked, to be honest. Surfacing, I spat water and coughed, and thought with horror that I had swallowed some! I floated there, struggling, coughing, hacking, feeling like an idiot and truly scared of what would now happen to my insides from swallowing sea-water, haha.
Anthony tried to help, but I couldn't get my mask back on, and it was fogged up, and while trying to swim to the rocks to rest for a moment my wrist got scraped on something and started bleeding. ("I'm shark food now, I guess," I thought.) Then I couldn't stand up because of my flippers, and then the waves were knocking me over... did I mention that I wasn't keen on doing this in the first place? Yeah... well, we finally got me straightened out (not before I fell over a few times first) and headed out again.
This time went much better, and even though I still felt sick from the salt water (and my mask fogged up again), all went well. I finally concentrated on the fish and stuff, and when we headed in we saw a huge ol' sea snail. So I guess that made it all worth it. I had trouble getting out of the water - seriously, it was ridiculous how helpless I was. I kept falling over, haha. But when we were out and walking toward Isaac again, Anthony told me, "You did well for a mountain girl." Even though I knew he was just being nice, I felt a little better.
Chris, Derek, Anthony, Isaac and I all walked around for the rest of the afternoon. I got ice cream. <sigh> There is nothing like ice cream, hey? It's just such a nice refreshing treat. The weather was perfect and there were warm breezes here and there. My heart kept jumping like it does every now and then at Camp Good News while I sit on the steps and soak in the glory. Then Isaac and I took the ferry to Circular Quay to meet Claire and change clothes for our show.
The Opera House was beautiful. The show (Tchaikovsky and Brahms) was beyond amazing. I felt SO sleepy, though, that I didn't feel like I fully appreciated the performance. But regardless, it was amazing and beautiful. I think I like Tchaikovsky better than Brahms, but each performance was breath-taking and full of loveliness. Afterwards we walked around the Opera House, took pictures, and just soaked in the lingering splendour and magic. Then we walked about Circular Quay for a long time and chatted. It was lovely.
We had to take the train to Claire's car, so while on it, Claire and I listened to classical music on my iPod. I was pretty tired and slept for the car ride home... but I woke up when we arrived, and didn't go to bed without trying my first Tim Tam ever. It was delicious, if you're wondering. :)
It was an amazing day. Matchless, really.
Coming up next, how God is at work in my heart on this lovely trip. :)
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