Beach Day- Oregon Coast style

I spent my Saturday hanging out with the other OIMB kids at the beach! A bunch of us crammed into a car and drove over. This beach is different from the beaches at home. I'm used to Manele/Hulopo'e bay: where the waves break one by one on the sand and the ocean floor drops off to 6 feet or so and then gets deeper from there. Here, the sand slopes down into the water very gradually, such that you can walk out away from shore for at least 20 yards and still be able to stand. However, there are constant waves breaking over you and wicked cross current. Not to mention, the water is around fifty degrees Fahrenheit! For those of you who have never experienced water like that, it means that as soon as you walk in the first sensation you feel is cold, and the second is a flood of pain. It takes about ten minutes for each part of your body to slowly become numb, but until it does, it is pretty excruciating. Last week, I was proud of myself for staying in the water for around 35 minutes without a wet suit. This week however, there was a spare wetsuit so I put it on and went swimming with a few other students. It was fun to be in the water again, though the white wash was battering my face and body with each wave. In fifty degree water it is physically painful to dunk your head in, so duck-diving under the waves was a little difficult.

After my swim, people played football and beach ultimate frisbee. I wanted to play ultimate badly, but I have a terrible blister on my foot that has refused to heal. Just walking on the sand was painful, so I sat out of the game and laid in the sun. Really, not too bad of an option in itself.

So far my experience here has been wonderful. The students are inclusive, accepting, fun-loving and enthusiastic. I'm so glad that they have all made it easy to have friends here. Hanging out with all of them really defines the experience as a positive one for me. The amount of joy and satisfaction in my life relies so heavily on attitudes of people around me, and I am very thankful for all of the positivity and support that I've gotten from the OIMB students.