72. Surfing Siargao with Respect: Filipino Culture, Community, & the Local Lineup

Episode Transcript
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Elaine Abonal (00:00):
I've always been tan, and I don't think I really
appreciated being tan or more,until I went to the US to study,
where everybody loved my tan,and everybody asked if I was tan
all year round. And then when Igot back and started surfing
where you have to be tan,because it means that you're
surfing a lot, I reallyappreciated it, and then, like,

(00:21):
you know, you feel more like asurfer here in the Philippines
if you're tan. And I just founda self confidence that not just
being Filipino gave me, but alsosurfing. And then, yeah, I saw
that. The more I talked aboutit, the more I shared about it.
There's more Filipinas who aresurfing. And I think somehow the

(00:42):
media just started putting moreMorena, like dark skinned girls.
You know, just in media, it'sstill there, the papaya, so
whitening soaps are still there.
But there really is a rise inconsciousness about, okay, we're
Filipino. We are born Brown.
Many of us are born Brown, andit's beautiful and that we
should be proud of it, justbesides the fact that in

(01:04):
surfing, there's also a riseand, you know, just pride of
being yourself and being outthere for the Filipinas.

Laura Day (01:12):
Hey lady, welcome to Confessions of a surf lady, a
podcast by the surf society. Forso long, women have been
misrepresented by the surfindustry, only highlighting a
narrow and exclusive version ofa who a surf lady can be. But
you and I both know that thereis so much more to women surfing
than that. This, this podcastright here, is a place to tell

(01:36):
our story how we want to tellit, at Confessions of a surf
lady. You'll meet everyday surfladies doing amazing things in
their local communities, as wellas pros, World Champs, big wave
riders and badass living legendsfrom women's surf history, all
sharing their stoke on thisblossoming Global Women's surf

(01:58):
culture. What's even morespecial, though, is that you,
yes, you will get a chance toparticipate in the conversation
by leaving me your confessions.
I'm your host, Laura Day. Thinkof me as your new favorite surf
sister, connecting you to yourbeautiful Global Women's surf
community, helping you boostyour confidence before you head
out for your next surf, and evendropping a few surf tips from

(02:20):
the surf society along the way.
If you want to stay connectedwith me, find me on Instagram
that's at Confessions of a surflady. Kind of use that like my
personal account, and then goahead and follow at surf society
that's s, u r, F, S O, C, i, e,t e, there you'll find a handful

(02:40):
of free resources to help youthrough your surfing journey.
All right, lady, thanks againfor joining me here at
Confessions of a surf lady,where we're cultivating a global
women's surf culture throughthoughtful conversation. Let's
get to our episode. Yeah,welcome Elaine. Oh my gosh, it's
been a long time coming thatwe've wanted to have you on the
podcast, and I'm really excited.

(03:02):
Yeah, thank you. I'm so sorry.
It took, like, a year orsomething forever to get this
scheduled down. I feel likethere's always something
happening, like somebody's sickor, you know, a two week
blackout on the island, but herewe are. So thank you so much for
your patience. Oh no, absolutelyit's been great. Connecting with
you on Instagram actuallyfollowed you, like, a long, long

(03:22):
time ago, maybe when you stillhad like, five or 6000
followers, or even, maybe evenless than that. And I was like,
Oh, this is so cool, a woman inthe Philippines who surfs and
she's on this island. And so youactually inspired me to go visit
Shar gal when I was there in2016
Yeah, I was also there when Imet you, 2022 end of 22 Yeah.

You met So briefly, yeah, yeah. It's
changed

Laura Day (03:47):
so much, even from that small time frame, yeah,

I remember, like you reached out to me and you
were making rash guards.
Remember? Yeah, yeah. I superlove that, like a Filipina also
making surf and swimwear inCalifornia, and then it was so
cool to wear it. I lost itduring the storm. There was a
big storm, so, like a lot of ourthings got lost. So I was so
bummed about that. Are you stillmaking that?

Laura Day (04:13):
I still have products? Yeah. Okay, cool. I
can send you

Unknown (04:17):
something. Oh, okay.

Laura Day (04:19):
No pressure. Whenever you know someone's going to be
going to you that's going to befrom over here, let me know.
We'll coordinate. Okay,

I will. Yeah, those were super cool. Yeah. I

Laura Day (04:30):
mean, I followed your Instagram stories, but I'm
actually glad that we're talkingabout this now for like, the
first time. And I don't know,like, your whole story of what
brought you to shark out, but asI know, you were living in
Manila.

Yeah, I'm from Manila. So my family is from
Manila, yeah, yeah.

Laura Day (04:44):
What brought you to Chicago? How did this whole
lifestyle unfold for you?

So I am from Manila. I grew up in Manila.
I've always been a city girl,but I've always loved the beach.
My family would take me to thebeach, and then it all started
with surfing. Pretty much I wasan exchange student in
Wisconsin. Wisconsin, yeah, so Iwas an exchange student with in

(05:09):
Wisconsin when I was 17 yearsold. And, you know, the
Filipinos always want theAmerican dream, like, someday
you're gonna live in the US, andsomeday you're gonna just have
the American life. And then Ithought that was what I wanted.
So I wanted to be an exchangestudent first, and then maybe go
to university in the US. Andthen I realized when I was

(05:30):
placed in Wisconsin that I wasnot a fan of the cold or winter
or wearing a lot of layers. Andthen my host family took me to
Florida for spring break. Andthen I saw surfers there. Like I
didn't know anything aboutsurfing. There was not much
surfing in the Philippines backthen. Nobody talked about it. So
surfing, surfer boys. And then Iwas thinking, like, I live in a

(05:52):
country with 7000 100 plus maybemore now, islands, there must be
way somewhere. So I startedsearching on back then it was
Yahoo, where I could take surflessons. And then I saw that
there was surfing in thePhilippines. And then when I got
back, so after Wisconsin, Ididn't wanna, I didn't wanna
live anywhere cold anymore.
Yeah, fair, yeah. I found LaUnion. So back then it was La

(06:14):
Union that was easily accessiblefrom Manila. Yeah, you know, I
took surf lessons there, andthen started traveling for
surfing. And then after that, Iheard about Shi Gao, and back
then, that was 2005 so 20 yearsago, crazy, wow. I was still a
student. I just read about SherGao, and then one of my surfer

(06:35):
guy friends was going, and Iasked him if I could tag along.
And then, yeah, that was myfirst trip to shergao, and you
needed to be a good surfer to betraveling to share, go back.
Then you needed to have your ownsurfboard, because there was
pretty much nothing. Yeah, Ijust fell in love with surfing
in the Philippines, surfing,share, go. So I would travel.

(06:56):
You know, I never stopped. Iwould travel around the
Philippines, just checking outall the different surf spots.
And then at some point, I justwanted to live somewhere by the
surf. I thought it would be LaUnion, because I was always
based there for a while. Butthen it got really commercial, I
would say really fast, becauseit was the highway to get there
was made so it was super quickto get there. And sugar was back

(07:19):
then. Was like, just more likeparadise, and yeah. And then I
met my husband, Ollie, in Bali,Indonesia. And I think he would
have liked, sure, go more thanLa Union. So yeah, he came over
to share, go. Never left. Westarted renting a house. And
then, yeah, now I'm here fulltime. Wow.

Laura Day (07:43):
My gosh, what an incredible journey. I love
hearing it, because I'm Filipinatoo, but I've always been like,
oh yeah, there's got to be,like, good surf in the
Philippines. And you just, like,never really heard about it,
really, until lately I feellike, yeah. So like that
exploration of finding good surfin your home. And even, like,
when I go back there and I'mlike, Oh my God, there's not

(08:04):
even just the surf, but justlike going in Bucha, like going
to different places and seeingdifferent parts of the island
and the biodiversity in thewhole country as a whole,
incredibly differentbiodiversity. There's like, so
much pride. Like, I'm like, Oh,this is, like, where my family's
from. This is where we're from,and versus, like, the California
surf culture here, that'smainly, like, white, male

(08:25):
dominated and to go there and belike, this is like, this is part
of our ocean culture andlifestyle. So it's beautiful to
hear you tell the story.

Yeah, it's so nice. Also to see the stuff that
you've been putting out, becausethere are women in the surf,
like around the world, but also,like a Filipina like you in
another country, and sharing herthoughts and opinions and
sharing what it's like to be awoman surfer, you know, in the
water in another part of theworld, but also voicing it out.
Because I feel like there's somany people with so many, so

(08:53):
many opinions, but I don't know,don't use their platform. If
they do have one, yeah, it'sjust, I feel like it's important
to talk about the things that alot of people don't really
publish or talk about. So you'redoing amazing.

Laura Day (09:07):
Likewise. Thank you so much. I'm so

happy to be in this podcast also,

Unknown (09:12):
likewise. And so if you guys who are listening don't
know much about Filipinoculture, Filipinos are very What
do you call it? Just likefamilial to each other. Yeah,
yeah. And even if you didn'tknow each other before, just the
fact that we have thecommonality of being Filipino,
it kind of ties us together in aspecial way. So yeah, this is,
that's why we're, like, sostoked. Yeah,

it's also so cool, because, like, people from
not just California, but the US,like they reach out and like,
they see my social media, and Ithink the first, one of the
first things they notice is thatI'm Filipina and, like, talking
about the Philippines aresurfing, and they're like, oh,
that encourages them right away.
So, yeah, it's like, a Filipino,like, Hey, brother, sister. So
that's super cool.

Unknown (09:52):
Yeah, have you seen rise of like, what I loved the
last time I was there was seeingFilipina women surfing. Like,
not just like women serving ortourist surfing or surfing in
general, but like, specificallyFilipino women, because, and I
wonder, too, like, the way yougrow up normally, Filipinos are
like, Oh, don't get too dark.
You don't want to get your skindark, even though, like, I'm a

(10:13):
dark person. Like, that's like,my mom's side. They're really
dark. I love seeing that. Like,I love seeing Filipino women
getting out and doing outdoorthings, especially like in the
Philippines. So have you seen arise of women coming out to
surf?

Yeah, so I've always been tan, and I don't
think I really appreciated beingtan or Morena until I went, like
I said to the US to study whereeverybody loved my tan, and
everybody asked if I was tan allyear round. And then when I got
back and started surfing whereyou have to be tan, like,
because it means that you'resurfing a lot, I really

(10:48):
appreciated it. And then, like,you know, you feel more like a
surfer here in the Philippinesif you're tan. And I just found
a self confidence that not justbeing Filipino gave me, but also
surfing. And then, yeah, I sawthat. The more I talked about
it, the more I shared about it.
There's more Filipinas who aresurfing. And I think somehow the

(11:09):
media just started putting moreMorena, like dark skinned girls,
you know, just in media there isit's still there. The papaya
widening soaps are still there,but there really is a rise in
consciousness about like, Hey,we're Filipino. We are born
Brown, like some of us are. Manyof us are born Brown, and it's
beautiful and that we should beproud of it. So, yeah,

(11:32):
definitely, just besides thefact that there is a rise in
surfing, there's also a riseand, you know, just pride of
being yourself and being outthere for the Filipinas. Yeah,
that's something I'm super proudof, because, yeah, like my
uncles, you know, and auntieswould say, Hello, you're gonna
get dark. Are you sure? Do youput some screen and I don't get

(11:53):
teased, man? Like I started inuniversity, I was in the soccer
team. So I already got cannedfrom the soccer practice, and
then I would come back fromweekend surfing, so I was really
dark. And I remember one of myguy friends would tease me,
like, oh, I can't see youanymore. You're super dark, even
if he was also an athlete. Andalso would get dark. But it's
just different when you're awoman or a Filipina, that you're

(12:16):
dark, like, not as beautiful. Ijust kept doing what I was
doing, and until now, I'm stilldoing what I'm doing. And that
friend at some point said, I'mso sorry for teasing you back
then about your skin like we areadults now. And he's like, I'm
so sorry for you back then foryour skin color. I'm proud of
you and what you're doing. Andit's the same for you know,

(12:36):
family members. They don't evenmention it like, Oh, good.
Tomorrow, man, you're sobeautiful with your with your
tan skin, I wish I had thatcolor. You look so healthy. So
there's definitely change inmindset, not just for the young
people. I feel like the olderpeople as well. Yeah, so I'm
really happy about that.

Laura Day (12:56):
It is really so good to hear because, I mean, I would
get like, when I was younger,more like, oh, make sure you put
on sunscreen, make sure you puton shirt. It wasn't too, too
bad. But I do remember beingconscious of like, how dark I
would get, because I get darkvery fast, very easily. And now
I think what changed it for me,actually, was when I moved to
Australia, everyone was like,Oh, my God, you're 10. They call
it. They're like, you're soblack, you're so black. I want
to be black like you. That'slike, the way they say it. And

(13:18):
then, yeah, I would just get sodark there. And that's like when
I started really embracing it,like, oh, like, it feels good
that I can spend time in the sunand I don't burn and like, this
is totally what my skin was madefor, yeah. And they have
noticed, well, maybe not in thatsense, but like, the older
generation of not, or maybe justevolving in where they think one

(13:40):
of my aunties one day, she waslike, she didn't see me in a
while, and she's like, oh, youknow, Lauren, like, still,
still, not a boyfriend yet. Youknow that whole, that whole
time. Yeah, it's funny, becauseI always tell them I'm like, I'm
single, like, now, but I haven'tbeen single, like, this whole
time you got, you know? Butanyways, I remember her at the
end of the party coming up to mebe like, Oh, I'm sorry for

(14:03):
asking you that. I shouldn'thave asked you that. And I was
like, Oh, wow. Okay, and I'm soused to it. Just like, Oh, it's
fine, you know. But it was akind of a nice surprise where
she said that and was realizing,like, oh, I probably shouldn't
be asking that. Yeah. And, and Ithink it comes with we have,
like, these automatic things wesay and automatic ways we
interact in our families, yeah,and so like your friend, like,

(14:25):
didn't even realize what he wassaying when he made fun of like,
your skin color, yeah, so it'snice to hear that he came back
and apologized, yeah,

years after you're so right about how
Filipinos just have an automaticresponse to everything I saw a
friend that I hadn't seen in along time, just recently, and
she had been living inAustralia, and I didn't
recognize her in the airport.
And the first thing I said was,oh my God, I didn't recognize
you. You're so white. And I'mlike, oh my god, Elaine, you're
doing what you don't like aboutFilipinos. And yeah, I had to

(14:55):
say sorry right away.

Unknown (15:00):
Yeah, so tell us about surfista travels surface

I started, actually, it's like the
anniversary. I totally forgot,really, yeah, February 12. So
that's the first ever surfacethe weekend it was a surf trip.
Was 13 years ago, yeah, to thisday. So I totally forgot to
mention it. So, yeah, anyway, so13 years ago I started, I called

(15:27):
it more serfisa travels. Backthen I just organized surf trips
for people in Manila to go,first to La Union, yeah, and
then we would go eventually tobalear and Chagall. And I
started that well, one as a wayto not stay in the corporate
world. Because I was working inMakati in Manila back then, I

(15:47):
wanted to do something that Ilove doing, which was surfing,
meeting new people, andtraveling pretty much, and
sharing my culture. Yeah, I wasalways frequenting San Juan
alone. You haven't been there. I

Unknown (16:01):
haven't yet. So, you know, every time we go to the
Philippines, it's like, do we gothis direction, or do we go this
direction, and then, so, like,the last, yeah, exactly. You
can't do it all, like, in oneloop, right? Like, you have to
change. So we haven't yet, but Iwant to, I really want to, yeah,

so I would say, like, I feel like it maybe could
match like California, becausevery city, but it's also very
long boards, longboard oriented,compared to like Island shagao.
So sharga would be like Hawaii,and then maybe La Union would be
like California. So yeah, I wasalways there, and I was always
staying in the same resortcalled San Juan surf resort. And
I had a surf dad there. He'sAustralian, and his son is,

(16:41):
like, super known for surfing,like he was also promoting
surfing a lot, Luke Landrigan,and I felt like they were my
surf family then, and my surfdad, Brian, he said, you know,
Elaine, yeah, you have all thesethings going for you. You're
always bringing your friendsfrom university to surfing. Why
not get paid for it? Why not dosomething about it? So yeah, to

(17:03):
backtrack, that's how itstarted. And then I started
bringing people from Manila toLa Union, baler and chergao, and
people would fly in from othercountries or even other islands
to join surfista so that theycould experience surfing with
somebody who knows the spot, whoreally loves surfing, who will
surf with them and just have newfriends with and, yeah, that's

(17:27):
how surfista started, before Isettled in check out to focus on
check out. Okay, yeah. And then,like, eventually we did camp, so
it would be weekends, and theneventually I started all girls
camps. There's so many surfcamps right now, but I felt like
there was a need for girls tohave, like, a safe space to
learn how to surf with otherFilipinos. So I started Sufis,

(17:50):
the all girls camps, and just coEd camps as well in Chicago. And
then when I moved permanently toChicago, I just stayed with
that. And then now it's evolved,like, I feel like it's always
evolving. Now, we had to stopthe camps, because back then it
was really hard to navigateChagall. Yeah, there were not
much surf resorts. There was nopublic transportation. So I'd

(18:11):
have to have numbers of what youcall habal habals, like
motorcycles. You'd have to knowwhere to eat, where to go back
then. So that was what I wasdoing for the groups. But since
Chicago has changed so much,there's so many accommodations,
it's just easier. Now we justfocus now on surf lessons and
packages and surfing for kids,because now we have a kid and

(18:33):
yeah, and I feel like it's goingto evolve and maybe have camps
again, because we're buildingmore rooms in our property. So
hopefully that happens soon,

Laura Day (18:43):
might have to collaborate on a camp. Yeah,
yeah. So let's talk about howmuch shark out has changed, and
like what you've seen, even justfrom the short time of when I
went 2016 to 2022 end of 22 solet's say almost 23 so what is
that? 4567, years changeddramatically. Because, like,

(19:03):
when I came back, I was lookingthrough my Instagram feed of
when I posted in 2016 and I wastrying to find, like, the same
snapshot locations, and Icouldn't, because I think I
don't know if, like, the road,it was a dirt road, mostly back
then, and then they were juststarting to pave some stuff. And
like, it was so different. Itwas blowing my mind. Like, oh my

(19:24):
god, I can't even, like, orientmyself. I mean, it's been
amazing. I would love to hearfrom you what you think of,
like, the growth and how it'schanged and pros and cons,
because you do talk about thison your Instagram, which I love.
I love that you're like,transparent and clear, and
you're just, like, tellingpeople how it is, and giving
them advice on like how theyshould be traveling in Chicago,

(19:45):
acting in Chicago, surfing inChicago, all of that.

So like, the first time I've been to Chicago
was 2005 which is a long timeago. And I think the big shift
happened was when they releaseda movie called shergao. I don't
know if you've seen. It or itNo. So there was a Filipino
movie called sure gal. I thinkit was 2017, 18 or something.

(20:09):
And yeah, like I was sayingbefore, was sugar was an island
that people would go to if theyalready knew how to surf, wanted
to surf. And it was just allabout surfing. And then now it's
after the movie, and thestoryline of that movie was that
this vlogger was heartbroken andwanted to try to find herself in

(20:30):
chagao. And I thought it'd beheavy on surfing, but it was a
lot about partying. So I thinkthat movie brought a whole bunch
of different just a differentkind of crowd to shergao. So
more party goers, younger peoplewho don't really care or know
about surfing. And then, becauseof that, more businesses came.
And for a while I really didn'tlike it, because I was here for

(20:54):
the surf. I'm here for thesurfing. I was here to meet
people who like nature, likebeing outside. And, I mean, I
partied, but at some point, onlyparty people were coming, and I
was saying on social media thatI would go, you know, to an
island, and people would justblast their speakers, and their
main goal was just to party andget drunk. And yeah, I didn't

(21:15):
like it, but I really couldn'tdo anything about it. Because,
yeah, I couldn't do anythingabout it, and I just had to go
with the flow. And then thepandemic happened. So we got a
break from all of that, becausenobody was allowed to travel.
And then after that, the bigtyphoon called Odette happened,

(21:36):
yeah, and a lot of things weredestroyed, so you'd really have
to have love to come backstraight away, but then now,
yeah, like you said, more so in2025 there's a lot of resorts, a
lot of restaurants, a lot ofbars. So the pros and cons of it
is, I'll start with the prosfirst, me as somebody who is

(22:00):
growing up getting older here,it's better because there are
more things to have a family.
There's a school for mydaughter. She's five years old.
There are choices for schoolsnow. There are clinics. There
are more clinics in case you getsick, because back then, you'd
have a throat infection and youwouldn't have anything, you
wouldn't have anything here, andthere wouldn't be one doctor to

(22:20):
look at your throat just tocheck if you do have an
infection. So there are clinics.
It's easier to get food, like,back then, you know, you would
have to hide your Oreos becauseyou didn't want to share it with
anybody like you literally hadto, like, smuggle in, like,
little treats, because it washard to get anything on the
island. So there's morebusinesses and work for people

(22:43):
now there's a lot more income,which is great for the locals.
You can see some of people'squality of lives getting better
because of the income and thejobs that they can get and and
the businesses that they're ableto make. So that's really good,
especially like we are soheavily dependent on tourism,
it's been very beneficial forthe people who live here, but

(23:06):
I'll think of more later. Butlike cons is, yeah, like one the
crowds, there's a lot morepeople who really come here for
the parties and don't care somuch about nature or recycling
or not leaving a trace. Thatirks us a lot as surfers,
because the ocean is ourplayground, and we clean up

(23:28):
after these people who don'trealize how much trash they're
leaving behind. So that's why alot of crowds peak season, like
Holy Week or the comingValentine's Day or holidays. If
you want to just have a nicemeal with your family, you have
to really reserve a table,because it's full. It's full
everywhere. So we'd rather just,a lot of us who live here would

(23:50):
rather just eat at home or hangout with friends at home,
because it does get verycrowded. So that's just just
little annoyances for the biggerstuff. Like I mentioned
recently, I wanted to bring mydaughter to just play on the
beach, and from our house to theclosest beach, it's just two
minutes away. It's literallyjust, you just cross a few

(24:10):
streets, and then you're there.
And when I wanted to bring her,everything was fenced off. I
couldn't enter anywhere, and Iwas driving with her on a
motorbike, and I thought I wouldjust find the next opening to
the beach, but it took like 10to 15 minutes driving just to
find a place for her to justplay on the beach without having
to go through a resort or gothrough a restaurant. So I think

(24:32):
that's one of the cons. A lot ofthe beachfront property are
fenced off. Wow. Everybody saysthat the beach is free, and by
law, should be for everyone,yes, but how do I get in there?
I'd have to take a boat and goall the way around, and I can't
get in there. I just want theaccess. So that's one thing,

(24:52):
because the beachfront propertyhave all been bought off. Prices
are very expensive. In Chicagoright now, a lot of people get
shocked, even ourselves, by howthe prices have gone up with
fish or vegetables, because onething, everything is imported,
which is understandable. There'snot really a big farm culture

(25:12):
here, or things don't grow hereas much so things come from the
other islands, but becauseyou're competing against people
from resorts, okay, you know,you know, there's a higher
demand and the prices go up. Sothe worry there is that locals
can't afford even to buyvegetables or buy their own food

(25:34):
and end up just buying this themost simple things or, I mean,
thankfully, many can fish and dotheir own thing, but it's it's
still expensive compared toother touristy islands like
Bali. If you go to Indonesia,the food is super cheap.

Unknown (25:52):
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have the link in the show notesfor you.

What about you?
Like, did you notice anythingwere the changes?

Laura Day (26:48):
Yeah. So one of the first things I remember coming
back in 2022 was coming out ofthe airport and then seeing, and
I know, like, it was still,like, just kind of after Odette.
So like, I got the feeling thatpeople were just getting kind of
back at it. And there's a lot ofpeople right there, right by the
airport, right that live rightin there. That's kind of like

(27:10):
the first time I really got tosee, like, chargon ons, like,
just people that, you know, bornhere, lived here, like, just,
are never going to leave chargal, this is, this is their
home. And so I always kind ofjust really wonder, like, how
development affects them, youknow, because they can't, like,
if there's another typhoon, ifthere's another natural
disaster, they can't leave andgo home. This is their home. So

(27:32):
I always wonder about that I do,like, you know, on social media,
I do see, like a lot of, onething that gets to me sometimes
is there'll be somebody, andthat's from whatever, another
part of the world. And they comein and they're like, oh, you
know Filipino culture. I justlike, I feel so at home here. I
love it so much. And somethingthat I wish for them was to,

(27:53):
like, go back and be like, hey,our culture that is more mono
and more like, Soul focused.
Like, how can we be more likethis and not just take it as
like, Oh, this is my only. Thisis my experience. I feel so
welcome here. I'm going to movehere. But how can you pick what
you learn and put it back out inthe world in another way, not
that that has to do with likethe sharga island. But I did
notice, let's see, the firsttime I came, yeah, the surf

(28:17):
breaks didn't seem very crowded

at all. Yeah, sorry, I forgot to mention that.
Yeah, this next time,

Laura Day (28:25):
there was definitely more like, definitely like,
trying to surf around, eitherbeginners getting dropped in on
by Australians. Yeah, yeah,getting dropped in on. I
actually had one moment where Ihad hired a guide, and he took
me out, and he waved me into awave. And I had seen this guy

(28:47):
over on my left, kind of far,but still over on my left, going
to drop in on it, but the guidewaved me in. So I'm kind of
like, well, he knows, I thinkhe's watching what he's doing,
so he just told me to go. So Iwent into it. He actually waved
me in, knowing my level to dropin on that guy, because that guy
had taken so many waves, andthat guy was so mad, just went

(29:08):
dead and just yelling and stufflike that. And all the local
chargonnas Were like, laughing.
They're like, Oh, why is he soangry? Yeah, I saw more of that.
I think one of the things that Iget concerned about, and you
talk about this is that, youknow, there's a lot of surf
guides. And when people ask,like, Oh, who's been to
charcoal, any advice? I'm alwayslike, there's lots of surf
guides everywhere. And I'm like,make sure you, like, hire

(29:32):
someone from an organization,or, like, I'll write them in
yours, or from a shop, you know,because we have gone out to surf
and I'm like, oh, man, shouldthis person be on this wave?
Like, if you're getting pushedin, I do a wave. I don't think
this is your level. Yeah,they'll still take them out. So
that's, I think that has to dowith more with crowds. That's

(29:54):
kind of the different the thingsI've seen. But again, like lots
of places to eat. Eat, eventhough, the first time we went,
I think we ate at the sameresort that we stayed at the
whole time, and it was good, butlots of places to eat. I don't
even think last time we went to,like, get a massage or shopping
or any of that stuff, I don'tthink, I don't think we did any
of that stuff the first time.

(30:14):
So, yeah, a lot more to do. Andbetter board,

yeah, okay, yeah, more choices. You don't have to
bring your own, because there'sa lot more choices. Yeah, can I
add about the surf Park? BecauseI forgot about that part for
some reason. Yeah, in terms ofrenting surfboards and having
more surf schools, there's a lotmore choices now, which is a
good thing. But like you said,the surf spots are more crowded.
You used to be able to surf byyourself, with your friends,

(30:39):
without any drama or hassle. Youknow, there would be a spot for
beginners and a spot for moreexperienced surfers. But now
it's just to be honest, assomebody who teaches here and
somebody who lives here, somedays, I just prefer not to surf
if I know it's going to becrowded. There's a lot of
instructors and teachers becausethey know how to push or because

(31:02):
they've surfed for a year. I seeit on social media. I've seen it
on Tiktok, somebody gettinginterviewed and being asked, Oh,
you're a surf instructor, howlong have you been surfing? And
the guy would say, a year. Andthen so the interview were would
be like, oh, so it just takes ayear to teach how to serve.
Like, yeah, you just, you knowwhatever answer. And it

(31:25):
surprises me that people justbelieve it. But then again, like
when people don't know anythingabout surfing, they'll just,
they'll just absorb whatever isthere on social media, but it's
a lot more, I would say, messy.
Now, in terms of the lineup forme, as somebody who was not born
here. I can't tell somebody off,because they're gonna say,
you're not local, you're awoman. You can't say what you're
saying, although I still do saysomething either on my social

(31:50):
media. There has been an effortto make an association for surf
instructors, which is great, butthere are so many surf spots in
chagao, you take a boat, andthere's like, so many surf
spots, so it's really hard toregulate and police every single
person teaching. So in terms ofthe teaching part, I would say,

(32:11):
if you really want to learnproperly, you'd have to do your
research, check the Googlereviews and make sure that the
person you're learning fromknows what they're doing,
because now it's like a marketyou go to cloud nine, and people
are hailing you down surflesson, sir, and it's stressful
for some people, but yeah, somepeople will, will just go for
it. And then in terms ofsurfers, you know, like I said,

(32:33):
back then, it was people whoknew how to surf or had a
genuine interest to learn how tosurf now, it's a lot of, yeah,
social media. A lot of peoplewant it for pictures, just to
get the shot. They don't care ifthey don't know what they're
doing and they're in a spot thatthey're not supposed to be in.
There's a lot of more aggrosurfer guys as well. So like you

(32:54):
mentioned, there were a lot ofAustralians. Now we get all
kinds of nationalities. There'sa lot of Spanish Israelis, just
all kinds of nationalities, andsome I won't mention, but some
nationalities are more macho ormore sexist than Filipino
culture, because we're verymatriarchal. The local guys know
me. You know, we respect eachother. We do our own thing. And

(33:17):
if I tell maybe say a Filipinobeginner say, Hey, you shouldn't
be here. Paddle around, theywould just listen. But I've been
experiencing a lot of like,aggro guys not listening to me,
just because I'm a woman,telling them, get out of the
way. Go around, paddle backaround. Just simple things that
they don't know because I don'tknow they're guys. They weren't

(33:40):
taught properly. Yeah, that'sannoying and stressful, and
people have voiced that out ontheir social media about, you
know, respecting the people wholive here, even if they're a
woman. So I've had to betougher. So in the beginning,
you know, as a girl, you want tobe friendly, you want to be
accommodating, you want to behospitable. Because you're
Filipino. These are tourists.

(34:02):
They came here to surf. Theypaid for their flight. But I
think things have happened to melast year that I've said, Okay,
I'm 40 years old now. I've livedhere long enough I'm teaching
surfing. I'm not going to be toonice anymore. I would like
literally point to someone andtell them to paddle around,
because I have to, otherwiseit's dangerous. People can get

(34:25):
hurt. People will think thatthey're just doing the right
thing. So I've had to maybechange my personality in the
water, be tougher, because ithas to be done now, like in
other places, probably likeHawaii or other places you'd
have to. It's not like thatlevel where people you know beat
each other up, but you'd have totell the tourists that have no

(34:48):
idea of surf etiquette or don'tknow what they're doing that.
Hey dude, that's not that's nothow it works. Somebody from here
has to tell them, even if thatis our source of income, even if
you. You know, they are the onesbring money, so the
justification is, let them dowhatever they want, because
they're paying for stuff. Butno, this is the water we surf

(35:09):
in. This is we all live here.
We're all a community. We haveto watch out for each other and
our students, because otherwiseit's just going to be a mess.
Yeah?

Laura Day (35:16):
And really dangerous, yeah. And shargao. It's funny,
because the last time I went, Iwas like, thinking, oh, man,
maybe I should really think moreabout, like, what's the
contingency plan if you gethurt? Because, like, that's the
thing. Do you get seriouslyhurt? There's not going to be a
rescue chopper to airlift youto. You'd have

to know the number, yeah.

Laura Day (35:41):
So I think it's, it's super important for people like
you to, like, regulate thelineup and regulate it, even if
people don't like it.

Yeah, it's important. It's something that
should be talked about. I feellike it's not talked about
enough by people who do have avoice, like I know, in many
other countries where surfing isolder, you can't get away with,
you know, being a cook in thelineup, you're going to get told
off, or if you're in the wrongspot, you're going to get told
off. Whereas, like you saidhere, not only tourists by

(36:09):
themselves, go to a place wherethey shouldn't be.
Unfortunately, people who workand live here do bring their
students also to spots andconditions they're not supposed
to be in. So

Laura Day (36:19):
yeah, that was one thing. Like, I've only been to
like a handful, like a couple ofspots there in charcoal, but
every time I've gone, and maybeit's also the season, it's been,
like, challenging surf for me atthat time in like, however I
like my abilities, even thislast time was probably the most
challenging surf I've eversurfed. And I did feel that the
guide that I had, like, westarted in, like, small spots

(36:41):
and small days, because I alsohad my cousin with me, and she
was taking some lessons. So ofcourse, she wasn't going to
throw her out anywhere. But hewas like, I want to take you
somewhere else. And the nextcouple days were really
challenging, bigger waves, a lotof current, all of that. And I
think that some people mayberomanticize what surfing on an
island is like, not reallyrealizing how strong the

(37:02):
currents are, how rocky or reefythe bottoms are. And I, when
people ask, I like to tell them,like, you're looking for a hotel
with a sandy beach where youjust walk out and there's your
break. Like, charcoal might notbe for you.

Yeah, no,

Laura Day (37:19):
yeah, yeah. So like, what are the things that people
should know about Chaga? Like,if they're listening and they've
heard, like, all the buzz aboutgoing to the Philippines,
because now it's so crazy. Noone ever talked about going to
the Philippines ever before.
Like, yeah, never you know, frommy whole adult like, Child Life
to adulthood, and only now, inthe last two years, people are
like, every post is like, aboutthe Philippines that I see, and

(37:40):
I'm like, wow, it's crazy,right? Yeah, wow. You're you
guys are actually finallyinterested in my culture. Like,
you know you weren't before. Butso for those people listening
that are interested in coming tothe Philippines to serve
specifically Shar gal, like,what kind of advice do you have
for them?

Okay, for people visiting shergao or the
Philippines to serve I would sayone manage your expectations,
because I said that there is aclinic, there is improvement,
but if something serious happensto you, you'd have to be flown
out by a chopper, which is goingto be super expensive, or be
taken out on a boat. Theemergency clinics here, we don't

(38:21):
have it. So if you're going todo something like surfing, make
sure that you know what you'redoing, or you're going out to
spots that are good for you,because in terms of injuries or
accidents, check out, is not theplace where you want to get
hurt. Bring your own medicine ifyou have a specific condition.
If you're traveling with kids,bring their own medicine. There

(38:42):
are pharmacies. There's a lotmore pharmacies now, but they're
closed after a certain hour.
They're closed on Sundays.
They're not 24 hours. So yeah,just in terms of medical things,
just be very careful. If youhave a very specific need or
condition in terms ofsurfboards, back then, I would
say, Bring Your Own surfboard.
But there's a lot more choicesnow. Just manage your
expectations, because, like youwere saying, everybody's posting

(39:03):
about share down on socialmedia, and it always looks like
the spots are empty. It's not,unless you get really lucky on a
day you know where you wentsomewhere, and you were the only
ones out. But I would say a lotof the surf spots are empty
unless you take a boat andreally make your way out of
everybody's way and find a spotfor you. Chagall is popular, but

(39:26):
there are more tourists thatcome with that, so don't get so
frustrated with the realitythat's a reality right now. If
you want an empty surf spot,research, go out. Go first thing
in the morning. Go when it'snoontime and it's super hot,
nobody wants to go out. I wouldsay, try to get to know the
locals, or assimilate into theculture, because I feel like

(39:50):
because sherga was more modernnow, and there's a lot more
things for tourists that manypeople come and go without even
saying. Eating salamat once, youknow like or eating Filipino
dish once, because there aremore choices for foreigners and
tourists. But I would say, ifyou really want the share go

(40:11):
experience or the Philippineexperience, get to know
somebody. Learn five words, tryFilipino food, ask about it,
because the locals will see yourgenuine interest in the culture
or in the island, and rememberyou, and when you come back, you
know you're gonna have a friendfor serving or for life.
Because, yeah, I do notice now,because of the changes, that

(40:33):
there's a disconnect now betweenlocals and people who live here
and people who visit now it'sjust like, Ah, they're gonna
leave. They're gonna leaveanyway. So whatever. Back then
in the water, everybody werefriends. There was no difference
with, you know, the haves andhave nots. Like everybody was
equal in the ocean. But now Ifeel like it's not the same.
Like people think that they'repaying for an expensive resort,

(40:55):
and then they deserve all thewaves. Just respect the culture,
respect the people. Get to knowthe people, even if you're there
for just a short time, and thenyou'll have a more meaningful
experience with surfing or justthe island. Yeah, get to know
the local spots where to eat.
Maybe I should make a list andjust send it to somebody who's

(41:16):
interested. I do have a list ofrestaurants that I like, but
it's mixed. But maybe I shouldjust have, like, supporting
local places. Because, yeah,yeah, the locals who are getting
into these small businesses dothis so that they can pay their
bills or survive not to getrich. Really, there's big
resorts here, maybe owned byforeigners or Filipinos, but

(41:37):
they already have the money. SoI would say support the ones who
are doing it to send their kidto school or, yeah, just live a
better life. Yeah,

Laura Day (41:46):
that's so great. I travel all that way to not learn
about the culture. And Filipinoculture is so rich and so
diverse everywhere you go,incredible. Like you guys have
ever visited the Philippines,for those listening, like, from
town to town. There could be adifferent dialect there. Yeah,
like, it's so it's reallyincredible. When I came into

(42:06):
Chicago the last time I came,yeah, it got on, like, the
shuttle to go to into generalLuna and the at the airport, and
the bus driver. He had shuttledriver. He was talking to me in
visaya, but visaya sounds justclose enough to Tagalog that my
brain was like, why can't Iunderstand? Like, talking to me,

(42:28):
why can't I understand? And thenfinally, another lady, she
translated for me, but I waslike, it's those little things
like that make it really aspecial place. And so you're
right, enjoy the culture and bea part of it, yeah,

yeah, even Sure.
Go on, on, if you leave theisland and go to Surigao, it's
different, like they say thingsdifferently

Laura Day (42:46):
already. Are you, like, hopeful for the future and
what it looks like? And do youfeel like things are moving in a
direction that are going to be,that's going to be sustainable
tourism?

It's hard, you know, I'm just a hopeful person.
I always just like, see thepositive and try to find what's
good in it for everybody. But Ithink to be realistic, it's very
important for the community hereto pay attention to what's
happening and regulate like,whether it's in terms of trash

(43:19):
or I mentioned beach access, or,you know, supporting the locals.
It could be detrimental to manyof the people who live here, the
locals, if we just don't payattention and say what needs to
be said. Because, of course,there's politics involved.
There's, you know, all thesethings that are that also

(43:39):
contribute to why these thingsare happening to the island. And
I'd like to think and believethat people are doing things for
the benefit of others. You knowthat politicians are making
choices to help everybody?
That's what I would like tobelieve. But if not, then people
hopefully will use their voicesand set up and say something

(43:59):
about it, because nothing'sgonna happen if we don't mention
anything. But I'm hopeful, likeI'm happy, I'm happy to be here.
I hope that my daughter willgrow up in a beautiful place
that still holds the localculture and the values of
Filipinos, and not just like aparty Island? Yeah, I'm hopeful

(44:21):
that cherga will still be aparadise, maybe a modern, much
more modern paradise, but stillbe a place where people love to
come and where Filipinos feel athome, and where I would like to
live forever. That's the plan.
We don't have plans of goinganywhere else. So, yeah, I have
to be hopeful. And I am

Laura Day (44:42):
hopeful. That's good.
I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that,because that's something I
always think about, comingthere, just observing how things
have changed. And like feeling,you know, I don't live in the
Philippines, but I feel like alittle of that, like heartache,
a little bit like, oh yeah, justI remember the very first time I
came. 2016 we went to this spotthat you take, you know,

(45:03):
motorcycle into the coconutgroves. I even remember the
coconut farmers had to movestuff out of our way to get into
the beach with, yeah, it waslike, so long ago, and there
were these little boys, a groupof little boys, maybe, like,
seven years old, and they'rewalking on the beach, and they
had taken their clothes offbecause, I think they were
trying to scare the fish intolike, one pool. They were like,

(45:23):
fishing, yeah. And they werelike, whipping the water and
kind of moving the fish into apool of like, in one area. And I
just thought, like, Oh, this isit's so sweet that they don't
have any reason to have anyshame, like that. They're just
collecting food. And I reallylike hope. I don't know, in 10
years time, will they be able todo this? I hope so. Yeah, right,

(45:45):
you know, will this beach be allresort, or will they have, will
they be able to do, like, goabout their way? So I definitely
see that, and I feel that like,Oh, I really wish for the people
that were born on that islandand will stay on that island
still have, like, theirlivelihood and the way that they
live,

yeah, oh, I forgot to mention in terms of
hope, so you've heard about thetyphoon Odette, yeah, from 2021
So pretty much, like manythings, if not, everything was
destroyed. And when thathappened to us, I thought that I
couldn't come back to Shiga andlive anymore, because it just
seemed like it seemed like itwas a catastrophe, like

(46:24):
everything was, you know, nowater, no electricity, no
everything. And I was just soheartbroken by what happened.
And share, go as a communityafter that. You know, disaster
teams up together and homes werebuilt. Electricity was back
after three months. Three monthsis quick for an entire island to

(46:47):
have no electricity. If youcome,

Laura Day (46:50):
you came right. What month did you come? Oh, it's
always, usually November,December, like, I think, just

few months after many things were rebuilt, people
were sending help from themainland or other countries to
shergao, because they've been toshergao, or they know somebody
from Chicago, and that was a,like, a big proof of my hope,
because that could have gonelike down, like things could

(47:17):
have gone worse after that, butpeople stepped up. People helped
out. I have a friend who movedhere very recently, and she
said, Whatever happened afterOdette proved to her that she
loves being here or loves thepeople here, because just that
sense of community, of helpingeach other, the Filipinos, of
course, there was drama andthings that happened. You know,

(47:38):
these asses happened, but justthe Filipinos helped each other
the private sector. You know, wecomplain about these private
resorts and stuff, but it wasalso the private businesses that
helped restore a lot of theplace, not all, but like, there
was a lot of help, also from theprivate sector, when we couldn't
get it from the government. Sothat's why I have hope, because

(48:00):
of the community and because ofthat happened, that was proof of
hope and, well, resilience andjust like wanting the best for
everybody.

Laura Day (48:09):
Yeah, that's the Filipino spirit. Yeah, that's so
beautiful to hear. Well, thankyou for coming on and sharing
more about Shar gal. I feel likewe could talk forever. I

know we should do this without them. Maybe I'll
take another year to plan it.
Just

Laura Day (48:25):
kidding. It's okay.
It'll be worth it. But I admirewhat you've done. I admire the
business you've built, and Ilike, I really look up to you,
and I love that we can sharethis. It really makes me feel
good about like, doing what Ido, and I feel very supported by
you. So I appreciate that. Thankyou

so much also for doing what you're doing. I
always follow your adventures,and it's just so nice to know
you know a strong, confidentsurfer girl, Filipino woman,
like he was out there sayingtheir thoughts. So yeah, I
support you, and thank you forhaving me here. Thank you,

Unknown (49:01):
all right, lady, we've come to the end of our episode,
but not the end of theconversation after listening. I
hope that you feel represented,empowered and even better,
connected to your surf sistersin our beautiful surf lady
community. Let's stay connectedbefore our next episode. Follow
me on Instagram at Confessionsof a surf lady, and follow our

(49:24):
amazing women's surf community,where we get together to learn
more surf better and live happy.
That is at surf society, spelleds, O, C, i, e, t, e, last but
not least, join us in ourexclusive surf society platform.
Join us for your first week freeby clicking the link at the top
of the show notes, thank you somuch for bringing your unique

(49:46):
and beautiful self to our lineupat Confessions of a surf lady,
I'll see you on our nextepisode. Your host, Laura Day,
you.

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72. Surfing Siargao with Respect: Filipino Culture, Community, & the Local Lineup

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