No Shirt, No Shoes, You're Welcome Here

About a week ago, I set out for the surf. giddy, with a childish joy in my heart. The road to the beach, although short is wrought with rocks of all shapes and sizes. my uncalloused feet cannot take the torrent of pain that is involved in the few hundred foot walk. because of this, i usually wear my sandals to the beach and leave them nestled near a piece of driftwood. On this fateful day, i set out as the sun was setting and got my jollies in the water. actually i got my ass handed to me on a silver platter as i usually do. when i came back to shore, i took a seat next to my chico and french canadian amigos to watch the rest of the sunset. when i the time came to pick up my sandals and head in, they were nowhere to be found. I held on to the naive notion that we just couldnt find them because it was dark so i walked barefoot back to the hostel with hopes of setting out early the next morning to find them. At the break of dawn the following day i was scouring the beach but they were nowhere to be found. Carlos, the resident 'badass' of the tranquilo backpackers hostel told me from the beginning the night before. they were stolen. At that point i knew that i had been initiated into santa teresa life. Not by choice, but so it goes. In a fit of annoyance the night they were stolen, I attempted to wear close toed shoes but it just shouldnt be done here. My feet also were in pain when i put them on due to the rediculous amount of bug bites they have acquired. About a half hour into the close toed shoe experience, i broke down and went next door to a supermarket called 'super ronny' and found myself a dinky new pair of flip flops. From here on out i have actually went to the lengths of making driftwood forts to keep my shoes safe.

Initially my intentions were to come to santa teresa, get in shape, learn to surf, and chill out. while all this has happened, there has been one other element to the equation. This place is one big party. There is no rest for the weary and upon wakeup, you either need a heaping plate of casado or you need to hit the ocean to clear your head. Every time you plan on having a low key night, something gets in the way and before you know it its 3am and you are swimming naked in the ocean. alright, that hasnt happened yet, but its probably on the horizon.

The surfing is taking its toll on me. This beach is fantastic to learn on, but it also makes you earn your stripes. the first few times i went out, i couldnt paddle out past the break to save my life. it was one beating after another. each day i find im a little stronger, a little more wise about how to guide myself in the ocean, and of course, a slightly better surfer than before. The waves here right now are huge. No joke, up to 6 or 8 feet. ive been learning on the fivers but when you go down, you go down hard. This morning however was a breakthrough. I actually chased down a wave, dropped in, which is still a bit scary for me, and got a ride. amped about my actual surfing, i paddled back out to be crushed repeatedly by any and every attempt i made afterwards. I usually go out about twice a day and at this point, average one or two good waves before i just fall to pieces. Nonetheless, its the life. constantly sore, constantly bruised, but a smile to boot.

On that note, I live with a canadian and am constantly surrounded by canadians here in santa teresa so you can only imagine what kind of dialect im picking up. ive cought myself saying ey quite a bit as well as 'to boot'. what can you do? ive also met quite a few french canadians since i have been here and trying to explain to them english sayings or slang is downright histerical. Half of the things we say make absolutely no sense. how do you explain the bees knees or the cats meow? why are stuck between a rock and a hard place? after endless laughs and explanations, my chico friend looks at the table and then at me and says, "should we go chill at your pad?" The three french canadians that were with us just reassumed the blank confused stair and my buddy and i reassumed our unbearable laughter.

Moving on, I work at the bakery regularly now and have to manage sleep, pool, partying and surfing around a work schedule. Its funny coming here after working so many service jobs in the states. the whole no shirt no shoes no dice is entirely non existant. Half of my customers are practically naked. and shoes? no shoes? take a seat, can i take your order? Ive found that i too have taken to the scantily clad fashion and other than the downside of a little sunburn here and there, its quite the life. im earning costa rican wages which are slightly less than two dollars an hour. the only saving grace of being a waiter or barista here is that tips are built into the bill. for that reason, if its a busy day, you can come out with a good 20 or 40 dollars in tips. however, I have been working the 2pm to close shifts and not having a steady influx of clientelle. Hopefully it will pick up. its also pretty funny here witht he language barrier. I can speak spanish well enough to take orders, get change, for here or to, etc etc but when a lot of people walk in to the resturant and see me... they havent even heard me say anything yet... they will automatically try and speak english with me. often times also their english is much worse than my spanish.

So time is flying here. Ive got about two weeks left before i have to get myself up to guatemala. The planning should prabably start fairly soon because it is going to be about a four day endeavor. However, I am settled in here so nicely right now that ill probably put that off for a week and a half or so. I know there is much more to be said and to write, but I am actually on a computer at the tranquillo backpackers hostel of which i do not live at. Ive become good friends with the french canadian reception guy and i am here so often that nobody is any the wiser. however, ive been hogging this thing for a little while now so i much be off. time to play pool, surf, work, etc.

on a quick note, my pool game is getting pretty good. bank shots are made on the regular and there is always a worthy opponent. anyways, gotta run.