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🌿 Dispatches from the Jungle 🌿
A Queer Expat Blog for the Bold, the Curious, and the Deeply Alive
Welcome to Dispatches from the Jungle — a lifestyle blog at the intersection of queer identity, creative freedom, and midlife reinvention. I’m Waymon Hudson: a late-deafened writer, Broadway musical creator, and marketing futurist living loud in the jungles of Costa Rica.
This isn’t just a blog. It’s a digital campfire — a place for stories about joy, grief, surf sessions, messy growth, and gorgeous resistance. Whether I’m writing about life as a queer expat, the behind-the-scenes of building a Broadway show, or what it’s like to rewire your life at 45, you’ll find it all here. Raw, real, and radically hopeful.
Subscribe to read about:
🌈 LGBTQ+ life in Costa Rica and beyond
📖 Memoir-style reflections on healing, identity & reinvention
🧠 Marketing insights and brand storytelling with soul
🏄 Jungle living, dogs, and imperfect adventures
✨ The creative chaos of art, activism, and starting over
Ready for a blog that doesn’t just inform — but connects, uplifts, and sparks something real?
👉 Subscribe on Substack or explore the latest dispatches below.
🌟 Featured Posts🌟
Women of Broadway: The Matriarchs Who Remember
Broadway’s women of color have always held the stage — but for queer Black women, the song was never theirs to sing. In Speakeasy: A New Musical, Miss Addie breaks the silence, turning memory into rebellion and love into legacy.
LGBTQ Costa Rica: The Real Queer Guide to Paradise
From marriage equality to rainbow beaches, discover what life is really like for queer and trans travelers in Costa Rica — where Pura Vida means everyone belongs.
All That I Am: When Queer Broadway Characters Refuse to Stay Supporting
When Queer Broadway characters stop hiding behind the jokes and start demanding to be seen, the result is electric. In Speakeasy, Merc’s “All That I Am” turns vulnerability into power — and the supporting character into the soul of the story.
All Posts
Women of Broadway: The Matriarchs Who Remember
Broadway’s women of color have always held the stage — but for queer Black women, the song was never theirs to sing. In Speakeasy: A New Musical, Miss Addie breaks the silence, turning memory into rebellion and love into legacy.
Waymon Hudson
2 days ago5 min read
LGBTQ Costa Rica: The Real Queer Guide to Paradise
From marriage equality to rainbow beaches, discover what life is really like for queer and trans travelers in Costa Rica — where Pura Vida means everyone belongs.
Waymon Hudson
5 days ago5 min read
All That I Am: When Queer Broadway Characters Refuse to Stay Supporting
When Queer Broadway characters stop hiding behind the jokes and start demanding to be seen, the result is electric. In Speakeasy, Merc’s “All That I Am” turns vulnerability into power — and the supporting character into the soul of the story.
Waymon Hudson
Nov 84 min read
🎶 Dance Pop: Talk With Your Hands — Where Sound Ends & the Body Speaks
In the club, no one can hear each other — and that’s the beauty of it. Talk With Your Hands is a dance pop anthem about connection beyond words, where touch becomes the language and rhythm is how we understand each other.
Waymon Hudson
Nov 73 min read
Costa Rica Expat Challenges: The Hard Stuff No One Posts on Instagram
Living in Costa Rica isn’t all sunsets and smoothie bowls. From driving chaos to missing Amazon Prime, here’s the truth about expat life — and why it’s still worth it.
Waymon Hudson
Nov 54 min read
Broadway's Hidden Ones — Queer Survival in Plain Sight
Speakeasy: A New Musical captures what Broadway has always known: queer survival is defiance in disguise. From drag bans to police raids, this is how we keep singing.
Waymon Hudson
Nov 15 min read
Remote Work in Costa Rica: Jungle Wi-Fi, Time Zones, and the Digital Nomad Life
Thinking of working remotely from Costa Rica? It’s absolutely possible — if you plan for more than sunsets. From reliable jungle Wi-Fi and coworking spots to the Digital Nomad Visa, here’s how to make remote work actually work in paradise.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 295 min read
Queer Broadway Longing: Love in the Shadows (and the Spotlight) That Refuses to Hide
From Wicked to Speakeasy, queer longing has always shaped Broadway’s heart. This piece celebrates Merc — lover, liberator, and proof that queer love belongs in the spotlight.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 256 min read
Learning Spanish in Costa Rica: A Fun (and Honest) Guide for Expats Who Aren’t 22 Anymore
Learning Spanish in Costa Rica isn’t about grammar drills — it’s about connection. From affordable local tutors to slang like pura vida and tuanis, here’s how to learn the language, embrace the culture, and stop pointing at menus in panic.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 224 min read
Broadway’s Queer Emcees & the Power of Invitation
Broadway’s queer emcees do more than introduce a show — they usher us into spaces of rebellion, love, and truth. In Speakeasy, Merc’s “Come to the Speakeasy” joins that lineage, inviting us to a sanctuary where queerness takes center stage.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 194 min read
Building Your Jungle Crew in Costa Rica: How to Make Friends, Find Community, and Actually Live the Pura Vida Life
Costa Rica gives you sunsets and surf… but the real magic? The people. 🌴 From neighbors with fruit to drag shows in San José, here’s how building community in Costa Rica makes expat life joyful, easy, and pura vida.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 155 min read
Broadway Confrontation Songs: Rage, Grief, and the Ghost of the Soft Boy
Broadway’s confrontation songs show the fight between who we were and who we become. In Speakeasy, Rome’s “Last Call” carries the heartbreak and fury of a man torn between vengeance and love.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 124 min read
Culture Shock in Costa Rica: Why It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me (Pura Vida, Baby)
Culture shock in Costa Rica isn’t about struggling to adapt — it’s about unlearning toxic hustle habits and embracing pura vida. From long dinners to daily greetings, life here runs on connection, not speed. It slowed me down, made me present, and taught me to live in a way that actually feels human.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 84 min read
🎶 Before I Go by Waymon Hudson — A Quiet Goodbye That Comes Back Louder
He whispered goodbye every morning before his feet hit the floor. Before I Go is a breakup song about soft strength, quiet endings, and learning to love yourself more than the silence.
Waymon Hudson
Oct 53 min read
Pets in Paradise: Bringing Your Dog or Cat to Costa Rica — and Why You Might Adopt One Here
Pets in Costa Rica are part of the pura vida lifestyle. Bringing your dog or cat is easier than you think — no quarantine for healthy pets from the U.S., Canada, or Europe. Affordable vet care, friendly landlords, and a vibrant rescue scene make this a true pet paradise. I brought one dog with me and adopted three rescues here (Daisy, Rose, and Iris). Here’s everything you need to know about importing pets, living with them, and maybe meeting your next best friend in the jung
Waymon Hudson
Oct 15 min read
Broadway Dads & Dangerous Legacies: When Musicals Wrestle with Toxic Masculinity
What happens when Broadway tackles legacy, masculinity, and the fear that softness won’t survive? This post explores toxic father-son dynamics in musicals — from Falsettos to Speakeasy — and how love can still rewrite the rules.
Waymon Hudson
Sep 283 min read
🌴 The Pura Vida Diet: Farmers’ Markets, Fresh Food Culture, and What to Skip at the Grocery Store in Costa Rica
Costa Rica food culture is fresh, affordable, and pura vida. Shop at ferias for fruit that puts the U.S. organic aisle to shame, eat $5 casados at local sodas, and stock up on Lizano sauce and tortillas. Skip overpriced imports and embrace gallo pinto, fresh coffee, and plantains as staples. Here’s how to eat like a local in Costa Rica.
Waymon Hudson
Sep 245 min read
Broadway’s Soft Boys: How Vulnerability Became a Musical Power Move
Some of the most powerful male characters in musical theatre aren’t defined by bravado — they’re defined by their vulnerability. Their poetry. Their ache.
These are Broadway’s soft boys.
And I’m obsessed with them.
Waymon Hudson
Sep 213 min read
How to Be a Good Immigrant in Costa Rica (a.k.a. Don’t Be “That” Expat)
Moving to Costa Rica? You’re not just an expat—you’re an immigrant and a guest. From respecting pura vida to paying into Caja, hiring locals, shopping at the feria, and learning Spanish, being a good immigrant means giving back as much as you get. Do that, and Costa Rica won’t just welcome you—it’ll love you back. 🌴
Waymon Hudson
Sep 175 min read
🎭 The Broadway “I Am” Song: Claiming Power in Musicals
In every great Broadway musical, there’s a moment when the character doesn’t just want change…
They become it.
And then?
They own it.
If the “I Want” song is a whisper…
And the “I’m Becoming” song is a leap…
Then the Broadway “I Am” song is the landing.
Solid. Unapologetic. Full voice. Full belt.
Waymon Hudson
Sep 143 min read
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