Hahaha look at the silly Americans sleeping on the train platform

    I'm still alive, despite my new mode of transportation. We are now well established as "The Americans". We went to the Beach Hut common area to meet one friend who was going to take us to rent surfboards and walked away with 12. On this night we had cooked our own dinner and our reputations as "the American climbers who cook for themselves" preceded us. The Beach Hut has a wonderful atmosphere and everyone is welcomed into the family with open arms as long as you are easy-going. The usual gang consists of Andrew and myself, Sarah and Lauren from England, Oskar from Sweden, Ante from Finland, Bruce from Australia, and whatever combination of Spaniards, Israelis, Austrians, or Kiwis may want to grab a bite or surf. Beach Hut has superb food (all on a tab system so you don't even have to carry cash) and after 7 nights and many meals/beers/coffees/milkshakes/lassies the damage was only about $80 each.
    There are 3 main places to surf in and around Arugam Bay. "The Point" is in the bay and has steep waves breaking over a reef (I spent 20 min digging a piece of coral out of my toe last night.) With two breaks, it is the most popular and very convenient since it is within walking distance.
    Whiskey Point is several miles away. You can take a Took-Took there and back for 700Rs. Andrw and I, with our new-found motorcycle driven freedom, were not about to pay 700Rs. Tom Moore would be proud of the rope job I did lashing my surfboard to the side of my Bajaj 350cc motorbike. Unfortunately, after going there and back once, Hakeem (the man we rented the bikes from,) saw me in the process of tying 3 boards and loading 2 British girls (Lauren and Sarah) onto the bike. He was not happy.....since we did not file any paperwork for the bike (do you have a license? yes, ok.....no, no, you don't have to show it to me) if something had happened he could be held liable. This was the end of our taxi service.
    Peanut Farm I drove to with Lauren today, but have yet to surf. Maybe one day we will, maybe we won't. Maybe we'll go to Yala National Park to see the elephants, pythons, and crocodiles. Maybe we won't. Bonfire at sunset? Ok....laid-back is an understatement to the mellow that envelops the residents of Beach Hut and Arugam Bay.
    Despite the seeming lack of direction, this rest stop in paradise has been productive. I am nearly finished with my research paper detailing the consistencies of crawfish in a small bog in south Alabama, my journal is closer to being caught up to the current date, and I rode the best wave I ever have yesterday. Being a beginner, I tend to let crowded waves pass and do my best not to drop in on anyone (a common courtesy of surfing.) A large wave rolled in and was breaking beautifully. None of the more advanced surfers were in position to catch it and I got to have a long solo ride down the beach. I have enjoyed surfing the few times that I have been. The sun, beach, waves, ocean, and fraternity of chill boarders make for a wonderful sport. This wave and the ride it gave me are the first time I have loved surfing.
    Philip and his father left this morning. Goodbyes were said over a farewell breakfast of banana/coconut pancakes topped with honey and vanilla ice cream from Hakeem's beach spot (yes the same Hakeem from whom we rented bikes. He also runs a hotel, restaurant, board shop, and taxi service.) Philip is on his way to Nepal to do a two week trek that will take him to Everest base camp and back down.
    Our current plan is to fly back to Chennai on the 24th and meet up with Dilip, our NOLS instructor from south India. I no longer plan to go to Uganda to volunteer, though I hope in the future I will again have that opportunity. I have been advised by the US Embassy to limit my travel between countries with my emergency passport. It may be valid, but it looks fake and draws suspicion from customs officials (coming into Sri Lanka the customs official kept scratching my face with his thumb nail thinking it was fake and would rub off. Getting back into India will be an adventure.) Also, with the destruction caused by the monsoon, there is more than enough work to do in India. Dilip has offered to put me in contact with a few of his friends who work for relief organizations and have been helping first to rescue and now rebuild the lives of those displaced by the seasonal storm. From Chennai we will go shortly to southeastern India, and then meet up with Dilip in central southern India, hopefully finding ourselves in a position to be helpful. An overnight train will then link us to Kolkata, where I plan to stay for 5 weeks.
    I would like to mention, primarily for the benefit of the generous donors for my volunteer efforts, that during my recreational travel I am spending money that I have saved for the past few years for such an occasion. The money donated to me is set aside and will be used only for an expense that is directly related to volunteering. One possibility mentioned was helping triage for the first aid center of a displaced persons refugee camp. If this works out, I plan to donate a few hundred for food expenses to the camp. Lodging and food in Kolkata, as well as a flight back to the states I will pay for with donated funds and the rest I will give to Missions of Charity.
    In the letter I sent to friends and family describing vision for this trip, I wrote that they would be able to see the direct results of their donation. I plan to deliver on that statement. Philip's father, a Harvard graduate and CEO of a bio-tech company, spent 14 months traveling in India, Nepal, Taiwan, China, and other Asian countries before going to graduate school. When I talked to him about Kolkata he told me "All of this you are doing is cool. You're in Sri Lanka surfing. You've been climbing in the Himalaya and you're traveling around India. Kolkata is the coolest thing you are going to do. It's going to blow your mind and it's going to change your life. Of all the things you're doing, that's the best one." That is the best summary I have of the simultaneous excitement and trepidation with which I view the last portion of my stay in India. Though I already see how this trip has changed my world view, helped me to evaluate my priorities, and expanded my previous notions of flexibility; it sits heavily in the front of my mind that this worldly traveler and successful businessman is telling me that the adventures of the last few months will pale in comparison to the experiences I will have in what was once India's capital city.

I have more to post but I am EXHAUSTED!!!! once in India i'll get a non dial-up connection and put up the high altitude pictures and Sri Lanka pictures, as well as the rest of the post. I slept on the platform of the train station (yeah, i really am that cheap) with a 101 degree fever so I didn't sleep well. 10:30 here now with a REAL BED, thanks for reading!!!