This past Sunday, my roommates and I took a trip to the famous Bondi Beach for our very first surfing lesson. We took lessons with a surf school called “Let’s Go Surfing” from a very knowledgeable instructor and Bondi native, named Jake. We showed up, got our surf suits, and immediately got right into the lesson with no wasted time.  The weather was pretty nice and our lesson started at 2:30 P.M., which according to Jake is perfect because the tide is lower and the waves are easier for beginners such as ourselves. It couldn’t have been a better day to learn to surf, the water was warm and the sun was out in full force. At the start of the lesson, everyone was falling off their boards. I had no problem catching the waves, it was standing up and staying up that was difficult. The problem was, I’d get too excited about catching a wave that I’d totally forget the mechanics Jake taught us and I’d just try to stand up the incorrect way, which would always result in a wipeout. Then came the hardest part, carrying my board back out to deeper waters. That was by far the most tiring part of the day. After every failed attempt at surfing, I’d have to navigate a constant force of waves pushing me and my board backwards and out of the surf zone. By the time I finally fought it enough to get back to deep waters, I was gassed and would often have to sit on my board for a while to catch my breath. Towards the end of my lesson though, I finally was getting the hang of standing on my board and even successfully rode some waves into shore. That was one of the coolest feelings I’ve had in Australia thus far. They gave us all a free one hour pass to come back and rent a board, so if I get the chance to go back before I leave, I’m absolutely going to go back.