- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
I chose my quote of the week – an inspirational one to parallel my recent ambition-crazed attitude and appropriate because I WENT SKYDIVING TODAY! What better place than beautiful South Africa to cross off this feat on my bucket list.
Audra (from Belgium), Becca (from Scotland) and I put on our courage hats and traversed about 40 minutes outside of the city to hop on the tiniest plane I’ve ever seen in my life and take the plunge of a lifetime. We were harnessed up and strapped to our guys, who each had a video camera, the “Handy Cam,” with which they captured our entire skydiving experience. Becca was adamant about being the first one to jump, so she was placed next to the door, which was really just a glorified sliding window. I knew we were jumping out once we’d reached an altitude of 9,000 feet, about a twenty minute plane ride. When it looked as if we couldn’t possibly go any higher and the landscape below reminded me of the view outside a regular commercial airplane, I turned to my guy, named Blake, and asked him if this was the height we were jumping at. He chuckled and showed me the altimeter watch he was wearing that showed us at a mere 2,000 feet. Needless to say, my jaw dropped to the floor.
I hadn’t gotten very nervous since my excitement was overpowering, but when the door opened and Becca’s guy positioned them on the edge, it hit me hard about the insane thing I was about to do! In less a second, Becca was whipped out of the plane and completely disappeared – and I screamed. I was next! I was sitting on Blake’s lap and he scooted over to the edge of the plane until our legs were dangling, instructing me to hold onto my harness and put my head back on his shoulder. He leaned us forward and before I had time to think, I was literally free-falling in the air 9,000 feet above ground. We free-fell for a good 40 seconds, but I only felt an initial stomach-dropping “falling” sensation for maybe a second after leaving the plane. He tapped my shoulder to let me know I could lengthen my arms, and at that moment I felt like I was flying. There was the most massive wind in my face, but other than that I didn’t even feel like I was dropping. Since we were so far from the ground, it felt as if I was just suspended in midair, with absolutely nothing between my body and the earth below. To say it was thrilling is an understatement.
I felt quite a kick in the pants as the parachute was released and I was jolted in a sitting position. This was when we got to float along in the air, doing spins that made my stomach turn like no other roller coaster I’ve ever been on. I couldn’t wrap my head around how high up in the sky we were. Looking down at my dangling feet and seeing the landscape underneath me felt beyond fake. I even got to hold onto the parachute and guide us through the air. The entire event was the most mind-boggling experience I’ve ever had and it can’t be described in words. I highly recommend it to anyone who isn’t afraid of heights! (Or, if you’re feeling really brave, even those who want to tackle the fear!)
I had quite an amusing time watching the DVD video of the dive back home with the roommates – it’s really creative and well-done. The raw expressions on my face are priceless and it’s hilarious to see me mouth “OH MY GOD” over and over on film. My hair elastic had been whipped out during the drop, so the footage post-landing looks like I had just left a hair salon, obviously. I can’t wait to show the video to friends and family back home!
Tomorrow marks my last full week of volunteering at the Red Cross. Time has certainly flown by. I’ve still got a solid three weeks ahead of me with many planned outings, so my friends and I aren’t discussing the “end” yet. How many people can say they’ve gone skydiving and watched brain surgery in the same week?
Once I screenshot some pictures from my video, I’ll post skydiving photos as soon as possible!
You can fly, you can fly, you can fly…
xo Em
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