Author: Daphne Psaledakis

Yes, I’m Gullible

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This past weekend I couldn’t get a hold of my dad. I called him a ton, trying to find him so he could ship me a tent for our class camping trip this weekend. He finally called me back on Sunday, but couldn’t talk for long, as he was hiking up a mountain.

Naturally, I assumed he was hiking up a mountain at home in Aspen.

On Sunday night, I got a text from him telling me not to eat dinner, because his girlfriend’s daughter might swing by at school to visit me on her way to Santa Barbara. I love Sarah, so I was really excited. He texted me again letting me know that they were in Calabasas, and then Sarah sent a friend of mine to tell me when she was in the girls’ dorm lounge.

Only when I walked into the lounge, it was my dad and his girlfriend waiting for me, not Sarah and her boyfriend.

I was so surprised. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even know he had been in Santa Monica visiting his girlfriend.

A couple of the teachers had been in on his surprise, so he was able to take me off campus for dinner. We went to this really nice restaurant called Suzanne’s, which was absolutely delicious.

It was so nice to see him. I’ve been at school for about a month, and it’s about this time that everyone realizes how long the stretch before the first break is. It was perfect timing, the food was delicious, and it was so nice to see my dad.

And yes, I am very gullible, as my friends pointed out afterwards.

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Cape Point

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I was in South Africa for five weeks, and every time I called my dad he would ask if I had been to Cape Point yet. I would tell him no, not yet, but that it was on our list of things to do. I couldn’t understand why he thought it was so important for me to go.

Finally, the day before I was supposed to leave, we found the time to drive out to Cape Point. We left the kids behind, and I went with the person who I was staying with. On the drive out we ate chocolate and listened to music, and stopped to take lots of pictures of the different coastal views.

When we got to the national park, we ran into some baboons who didn’t seem to know that sitting in the middle of the road was not a good idea.

Finally we got past the baboons, after taking pictures of course, and continued on our way to Cape Point. When we got to the parking lot, we got out of the car and began to hike up to Cape Point, which let me tell you, is not an easy walk.

First of all, it’s uphill. And then there are the stairs, which seem to never end. But once you get to the top, boy is it worth it.

There’s a view every direction you look, and a huge boulder with what must be thousands of different names from all around the world inscribed on it. The drop from where you stand down to the water makes your stomach drop just looking at it, but even from far away, you can see the transparency of the water.

Standing on the tip of Africa takes your breath away. It’s amazingly beautiful, and hearing the history of the sailors who would come around the Cape of Good Hope to finally see Cape Point, and know that they are finally there was amazing.

It’s an amazing place filled with history and beauty. After going, I finally understood why my dad had been so insistent that I must go see Cape Point. It’s hard to explain how powerful it is. But if you’re ever in Africa, you have to go.

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Portrait of a Bear

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It seemed as though the bears had multiplied over the winter. The summer before had been filled with distress calls to wildlife control, news reports of bears all over the county, and the not so rare sighting. This year, however, officials reported a record number of calls for help, my own grandmother accounting for many of them, because a bear had broken into someone’s house and they had been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the refrigerator being raided for a midnight snack. Bears were no longer afraid to meander into town and did so at their leisure. I remember working at the bakery one day and a customer came running in, shouting that a baby bear was stuck in a tree a couple blocks over. It made the headlines the next day.

My friends told their stories of running into a bear, whether it be hiking in the middle of the day or walking home at night. I would refuse to walk the short distance from work to my house after getting let out at midnight. I would beg friends for rides if my dad had already fallen asleep, but even so, I often ended up walking. I did my best to avoid any situation where I would run into a bear, but I wasn’t completely successful.

I had been babysitting a boy who lived up the road from me. Because it was such a short distance from my house to theirs, the dad walked me home instead of driving. We were walking, talking about his kid, when we passed under a tree. The night before us was made pitch black from the shadow of the moon, and we heard a twig snap. Immediately our attention was drawn upwards from focusing on the road in front of us. Not even five feet away I could barely see the silhouette of a bear. He was huge, bigger than I expected. I am certain he was taller than me, even when standing on all fours. He didn’t even look at us.

Surprised out of our minds the dad and I jumped to the other side of the road. As soon as we were out from under the shadow of the tree we could no longer see him. He had the perfect camouflage. We continued the short way to my house, where I practically ran inside.

What struck me was that had it not been for that twig, an insignificant object we pass by on a daily basis without second thought, we would never have seen the bear. We would have walked right into him. Even though we were scared out of our minds, and stood on the other side of the road scarcely daring to breathe, the bear never even looked at us. We were as insignificant to him as a rabbit.

After that, I would absolutely refuse to walk home. If my friends hadn’t driven, I would call my house repeatedly until my dad woke up and drove the seven blocks to come get me. Seeing the bear, taller than me even when he wasn’t standing up, absolutely undetectable had it not been for that one twig, made me realize just how powerful those animals are. It is a beautiful sort of power though. Being so dark one can blend into the night, so silent that one can go unnoticed until someone has walked into you, and so huge that even the bravest person would follow their instinct of flight. To me there is nothing more majestic.

Dawn Patrol

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Today, for the first time, I decided to join Dawn Patrol. Dawn Patrol is a small group of students at my school who head to the beach at 6:15 on Sunday morning to learn how to surf.

Now, I’ve been telling myself for years that I wanted to learn how to surf. It’s always been something that fascinates me. I love movies about surfing, and I think it’s an amazing skill to have.

I’ve actually been surfing twice – once with a family friend when we lived in San Francisco, and then once when we were in Cabo. But those times I never did more that ride the whitewater to the shore. Today, I went past the point where the waves were breaking, which was a brand new experience for me.

It didn’t exactly go as planned.

As it turns out, when you’re about to be hit by a wave and you’re my size (about 5’2″), the wave looks a heck of a lot bigger. It’s also a lot easier to be tossed around. I had a really hard time getting past the point where the waves were breaking, but once I did, it was amazing.

I didn’t ride very many waves. But the amazing part of the trip for me was sitting on my surfboard in the ocean, feeling the swells come up and down underneath me, and watching the sunrise and the fog clear away. It was an incredible feeling.

I did only catch two waves, once after I got out, and then again when I was ready to go back in. I didn’t stand up, in fact I did the exact opposite and got tossed around quite a bit. On my last wave, the board hit me in the face while I was underwater, which wasn’t very pleasant.

Overall though, the trip was worth it. I may not have made huge progress, but at least I got out there and started to get a feel for it. And watching the sun rise was perfect.

I definitely plan on going again. Maybe after I catch up on my sleep though.

A Little Change in Scenery

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This summer, I was lucky enough to go to South Africa for five weeks. Because I was there for so long, I feel like I can’t just write about it in one blog post. So I’ll write about one part of it now, and another part later, and eventually you guys will get the whole story.

That’s the idea at least.

A couple months before school ended, my dad and I scrambled to pull together this trip for me. I wanted to go visit my old babysitter, who I hadn’t seen in about ten years.

Only thing is, she lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Somehow we pulled it off, and I found myself on an 18-hour plane ride a couple days after school let out for the summer.

My dad warned me before I left that it would be winter there, and that it would be cold. I basically told him he was being silly. I mean it’s Africa right? No way it could be cold.

Wrong.

It was freezing. I optimistically brought my shorts and sandals with me (along with jeans and boots, thankfully), and I definitely could have saved myself the extra weight. I never even put them on.

I lived in jeans, boots, sweatshirts, and down vests. It was freezing, and made even worse by the fact that there was no central heating. The only way to escape the cold was to take a nice long bath. Nevertheless, we still got out and explored.

The scenery in Cape Town is stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it. You look one direction and see mountains, and you look the other way and see nothing but blue ocean.

The mountains aren’t the same as they are here – there are less trees and more rocks and flowers. The views it allows of the city are breathtaking. Every direction you look there is something new to see, something beautiful and different from anything you could find in the states.

It’s absolutely amazing to see.

Cape Town

Summertime

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We’re in our last week before finals, and everyone has begun reviewing. Teachers spend class time wrapping up lessons and going back to previous chapters, and students are way past the point of slacking off.

In nine days, the seniors will graduate, and the rest of the student body will begin their summer vacation. In 14 days, I will be boarding a plane and heading off to South Africa.

When I was little, we lived in London, and had a babysitter named Ali. Ali was from South Africa, had fiery red hair, and was as much a part of out family as my little brothers. When we moved back to the states, we would visit her on occasion. It’s been years since we last saw each other though.

This summer, my dad has set up a trip for me to go visit her for a month. I’ll get to meet her kids, who I have heard so much about, and see Cape Town. I am so excited, and can not wait.

Summertime can’t come soon enough.

It’s a Whole New Year

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Most people measure their years beginning and ending at New Year’s Eve. But when you’re in school, Summer marks the beginning of a new year. You have three months off, to relax, sleep, recuperate from the endless studies and homework. Then in the fall, you go back to school and you start a new year.

Some people never want the year to end. They want to stay near their friends, and they don’t want things to change.

For me, it’s different.

At the beginning of every year I’m excited for what it will bring. For the new friends I will make, and the new things that I’ll learn. But a couple months in, I start getting tired. Tired of school, and of a lot of the people at school.

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Grey’s Anatomy

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Grey’s Anatomy – my favorite tv show. Honestly I can’t believe that I haven’t written a blog about it yet. But anyways, when I was little I remember my parents watching it, and at the beginning of this year my friend kept pushing for me to give it a try. I did so, reluctantly. Now I’m addicted.

The show just finished it’s 10th season, which is to me is pretty impressive. I started at the beginning of the show and spent weeks trying to catch up. I finally did, and yesterday I watched the season 10 finale with my friend.

It was amazing.

The characters on Grey’s Anatomy are really easy to identify with. Yes, they’re doctors. But in the show they’re also real people. They don’t have superpowers or anything like that. That’s part of the reason I like the show so much.

The other reason is that it’s really intense. You never know what’s going to happen next, or what the outcome is going to be. It keeps you guessing, which personally, is something that I love.

At first, the blood and procedures on the show kinda grossed me out. Now, I’m absolutely used to them. They make the medicine easier to understand, even though the relationships aren’t.

I love this show. It’s definitely at the top of my list. So for anyone who’s looking for something to do, or a new show to watch, I recommend Grey’s Anatomy. It’ll take you a little while to catch-up, but it’s worth it. Trust me.

Fracking

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Recently in Chemistry, we’ve been focusing on the benefits and detriments of Hydraulic Fracturing. We started out the unit by watching the documentary by Josh Fox called “Gasland,” and finished the unit today with a debate.

The documentary, surprisingly, was actually very interesting. It follows Fox as he tours the country investigating the pros and cons of fracking, after receiving a notice from an oil company requesting the use of his land for fracking.

Fox speaks to numerous people. Some have been forced to sign non-dislosure agreements by gas companies. Others tell stories of how their tap water is so contaminated by chemicals, that it is able to be lit on fire.

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Too Far Away

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One of the downsides of going to a boarding school so far from home is that sometimes you feel that you’ve been left out of the family. Sometimes when I’m talking to my dad or brothers on the phone they talk about things they’ve done, and I get to feeling a little bit left out.

I realize that it comes with living away from home. I would not trade my amazing life here at OVS for going to the punchbowl or Smash Burger back home. But hearing about it does make me miss it.

Another thing I miss is making decisions with the family. Over the past four years we have moved three times, and all three times I have not been able to choose my room, or the furniture that goes into it. The result? Home doesn’t feel like home.

I know that I am far away, and that I have another life here at school. And it’s a life that I love and would not trade. But I do miss home. I miss being able to relax all the time. I miss designing my own room and being excited about where we are moving. I miss my family. I miss my dogs. I miss not being there to watch my little brothers grow up. And sometimes it all makes me feel like I am too far away.

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