...and I'm floating in a most peculiar way...

Well let me start off with the latest and greatest. Skydiving was the thrill of my life. Let me start off at the beginning. We caught the train from Central Station and it was about an hour and a half ride to North Wollongong. From the train station we were picked up and taken to the drop zone (landing area). When we arrived there were waivers we had to sign about half a million times. But any good lawyer could probably argue that they were unconscionable based on unfair bargaining power and them being a common carrier.

While we were there we got suited up, basically it was just a pullover/jumpsuit that you could find in any garage or paint shop. Then we climbed into our harnesses that were a little too snug in all the wrong places, but that is the least of your concerns when jumping out of an airplane. They also gave us flotation devices like you find in any airplane, after all we were flying over the ocean and jumping right by the coast. After a little basic instruction on how to exit the plane and basic form in freefall we (Emily, Grant, the instructors, and I) took a van over to the airfield which was 15 minutes away. We all packed into a tiny plane, along with the pilot and co-pilot, like a bunch of sardines. Then came the scariest part, the flight up to 14,000 feet.

In all honesty I don't think that plane was designed to carry that much weight, but we made it off the ground. It was a 20-25 minute flight and just as we began to take off my calf began to cram up. Unfortunately since we were packed in so tight there was no way to stretch it out, beside I think it was just my body's way of rebelling against something that would surely kill it. We flew up to the clouds and then twice as high as that, had we gone any higher we would have needed oxygen and I could feel the thin air. Then we banked around and opened the door of the plane.

I was the second out of the plane along with my tandem instructor Jack. I hung my feet over the edge, crossed my arms over my chest, leaned back into my instructor, and slid out of the plane. The first 10 seconds reminded me of bungee jumping. You experience the change in momentum from forward to downward, the air begins to hit you harder and harder, and the wind roars in your ears. In order to do this you have to overcome every life preserving instinct that you are born with and as you begin to fall you truly realize that death is a possible result. All of this makes you question your sanity for having decided to jump in the first place.

After that first 10 seconds the remaining 60 seconds of freefall bears no resemblance to bungee jumping. It is a constant rush of air and the feeling of incredible power. The clouds came rushing up to greet us and then we slipped right into them. Everything got a lot darker inside the cloud but it only lasted a few seconds. On the other side the coastline came into view, I could see the beach and all the little specs that were the homes of North Wollongong. At just under 4,000 feet Jacked pulled the rip-chord and our chute deployed. That was the second scariest part because it is the only truly dangerous part of the jump, but everything came out exactly the way it was supposed to and we spent the next 6-7 minutes drifting down to earth.

While we rode down Jack pointed out the Sydney skyline which was almost 100 miles away (what a sight). He also let me steer on the way down (the others didn't get to). I did a couple of figure 8's that took us out over the ocean and back over the beach. I got to see Emily land below me and Grant's parachute deploy over me. We circled the landing area a few time so we could approach from the right direction. As we got ready to touch down I lifted my legs and we slid in for a perfect soft landing on the grass.

I said it before and I'll say it again, that was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I definitely have to do it again, but next time I want to go solo. That means I'm going to need to take some classes, but they aren't cheap so I'm going to have to put it on the back burner for a while. I'm so glad to have done it because of how scary it was. Conquering our fears is good for us, it helps us grow.

The next day (yesterday) I came over to Hidde's place and hung out at the field where he and his roommate Derk had field hockey games. It was a nice relaxing time and I met a couple of his friends Greg and Melita. Melita invited me to house-sit for her and Greg, at their place in Manley Beach, when they go out of town next weekend. I just keep meeting nice people everywhere I go.

Today was a lazy Sunday, just the kind of day I like. I went to the grocery store in the afternoon and bought the makings for Italian subs. It was a nice change from the Turkish food which is so popular around here. Now I am just hanging out at Hidde's and will head back over to Bondi Beach House later this evening. We have no classes tomorrow being the 4th of July (and Yiayia's birthday) so I am going to hang out, clean my room, take my laundry over to the cleaners (cheaper than doing it myself), get my reading done for next week, and relax a little.

The wireless card on my laptop has burned out so I will probably only post a few more pictures in the remaining 4 weeks that I have here. As I suspected I have to wait till I get back stateside to get service. Today I bought my ticket from AZ to NY, I fly out of Phoenix on the 17th which gives me a couple of days in NY to get my bike and get in touch with Pat (Trish's mom) who has all my stuff (including my bike) in storage for me. It also gives me a couple of days to get ready to move into the dorms on the 20th. After that I have a couple more days before classes start. Everything seems to happen so quickly, in the next couple of days I have to get things started on my student loans for the coming year. Just another step towards $200,000...