First 2 weeks in the fire academy

I AM DEAD TIRED !

Yes I haven't found a minute to update this blog. Since I started the academy, it's been crazy.
I have long long days there and when I come back home, I barely can stand up or keep my eyes open.
The academy has been a real challenge and I can tell that this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
Physically, I am exhausted, sore and bruised everywhere and mentally, I am totally drained. But 2 weeks have passed and I hope that I will get used to it and become stronger. We just don't stop running, pulling, pushing, lifting, crawling, jumping... I have never done whole 12 hour days of exercise before (5 days a week) but it is definitely going to get me in shape. However for the moment it is leaving me like a soft noodle when I get home, and I still feel out of shape. No time to do anything. I barely have time to shower, clean my uniform for the next day, eat and try to keep up with the homework, and that is usually during the homework part that I fall asleep from exhaustion.

However during the past 2 weeks we already learned how to break cars (to break them a certain way so that we can save trapped victims after a car crash). And also self rescue ourselves from small space entrapment (I didn't like that one, it was all dark and small and we could breath so well and it was in a long maze that was going left and right and up and down). And many other things that are on purpose to challenge us and see if we can take it.
I hope I can make it to the end, 8 more weeks...
Remember, I already went through a fire academy last year but this time it is harder and it is because the Fire department has to teach us their way of doing things.

Je suis morte de fatigue!
Oui je n'ai pas vraiment trouve le temps de mettre a jour mon blog depuis que j'ai commence la formation de pompier. Mes journees sont longues et quand je rentre a la maison je n'ai plus la force de tenir debout ou bien de garder les yeux ouverts.
La formation est un vrai challenge pour moi et je peux dire aujourd'hui que c'est l'etape la plus difficile que j'ai eu de toute ma vie.
Physiquement et moralement, je suis completement videe. Mais seulement 2 semaines sont passees et j'espere bien devenir plus forte d'ici la fin. On n'arrete pas de courir, pousser, tirer, soulever, grimper, sauter... Je n'avais jamais vraiment fait 12 heures d'exercice a la suite comme ca (5 jours par semaine) mais je vais etre bien forte a la fin (si je tiens le coup). Mais en attendant tous les soirs quand je rentre, je suis completement HS. J'ai le temps de rien faire. J'ai juste le temps de me doucher, laver mon uniforme pour le lendemain, manger, faire mes devoirs et c'est a ce moment la que je m'endors sur mes cahiers.

Cependant, en 2 semaines on a deja appris a casser les voitures (les casser comme il faut pour pouvoir sauver les victimes qui sont coincees apres un accident de voiture), et aussi a me sauver moi meme si jamais j'etais coincee dans un immeuble ou une maison pendant un feu (j'ai pas trop aime ca car ils nous ont mis dans un espece de long tunnel qui tourne et qui monte et qui descend, on se retrouve avec la tete en bas des fois et avec des cables et des barres de fer partout et il faisait tout noir, et ca faisait peur... parce que des fois on reste coince dans le noir et on ne peux respirer que pendant 30 minutes avec la bouteille sur le dos qui pese 25 kilos), et puis plein d'autres trucs avec les tuyaux et les echelles et les feux de voitures etc... etc...
J'espere que je vais pouvoir finir, plus que 8 semaines...
N'oublions pas que l'an dernier j'avais deja fait toute une formation de pompier, mais cette fois ci le departement de pompier pour lequel je vais travailler, nous apprend leur facon de faire. (la plupart du temps c'est tout pareil mais il fait tout refaire quand meme)

Surfing... Boogey Boarding... keeping the bikini on...

I expressed my desire to try surfing while in Hawaii, but while I was there I chickened out because the waves were too big for me (since it was going to be my very first time). So I thought I could maybe try boogey board instead (that small little board you just lie on your stomach on and slide in the waves. It is closer to the beach and maybe safer (Well at least I think there might be less chance of drowning).

So I am on a beautiful beach of the north shore of Oahu and the waves are starting to look pretty cool. Even the lifeguards are already talking with the speaker, telling people that kids should not be in the water and only good swimmers should be in. (I believe I am a good swimmer, after all I train for triathlon and swim in open water very often (in the rare lakes of Arizona)). Ok I am not so used to those waves but I am not scared at all. I take my small board, make sure it is attached to my arm and start walking towards the ocean. I turn my head to look at Chris who stayed behind on the beach towel and he looks worried but also has the look on his face that says "I better pay attention to what this girl is gonna be doing, I better play the personal lifeguard here". But I just shake my hand, waving at him, and he waves back with a worried smile.
The waves are cool! I am gonna have so much fun!
I step in the water and go forward, there is already a big big wave coming at me, maybe I can jump over it and I will be in the deeper water. I put my board against my stomach and jump over the wave, but I think I miscalculated the size of this first wave. I suddenly find myself tumbling under the water, I lost the board (I hope it stays attached to my arm). I keep holding my breath under the water; I don't know where the bottom and the top is anymore. I feel my head hitting the bottom and the sand, still holding my breath.
How much longer is this freaking wave going to keep me tumbling?
I don't know how much longer I could keep holding my breath like that but there is no way I breath now.
I start feeling my bikini pulling down, h my gosh I just hope it is still on when the wave is over.
10 seconds later I am lying on the sand with more waves coming at me telling me "take that! and That! Did you think you could master the big Hawaiian waves girlfriend?"
I am on my ass, legs up, the top of my bikini is half off, covering only one boob and offering the other one live and high definition to everyone watching me on the beach. The bottom is pulled down a little bit and is showing the beginning of my butt "a la plumber".
Now I am wondering if I should hide my boob or hide my ass first. Shit it doesn't matter Cecile, just do something to stop embarrassing yourself. But all I can do is cough the extra water I have in my lungs, and the waves keep going back and forth to keep trying to steal my bathing suit.
The Pacific Ocean is a thief!
After a minute of coughing, I finally put myself together, take my board, and look back toward Chris back there on the dry sand. He has the largest smile ever, and does not look worried at all. He then makes a sign calling me to come back to the towels. I turn towards the wannabe thief again and shake my head "You will not have my bikini today, I bought it in France last time I went at "Etam" and I keep it my dear."
So I turn around like a beat up dog and go back to my towel.
On my way there, a guy says "wow that wave really got you, you were under there for a very long time!"
So I said "Yeah!? Jealous?"
Pff... all I wanted was a little glide on a nice little wave but that damn ocean didn't want to share the fun with me today.
I will try again next year