What happens when a 5 foot 7 lady jumps off a plane 15,000ft from the ground- Aileen goes Skydiving 2017

If you are in the loop of my recent social media posts (Wow, artistahin. Hahaha!), You might have already been aware that 5 days ago, something spectacular has happened. I. jumped. off. a. plane. Haha!! But let me introduce you to the person who forced *cough cough* encouraged me to do it. Aileen G***** T***. I have to blur out her name for security purposes. Haha! Kidding! 

AILEEN GRACE TAN

There you go. That's much better. All in capital letters so that everyone who gets the chance to read this would know and remember what you did. Haha! Aileen is one of my bestest friends in Uni back in the Philippines or college as we all know it there. We are a part of a group called"Boks" and if you wanna know why we're named that way, comment below. Haha!

One year ago, Ai hit me up on Facebook and told me that she plans to come and visit me!! I was so stoked on the idea that I can finally see one of my friends again and even more stoked on the fact that I can speak "Hiligaynon" (Our 'native' dialect) during the whole time that she's going to be here!! Fast forward to the 9th of June 2017. Aileen has arrived to the land of the long white cloud, Aotearoa!!!

And the first thing on her list, Skydiving. Can you believe it? She is one of the few people I know who gets excited in jumping off a cliff, riding roller coasters and getting flipped in the air or do whatever extreme it is that you can think of! And me on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Those butterflies in your stomach thing, that's so real to me. Haha!

On her 3rd day at Queenstown, which is her Skydiving activity day, Mr. New Zealand weather didn't cooperate. The rain was pouring, the roads were slippery, the snow was falling and winter was beginning to unfold. It (forgive my language dun dun dun) sucks when you're all so excited about something and then you don't actually get to do it and you have all these high expectations and voila! Nothing.

Look at her happy face? Why weather why?

Whoops not that... Tada!!!

Imagine her devastation (to be more dramatic) when she did't get the chance to jump after getting all geared up and writing #yolo plus smiley on her hand! (Wait, more smilies on the other hand!) 

*cue in dramatic music*

Aileen with Kiwi accent: "Gin, call thim and and ask if thiy can rischedule the dive to this afternoon. I rilly wanna do it."

***Me typing the number on my phone. (Talked talked talked) Turned around and faced Aileen and said: They might be able to do it at 2pm but it all depends on the weather. (Upside down smiley face)

Hours passed, we tried but the weather wasn't in our odds that day. So instead of jumping off a plane, that lady right there decided that she was going to go bungy jumping and so she did!!! 

#YOLO!!!! WOOT WOOT!

And you think she's going to give up what she actually came for? Nah-uh. This time she learned her lesson babeh! (Ew, so.. )

We were at Wellington airport waiting for our turn to board. There she was scrolling through her phone, checking Yahoo weather and Google maps. A few minutes later, she found out that Saturday is going to be sunny and when the sun is up... well, it's up. Haha!!

We revised our random but not so random itinerary and at 6:30am our friend Maricris was driving early in the morning beating the speed limits just so we can make it on time for Taupo!!! Aileen had to choose from 12,000ft or 15,000ft. and can you guess what she chose? You got it. 15,000ft babeh!! (Haha. This is so annoying).

So, what happens when a 5 foot 7 lady jumps off a plane 15,000ft from the ground?

Hands go up in the air! Face becomes distorted! and.. Pout happens? Haha! :D

Also...#Smile #Yolo #Bananashapebodaaay

(Skydiving 101: Legs behind you and pretend you're a banana! Not kidding.)

Man: Stay steady I need to take your photo!!!

Aileen: (Doesn't care) Shouts* Wohoooo!!!

Man: Yeaaa, that's better! Lemme do a selfie!!! Hahaha!!

I feel so giddy while typing this now. This just happened a few days ago and looking back at it now it was a really precious moment for me to see one of my best friends tick one thing off her bucket list!(and I'm gonna go all out and dramatic in the next few lines so prepare yourself)

You see, in certain phases of your life, you really need that one friend to push you, encourage you and make you feel like once in your life, just jump off that freakin' plane and live for a moment! Aileen was indeed right. I was going to thank her after she made me jump off that plane. So let me take this opportunity to say... 

"Yeah yeah yeah. Thank you girl!! Hahaha!"

I never felt home since she got here. Aileen is the type of person who is a real life princess but never made you feel like your a pauper when you're with her. She would eat kwekwek, isaw, lomi, batchoy, and any other street food with you. She is your not so typical princess, I tell you. You're one lucky guy if you're going to win this lady's heart! Please note that before you even dare, you must be able to do the following.

1. Wrap both of your legs with a towel, wear a harness and jump off a bridge!

2. Go inside a small plane and jump 15,000ft from the ground!

If you're able to do all that then comment below with your name and number and I'll let Aileen know! Hahaha!!!

Cheers to a really good adventure Ai!! You did it! Until next time!!

"Proverbs 27:17 An iron sharpens an iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

xoxo, Gennin

Skydiving at Taupo

It's been 2 days since I jumped off a plane 12,000 feet above the ground and it still feels so unreal to me! I'm not the type of person who does death defying stunts that often since first of all I am terrified of heights but since I lived in New Zealand, nothing became impossible anymore!! (Thank you Jesus. :)

On the 13th of June 2017, two of my friends were supposed to go Skydiving at Queenstown. I wanted to do it too but the whole package was so expensive that I decided not to give it a go. My friends went to Queenstown two days before I did and when I finally caught up with them, the weather was terrible. It was raining in the airport and the roads were wet and slippery. So, I immediately texted them to find out whether or not they're able to go Skydiving. I was praying that the weather would get better and it did but the company didn't want to risk it and decided not to go through with their Skydiving activity for that day! I felt bad since my friend went all the way from the Philippines to do just that! We ended up taking photos and binge eating and called it a night when we went to Onsen pools. (I will do a separate blog post about that).

On that same night, little did I know that my friend already booked another Skydiving activity and this time, in Taupo, and for 3 people!!!!!! 

My friend Aileen was telling me that she booked for 3 people and even showed me the proof of her booking. I didn't believe her since I was certain that I was only going to be a spectator that day. We woke up early and Maricris (who didn't sleep much the night before haha!) drove for 2-3 hours to Taupo and when we got there, this man handed me an iPad and asked me to put my details on there. I was like "No, thank you. I'm not going to jump today". Aileen was like, "No, I booked for 3 and you're going to jump. Trust me you're going to thank me after this." 

Few minutes later, there I was watching the safety procedures and selecting the songs for my video! Haha!! At first I didn't feel anything at all. All I know is at that time my mom is still fast asleep (It was about 10:30am when we got to the place) and when she wakes up it'll be all over so Why not? Hahaha!! (Peace Ma :D )

After two trips to the toilet, we proceeded to the changing area, put our gears on, met with our Skydive tandem person and did some interviews since it was part of the package. Then we went on a bus to the place where all the plane was and off we go!! I felt a hint of fear when the small plane was taking off. My fear increased when I learned that I was going to be the first one to jump off!!! My Skydive partner whispered, "I'll look after you" and then opened the door and I can feel the strong wind blowing my feet and I didn't even had the chance to count from one to three and the next minute I was in the air!!

It was an amazing feeling and my fear went away that quick! Trust me when I say this, the moment we jumped off that plane, my fear disappeared! Then I remembered what they told us from the beginning, DO NOT LOOK DOWN, JUST LOOK STRAIGHT, and that's exactly what I did! 

I saw the clouds up close and I've never been so happy! Hahaha!! I have this thing for clouds, moon and stars and being that close to one of them just brought so much joy in my heart. I also saw two lovely mountains with snowcaps on them and if only my eyes can take videos I'd be sharing that with you guys now but nothing beats what the eyes can see!!! 

The houses looked really tiny from the top just like how you would see it when you're inside a plane but it's different when you're gliding in the air! When they said that "Aotearoa" is the land of the long white cloud, they are definitely correct!!!

I tried pulling off a heart sign but the wind was so strong that the only sign that I can do at that time was the thumbs up sign! Haha!

Before I end this post, let me just go through the things that you should remember when you're on your way to go Skydiving:

1. When the guide taps your hand, open wide and let go!!! 

2. Put your legs up high and make your body shape like a banana!

3. Then you're all set and good to go! Don't forget to open your eyes and enjoy the view!!

P.S. That other guy is our videographer/photographer!

P.S. When I woke up that morning, the title of my devotional was "Yes, You can do it!" and had the verse "I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". - Isaiah 4`:10

God's approval of my spontaneous Skydiving experience! Hahaha!!!

Now that I've ticked another one off my 2017 Bucketlist which you can view by clicking on this link --> Bucketlist 2017 I now plan on ticking another one off by joining a marathon! I was supposed to do one last year but it rained on that day and I felt ill, thus I wasn't able to do it. I gained so much weight after that past 8 days of going on a holiday and training for a marathon will help me lose it and reach my bucket list as well so that will be next on my list, so help me God! :)

If you like this post, please don't forget to share! :)

For information about the place and the prices:

Skydive Taupo

Website:http://www.skydivetaupo.co.nz

My Skydive Partner's name is: Ryan