Surfing/Baking Round 2

I haven't updated for a week, so I think now is a good time to post an update. This past week actually hasn't been too exciting, aside from a couple fun things. It was a pretty relaxed week because we still haven't started school. On Tuesday, Jess, Jesse, and I went to a beach down by Brandi and Miguel's house in the late afternoon. It was pretty cool because it was so last minute. A couple of us were swimming at the swimming hole off the causeway when Jess came by and said Brandi and Miguel were going out and wanted to know if we wanted to go, so we all hopped on our bikes and headed over. I got to try surfing for the first time! That beach is a lot calmer and has smaller waves, so it is a better place for beginners. It still wasn't a very pretty sight. Maybe I shouldn't say I tried surfing, because a more accurate description would be that I tried to balance on a surf board and paddle with just my arms (which is WAY harder than it looks), and I got ridiculously tired before we even got halfway out to the waves. Everyone had been saying it's really hard on your arms and it's a tough shoulder workout, but I obviously thought I could handle it because I've been playing softball for the past 16 or so years of my life. Maybe I was better off, but I did not feel like my shoulder strength was anything close to what it needs to be for me to be able to surf. How are you supposed to paddle to catch a wave if you are too tired to even get out to where the waves break? All in all, it was much less successful than I was hoping, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get the hang of it. I think I need to just practice paddling on a surfboard for the next month, and then maybe I could try again. After all that, we just kind of hung out in the shallows and watched the sun set. Brandi and Miguel brought out their paddle boards too, so we each tried that, and I got to paddle off into the sunset, which was pretty cool. I have been coming down with a cold the past week or so, and I think I finally tired myself out so much from surfing and swimming that on Wednesday I really started to get sick. It wasn't a terrible cold, but I definitely needed to rest for a couple days to let my body heal, so the last few days I've been kind of laying low and trying to get better. I'm still not quite there, but I'm a lot better than I was on Wednesday, so that's good! Yesterday we went over to Brandi and Miguel's in the afternoon and had a little expat party. It was really fun to just hang out with everyone and relax. Today was pretty lazy like Sundays usually are. I got packages a couple days ago with all kinds of baking and cooking goodies, so I was excited to try them out! Thanks Mom and Dad for outfitting our kitchen! I have been patiently waiting to make banana oatmeal cookies because the bananas here are so good, so I finally tried them out today! They turned out great, and overall I had a much better experience than last time because I had everything I needed from the boxes. I also made some chocolate chip cookie dough and froze it in balls so it is ready to bake whenever! (or just eat straight from the freezer) Baking always relaxes me and it reminds me of home, so I really enjoyed spending the day in the kitchen. The chocolate chip cookie dough turned out just like Mom's, so overall it was a successful day for me. We are actually starting school tomorrow, for real this time. I am excited to get going and get into a schedule. The time off has been really nice, but I am starting to get bored, so I'm ready to get started in the classroom.