Oz.

First morning in Australia. Here's my bullet list:

• I struggle with remembering to look right when crossing the street. This makes me think that a plane crash will likely never kill me, but I might very well kick the bucket if getting hit by a car that drives on the left side of the road.
• Staying in Rose Bay, a suburb of Sydney. Sitting on the patio feels like being on the Discovery Channel...these birds sound much nicer than our Texas grackles. Oh, and a cockatoo just flew by.
• Sydney is expensive. This most hurts the boyfriend, who hasn't been here in 13 years...times they are a'changin! Also, we picked a stellar time to visit, as the Aussie and US dollar are on parity for maybe the first time in recent memory. Joke's on us, folks!
• Apparently, you drop the end of basically every word and replace it with an "i" or "o." Breakfast is now "brekki," mosquitoes "mozzies" etc.
  
• For the (14 hour) flight from San Fran to Sydney, Phil and I chose the seats in the middle, against the toilets --the ones that *don't* recline -- disproving conventional wisdom that two brains are better than one.

Jet-lag shot me out of bed at 6:00 this morning, and I feel absolutely famished...it's lunchtime back home. Going to rustle up some herbal tea and see if I can't get myself back to sleep.

Also, had a request from the States to investigate the toilet situation south of the Equator: have not been able to determine if they do indeed flush opposite of northern hemisphere toilets, but will keep you all posted....

Regresar.

Aaaaand we're back! Day 28 of my freedom, back in Austin and back to blogging. Apparently, internet can be hard to come by in the remote, mountainous regions of northwest Costa Rica...who knew?

Here are a few reflections for today:

• Updating my online portfolio was a tiny bit painful, as I had to revisit the days of only having an Olympus point-n-shoot. That being said, the process was also a powerful reminder that mediocre equipment coupled with a passion for capturing humanity and a good eye, will always out-shoot a lackluster spirit with an expensive, fancy lens. Always.
• Last night, I drank Franzia Sunset Blush wine out of the box, over ice, in a glass emblazoned with the Confederate flag. Not sure when this became my reality, but c'est la vie.
• Traveling for a straight five days and nights in a foreign country, in a tiny 4x4 with unreliable GPS, across a land that does not have street names or numbers, then getting up at 4:00 am for an international flight on a Sunday, is the ultimate test for a relationship. If you can survive it happily (as we did) then hold on tight...you got something good.
• A few Benadryl, an Imperial beer (ah, sweet nostalgia), and the bf's insanely spicy Thai curry will scare away even the worst case of Austin allergies.
• There is something oddly satisfying about spending the past two hours of this Friday evening cleaning the hell out of my house. I feel domestic and proud, goddamit.

Tomorrow: attending my first baby shower as a grown-up for one of my friends that is, well, preggo. Expect an update for sure.

Surf.

Yesterday, my friend said to me, "you can't fight the big waves. Just turn and dive in. Headfirst."

Last night, I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean. No one else around. No lights, but lots of rain. I love feeling the waves break into white surf. You can see it, brilliant at night. I wondered if the water ever gets afraid...tumbling toward the shore, breakneck. Is it afraid of the break? Does it see it coming?

Maybe the wave is afraid. But maybe it's only afraid until it realizes there are only ever waves. That's all there ever was. There will always be waves.

"La vida es como el oleaje, entonces te regala como el mar."

Life is like the surf; so give yourself away like the sea.

Pura vida.

So I'm at the beach, Manuel Antonio. Amazing in every way...there are incredibly strict codes, so from the shore you don't see one single building. The above is an actual photo of this place. I tell you, better than Thailand. There! I said it!

Nothing else to report...not even anything that funny to say. Who needs funny, when you've got beach, baby??!

PURA VIDA.

For the record: tomorrow, kayaking in the Pacific Ocean, maybe trying my hand when the surf's up in the morning :)

H2O.

Day 15 of my freedom and I continue to be a human sponge, here in Central America. A couple things about water in Costa Rica, specifically San Joquin de Flores:

• Unlike Austin water, you can drink it straight from the tap. No Brita necessary! Somehow, their water is truly potable, in the sense that it a) doesn`t stink to high heaven and b) it will not kill you / give you dysentary
  
• There are only hot water taps on kitchen sinks. I`m ok with this, although I am still not used to washing my face in cold water.
• Showers are heated with electricity. I mean quite literally that there is the shower head, with water coming out, and attached to the top is a mechanism with a bunch of wires that heats the water. This seems to violate pretty much every rule we learned in 3rd grade science class about conductors, electricity, and the creation of death, but I guess whatever works....

Speaking of water: tomorrow I´m headed off to the coast for a couple days. I believe the next 48 hours will involve mostly beach, beer and a hacky sack, so I might scratch the bottom of the barrel for posting material. Stay tuned....

Bananas.

Day ten of my freedom and now concluding my first full day in San Joquin de Flores. Still adapting to the spanish keyboard, so please excuse any random characters that pop-up. Per the usual, I am amazed at how much the world has to show me. In that spirit, here`s a short list of lessonsl learned in the past 36 hours:

• Do not forget about the uneaten banana in your bag. Costa Rican immigration will confiscate it and will publicly scold you something fierce. Rogue fruit is not a joking matter. Also, authorities do not appreciate you laughing while being frisked. I mean really, it was an innocent piece of fruit...you´d think I was trying to smuggle in a Colt .45. Sheesh.
• On that note: packing fruit = security breach. However, carrying on a razor, tweezers, nail clippers, liquids not sealed in individual baggies and just about everything else on the forbidden items list?? A-OK!
• Always pack lightly: this makes you seem like a very cool, very adept exotic traveler. My classmates were positively astonished to learn I had only packed one small(ish) carry-on bag for my two week stay. Little do they know I will resemble Encino Man by the end of this week.
• Airlines have managed to do the impossible: make flying more expensive, yet less enjoyable! Por ejemplo: my ticket cost a mere $300...but with a cool $400 in fees/taxes tacked on. Also, no more television/movies (bring books) but good news: you can now pay $6 to watch DirecTV! Fortunately, airline food is still reliably heinous (hey, I take comfort in the familiar). Although my airline no longer offers a vegetarian option. So. There´s that.
• On your first night of a homestay, it´s good to tell your host family one clean, and one dirty joke. My captive audience of three actually laughed...probably at my poor spanish, but still.
• The name ¨Phyllis`` is nearly impossible for anyone, in an country, to properly pronounce or spell. You can now call me `Philips`` because that´s what I´ll be for the next 13 days.
• Similarly, it is also universally entertaining that I am one-half of a Philip - Phyllis couple. This never gets old to anyone.
• The coffee here will make you a believer. Or at the very least, a cranky addict. Seriously though, it´s like drinking straight from the chalice of Heaven. Costa Rican coffee is truly the stuff religions are built on.
• Always, always save your blog draft. Otherwise, you will lose the entire damn thing and be forced to start over after you unsucesfully try to insert a picture of a stupid freakin´banana.