An ad posted on Gumtree became the perfect welcome mat for a lonely expat returning to Australia during the pandemic
I learned to surf in California, and continued to develop after moving to Hawaii. By the time I left, moving back to Sydney during Covid, I could still pull off a sweet wave, even where the big boys surfed. At least on a good day. Surfing makes me feel powerful, connected and happy.
Starting life again in Australia – a place so familiar, yet so foreign – was really hard. I found myself a boyfriend who gave me a sweet longboard for my birthday, but then we broke up. I was a mess: lonely, lost, stressed and sad. I tried to enrol friends who surfed to come out with me, but everyone was too busy with their robust lives of children and work. I tried to make friends on the beach, but surfers can be surprisingly solemn. I tried going alone and I found it too intimidating.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3vwqHAP
via
0 Comments