Christmas in Australia

I always knew that my first Christmas away from home and my family and Mum's incredible cooking would be weird. I didn't consider my festive job, Christmas songs playing in the searing heat and attendance at a Surf Camp. Safe to say it didn't feel like Christmas at all.

Whilst working I'd enjoyed asking the locals what they'd be doing for Christmas. I wanted to get an idea of a true Aussie Christmas.. turns out it's exactly what I expected. Barbeques, drinking, chilling with friends and family, and going to the beach. I was surprised to find a lot of people would spend the 25th with their friends, rather than their family. To me, Christmas is all about family and getting everyone together! As you know, I had Surf Camp booked with the Base Family.

I had planned to work until the 22nd, but unfortunately didn't sleep all night so had my last Reindeer Day early. It had felt very odd wishing people a "Merry Christmas" next to a person handing out free water because of the heat. I enjoyed selling the antlers though, so much festive spirit! I had also planned to send Christmas (post)cards.. That didn't happen, sorry.. maybe in the new year?!

We were reunited with the gang at Central Station at 6.30am on the 23rd. It was so great to see them again and get to spend Christmas with such fab company. We were a very large group heading up on the 10hr journey to Arrawarra, a good thirty of us staying at camp for the festive period. I slept most of the journey, but we also played a few games to get to know everyone. It was nice, we had people of all ages from all over the world.

At camp, I was in Mavericks Dorm with six of the blokes from Base, Ren and Sarah, a Welsh guy called Steve and a Chinese couple, Zheng and Aiden. We had the best room. I loved how close to the beach camp was, we only had to walk 2mins out of the door. Perfect. Did mean sand absolutely everywhere though! The MojoSurf Team had made a real effort to make the place Christmassy, with lights and tinsel and a tree. We even had festive games the first night, I joined in the Gingerbread Eating Comptetion (and failed miserably) and the Who Am I.

The lessons themselves were really good, the coaches were fantastic and worked to everyone's abilities. I think my first morning lesson was the best, I popped up a few times and managed to keep my balance! From Christmas onwards I think I got progressively worse.. I was thinking about it too much and my body began to give up. My arms would hurt, I had bruised knees, a sunburnt bottom, grazed feet and mushed up toes. Didn't stop me trying,  despite the continuous failed attempts.

Christmas morning our surf lesson was at 9.30, a sneaky lie in for us all. I still woke up quite early, and had breakfast with the guys. The food at camp was amazing; toast, cereal or porridge for breakfast everyday. For a Christmas treat I had toast and porridge, followed by a cup of tea (in a plastic tumbler). By 9am we had pulled our rashies on and made use of the free 50+, ready for Lesson 3. It was so weird running around on the sand playing games with the instructors, some of them in santa hats/outfits. The temperature was high twenties and the sea was pretty warm too. It would have been bliss if I didn't keep getting bashed either by my own board or by the waves. Still, it was great fun and definitely a different way to spend Christmas morning.

Once we'd put our boards back and dried off in the sun, I took a few pictures by the beach and chilled out. Then it was time for another Christmas treat. This one came in the form of a photo package, a singlet and a baseball cap. Now I was all decked out with the surfer look. I may have had a Christmas nap then, saving my energy for our next lesson. First was lunch, a chilli dog with melted cheese. Not quite the usual Christmas lunch but I enjoyed it none the less, piled my plate high with salad too.

Back out on to the beach, we were ready for our first Expression Session. This basically meant we were left to our own devices, the coaches were in the water but we were left to practice what we had learned. Apparently for me this didn't mean much, I was still stuck trying to pop up quickly on the whitewash. I wiped out a few times, but stuck it out until the 2hrs were up. By this point, I was absolutely shattered.. Carrying the board through the waves and wading through the tide was difficult!

Luckily we had a good 4hrs before dinner once the lesson was over. This meant we could relax for a while. Napping in a hammock was a new tradition for me, one that I quite enjoyed. It was interesting getting in and out though, my sunburn made it all the more fun. I somehow came across a Santa hat whilst in the sea so me, Pia and Emma took it down to the beach for some fun photos. It was definitely very odd wearing a bikini.. and a Santa hat. Still didn't feel all that Christmassy, no matter how many songs we sang.

I was excited for dinner when I saw that table cloths and party poppers had been layed out. I did hear on the pipeline that the normal chef was off, so his right hand man was cooking his own version of Christmas dinner. This turned out to be half a chicken coated in mustard and lemon (I think) with potato wedges and a piece of peppered butternut squash. Again, not quite the full roast I am used to - and certainly more chicken than I have ever eaten in one sitting - but the crackers and the company made up for it! I wore my Christmas Hat and awful cracker prize with pride! Unfortunately though, no pudding.

It wouldn't be Christmas without family, and we definitely had fun trying to work Skype. It was wonderful to see Mum, Ben and Dad lined up on the bed, all in their Santa hats! Hearing their voices and seeing their faces rounded up my day perfectly. After I got off the phone I enjoyed a last chat with the gang. We mainly compared our Aussie Christmas to the one we were used to back home. It was a new experience for everyone and one I was happy to have shared!

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