I remember the first day I came here, over a week ago. I was a novice to surfing and could barely stay on my board. Now I feel at home in the waves that would have once terrified me. A week ago, I wouldn’t even be able to imagine surfing these waves. But as I approach the next wave my mind flashes back to the day I landed in paradise...

As I stepped out the cool, air conditioned airport, I was hit by the humid, dry heat of the tropics mixed in with the smells of sand, coconuts, and fish. I looked around and I could see the bright city lights of Kahului to the west and hear the waves crashing in to the miles of beach to the north. I was finally here, Maui, Hawaii, the surfing capital of the world.
I stepped off the curb and halted a taxi. A white and red cab screeched to a halt less than foot in front of me. The short chubby driver stumbled out and walked to me, eager to get a fare. He helped me with the bags and we got into the taxi.
“Aloha, Where to?” the driver asked.
“Marriott” I responded while I checked my texts.
“Takes about 20 minutes ” the chubby man responded and started the car.
The cab slid out from the stand and soon we were in the city. I looked out the windows. Maui was filled with all kinds of culture. As we took the exit ramp off the highway, the strong smell of fresh seafood and other delicacies unknown to me hit my nose. And then they came into view, dozens of vendors lined the streets selling everything from pineapples to fish. Hundreds of people milled around relaxing with friends in the cool evening breeze. Soon the last of the street markets disappeared and were replaced with miles of countryside.
The next hour was a blur. I remember arriving at the hotel, and paying off the stubborn driver, who insisted that I pay him a 20% tip which he finally got out of me when he refused to give us our bags. . The bell boy took my bags up to the room and I remember hitting the bed. The next morning I woke up at 7, took a shower, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. I met a couple other tourists there and I took a seat with a kid about my age and his little sister. Other than the “hello” and the occasional “Can you pass the ...” we were almost silent.
An hour later, I was on the beach. I saw dozens of surfers out on the ocean riding it out before they had to go to work. I checked my watch. It was already 8:30. My trainer, Benny, should have been here 20 minutes ago. I looked around and decided to go in. I mean, how hard could it be? Paddle, stand, and ride right? The surfers made it look so easy. I paddled, or tried to, and flipped over three times before I was finally able to make it away from the coast. I kept paddling for what seemed like an hour, although it turned out to be less than two minutes, until I saw a wave approaching from the horizon. I gulped down the salty pacific air and stood up. “Here goes nothing” I thought. The instant I hit the wave, I realized how much I was wrong. One profane thought ran through my mind. I went up the wave and felt the board slipping out from under me. That was the last time I would see that board. One second later, I was standing on water. I went under. I still remember that moment. I thrashed around for what felt like an hour. I kept thinking “Please, I don’t want to die. Not today.” I felt someone’s hand on my shoulders and I blacked out.
When I woke up, I was on the beach surrounded by people. I sat up and almost fell back again. “Steady kid”, I heard someone say. I turned around and saw Benny. As I stood up, the crowd dispersed shaking their heads and muttering “These damn tourists.”
“Never ever try that again”, Benny said, “I’m serious, you could have died. If I hadn’t seen you go down we would have never found you.”
“Yeah I know, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” I responded.
“It better not. Now let’s get started, you are here for five days. Today we are going to start with the basics, paddling and catching a wave.”
“Alright, lets go”, I said as we headed to the surf shop to get a new board.

For the next few hours, Benny taught me how to properly paddle. Apparently I was worse than I thought. There was all these techniques on hand shape, arm movement, etc. I considered giving up and retreating to the comforts of my hotel but then I glanced at the sea and as I watched the surfers on the waves I knew I couldn’t give up.
A little before noon, I finally made a breakthrough and not only was I able to stay on my board I was able to paddle over a 100 feet!
“Good job Jason. Nice work. You’re learning fast”, Benny complimented, “I’m hungry, lets go eat lunch.”
Lunch turned out to be fish and chips, an American classic. I met some of Benny’s friends and learned a little about Hawaiian history. After lunch, Benny gave me a lifejacket.
“What’s this for?” I asked.
“It’s time to ride”, he responded.

We headed back to the coast and looked out. “You ready?”, he asked.

“I hope so.”

Turns out I wasn’t ready. I spent the rest of the day trying to ride a wave. To put things simply, I failed. The sky turned dark and we decided to call it quits for the day. We returned our boards and went to Duke’s for dinner. As we ate we talked about our personal lives and interests. I learned that his parents had died in a hurricane when he was two and that he turned to surfing as a way to release his stress. I finished my food and decided to go back to the hotel. As I stepped out the door, I heard Benny behind me.

“Good work kid. Don’t give up, you’ll get it in no time.”

I left the beach smiling. I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and hit the warm, cozy bed. The next morning, I was up and ready to go. I took a cab down to the beach and waited for Benny. I saw him walking down the boardwalk and waved to him. He jogged down towards me.

“Well, aren’t you early today”, he said as he fumbled with the strap on his board.

“Yup, can’t wait to start.”

We hit the waves. They hit me back. I kept trying the whole morning. We took a short lunch break then went back to the beach. We tried again, but every time I paddled out and caught a wave, I fell of my board. It was night time again and I still hadn’t made any progress. I went back to the hotel, this time without a smile on my face, and sat on the balcony, looking at the waves, thinking “Will I ever be able to ride those?”

The next day, I arrived at the beach early and was glad to see Benny there. We practiced all morning. Around eleven, I had a stroke of luck and managed to catch a wave and ride it. I was elated. But it turned out to be just luck. The rest of the day, I fell off my board sixty-eight times. I went to the hotel depressed and ready to quit. Nonetheless I was on the beach 7 AM sharp the next morning. We headed out again and I failed miserable for the first three hours. But at ten, I caught a wave. A few minutes later, I caught another wave. And another and another. By noon I was hitting every wave I got.

I looked onto the horizon and saw an eight-footer heading towards me. I paddled forward and eased myself up. As the wave rolled out under me, I pulled up and suddenly I was inside the wave. It was one of the best moments of my life. As I pulled out, I saw Benny cheering from the coast

“Good job Jason, I knew you could do it. Can’t wait to--” Benny stopped mid sentence, bug eyed. I looked over my shoulder to see what he was staring at. Heading towards me from the horizon was a cruncher, one of the most ferocious waves. I looked back to the shore and knew I’d get pulled under before I made it back. There was only one thing left to do. I turned around and paddled toward the wave. 50 feet...30 feet... 5 feet... I eased up and tilted right. The wave rolled out under me and I knew this was life or death. “Oh boy,” I heard myself saying, “this is it”.