(A) Surf

BEFORE THE ACTIVITY:
I have been surfing a few times before. I started out in Royan a year ago for two weeks, then took one class in Long Island and since I found myself extremely interested and attracted to the sport, I wanted to pursue it for a longer and more regular period of time. I am lucky enough to live very close to the ocean and last march I started going to classes once a week on my own. This year, I intend to take surf classes more regularly (every Sunday to be precise). I find surfing such an incredible sport because you find this balance between total concentration and complete tranquility while you're in the water. It distracts you from everyday life and turns your attention to the task ahead: surfing that wave. I am very excited to start this acivity because I am eager to learn how to surf. I also think that the fact that I am going with 5 other friends who also have strong goals to be accomplished by doing this sport will help me push myself and never give up.

1. Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth. I will learn about where I make mistakes while surfing and what my strong points are because of the suggestions for improvement and compliments my instructors gave me. I will also see whether or not I am capable of achieving my goals and by analyzing my actions critically can learn from myself. Surfing is a sport I would never be able to do and now I have a chance to do it to the best of my ability.

2. Undertaken new challenges I am eager to take the next step and improve whenever my instructor suggests I do something differently. I find it a very difficult thing to think of all the details once you are up on top the surfboard and to pay attention to them will be a challenge for me. Each wave that you surf is also a challenge because since they are all different from each other, it is a challenge to think and adapt to each wave in a split second.

3. Worked collaboratively with others Even though surf is quite an individual sport because it doesn’t depend on anybody else other than you and the ocean to surf well, you have to make sure you are aware of the other people in the water for their safety (you don’t want them to get hit by your board) and you also have to make this safety a priority over you surfing a perfect wave. On days when there are a lot of people in the water, you also have to be fair and take turns, telling everyone get a fair chance at surfing.

4. Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities The fact that I will do it every week during the whole year shows that I am committed to the activity. I am willing to be in the water with rain and hail in the middle of January in order to achieve my goals.

5. Engaged with issues of global importance Surfers are very aware of their environment simply because they depend on it every time they go surfing. Beaches and oceans are constantly being polluted with waste. By entering the surfing community, I will become more aware of the ocean and like all the other surfers, grow to respect nature.

6. Developed new skills I will learn how to surf better: stand up faster, learn to judge waves, learn how to turn to one side once I’m on the board, surf waves that haven’t broken yet…

DURING THE ACTIVITY:

DAY 1:  September 28th, 2014 (10:00-12:00)
Today the ocean looked very rough and cold as I walked down to the beach. But once I got in, I realized that these are the kinds of waves that I was best at surfing: big strong waves that don't curve when they break. Because of the good conditions today the instructor helped me ride waves that hadn't broken. When I did this I started out very high up on the wave and then went down very quickly as it broke. Th first few times I got scared and panicked a bit because it felt like I was falling but after a few times, I got used to the feeling and felt more confident. It was so much fun. I also remembered something I learned when I first started surfing and that is that I should always look straight ahead. In that way it is kind of like riding a bike, if you look a the tire below, you can't see where you are going. The end of the class however was a bit frustrating. The tide started coming down and it was very hard to surf because once you got up on the board, the wave was already finished and didn't take you anywhere. For the next class I would like to start practising turning to one side and the other if the conditions permit it.

DAY 2:  October 5th, 2014 (12:00-14:00)
Today the ocean was brutal. The waves were gigantic and intimadating. Because the ocean was in no condition to surf, we worked a lot on dealing with our emotions while we are in the water. I really enjoyed our instructor today, Naroa, who explained very well the dos and dont's of surfing. She said that there was some bad news of some surfers in Zarautz who drowned this morning because they thought that they would be safer if they let go of their board. Of course, they were in a much more dangerous situation than I have ever been but Naroa told us that that was the last thing we should ever do if we find that we are in trouble in the water. Our surfboard serves as a device to float and no matter how strong the waves or how much you tumble, you will eventually get to sore with it.
   



     During the class today, we went in and out of the water several times with and without our board. When we didn't have it, it was to get a feeling for the currents there were today or to practice diving under waves. I also learned that panic is the most dangerous thing in the water because it does not let us think logically. This idea reminded me of a quote in the movie "Chasing Mavericks", a true story about a 15-year old boy who wants to surf Mavericks. Frosty, the boy's (Jay) mentor tells him,fear and panic are two separate emotions. Fear’s healthy, panic’s deadly." Today I felt identified with the main character of the movie (Jay) because, even though the waves today were nothing like Mavericks, I learned to face my fears. We didn't surf as much as I would have liked to today but that's the way surf is, you do what the ocean lets you do. Despite this, I really enjoyed today's class because I learned new things and because it served as a good confidence building experience, which is one of my goals.

DAYS 3 & 4: October 11th, 2014 (16:30-18:30) and October 12th (12:00-14:00)

Miren and I ( I am to the left)

This week I went surfing twice in order to make up for last week's bad weather. On Saturday (the first day) the water was perfect for learning how to surf. At first, coming down the hill towards the beach, I thought the waves weren't going to be good for me because it seemed like the curled a lot. But once I was in the water, i found that this was not the case. This taught me to not assume the waves are one way until I get up close. The waves were smooth and perfect for practising to get up with the wave not being broken. The first few times my teacher had to help but then, I got the hang of it and could do it myself. When I first started surfing, I thought I thought I would never be able to do that, which shows progress. This also taught me not to think that I can't do something for no real reason. Now I might think that I can't be like the surfers I see way out in the ocean, but if I keep working, I might be able to do that someday, just as I was able to get a small wave but an unbroken one this time.

     On sunday, I was very excited to go to surf class because of the success of the previous day. I didn't think the ocean would change so much in only one day. I was cold, and rough, but the waves weren't too strong. Because the group's goal is to progress in surf, not always stay at the same level, we did something I had never done before. We went out further, out until where you couldn't stand and you had to paddel and actually started to ride waves out there. I was very hard and I didn't stay on the board for very long, but each time I felt like I understood what surfing really was all about and because I was up higher and the sensation was a little different, I could picture myself in my head doing what I was doing at the moment. I could see myself movieng this way and that way. Even though I didn't surf as much on sunday as I did on saturday, I think that everytime I go in the water is a learning experience.

Miren, Isabel, Elena, Claudia and I respectively. (I am the one with the yellow "Manual" board)

DAY 5: October 19th, 2014 (14:00-16:00)

Us after our lesson.

In surf class this week the waves were very good surfing waves but too big for my level so we just stayed in front of their breaking point and rode the white "foam." Even though I feel that I am now quite good at this, the instructor saw it as a good opportunity to learn and practice some new techniques. He thought it best to practice this with waves that have already broken because we are more confident and stable in this part. The new technique we learned this week was to crouvh down a lot on the board. It was very hard because your legs got a lot more tired. I see these opportunities to learn something new as a way to get closer to my goal. This technique helps surfers control their direction more effectively, which will be very helpfull when I start surfing bigger waves. Nevertheless, I was still a bit frustrated at the end of the class because I was not able to crouch down long enough to surf since I would always lose my balance. However, I know that in order to get where I want to get, it is not always going to be fun. I have been looking for images on the internet such as the one below to get a better understanding of what I have to do. The image is one of a surfer in San Diego, ending his ride on a wave.

A surfer in Sand Diego in the position we were practicing.

DAY 6: October 24th, 2014 (10:00-12:00)

Sopelana beach today

This week I went surfing on a saturday because tomorrow, sunday, we have to be at school at the halloween party. I think that this demonstrates that I am fullfilling one of the learning objectives for this activity: "shows commitment and perserverance in their actions." I could have missed my surf lesson this week but instead, I chose to go on a saturday instead of a sunday. Today was a great day for surfing! There was a spring tide which makes the ocean have a lot of movement and great waves to surf. I looked for information to better understand what this means and have added an image  We paddled out quite a lot to get to where the good waves were. I feel that I improved immensly today because I was surfing waves that were "white" (that had already broken a little) but were still big enough for me to feel myself surfing the wave downwards, turn to the side, and ride it to shore. I think that the reason I did so well today was because I saw it as a way to release all the frustration I have had this week. I loved feeling the wave break as I rode it and see water splashing all around as I still continued to stand. It was a very tiring day too because I had to fight against a strong current to get to the place where the waves were the best, but it wasn't a painfull kind of exhaustion but an exciting kind. Even though I have been surfing for a while, I still feel that magical feeling everytime I ride a wave. After today's class I am motivated to contunie surfing for hopefuly a long time and I am looking forward to next week. I hope that next week is just as good as this one for surfing.

After a tiring but exciting class.
Me, Claudia, Isabel and Elena

Me during the class

DAY 7: November 2nd, 2014
The class was very difficult today. At first, when I was walking down the hill towards the beach, I thought that the surfing today would be smooth because despite their height, they looked very regular. This was true but only for the waves that were far out and we couldn't get to because it would be too dangerous to try and get out there with the strong current of today. We stayed close to shore today but the waves were very irregular there. The first 10-15 minutes that I was in the water I felt like giving up. I was swallowing water, I kept getting tumbled and since I could never stand up on the boeard I got very discouraged. Then we got out and went to another part of the beach where the waves were still like this but we had more space between where the wave broke and there was no more water where we could have more time to get up. This class taught me that when something is wrong, I shouldn't give up right away because there is always another way of doing things, there is always a solution, we just have to find it.

Me up on a wave

When the water got very rough.

DAY 8: November 23rd, 2014
It felt so good to get back in the water today! It's been a while since I went surfing because I've been sick for the past couple of weeks. I've been able to do some other CAS activities but since surfing involves getting wet and cold, I didn't want to risk getting even more sick and being out even longer. So today, we had a very interesting class because the winter season is starting. In other words, its time for REAL surfing! The waves are getting bigger each class which means that it's getting more challenging but also more fun. We had a different instructor today, one which I have never had, and I really liked how he taught the class because he always kept a positive attitude. We were working mostly on turning to one side and another. As something to mostivate us, he said that if we were able to turn towards and away from the wave on the same ride, that he might consider letting us use a fiberglass surfboard next class. Even though I wasn't able to do it, the idea kept me motivated to keep trying harder throughout the whole class. He was also very encouraging and always cheered you on. From this I learned that I need to learn to have that kind of positive attitude myself so that I don't have to depend on anyone. The waves today were big during the whole class but I felt more confortable at the beginning because they were regular. Towards the end, the currents started to get a little funky and I felt more insecure. Honestly, I almost always feel very confortable in the water because I feel confident with waves and I know how they work. Even if a wave is really big and I get tumbled, I know how to control myself, think clearly and not get panicked because I have swam in the ocean for a very long time. Today however, I experienced something completely new that really brought me out of my confort zone: a backwash.

This is not Sopelana beach, but it's a
good representation of a backwash.

This happens when a wave crashes into water comingback into the ocean from shore and builds up a sort of wall. I got caught in one and it was a very strange feeling. I lost all sense of direction and I didn't know if I was being jolted up in the air or being puched underwater. It was fun but also a bit baffling. Now that I understand what a backwash is, I feel more prepared for the next time. So, even though I wasn't able to turn both ways (I could only go towards the wave but not away from it) I still learned something today. You always learn something, even if it's not what you planned to.

Elena, Isabel, Sarah, Miren and I (respectively)

DAY 9: November 30th, 2014 (9:00-11:30)

Sopelana beach today

Surfing today was fantastic! I wasn't really feeling up for it this morning because I had to get up at 8a.m. on a rainy sunday when all I really felt like doing was lying in bed but I know that in order to surf well, it depends a lot on the tides and that is something that can't be changed. It was a great day in the end though and the early start was completely worth it. The waves we strong and regular today which allowed me to continue practicing my turns. Since I'm a "goofy" surfer (I put my left leg in the back), what I have to do is turn towards the left and then the right. Because of the regularity of the ocean today I was able to see a lot of progress in myself throughout the class which was a very satisfying feeling. I mentally organized myself to carry put certain steps during the class to achieve my ultimate goal: trun towards both sides in the correct way while possibly riding the "wall" of the wave. Technically speaking (I looked up the proper terms), a take off, bottom turn and cut back. By taking little steps, I would cautiously do a bottom trun on one, then on the next one I would follow this by maybe half a cut back and so on, until by the end of the class,  was able to reach my goal twice! This is a good learning technique: to take it slow and with patience. The experience was also very rewarding because my instructor complimented me on my work and even another surfer who was on the beach and was watching our class a bit gave me a thumbs up, which is proof to myself that I had progressed well over the two hours today. In the end though, I was so tired that when I got home I took a two hour nap.

DAY 10: December 7th, 2014 (12:30-14:30)

Surfing in Plentzia (not me and not my
picture, just intended as an example)

Today, we went to another beach to surf. This is because Sopelana is a very rough beach in general and during the wintertime, the currents can be quite dangerous. This is why we went to Plentzia, which is still the ocean but the shore is a bit more protected by the reef that goes outward on the sides. As we were outside the water, on the beach, on a rainy day, we were looking at the ocean with kind of a disappointed look on our face because the waves looked very small, too small to even ride. But our instructor kept telling us: "trust me, the waves are bigger than you think." And they sure were! Today has taught me that each beach is very different bacause the botton of the sea changes immensly depending on where you are (Sopelana is quite flat while Plentzi gets deep very quickly).
The wave we enormous but it was incredible. Our intructor told us that today we HAD TO do a "bajada" which means a "drop." Since I had never sured waves this big, I never took the "drop" part very seriously. But this time, I would be standing on top of a wave and in order to surf it, I knew exactly what I had to do but it was scary. I had to put all my weight on my right foot (which is the one I put in the front) and practically fall down the space that was between me at the top of the wave and the water. That is what surfing is all about. Everytime I did it, I got this feeling as if I had butterflies in my stomach, a mixture of fear and excitement that I liked. Just writting about it here makes me want to get back in the water despite the rain, the cold and the hypothermia my toes had later.

JANUARY
January 25th, 2015 (12:30-14:30)
Today we surfed in Plentzia and when I got there, it seemed like I hadn't surfed in a long time (even though it had been only one week ago). This week for some reason, I have really been wanting to get in the water. It was cold but that didn't bother me. On friday, I pulled a muscle in mu leg in ballet and when we were stretching on the beach to warm up, I noticed the pain in my left calf and felt quite discouraged since I realized how all my different action activites are interrelated and that if I had a problem in one, it would affect my performance in the other. I didn't do too badly in the end in the water; my injury probably wasn't too severe but today's experience has made me aware of having to take care of my body and not always be so extreme because the consequences might be greater than we realize at that moment, refering to health issues but also to not being able to do other things that I enjoy, not only the activity that I hurt myself in.

FEBRUARY
February 1st, 2015 CANCELLED
There wasn't surf today because of the severe weather conditions of the Basque Country. Even though on land the rain and wind might not seem much worse, the ocean is affected a lot more by the weather, bringing huge waves to the coast and strong currents. Surf can be considered an extreme sport considering we go in the water during the winter, but when there is a high risk involved, it wouldn't be smart to go in the water. Even though I was sad to hear that I wouldn't surf this week, in a way, I am glad, because at least I'll be safe.

 February 8th, 2015 (10:00-12:00)
There is a chinese exchange at school now and I am hosting an 11th grader called Grace. I stayed at her house in China last April and now she is staying with me. I brought her to surf with me and the other chinese exchange students came too. I felt sorry for them because it was probably the worst surfing day I have had. The tide was really low so the ground was really rocky (which makes it difficult to tread water because you keep hitting them), the waves were contantly coming at us from different directions and in different forms, it was freezing... However, it was an experience for the students, there's no doubt about that.

MARCH:  1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
In summary, this month has been very cold. Almost everyday we went surfing it was wet, rainy and cold and it was very hard to get up in the morning to go surfing. Just the thought of getting the wetsuit on in this weather was not a very appealing one. However, I am committed to this activity and therefore went every sunday of the month (except for the 29th when I was away on easter holiday). This made me realize how committed the teachers are too because no matter what the day may be, they are always supportive and lively when they are giving the class. They transmit this great vibe everytime we go that makes it all worth it. We also saw some garbage and plastic on the beach and we had a talk about the effects that pollution has on marine life. They said that as surfers, we have to learn to respect the ocean not only when we are trying to catch a wave but also to take care of it. This pollution is an issue of global importance as it affects a lot of us in many different contexts. This is why, spending a lot of time in the water, I become engaged with the issue as it is also, in a way, my responsibility to take care of it.

APRIL: 6th-10th, 19th, 26th
This was probably one of the funnest months for me in surf and that's because of the trip I went on during one week of my easter vacations with a group of young surfers like me, three friends from school and two surf instructors from the surf school to Asturias, which is about 4 hours from my house. I got back from a trip to London the day before but I still really wanted to go so even though I couldn't go with the group, I went a little later with my dad (and is also the reason I'm not in the group picture). There, it was a very different environment because it was not like in Sopelana where you were in the "surf world" for a  fixed 2-3 hours. Here, it was always, all week. This intense environment helped me learn a lot of things. One of them was the importance of working together with people both outside and inside the water. For example we would all collaborate in loading the van with our surfbouards all together (some would be in the van other outside other passing the individual boards...) It was a task that was made much easier if a lot helped and I was part of that. Also, we worked together in the water. There were a lot of people and to stay safe, we had this mututal understanding of each person's space. Sharing waves we also had to work collaborativelly since we would all have to move in the same direction and do similar turns not to bump into each other. Something quite emotional was when I was riding a wave and I saw a little boy, (he wasn't from my group so I didn't know him) but I was going towards him and he was about to fall, so I got close enough to hold on to him and I helped him balance himself, all this while we were both riding the wave. It was such a great feeling to see him laugh later when he was riding it with me that I almost choked up. It was amazing to see that even though I was pretty far away from where I usually surf, this mututal understanding of what it is like to ride a wave and the collaboration between people for someone to achieve this is universal.
I also developped new skills. I learned to make turns easily because the waves were a lot calmer and not as irregular as in Sopelana so it was easier to learn how to do. Also, the fact that I had instructors that I don't usually have, they suggested new strategies to perfect our technique. The more strategies you have, the better. This strategy was to imagine that I was holding a large disc or plate or something like that in my armes and then turn. This facilitates the rotation of the hip in a regular and steady way. A challenge on this trip for me was to stay consistent and keep up the energy. We surfed two times everyday and this was very tiring, but there was nothing like a good nights sleep and a happy environment to keep me going. Also, a challenge I faced were the difficult currents but I knew from my previous experience that the last thing to do was to panic and I stayed calm and thought rationally to get out of the bad situation I was in.
When I got back to Sopelana from the trip, I found that I had improved on a lot of things and became aware of the areas in which I had grown on the trip, without even realizing it. One thing was that whenever a waave comes, now I use this technique called "pinchar" which consists in ducking under the wave with the board. It seems like I picked this up on the trip by immitating those who had a higher level than me.

The group in Sopelana before they left for Asturias

A day in Asturias before going into the water.

That same day after being in the water.... exhausted!!!

MAY:

1. Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth.

I will learn about where I make mistakes while surfing and what my strong points are because of the suggestions for improvement and compliments my instructors gave me. I will also see whether or not I am capable of achieving my goals and by analyzing my actions critically can learn from myself. Surfing is a sport I would never be able to do and now I have a chance to do it to the best of my ability.

2. Undertaken new challenges

I am eager to take the next step and improve whenever my instructor suggests I do something differently. I find it a very difficult thing to think of all the details once you are up on top the surfboard and to pay attention to them will be a challenge for me. Each wave that you surf is also a challenge because since they are all different from each other, it is a challenge to think and adapt to each wave in a split second.

3. Worked collaboratively with others

Even though surf is quite an individual sport because it doesn’t depend on anybody else other than you and the ocean to surf well, you have to make sure you are aware of the other people in the water for their safety (you don’t want them to get hit by your board) and you also have to make this safety a priority over you surfing a perfect wave. On days when there are a lot of people in the water, you also have to be fair and take turns, telling everyone get a fair chance at surfing.

4. Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities

The fact that I will do it every week during the whole year shows that I am committed to the activity. I am willing to be in the water with rain and hail in the middle of January in order to achieve my goals.

5. Engaged with issues of global importance

Surfers are very aware of their environment simply because they depend on it every time they go surfing. Beaches and oceans are constantly being polluted with waste. By entering the surfing community, I will become more aware of the ocean and like all the other surfers, grow to respect nature.

6. Developed new skills

I will learn how to surf better: stand up faster, learn to judge waves, learn how to turn to one side once I’m on the board, surf waves that haven’t broken yet…

JUNE:

AUGUST:

I am not at home this month because I am away on summer vacation in Southampton, New York. However, I am still in a place where there is a strong culture of surfing. I have come here every summer and have observed this but I have not actually practiced this sport as often here. I investigated what points on the island (Long Island) were the best for surfing because the beaches I go to with my family don't have appropriate waves. I found a place referred to in the shores as "Road D" which is the optimal spot and asked a neighbour, who is also a surf instructor, to see if he could give me a ride and lend me a wetsuit and surfboard and he agreed. It was an incredible experience to carry out my favorite sport in another place with a local, and to collaborate with him in getting the truck loaded with equipment, going to the place and any help he needed. It was also the first time I was more on my own in the water because this friend was teaching private classes all day. This was a great opportunity for me to develop my skills more independently, which was a new challenge for me and definetly exciting as I was working in a different way (more on my own). It was also a challenge to surf different types of waves on a different beach because it was an unfamiliar setting and environment. When surfing, one needs to be very aware of current, the seabed (where rocks are) and where waves tend to peak and being in another place required me to my observation skills into practice. Here are some videos of me surfing in Southampton:

Another thing that happened when I was surfing on Long Island was not related too much to the actual sport, but because I was doing this CAS activity was the reason I became more aware of issues of global importance. When we got to the beach where I was going to surf, there was a bird in the sand which seemed to be injured. I worked with others on the beach to see what was wrong with it and called the animal rescue police to come and help the bird. It had had an injured foot because it had got tangled in plastic and made me experience first-hand the consequences of pollution. It is unfortunate that the wilderness suffers from human irresponsibility and motivates me to become more involved in this issue.

Me at a beach in Southampton (this is the opposite side of the island from where you surf since, as observable, there are not good enough waves to carry out this sport).

SEPTEMBER:

This month was about getting back into the routine of going to surf every Sunday. The weather played a big part in my surfing experience this month as it was consistently sunny (the earth probably trying to make up for the rainy June she gave us). Anyway, the waves we very small, what people here call "summer waves." Getting to the beach each day was a struggle because of all the traffic and somewhat frustrating because once there, such small waves made me think that there was nothing to do. However, something I have learned with this sport is that it is really important to stay positive because if not, then there really isn't anything to do. Our lessons were different from usual because of the circumstances but we were given big foam boards which are what are needed when the waves are hardly strong. Because of all the people on the beach and in the water, precautions had to be taken to avoid accidents, making me more aware of my surroundings. Despite these obstacles however, I learned that any circumstance, if found how to make the best of the situation can be very rewarding as this month I focused on perfecting technique qhich the small waves facilitates because I was not concerned with the isues involved with surfing bigger waves. I often ignore improving technique so meticulously because in other seasons it is hard to do but this month I became aware of this area of growth for me.

Waiting for a series of waves

After a light surf lessons with small waves and big boards (I am the one with the blue surfboard).

OCTOBER:
This month has been extremely rewarding for me because Naroa, the overall coordinator of these surf courses, met with all the other monitors and they determined fixed groups for the next few months and I am really happy to have been put into the more advanced group. I am aware that I am probably the weakest in this group but I am eager to take on the challenge, and learn from those who are better then me. I do have to support of my monitor, Niko, whoc believes that I am capable of this and that is conforting. I like being in a situation like this because it pushes me to reach my highest potential and makes me expect a lot from myself. Another exciting this this month was that I have started using a smaller surfboard. From having started out constantly using foam boards, decreasing the size of these, then using a 7'2'' fiberglass board and now a 6'8''. I also had the chance to use a 6'4'' in Plentzia once when the conditions were perfect for it but it was very difficult because the smaller the board, the less stability and you need more control. However, I do see this board size and not appropriate now, but something to work towards, and seeing progress is motivating.

NOVEMBER:
I would summarize this entire month with two words: "BIG WAVES." It has definetly been a challenge to keep up with this activity this month because it has truly become extremely challenging in the physical aspect. When walking down to look at the water, all I could see was foam on the shore line, and yes, there were waves worthy of being surfed, but past this foam. To get there, I learned about using the forces of nature of the ocean, which would n some cases be troublesome, to my benefit. For example, currents are known to be one of the most dangerous things when dealing with the ocean but, if you have enough knowledge to use them correctly, they can be extremely helpful. In these circumstances, with guidance from the teacher, we purposely got caught in this current to get past the foam easily through a canal that it creates. We always had the help from our teacher to do this however to make sure it was safe. Once we were in "Sope Atras" which is what we call the area where ther are good waves in sopelana but are more towards the back, I found the waves to be bigger that I am used to. This didn't make me unconfortable, but it definetly make me be more alert. This is because when you are dealing with bigger waves, it is important to judge them, as them breaking one meter closer or further to you, makes all the difference from it tumbling you, not being enough to ride, or just perfect. Our teacher is again, a lot of help when it comes to this as he knows waves very well. This month, I have realized that what I have done in the past with this activity has gotten me to where I am know (with a better board, more capable of taking on physical challenges, better technique and in general, being more confortable and confident in the water) but that there is still an area of growth I would like to work on, which is that of observation to both learn to use the forces of nature such as curents to my advantage as well as to be able to judge the breaking point of the bigger waves which, if surfed well, are the most exciting for me but if not, can be dangerous.

DECEMBER:
This month I have learned something very important about this CAS activity of action and this is that it does not simply entail surfing waves. The Peñatxuri surf school has a very strong community spirit which makes the activity very enjoyable as well as purposeful. Apart from surfing, in order to promote this sense of the surf school being like a big familiy, Naroa, one of the two owners of the school orgnized a secret santa for anyone who wanted to participate. I decided to take part in this activity because I felt like a big part of this sport involves working collaboratively with others and an activity such as this one can help get closer to others. When I got there with my present, we had to put it near a tree that was in front of the school and then each person went looking for theirs. I got to meet younger and older surfers with so many different skill levels and was helpful to expand my social group around this sport. Also, I also learned about an awareness for social responsibility this school has since they were also collecting second hand clothes people were donating to take to people in the sahara on a surfing trip to Morocco. This made me implicated with issues of global importance as I helped out with collecting these clothes at this meeting, which took place on the 26th of December, also showing me the dedication, commitment and passion to work together in a surf environment to achieve great things, which inspires me to do the same.

The 26th of December. Sopelana beach. After secret santa and second-hand-clothes collection activities.

JANUARY:
This month there have been very bad conditions so between the winter holidays and cancelled classes because of the weather, I haven't been able to spend much time in the water. Even though it was annoying to have so many classes cancelled, I learned that, despite being committed to the activity and always wanting to give it my all, there are limits to respect when it come to security. the bad weather conditions, with strong winds and storms, caused the waves to be extremely big and besides that, created very strong currents on the sea-bed, an important safety hazard to take into account. I wanted to make up for this lost time however and thought that, because CAS pushes me to take part in activities which involve not only Action which is what I develop with surf but also service and creativity, why no let my creative side into this activity when I can't be in the water. I decided to let my creative side take over and wanted to create a surfboard design. I looked at many images for inspiration and then designed the possible surfboard below. I also decided to include a quote in basque ("Ezina Ekinez Egina") meaning something like "The impossible is achieved by persistence" which is one of the lessons I have learned over time with this CAS activity as I am at a level now I thought to be impossible when I started.

FEBRUARY:

Packing up after surfing in Laredo

The conditions were especially difficult on the Basque coast but instead of having to cancel our classes, we had the opportunity to surf at different locations. The surf school took us to Cantabria every week to surf by van, which is the province to the west of Bizkaia and some of the beaches were more sheltered which minimized the effect of the strong winds on the shore. However, these trips took a long time and this CAS activity which normally takes up about 3 hours of my day (2 hours of class and 1 hour commuting and changing) now took about 5, because the trips from Sopelana to the different places in Cantabria took about 45 minutes each way. I am commited to this sport however because I really want to improve and perfect my skills and therefore I went every week (except one which I was busy doing another Action activity for CAS, the ski trip with my class, which was also physically challenging). Apart from continuing to develop my agility with surf, this month has also served me to gain knowledge about Cantabria. Before, even though I live relatively close to this place, I had never been to the beaches there, hadn't even considered them as surfing locations and didn't know the names of any of them. Now, because of surfing, I know the beaches of Mioño, Oriñon and Laredo (La Salvé) and can place them on a map. 
These trips we took to Cantabria were very usefull for me to develop new skills because the wave formation was slightly different than that we are used to in the Basque Country. The waves were still big, but they seemed to have longer wavefronts. This made it easier to stay standing up for a longer time on the wave instead of falling soon after it hits you. This different environment allowed me to practice putting my weight forward and practicing slight turns on the wave, or as I like to call it, drawing on the wave, since that is geniunely what it feels like I am doing, as was the next skill on my list to master.