The final countdown

Only three days left.

It seems like I left Seattle a lifetime ago, but somehow I feel like I've only just arrived in Nosara. It's hard to remember the job that I quit two days before I got on the plane that brought me here. It's hard to imagine why I didn't quit sooner.

It will be good to be home. I miss Holly, my friends, real grocery stores, good restaurants, taking walks in sub-90-degree temperatures. But I'm going to miss the handful of friends I've only barely begun to get to know here. I'm going to miss the sun and the beach. I'm going to miss surfing most of all.

The experience of this trip wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was more like what I was expecting than I expected it to be, if that makes any sense.

I'm pleased with how far my surfing has come. It was hard work, pleasant as the work environment may have been, and I'm quite proud of what I've achieved. I still have an almost infinite list of surfing skills to acquire and master -- but I've made that first, quantum leap from beginner ("I'm learning to surf") to intermediate ("I'm a surfer who's learning X"). That feels pretty good.