Day 47-Fui a surfeando!!!!
We woke up about the same time today and got breakfast together, packed up all of our things and then headed to the beach! Today we had the option of learning how to surf. The other girls wanted to do it, and so did I, but I was kind of petrified. First off, I am scared of waves and second, I have just heard some
He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me." I read that and just smiled; ultimately I am in the Lord's hands always, and this was something that I wanted to do! And am I SO glad that I did it! We arrived at the beach and put on our sweet wet suits, which felt like full running gear. I told the girls I felt like I wanted to go for a run, and that wish was answered sooner rather than later. We all gathered on the sand for a lesson, and our instructors said we would start with a jog to the cliff! Then we did some stretches and then went for the water. It was so cold, but wearing a wet suit made it so much better, and it felt really cool! 
bad stories. This, however, was just one of those things that I was pretty sure I would look back and regret not doing. I mean how many times do you get the chance to learn how to surf in Portugal? We had some extra time before checking out too so I read some of my Bible, and even though it could have been slightly out of context, I just happened to read Psalm 18, which is basically about God giving us safety, protecting us, and helping us reign over our enemies. In verses 16-18 it says, "He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.At first we just did some body surfing so we could get used to the water and try to practice the feeling of catching a wave. Unfortunately, I was still a little intimidated. I finally forced myself to attempt catching one near the end but not too successfully. All I could picture was my dear Paige's broken collarbone. Then we got back out to grab our boards. Then they had us get back in and just try to do some boogie boarding to once again get the feeling of catching a wave with our board. Then we even tried just pushing our bodies off a little bit so our chests were raised. I finally just let myself go and tried to catch one, and I forgot just how much of a rush that is. It was great! Then we got back out and went through the actual steps of how you go from laying on the board, to propping one leg up, to bringing the other up, and then the final stance. It seemed easy enough on the sand, but somehow must of that gets slightly forgotten when you're actually on the water. However, like most other things, once I hit that water I was absolutely determined that I WOULD STAND. Time and time again, I caught a wave, rode in, and tried to stand, but no luck. I either did not catch enough speed, or just tried and fell or could not get up fast enough. My one friend, John, was nice enough too to come and take SO many pictures while we all tried, which was such a blessing because I'm such a picture junkie! Finally after probably a half hour or so, I finally stood up on one. Granted it was only a few seconds, but it was such a thrill! I was able to catch a couple more after that, and it was just such a fun, exciting new adventure! :)After our lesson ended, the girls wanted some food, so we sat and ate a bit and then joined the others on the beach. We didn't have too much time left, so I just enjoyed reading and laying out until we had to go. Sweet Manu decided he'd buy me his delicious White Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream Bar too: I think these guides go above and beyond for us. They actually treat us like friends! Then it was about time to head back, so we loaded the bus and arrived back around 8:50. The Euro Cup championship started at 8:45, so we were all really anxious to get home. I really wanted to watch the game at La Setas because I had not been there for a game yet, and I heard it's crazy with so manypeople (clearly perfect for the championship!).However, I knew if we couldn't get in for the Semi-Finals like 10 minutes before, we were not going to have much luck going 10 minutes late. I was still hoping and figured Elise and I should give it a try. Well we got there and there was absolutely no line! I could hardly believe it, but I think that must have just been because the entire area where you could stand was full, so we stood in the back and tried to peer threw the holes in the crowd. We decided to wait it out until half, and sure enough people started filtering out then. We just coincidentally ran into our other friends, and by the time the second half started, we were about half way up and could see really well. Once again, I could not believe how we were just blessed with that! The game was great! We got to see some friends who were leaving this session that we thought we'd miss, which was great, and it was just so much fun to be in that environment because everyone just goes CRAZY for Spain! We ended up winning 4-0, which shocked me, and when they scored the fourth, the man beside me picked me up and started jumping. Then at the end he grabbed my hand and started fist pumping and yelling as beer was being thrown around everywhere. There were people and trash everywhere on the streets too: kind of like a big Penn State win too! At the point though I was beat and ready to get home. My señora was nice enough to make me dinner then, even though it was kind of late. She told me the boys from Switzerland arrived too and will be staying with us til the 11th. That should be interesting...Then I got to talk with my parents and grandparents, which was great!!! It was the first time I've been able to talk with my grandpa since I've been here, so I loved it, especially watching his shocked reaction that he could actually see me! Finally got to bed around 2:30, so much for an early night, but everything was so worth it!!! :)
He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me." I read that and just smiled; ultimately I am in the Lord's hands always, and this was something that I wanted to do! And am I SO glad that I did it! We arrived at the beach and put on our sweet wet suits, which felt like full running gear. I told the girls I felt like I wanted to go for a run, and that wish was answered sooner rather than later. We all gathered on the sand for a lesson, and our instructors said we would start with a jog to the cliff! Then we did some stretches and then went for the water. It was so cold, but wearing a wet suit made it so much better, and it felt really cool! 
bad stories. This, however, was just one of those things that I was pretty sure I would look back and regret not doing. I mean how many times do you get the chance to learn how to surf in Portugal? We had some extra time before checking out too so I read some of my Bible, and even though it could have been slightly out of context, I just happened to read Psalm 18, which is basically about God giving us safety, protecting us, and helping us reign over our enemies. In verses 16-18 it says, "He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.At first we just did some body surfing so we could get used to the water and try to practice the feeling of catching a wave. Unfortunately, I was still a little intimidated. I finally forced myself to attempt catching one near the end but not too successfully. All I could picture was my dear Paige's broken collarbone. Then we got back out to grab our boards. Then they had us get back in and just try to do some boogie boarding to once again get the feeling of catching a wave with our board. Then we even tried just pushing our bodies off a little bit so our chests were raised. I finally just let myself go and tried to catch one, and I forgot just how much of a rush that is. It was great! Then we got back out and went through the actual steps of how you go from laying on the board, to propping one leg up, to bringing the other up, and then the final stance. It seemed easy enough on the sand, but somehow must of that gets slightly forgotten when you're actually on the water. However, like most other things, once I hit that water I was absolutely determined that I WOULD STAND. Time and time again, I caught a wave, rode in, and tried to stand, but no luck. I either did not catch enough speed, or just tried and fell or could not get up fast enough. My one friend, John, was nice enough too to come and take SO many pictures while we all tried, which was such a blessing because I'm such a picture junkie! Finally after probably a half hour or so, I finally stood up on one. Granted it was only a few seconds, but it was such a thrill! I was able to catch a couple more after that, and it was just such a fun, exciting new adventure! :)After our lesson ended, the girls wanted some food, so we sat and ate a bit and then joined the others on the beach. We didn't have too much time left, so I just enjoyed reading and laying out until we had to go. Sweet Manu decided he'd buy me his delicious White Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream Bar too: I think these guides go above and beyond for us. They actually treat us like friends! Then it was about time to head back, so we loaded the bus and arrived back around 8:50. The Euro Cup championship started at 8:45, so we were all really anxious to get home. I really wanted to watch the game at La Setas because I had not been there for a game yet, and I heard it's crazy with so manypeople (clearly perfect for the championship!).However, I knew if we couldn't get in for the Semi-Finals like 10 minutes before, we were not going to have much luck going 10 minutes late. I was still hoping and figured Elise and I should give it a try. Well we got there and there was absolutely no line! I could hardly believe it, but I think that must have just been because the entire area where you could stand was full, so we stood in the back and tried to peer threw the holes in the crowd. We decided to wait it out until half, and sure enough people started filtering out then. We just coincidentally ran into our other friends, and by the time the second half started, we were about half way up and could see really well. Once again, I could not believe how we were just blessed with that! The game was great! We got to see some friends who were leaving this session that we thought we'd miss, which was great, and it was just so much fun to be in that environment because everyone just goes CRAZY for Spain! We ended up winning 4-0, which shocked me, and when they scored the fourth, the man beside me picked me up and started jumping. Then at the end he grabbed my hand and started fist pumping and yelling as beer was being thrown around everywhere. There were people and trash everywhere on the streets too: kind of like a big Penn State win too! At the point though I was beat and ready to get home. My señora was nice enough to make me dinner then, even though it was kind of late. She told me the boys from Switzerland arrived too and will be staying with us til the 11th. That should be interesting...Then I got to talk with my parents and grandparents, which was great!!! It was the first time I've been able to talk with my grandpa since I've been here, so I loved it, especially watching his shocked reaction that he could actually see me! Finally got to bed around 2:30, so much for an early night, but everything was so worth it!!! :)
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