Amores y amantes:

So here's another batch of ten (very!) short stories...please keep in mind I'm probably a good bit more easily amused and under-stimulated than those of you with access to actual entertainment! En general San Miguel is just the same as always, with lots of baby turtles, big mama turtles, and a few days of torrrrrrrrrrrential downpours here and there. The surfing has been hellish and the waves insanity in a very dangerous way but seriously too much fun to pass up.

In other really exciting news I've just found out that the project will be ending early on December 7^th, giving me about two full weeks to backpack before catching my flight home on the 21^st! I'm planning on heading down to Panama since I've already seen so much of Costa Rica and trying to spend a week with the Kona indigenous peoples of the San Blas Archipelago. I think it could be amazing since I've never really a taste of that culture in any of the Central American countries I've visited....just please don't tell me parents I'm probably going to have to hitch a ride on a merchant ferry to get down there! Also...consider this an open invite to anyone who has vacation time, a school break, or any desire to come along to come with! I'll be in San Jose, Costa Rica around December 8^th or in Panama City on the 9^th before heading out and would love the company!

1. I didn't actually go to Panama before for my visa run!! At the very last minute I found a plane ticket to Miami for $240 to visit Magram and Poppy for Rosh Hashana! Things could not have worked out better and it was absolutely fantastic to be in Boca Raton for the holiday! I was in San Jose at the hotel with my mom trying to find a bus to Panama for the next day and it all started as a joke until we realized the bus company had gone out of business and the flights were so inexpensive. She called Magram and spun a completely ridiculous story about canceled flights and needing to spend three days in transit from CR to Philadelphia so that Poppy would meet me at the airport and all the sudden I was on my way to the US! I have never seen Magram so happy and definitely never pulled off such a big lie! I showed up at their front door backpack and all and was fantastically spoiled in first world air conditioning, hot water, real mattress, phone and Internet, lots of love and peanut butter style for three days! I got to spend tons of time with my Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and godparents who were all around as well annnnnnnnnd I went to TARGET which was incredible. I have never been so happy to embrace mass marketing and materialism...I mean I was able to buy everything I'd been needing for the past few months in about half and hour PLUS I went to the starbucks in the store! Haha...you can take a girl out of the first world...>! Going stateside was a trip and crazy culture shock which I was definitely not prepared for, but by all measures was super successful in getting 90 more days in CR and having a beautiful time! Plus yummmmmmmmm sweet new year food!

2. Back to the bosque for the beginning of October and I spent a few days alone while Claudia went to Nicaragua for her own visa run and Eduardo (our PhD volunteer from Barcelona) left to do some traveling. It was a nice few days to reflect and make plans for the 2^nd half of life in Playa San Miguel although to be honest I basically managed to get over being sick (the doctor in Boca thought I had tuberculosis and/or was pregnant... aka a bad chest cold and severe lack of sleep! I suppose that's what happens when you work too long in FL with retirees..).

3. We've just gotten in a new group of volunteers, a mom and her two kids are down here for two months, like home-schooling jungle style and very excited to be here. The kids are great and have made a huge difference in our interaction with the community, and the mom is this balance of semi-responsible tree-hugger, arts and crafts idea pot and eastern religion wine drinker....obviously lots of love! Things are changing for the better in big ways and I feel like we're really starting to connect with the families here in San Miguel, to educated them about the project and to learn about them in ways we never have before. Its the first time I'm really feeling like a member of the town and integrated as a normal person here as opposed to some strange objectified extrajera for the hombres to bother ALL the time. We have been holding court in the restaurant/bar in the center of town almost everyday making posters, meeting new people (Insanity after two months in a town of 100 people) and having more fun than ever!

4. We spent a day doing henna tattoos of turtles, ying-yangs(they're still cool here!) and flowers (some in rather racy places!) on the dozens of vecinos that came by and have invited everyone to accompany us on our patrols when they can. There was a giant game of capture the flag a few nights ago and I cannot imagine a better place to play...its totally and completely dark out here and there are miles of places to hide and secret paths to take and absolutely no shortage of super - competitive players. When we're not screaming down the beach chasing the kids they're sneaking up behind us with giant ghost crabs, learning how to play spoons and blackjack (I never learned that many card games!) in addition to the very important art of shaking it to American music on my front porch.

5. I spend a good bit of time at the Flying Scorpion if I want to see Claudia and as a total bonus there's also this girl Amanda from Texas who just came work for Rossi...or maybe just to hang out with us while we watch the baseball games (GO PHILS!), play beer pong, make mojitos with BASIL instead of mint (it was our third drink of the day at 11am ok?!) , cook quiche at 3am *Stephanie I miss you and our cooking! * And generally get a little crazy now that the restaurant is closed until the tourists come back in November.

6. I learned how to make hammocks from this old man who sits in the center of town. He's like 80 years old and everyone calls him Pollon, which means old, fat chicken, and half-blind from cataracts buuuuuut awesomely sweet and incredibly patient with my lack of knotting skills. Now I have a hobby with a purpose and possible Christmas presents for you all!

7. There have been road trips all over the place in the back of pick up trunks, on quads and motos to a dozen beaches, towns and the middle of nowhere! I've jumped over fences to steal guavas right off someone's trees, and slept in a room with walls made of glass, looking down on the beach for miles around....that is until being woken by a crowd starting the party up again with fajitas and tequila sunrises all before 10 am! Hitching home from these parties has turned into a habit...one that I might try to break before our 8-year old visitor asks me again where I spent the night as I pull up to lunch wearing the same clothes as the night before! Also...I've introduced 'never have I ever' to the town...things may never be the same.

I was aiming to get to ten points but I've basically forgotten everything else I've been up to besides the fact that my Daddy and the beautiful, talented and O SO amazing Amy King are coming to visit in less than a month and there is nothing that could make me more excited! Things on the Playa are great and life is pura vida, super tuanis, and more tranquila that I can explain. Lots of love, gallons of coconut milk, and un monton of besos for you all!

ps. Sneak preview: we're planning a haunted house at the station for Halloween !! We already have the bats and found a dolphin skeleton and things are just getting very creative. I'm superexcited to show the kids how we do things stateside and buy them lots of candy too! We're also planning a crazy party at Rossi's and I think Amanda, Claudia and I are going to be Imperial (local beer brand) girls! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of both!

HELLLLLLLLLO my friends! Sorry for the long long time gone but here goes a hell of an update----

I've been reading far too many books about writing books, something of a coincidence but in all ironic honesty I'm beginning to think myself an ESL author doing undercover research for some kind of sad comedy best seller. Playa San Miguel really does defy description, not just in general appearance and infrastructure but the societal fabric and character cushioning that pad every experience are just like whoa ok. Even if I could show you pictures the most obvious parts would be invisible, so I suppose you'll just have to read on and wait a few more months for what I'm sure at the best stories I have ever told.

A blog update in several parts:

1. THE BABY TURTLES ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. The baby turtles are the most important thing in my life at this time in all seriousness. I, like Clau and the volunteers, have a six hour shift of watching sand everyday to make sure the babies aren't stuck in the hatchery for longer than necessary and when they come up we put all 100 of them in a big blue bucket and walk down the beach on top of the world. This is better than the chickens and their eggs...I LOVE LOVE LOVE concretely successful things. I feel so validated actually everyday....and all I have to do is notice their coming. Delayed gratification has its advantages..never thought you'd hear that one from me eh?
3. I've probably been hanging out too much with a certain Canadian guy eh?
4. I've noticed a trend in the pictures the volunteers take that I steal and put of my computer to show you all in December....basically all the same. Beach, station house, baby turtles, sunset, bar nights, house parties, surfing, sunset, baby turtles, ridiculous rain gear, beautiful nature/waterfalls/mangroves, bar stools and gallo pinto, ect ect ect. Like some kind of parody of my life repeated every two weeks or so. I wonder how I can keep cycling through this like it were new everyday. Some things are different, things change, and I keep moving...but seriously, my life is a well documented caricature or itself. Gracias a dios I do so much yoga haha.
5. I live in a sorority house...seriously I thought that Shakespeare was ridiculous but this is worse and better at the same time...since we have no actual responsibility or occupation in general. Sometimes its loud music and dancing but seriously...there are no pants allowed. The girls that have been coming down are incredible, fun, and awesomely independent lately. I'm having the most wonderful time getting to know them and sharing life as a turtle girl in the insanity that is this tiny town. The perfect foil to our supposed sisterhood is the older divorced men that have stepped into a kind of gay/father/pimp role and simultaneously present and protect us in our various escapades.
6. I lost my voice last night to a rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody that I barely remember...I'm sure it was awesome mostly because I do remember the bootylicious Beyonce dancing the preceded it. I sound like a 50 year old who left the womb with a cigarette in hand and I feel wiser for it. I love American music and to hell with anything even remotely 'good.'
7. I watched the sun come up this morning while skinny-dipping in an infinity pool that looked out over three separate beaches from the mountain above. You could hear the howler monkeys bitching about their hangovers way before ours set in and it was possibly the best feeling I've ever had. Maybe there is something to materialism after all...it was the first house I've ever considered worth settling down for. It has more to do with the location, the people I was with, the guacamole we had for breakfast, and the immense amount of ron consumed... but I think its a pretty intense step along my twisted decent into the real world.
8. Everyone I meet inspires me to take a page out of their books...to try what they've done for myself, to work in the same way and to follow in their footsteps. I'm keeping a list and it keeps getting longer. I feel like I'm no closer to finding myself but its fun to imagine being someone else. Also...since my shoes all have holes in them (two pairs of old navy flip flops to last for 6 months of walking miles everyday) I am actually walking in their shoes that they've left behind for me. I'm often a disaster and it shows.
9. Everyone here is constantly defending their decisions to adopt a non-traditional lifestyle...makes me want to go climb the corporate ladder just to spite them. Its like some kind of religious conversion that they're trying to push on the rest of us and I'm not sure why I resent it so much. I just hate the idea that even at 40 all of them are still trying to prove themselves...especially to someone like me. I hope I never have to feel that way.
10. None of you really knew but I was in a pretty bad place a few weeks ago. It had to do with a lot of things I'd rather not post but the news for punto numero 10 is that I'm back to bliss. Things have never been better, I feel like myself, which I thought I'd lost for a bit, and life is beautiful like its never been. I'm better for going through it and I hope I never have to do it again. Sorry for the super profundo end note but I felt the need to share and I suppose that's what blogs are for.

Too much love,

Stephanie

ps. I'm going to Honduras on the 26^th to see a great friend whose diving on Roatan and to renew my visa. If anyone was planning a visit I'll be in San Jose on the 2^nd of October or so and could bring you back to paradise with me instead being forced to brave a solo bus trip into the great unknown.

Pps. My mom is coming next week! She's bringing surprises (read: new shoes and craisins) from home...Its like Christmas!!

PPPS. Speaking of Christmas...I'm thinking the party on the 23^rd of December. Save the date like it was your own wedding since its the last one until I'm done with Africa!

Hey guys!

Just a quick update on life down south...things are going pretty well, I cannot believe I've been down here a month already! Its crazy how time goes even though I don't do all that much, especially during the days. I've been surfing quite a bit, we're up to 20 nests in the hatchery with the baby turtles coming in a few weeks. I'm generally pasando puravida and just have a few fun stories to share:

1. For those of you that don't know, I sometimes had trouble sleeping at night, or ever actually...this job is thus amazing since I work a few hours at night and get to wake up and go run around at 2 am and nap all day...I feel like I keep normal hours too since there's always people up with me!

2. I've been practicing my Spanish by reading Homer's The Odyssey. Seriously, I asked my friend to bring me back a book when he drove into one of the bigger towns nearby since the only one I found around here was the ex-president's memoirs...and obviously he returns with Greek Mythology, in Spanish haha. We'll see about that one...if anyone takes pity and can download me a sparknotes/reader's guide and email it...that's be awesome. Haha, either way I suppose I'll learn something!

3. There are chickens everywhere...almost everyone has a few and the term free-range does not even begin to describe how they roam all over town, eating and laying where ever they please.

4. Friday is Karaoke night at the local bar and it is a huge event...I would say you have to see it to believe the local guys belting out ballads, dancing and generally going crazy. We started out playing blackjack with bottlecaps, I got a love song dedicated to me and sung down on bended knees! and then took a late night ride to a nearby beach that has this amazing rock formation where you can jump off into a tidal pool...and the stars just feel like they're falling into the water. We ran into some poachers and I managed to convince them to come hang out and throw back a few instead of stealing eggs!

5. BINGO! another grand adventure...something they take quite seriously around here, everyone from kids to grandparents playing for refrigerators, an oven, or a washing machine! Afterwards there was a live band and lots of dancing...gotta love to salsa! Claudia even managed to get us home over the jungle roads after the driver of our giant, manual transmission van decided not to designate himself!

6. We had a real bad rainstorm last night and it turns out that water comes into the house sometimes...combined with the soap I had spilled on the porch earlier in the day and Claudia and I were ankle deep in bubbles haha...kind of reminds me how we (ok...steph and me) used to wash the floor on Shakespeare! No worries on the wet floors since everything drains out and some of the guys came over with cement today to fix the problem...but I wish I could upload the pictures for you guys to see!

That's about all that I've got for now...I'd love to hear from anybody who has time to write...especially since I'm walking a few miles to come update you guys! On a GREAT, AMAZING, AWESOME note to end....I've got my first visitor coming down in three weeks and I CANNOT wait! We are going to have the most fabulous time and you should all be very jealous haha...and come visit too!

Besos!

ps. I almost forgot to explain the rash of drunk dials I made a few nights ago...it was a local festival for the the virgin somebody or other and we went up to this incredible mountain estate of the one of the hotel guys we know...beautiful, overlooking the ocean, AND with great cell phone coverage! The night was hysterical...just getting a little crazy and dancing to the excellent-ness of my ipod. We also watched a movie...something I haven't done since I got here!

Una otra vez hola!
Just a quick update from puravida land...everything is great! We´re really starting to settle in here in Playa San Miguel and the turtle sightings are picking up every night. So far we´ve seen 5 turtles, found 3 other nests, and 2 that had been poached by the time we got them. So I guess that meansturt les - 8 and poachers - 2...winning in my book! Hopefully things will keep improving as Claudia and I get better at what we do!

Aside from ´work´I´ve been going surfing just about everyday and its actually amazing. The two guys that run the restaurant where we have all our meals are huge boarders and have kind of adopted me...meaning that I get thrashed every morning with them by GIANT 2 foot waves...haha. Seriously though, I´m getting better I swear. I stand up for real now, no hands and all and can ride the wave all the way into shore...sometimes at least!

Besides the surfing we just hang out and read, play some cards and on motivated days explore nearby tide pools, mangroves, and butterfly gardens. Its a tough life, I know, but someone has to do it! We have 5 volunteers right now and more are set to arrive in a few days. It looks like Claudia and I won´t be alone in the station house until mid-september. The guy who runs the hotel is down for cutting a deal since I promised him any visitors might be able to add to his rather outdated dvd collection and would be as fun as I am! I´d love for any and all of you to come visit...whenever and for as long as you like.

So that´s about all I´ve got time for now that I finally got access to the Peace Corps website...still reviewing the forms! Cross your fingers they believe I´m not 90 pounds!

Much love and besos!
Steph

Buenas tardes de Costa Rica!
So I´m here and I walked about 8 kilometers to come and tell you all about it! Its amazing basically, the beach, the girl I´m working with and all the people in the town. Its not nearly as isolated as I thought! There´s a small restaurant-bar where we have all our meals about an kilometer from the house and a convience store and a few other things too. On the VERY bright side I get to use surfboards for FREE because I´m a coordinator and the guy is really cool about it! I´m pretty excited for that in a few days once I we get done building the hatchery. Its almost done now and we´ve already found two turtle nests, taken out the eggs and transplanted them into a more secure fenced in area.

Besides the beach, which is awesome, I´ve been reading a bit, hanging out in my hammock and doing some great yoga. My partner here is pretty into aerobics so sometimes we do that too...like some crazy gringas in bikinis jumping around on the beach is totally normal. Everyone is super friendly and keeps stopping by the house asking how everything is going and if we´ve found any nests yet. I´m not sure if they´re really genuinely interested or they´re thinking about how they might go about stealing the eggs. Apparently the turtle eggs are a hot commodity in Costa Rica and many of the people in town and elsewhere steal them to sell or supplement their families´ diets.
I don´t really have much time to contarles todo but with a little luck I can upload some photos and continue the story next time!

ALSO! This the phone number for the restaurant that we eat all our meals at and they said you could call us there anytime! We´re there at 9, 1, and 6 costan rica time so that´d be 11, 3, and 8 for you guys! 0050626558046.

So here we go again...I'm leaving on Saturday night for six more months in Costa Rica and thought it'd be fun to try and stay in touch a little better this time. I'll be working in Playa San Miguel with an organization that does sea turtle conservation until right before Christmas. It should be pretty fantastic, beach living and latino culture is always a great time and the girl I'll be working/living/loving with sounds pretty awesome so far. Hopefully the trip there will go well and I'll be in touch soon!

I should have email access at least once a week and I will also have limited cell phone service. As of yet I'm not sure on the exact number or my mailing address but hopefully that information will come in the near future. Thanks for reading and come back anytime!

<3 Steph

ps. links for anyone who is interested :::
Pretoma is the NGO ::: http://www.tortugamarina.org/content/view/68/97/lang,en/
Some additional info on Playa San Miguel ::: Ejemplo 1 Ejemplo 2