You Learn Something New Every Weekend

Dear Anyone,

I've just returned from quite a nice weekend away at Centerparcs with my friends Shar and some of her friends - not my usual bunch, which is good because I guess I have to come out of my usual comfort zone every now and then (even though I don't actually rely on my friends like some people think). It was a nice weekend though, and Centerparcs is a good place to go to just chill and take time off. There wasn't as much available to do that wasn't sports-related, but we did go to the Swimming Paradise which was wicked. I haven't been swimming in years.... and I also *cough* can't really swim, but those are minor details. As long as I stayed in the areas that weren't higher than 1.30m I was fine. I'm not that tall you see. The slides were cool too, but there was one that scared me a bit, simply because of the way everyone else seemed to hit the water at the end. They forced me to go on it by chanting my name (which was embarassing!) and I guess it wasn't that bad. I also rode a bicycle for the first time in years, and I wasn't as bad as I thought I might be!! Bikes are the only way to get around if your villa isn't as close to the centre as others. The ache in my thighs was shocking though!

One thing I realised was that my group of friends are a bit different to Shar's group, in the way we operate when we go away. I guess we are quite nerdy in the fact that we want to document everything we do by constantly taking photos, but they didn't. I might have been the only one with a camera, so I didn't take many pictures at all.

Also, Shar and her best friend had a big arguement while we were there (and it began over a discussion on religion, can you believe it? One of the biggest no-go subjects) but it seemed like it stemmed from built up frustrations. Behaviours that both parties haven't spoken up about previously, until now when it exploded. It was a little bit uncomfortable, but luckily I wasn't the only other person in the room. The bad thing was that they shouted they way they did in front of everyone in the house, but the good thing is that after they had both stormed off, Shar returned a few minutes later to go and speak privately and sort it out among themselves. I think it can go two ways though - either they will get whatever it is off their chests and be best friends again, because they're so close, or they will realise that they are possibly growing apart as they get older, and therefore agree to disagree. It can happen, especially since they're only in their early twenties. It's happened to me already (and we were older than they are now, but that's another story for another time...maybe).

I find that anytime you go away with a group of people you learn something new about yourself or the way other people operate. I can't actually think of what I learnt about myself, that I didn't already living away at Uni and going away with my friends, but I think Shar and her mates came to some personal realisations, and I'm wondering if Centerparcs will be a case of 'same time next year.'