Just an Update!

Dear followers,

I have been on the island for one week and the time just flew! I have made friends with all 28 students and staff. We have so much work already. We will get assigned a paper in class on a Monday and it is due Wednesday, we have quizzes every day, and my first identification exam is this Thursday! We need to know over 50 species for the exam; coral, mangroves, fishes, jellies, etc. we need to know their taxonomic group, Latin and English name. For instance, a barracuda is not just a barracuda, it is Sphyraena barracuda, the great barracuda from the Sphyraenidae group- and that was an easy one. How the test will be run is by breaking up into groups of three or four and going out with a staff member and our slates, when they see something they point to it and we have to know everything about it. It is a little nerve racking but I will learn it, I have no choice. Besides that, classes are wonderful! The professors here are amazing and energetic. We have about 4 hours of lecture a day then we go in the field after our 12:30 lunch. We are allowed to go in the ocean whenever we want, we just have to remember to sign out, bring a dive buddy, and the dive flag so the locals (or belongers) know we are swimming around. It is ridiculous how often we are in the water. I have a new appreciation for the water as well. By that I mean that when I used to go to the beach I would go in the water, but never very far out, and I would get nervous if I couldn’t touch the bottom. I feel as though the movie Jaws really had an impact on things. However, now we go out and flop around for hours on end, swim next to rays and sharks and I am not scared. There is a beauty behind being educated; it can have one of two effects on you (1) it can end up freaking you out even more because you are aware of all the things that can go wrong and hurt you, but (2) you are aware of them, cautious and more respectable. The first few days I was nervous to reach down and touch things and hold things, but I have been warming up and grabbing things left and right. Today I was holding onto a sea urchin (West Indian Sea Egg) and they look extremely spikey, and they really could hurt you if you weren’t gentle with them. However, when you lightly pick em up and just hold them under the water you can feel their little suckers just latching onto your skin for balance and support. If you flip them over you can even see their “beaks” where their teeth are located. They go along the bottom of the ocean and suck things up. I have also seen my first ever shark! It was a nurse shark and he was sleeping when I saw him, but it was fascinating. My impressions of sharks have always been to stay away and they all want a piece of me, but nurse sharks don’t actually attack. If anything, they can only give me a nasty suck, because they don’t really have teeth either. My friend Aubrey went out in the boat after mine and she saw a hammerhead! She was so lucky, she was the only one who spotted it, and she was able to snap a pic! When I saw the nurse shark I also saw a lion fish, otherwise referred to as the “devil.” They are an invasive fish, and very harmful to fish populations and humans. They are dangerous and you should never touch them. One of our research projects are to go hunting for them, spear them, and bring them in for dissection to see what they have been thriving on and where. I saw a little baby though, and kept it hush hush.

Other than that, it has been wonderful weather, today was the coldest day, but I am still in capris! I did wear my 3MM wet suit today though, because the water was freezing! Just to give you an idea on the wet suits; a shorty means it is a one piece suit that looks as if you are wearing a t-shirt and shorts (hence shorty). Meanwhile, a full body is pretty self explanatory, but you can get several different long ones depending on how thick they are. Mine is one of the lightest suits being only 3MM. They can go 3, 5, etc. The thicker you go the more buoyant you will be. If you were to be a SCUBA diver you definitely want a thicker suit because you will be further down where the sun does not really reach you. They are hard to get on if you or the suit is wet, so tomorrow will be interesting when I try to get it on again!

So far my gear has been treating me really well. My goggles have not fogged up, and my snorkel is working great! I figured out how to free dive down into the water and then surface without having to bring my head out of the water to breathe again. Every day I get a little stronger and much better at navigating. I can even mermaid swim in which your legs are together and moving along. I am still a little clumsy- I have knocked my sunglasses and towel into the water twice and then had to get back in (after I was already dry) to retrieve them. It is so crazy getting back into the water without your fins on and trying to swim!

As for the island itself, the people are so nice! I have to remind myself I am in a very safe and friendly area, because I am not used to walking around at night and talking to strangers. Everyone that you pass wants to introduce themselves and tell you their story. Every single person here has an island name too!!! I have met a Sweet Papa, Big Papa, Gucci, Rooster Hill, 007, etc. The food here is delicious and they make the best fried chicken and conch fritters! I have also been working on my Spanish, and it slowly coming back to me. When I have spare time, which is not very often, I try to look up new words so I can have a convo. There is a worker here named Daniel and he is Hispanic, and does not speak English really at all. So I have been practicing a lot on him, and he is so patient with all of us! I don’t know what it is about Americans and using hand gestures to try and explain something when we cannot think of the word.

This week I was already “student of the day” which means I have to restock the food and keep everything clean. I have to be at meals 15 minutes early to set up, but I do get first dibs on the meal because I put it out! So that is a perk. I feel like I am not going to lose any weight here because they feed us so well; conch chowder, chicken, tofu, fruit salad, salad, burgers, hot dog, etc.

When I am done at dinner time I usually go out to my wild and scruffy friends and feed them, although we are not supposed to. There are dozens of wild dogs here on the island. I have found 2 liters of puppies too that have to be only about 3 months old. I bring them peanut butter every day. They are so skiddish, but I don’t blame them. When the cars of driving down the road they never slow down or swerve, in fact they speed up and don’t care if the dogs are in the way. We get barked at occasionally, and they walk in hords of 5-10! All you have to do it bend down and act as if you are about to pick up a stone and they run away, but I would never do that. The students call me the dog whisperer, because the dogs just come right up to me and escort me to where I need to go. There is a “center dog” who always lingers outside, his name is Bruno. He is super shaggy and very old. He loves chicken. (haha speak of the Devil I just saw him walk by!)

Alrighty troops, I have to get going. The super bowl is on and we are going to the bar to watch it on one of the only TVs on the island! Go Colts! (always and forever will be a bills fan, but for tonight…)