Oh, Just a Surfing Accident…

            Best. Christmas. Present. Ever. We were going to HAWAII!

            The last time I had gone to Hawaii, I spent the entire vacation in the hotel with food poisoning, so this was exciting! We would be staying in Oahu, in a condo, right by the beach! It was January, 2009, when we began this journey of a lifetime. Although, you could say we wouldn’t remember this trip for the reasons you might think.

            The first day was paradise. We walked along the beach, drank pina coladas, (virgin, of course!) and laughed at the thought of being surrounded by snow only a day before. My dad was one for surprising us with exciting adventures in all of our travel destinations. And he didn’t let us down: we were going surfing! Taking lessons from the native Hawaiians who had been surfing their entire lives! Driving to the “surfing beach,” I was a little nervous. Oh please, I though, stop being a baby. This was an adventure!

            Surfing is way harder than it looks. The boards are also bigger than they look. Laying on the board, I felt very out of my element. My instructor, a Hawaiian woman of about thirty with a strong accent, was shouting directions at me so fast I could barely understand her. She yelled “Paddle paddle paddle paddle!” when a wave began approaching, but due to the thickness of her accent, it seemed as if she was shouting “Pow pow pow pow!” I couldn’t help but laugh. The waves came and went, splashing over my head, getting water in my nose. It seemed surfing was a true talent that I just failed to possess.

            After what seemed like hours of trying to stand up on my board, the main instructor yelled at everyone to come back into shore. I was a little relieved, although I had enjoyed myself, and gotten quite a workout! I wouldn’t have guessed that surfing was a form of exercise.

            As I dragged my board back to shore, I caught a glimpse of my younger sister, Miranda, riding the waves like a pro. She rode them right into the shore and ran to catch up with me. “Nice!” I congratulated her as she walked by me, and she nodded in thanks. Suddenly a wave came up behind me, and swept my board smack into the front of my legs. Still knee-deep in water, my legs gave out and I fell onto the sand, the water now reaching my shoulders. Miranda started laughing. How clumsy could I possibly get?

            That’s when I felt the pain. I was told my face turned white and my face twisted into a sickening grimace. I slowly got up and walked onto the beach. Then I made the mistake of looking at my legs. My left leg was a red mess, with a gory gash on the shin. I pulled off my left surfing shoe and saw that it was filled with blood. My ankle was deeply cut. I then passed out cold right there on the sand.

            It was a pretty nasty wound. I bandaged it up, and spent the rest of the vacation inside with my leg propped up. The first time it had been food poisoning, now I had a messed up leg. Hawaii is just not my place, I guess. I think I did something to upset the Hawaiian gods. Maybe I accidentally stole a sacred rock or something? Oh well, I’m not in any rush to go back, but when I do, I will seize the adventures once again…and pray.