All Roads Point North

Renee

I left my home in warm sunny Coconut Grove in search of family, friends, adventure, and unfortunately cold. Spirits were high as I was looking forward to being rewarded by Kristin's welcoming smile and hospitality in Atlanta. I heard rumors the night before that Renee, one of my best friends from my semester in South Africa was possibly in Atlanta at the same time. Up to this point, I have only seen one of my 18 other housemates from that semester.

Kristin

On the 12^th Since Renee is doing grad school in Cape Town, it was a shock that we were not only going to be in the same hemisphere, not only in the same country, not only in the same state, but in the same CITY at the same time. A phone call confirmed the rumor and I decided that I would figure out how to see both Renee and Kristin during my time there. Without disregard to my long-planned rendez-vous with Kristin, I talked to both of them and found it appropriate to hang out with Renee for dinner before going to stay with Kristin. Being able to see both of them was so great that I'm still happy about it a week and a half later.

From Atlanta I traveled northeast to Charlotte where I stayed with Mike's family (Mike is my sister Liza's fiance). While there, Liza and I took care of some shopping and all of us went out for a fantastic Vietnamese dinner. After a few nights I packed up and rolled on through the mountains up to Lynchburg, VA where I met up with family. I saw cousins, aunts, and uncles during my wonderful stay there and for the first time saw some stunning mountainscapes. Living in Miami has some disadvantages one of which is elevation. Let's just say if you draw Florida on a piece of paper, you instantly have a 3-D model of the lovely sunshine state. Anyway from VA I packed up and picked up Nathan from Charleston.

Typical scene when hanging out with Nathan.

Nathan is one of my college roommates and good friend from Denison. He lives only blocks from where I grew up and we most certainly would have crossed paths if I hadn't moved to Ohio. We headed up to his apartment together in Morgantown where he goes to school at WVU. That night was filled with hot chocolate, movies, reminiscing, and shooting each other with his extensive artillery of nerf guns. The fun finally ended when the clouds blocked our view of the mesmerizing lunar eclipse. Together we went out to Wisp Resort the next day in MD to ski. It ended up being a brilliant decision because there were hardly a hundred people on the entire mountain spread among 30 runs.

I was worried it would take me a while to warm up and that I would probably end up breaking a leg, but after the 2^nd run I felt as if the 8+ years of non-skiing completely disappeared and I was swooping, gliding, turning, cutting, jumping, and carving like a champ. The entire day was nothing short of invigorating.

My final drive home yesterday marked the conclusion of 1800 miles of driving, 60+ gallons of gas, 11 family members, 3 college friends, 9 states, and (only) 4 months of being away from home.

Saving the best for last

Did you ever see the Harry Potter film where Harry drinks the potion that gives him good luck? Today was perhaps the best day of the entire semester. For the first time I was cold when I woke up (it's what happens when it finally drops to 60F and you're sleeping in only shorts with a thin cotton sheet and have your windows open). I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed as my muscles were crying out to just put on a pair of sweats and curl back up and go to sleep. Not this morning. No, not when I decided last night that I would go for a bike ride. That's right folks, within 30 minutes of rolling out of bed, I was mounting my bike and pushing off for a long ride. Literally moments before embarking, I received a phone call from the dive shop asking if I wanted to teach a Discover Scuba Diving course on Saturday in Key Largo to which I happily accepted. Even before my day started, I was seriously loving life: great weather, the promise of diving and money, and a great big bike ride ahead.

I hopped back on my bike, strapped my feet in, turned up the volume of my music, and forged ahead. Although it was quite cool, the temperature warmed up very quickly and I was sweating within the first mile. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the scenery of quaint little houses punctuated with palm trees simply does not get old. The ride took me all the way to Bill Baggs State Park at the end of Key Biscayne which is about 11 miles from the house. The first 3 miles are not very well suited for cyclists but once I reached the bridge to cross into the keys, I had the bike lane all to myself. I fought a warm breeze somehow in both directions and was simply beside myself about the beauty of the area: it is so much more organic and natural when experienced outside the confines of an automobile.

I found my way back to the house and had time for a much-needed shower before heading off to school where a sandwich was calling my name from the food court which ended up being a delicious decision. Before leaving, I was checking facebook and noticed that NASA had found new life forms in Mono Lake, CA whose building blocks were made up of arsenic instead of phosphorous which turns biology (particularly genetics) as we know it on its head. Crazy!!! From there I made my way toward my final Marine Biology class with Dr. Glynn but not without first seeing a small flock of massive wild parrots that are seldom seen flying around the region. The birds are uncannily loud and obnoxious but their plumage is absolutely stunning and it is a treat to see them. For some reason Dr. Glynn's lecture ended up being a much more engaging lecture than usual and even finished 15 minutes early. He announced that he had seen manatees in the canal on his way to class and offered to lead whoever wanted to see them out to the lookout point and I quickly opted to be late for geology so I could see manatees.

Unless you have some sort of a manatee fetish, the gentle beasts are no more than interesting. They don't move very fast, are not particularly active, generally stay just beneath the surface of the water, and really don't do anything. That being said, I was pumped to see them because it is such a treat and I ended up loving it. It turned out that geology was canceled (the professor was there to offer help to anyone working on labs) so we didn't actually end up missing anything. I turned in my lab and went merrily on my way with a spring in my step despite the soreness deep in my thighs from the morning ride.  This concluded my semester of undergrad courses at the University of Miami.  All I have left is the take-home lab which is due tomorrow, then one very very very difficult marine bio final exam.

After an uneventful dinner, I found out that the Miami Heat were playing an away game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only was it a big game because LeBron was playing for his first time as an opponent in the Quicken Loans Arena but everyone back home was tenaciously rooting for Cleveland. Never being attached to Ohio, my loyalties are not deeply rooted there and now that I'm living in Miami I felt that it was fair to cheer for the Heat. Too bad I didn't bet on it: entering the stadium to a chorus of aggravated and betrayed “boo”s, LeBron went on to rack up 38 points and lead the Heat to an easy win over his former team.

Oh, then I found 20 bucks. Seriously. (Well, it was at lunch but I couldn't resist putting it at the end.  The picture is taken long after the fact b/c I didn't have my camera with me at the time and honestly, who's going to take a picture of a 20 on the ground of a food court?)

WFR - FTW!

I'm behind again. This is starting to become the theme of the blog. I suppose it's due to the fact that I have much less time to blog nowadays as compared to my time on Gili T for instance.

So here is a brief list of highlights since the last update:

Bernard came to visit while on a business trip here. We went out to dinner at an all-you-can-eat Argentinian steakhouse and it was absolutely stunning. I finished off with a fantastic filet mignon. The whole experience was exquisite and made up for the fact that I had to study for a test the next day and write a paper.

With a bit of magic (not on my part), I got into the scientific diving course that I've been dying to take! It's a graduate level course that meets a minimum of 8 hours/week and is going to be quite rigorous. This will have a huge impact on my decision of where to go post-December. The other class that I was registered for is a graduate course titled Tropical Meteorology based on a recommendation from a marine physics professor.

I bought bike parts. After a mishap with a popped tire, I bought two new ones (of high quality so it won't happen again), as well as head and tail lights. I'm back on the road and as long as there is a minimal chance of rain, I'm taking to the streets! Okay, well, not the main ones. Just the ones where I won't get killed. And the bike paths when available. Actually I'm probably going to go on a very long ride tomorrow since I have nothing to do before 2pm.

I went up to North Carolina for Thanksgiving break! It was great to see family again since the chances I have to be with them have been severely reduced over the past year and a half. We scoped out the venues for the wedding in June which was a bizarre experience for me. Marriage seems so far away for me that I struggle to relate and it's weird to see my sister going through the process. It's not bad at all – on the contrary, I couldn't be happier for her. It's just that it's weird b/c it's such a foreign concept in my life right now, that's all.

The PhD student who is ultimately in control of the lab I'm working in successfully defended his dissertation today. He did a spectacular job and I couldn't help but admire him through it all. Not only his composure, well-made smooth presentation, ability to field questions, but particularly the joy I could see in his eyes when I saw him walking around with his parents after he passed. My degree was earned through 4 years of blood, sweat, and tears but he has been working on his PhD for 4 and a half years. I would be fooling myself if I thought for a second that the joy I experienced when I finished my degree compares at all to the feeling I could see beaming across his face today.

I WFRed a girl at school today. Allow me to explain: I finished a marine science test and as I exited the building, there appeared to be a massive traffic jam. After pushing my way through the crowd, I noticed that just outside the doorway was a girl lying on the ground with a few people around her. Unsure of what had happened, I squeezed my way through a few more people, through the door, and started asking what had happened. Faith in UM students quickly faded when the guy “in charge” told me that he wasn't present when she went down and in fact none of the ones standing there saw it happen. It was between classes and there's no way she could have been in the doorway without traffic. Whoever saw it happen must have actually walked away. Anyway, she was responsive but a little weak. I gathered the facts, found out that she had a recurring iron deficiency, and asked a few other questions. My WFR instructors would not have been entirely pleased because once I figured out what was wrong, I stopped asking questions. I should have taken what's called a SAMPLE history and written it out on paper to hand to the paramedics. There's always next time.

Tomorrow is the last day of classes for me! It's crazy to think that a semester has already passed me by. I don't think I'll have too much to say between now and my exam on the 8^th, but road-tripping adventures are on the horizon!

Campus Safety and Security

I suppose it's only fair that I continue with my post from weeks ago. I didn't mean to leave anyone hanging for that long. After a few days, curiosity did arise as to how many people might ask, but the intention was never to find out. Anyway, on with the story.

I was sitting up on the 2^nd story outdoor level of one of the buildings on campus waiting for a movie to finish so we could go in and see the one we were going to see: Saving Private Ryan. I was with Kali sitting at a table chatting. The second story of this building has a very open area with more open spaces than walls, and several escape routes both upstairs and down. We were chatting when I noticed a police car pull up across the green about a hundred yards away and a bright shining light come walking our way. Seeing a policeman with a flashlight is nothing to get me in a tizzy. Even seeing him come upstairs, seeing another cop car in the back lot in the other direction, and then yet another cop showing up, I was hardly phased. It wasn't until I turned around and saw one of them pull out his gun and suddenly hurry for the stairs that I started to become suspicious.

About a minute passed where Kali and I were left wondering if we should be worried. She pointed over my shoulder and what I saw immediately threw up red flags. There was a very focused policeman walking toward the stairs in full body armor holding some sort of automatic weapon that was about the size of an AK-47. He pivoted back toward the other staircase to exchange a few words with another officer and I immediately hopped up from the safety of my plastic seat to ask what was going on. I was told to evacuate.

Call me a noob, but I've never been in a situation where the police have told me to evacuate. I instinctively asked where they wanted us to go and my suggestion of the lit parking lot behind the building was confirmed by the body-armored machine-gun carrying officer. Without hesitating I called out to the dozen others that were also waiting for the film and told them we needed to leave motioning to follow me down the stairs. Why the police waited for me to do this is beyond me, but I was happy to feel like I was playing a minor heroic role in everything. My heart rate increased as I took each step down the stairs knowing that there could be a deranged gunman and my courage almost faltered as I turned the corner after the last stair. I honestly didn't know what I was going to see down the hallway. My plan was to ask the officers what exactly was going on as they appeared to be escorting us to our open hideout but as I opened my mouth to pose the question, there came a message across the radio. I couldn't hear all it said, but at the end of the transmission, the gun-toting officer told us all to halt and go back upstairs. “They were Nerf guns,” he said.

Yes, a pretty exciting start to a grueling war film. I was happy to have some excitement and a reminder that life is fragile and you never know when the next assassin is going to come knock you off with a soft foam arrow.

On My Toes

Funny I should mention nothing that makes a good story happening in my life.  Tonight I was told by an officer with a massive gun to evacuate the building I was in.  Loads of police, guns, flashlights, cop cars, and freaked out people.  I'm too tired to write about it now though so you'll just have to wait.

Neglect

I must express sincere apologies to myself and those of you who used to read regularly. My good blogging habits have somehow fallen to the wayside like a stale cookie that's been sitting out for a week with some ants or dust accumulating on it. Let me assure you that is not what I want my blog to look like. In reality I do have good intentions to keep things fresh and exciting. Recently however, my life has not been exciting when compared to my previous travels. I haven't been racing in Hawaii, making plans to up and leave the country, diving in the Philippines, going to traditional Hindu ceremonies, fighting airlines, working on mega-yachts, or diving the Red Sea.

I have been enjoying life as much as ever, but the narrative simply is not riveting at all. “But Robbie, certainly you must be doing SOMETHING down in Miami that is interesting,” you might say. This is in fact true. However, what I've been doing is going to class, playing in the orchestra, going to church and bible study, watching the occasional film, and doing homework. To me, these are interesting activities to do but boring things to write about. Maybe I can write a post about how I slay a mighty dragon, go to Mars, save the world, or something else along those lines where I stretch the truth just enough to make you wonder whether or not I'm being entirely honest.

My time is running out to make up my mind about next semester. The ideas I have had include:

Working for gvi in the Seychelles

Working for Frontier in Madagascar or Tanzania

(both of which I found out about tonight so the probability I'll do one of them is next to nothing for the time being)

Move to French Polynesia and work as a dive instructor while working on fluency in French

Tap back into the yachting industry

Come back to UM and take more classes

The probability of returning as a student is the highest. The others are listed because I don't want to close doors. I'm not worried about what the next step in my life will be, nor am I dying to know. I am praying for guidance and trusting that I will be exactly where I need to be. Life is so much less stressful that way.

Clarifying

I wanted to finish what I was saying last night before falling asleep.  The reason I brought up the symphony is not to try showing off about how I'm in this great group.  I re-read the post from last night and that's what it sounds like.  On the contrary, I was trying to make a point that they're much more serious than I have ever been and ever anticipate being.  The intention was to point out the fact that my hobby of music is beginning to interfere with the research I came to Miami to do.  The trouble is that while I can't bear to give up viola, it's quite nearly impossible to join a research team and be in the symphony at the same time.  It's not a matter of having enough time but rather about conflicting schedules.

Dr. Glynn is apparently a big name in the marine science world, particularly as being one of the key founders of the idea of El Niño.  He's my Marine Biology professor and he has volunteering opportunities open in his lab.  I understand and accept that in order to work up a ladder you have to start from the bottom.  Thanks to this understanding, I'm happy and even excited to be doing grunt work.  It does sound like it could be fun; I'm not doing what I love, but I don't know what I love so I can't think of a better alternative.

I had lab in the Miami Seaquarium today which consisted of observing dolphin behavior and then running around the exhibits like a kid after finishing the lab.  It was fun.

One of the benefits of being a student is that you get a lot of free stuff and get to do a lot of cool things.  I got a shirt tonight for the marine science club, played volleyball in an incredible fitness center, went to the Seaquarium, and saw Toy Story 3 today all at no additional cost.  I'm going to miss the student life once I am actually too old to pass as an undergrad.

Top 25

For the past 2 and a half months, I've been playing in the Frost Symphony Orchestra, the University of Miami's one and only esteemed symphonic group.  We meet 6 hours a week plus I'm in a quintet that meets at least 2 hours a week, not to mention the optional (for me) viola class and string forum that are each one hour/week.  It's much more intense than I had anticipated but for the work I'm putting in, I think I'm making my way back to the level I was sometime about 3-5 years ago.  It's been a longer battle than I was expecting but it must be paying off.  Again I am glad that I'm not majoring in music because as much as it is wonderful, the amount of dedication by all the music majors is not what I'm willing to put in.

My first concert with Frost Symphony Orch. Photo: Lu Yan

Several people have been quite seriously surprised when I tell them I'm in the symphony because apparently the Frost School of Music is very good and quite selective.  I knew this to be true and I could tell from day 1 of playing with them that the symphony was mind-blowing but I didn't really find out until tonight that they are ranked between 13 and 25 in the country for music schools.  I just wanted a group to play with.  Little did I know that it was going to be one of the top university orchestras in the nation.

I had a few realizations tonight.  First of all, research is more important than class.  I am going to email the lab that might hire me and tell them I'll skip class to do research in the field.




...that's where I fell asleep on top of my computer last night.

Getting Help

I did something out of the ordinary this weekend. I went to Fall Retreat with Campus Crusade, one of the Christian organizations on campus. The first of two most memorable moments was on the second night when all the guys separated from the girls (about 40 of us perhaps) and had some serious bonding time. The other moment I can't forget is the first night when everyone went out on the beach after the first session. There was a ton of socializing going on but at one point I decided to just get up and walk down the beach. Light pollution filled the sky and choked the stars but no amount of light could stop the cool refreshing breeze, warm sand beneath my feet, and soothing lapping of the waves. As I walked I started to pray, asking for help making up my mind about next year and beyond. It went something like this:

Lord, please allow me to find some sort of a research position with the University.

Well...as long as it's your will. Please let it be your will to have me find some sort of field work.

I mean, please let your will be to have me do something interesting in marine science. I mean, I am putting a lot of effort into it after all and it would be great to keep up with it and not have spent this semester in vain.

It was sometime around then that all of a sudden I nearly fell to my feet with an epiphany.

Do not worry about tomorrow.

I have never understood it to the level that I did that night. I had heard it before, I had said it before, and I even have it as a quote on my facebook profile (Matthew 6:31-34) but never before have I understood it so clearly. I expect you to see what I mean but don't imagine you'll “get it” as vividly as I did but that's okay. What it means is that I want God's will to be done. I'm not in control of my life: going to South Africa is a prime example. Because I'm not in control and because my main desire is to be used by God, there's not really much I can do in the way of stressing about my future. All of a sudden, my life became way easier and more fulfilling at the same time. The reason I can brag about this is that everyone can (and should) at least consider trying it out.  It's not a “hey look what I can do aren't I special?” but more of a “woah, this is awesome and you should totally try it!”

I'm still pursuing a variety of different options but my stress level is at exactly 0 and I'm loving it, not that it ever even reached 4 (unit-less and without a reference point just to keep you all guessing). Today while in the library I had the sudden urge to investigate research options online instead of working on a lab writeup or studying for tomorrow's test. I found some really cool projects that would benefit the environment, give me experience, and allow me to travel. What more could I want? It would be on a volunteer basis but as long as I'm paying for classes here, why not try to gain experience somewhere more fun and exotic? Some of the options include Alaska, Thailand, Belize, Antarctica, Thailand, South Africa, Australia, Fiji, etc.

In other random news, I have my ticket to see the Dalai Lama, my camera is being fixed by Canon in VA right now for free (warranties are great), and unfortunately since I chose not to pay the athletic fee, I don't get to go to the U Miami and Florida State U game on Saturday unless I suddenly decide it's worth 200 bucks.  Yeah right.

Down the Only Road I've Ever Known

Moving back into college life has been a funny transition. I'm mixed in with tons of people who are as much as 5 years younger than I am. It's not really so much an issue except considering where I've been, what I've seen, the things I've done, and experiences I've had, the differences between me and a recent high school graduate are pretty huge. I don't consider myself high and mighty at all; I'm just trying to point out one of the ways college life is different for me now than it was during my 4 years at Denison. A friend of mine shared some words of wisdom with me recently, reminding me that this shouldn't be like Denison; there's no point in comparing the two because there is something unique to be taken away from both. If Miami was the same as Denison, what would I be getting out of it? There are great people here and I continue to make friends.

The only “complaint” that I have at the moment is that I'm not busy enough. I am very involved in the Christian scene on and off campus, have a lot of time invested into music, am taking 3 full Marine Science classes, going to ultimate frisbee when possible, and still manage to spend hours on the internet every night. I am still pursuing research/volunteer/lab/field/work opportunities for professors at the Marine Science campus and will keep posted what comes of that.

As for this weekend, I'm headed off to Campus Crusade's Fall Retreat. I'm not sure what the schedule looks like while we're there or what we'll be doing but I hope to come away cleansed and refreshed from the inside out.

Life has been having clear ups and downs but overall I still believe I'm where I need to be doing what I need to be doing.

Facelift

For those of you who've been keeping up with the blog, you probably notice a couple obvious differences. I've not only put up a travel map to give a better idea of where I've been but I changed the entire design template of the blog entirely. I think the new look is a little more sophisticated and the colors are more pleasing to the eyes. Feedback is always welcome!

I'm having mixed feelings about Miami. For some reason, I can't seem to stop juxtaposing it with Hawaii and the only ways Miami has a clear win over our 50th state is that it has a school that I like much more and I can drive more than an hour in the same direction without going into the ocean. The most important thing is that I'm going to the right school. I know I'm in the right place even if it's taking me a little time to warm up to living in a big city. The next couple months might also improve my relationship with the location as everyone back home is covered with frost, snow, and ice and I'm still going to the beach. Then again, not the most important thing.

West Palm Beach bike ride in June

I've been looking into options for internships, jobs, careers, unpaid temporary experience-based positions, and more school. The theme of the next 2-3 weeks is going to be figuring out my next move. I don't promise to have a post-December plan by then, but I will hopefully be a little closer to knowing what I'll do.

Living room at Rafael's house - the setup constantly changes

In the mean time, I'll keep making friends (which is going very well – I often surprise people when they discover I've only been in the state for less than a month), continue the school work, looking ahead, and updating the blog with pictures such as this one of the main living space in the house. On second thought, it turns out my computer will not read my card so you'll have to settle for this old picture from when I went bike riding in West Palm Beach (a couple hours north of Miami) in June.  Aha!  I finally got the picture to come through.  I'll leave it to you to figure out which is which.

Make Yourself at Home

I'm finally settling into life here in the farthest Southeastern corner of our grand country. I'm getting a feel for the area, becoming acquainted with classes, slowly making friends, working my way into the nearby dive shop's staff, and really getting into a groove. The University of Miami is a great place to be.

The big question still remains: will I stay here beyond December? At this point, I cannot answer. As I've said, everything is going well, but there are little things that I do notice. I often equate my time here to the 2 months I spent in Hawaii. The school here is a far better fit for me, hands down. However, the city has little on Oahu (I say Oahu instead of Honolulu b/c Miami is about the size of the whole island). It took me until 23 years of age to determine that island life is indeed different than anywhere else. Everyone is very high-strung here in Miami whereas island life is completely worry-free. It's still early, but my instincts tell me that I belong on an island.

Everything still seems to be going my way so I have no real complaints. I'm having serious struggles in the very high-caliber orchestra which is having its first concert this weekend. It comes not three weeks after classes began but it is going to be the highest quality performance I've ever been a part of.

Ultimately I guess my time in Miami is going to teach me how to be a real-world adult. I have an unofficial part-time job, I'm essentially a full-time student (living off campus and not being a real undergrad makes it nothing like my time at Denison), and I am completely responsible for myself. Those things alone aren't much of a big deal, but combine them and throw them into downtown Miami and it feels like the most "real-world" life I've ever lived.

Big City Life

Since moving out of the house back in high school, I've been to and lived in a wide variety of places. Each location is unique in specific ways. My very first impression of Miami was back in June when I came for a quick visit. I was blown away by how vast the city spread and by how gorgeous the UM campus was. It wasn't until I drove down from Ohio that I realized how utterly crazy the driving is here: it is absolute madness. The average speed limit is at least 10mph over what the posted sign says, with some cars swerving into small openings at about 90. That would be fair enough, but then you get the old people who insist on driving under the speed limit in any lane they choose and it breaks up the flow entirely.  It's not simply the speed variations that makes driving overwhelmingly stressful, but it's also the sheer number of cars on the road. It appears as if every hour is rush hour and I have a mild panic attack every time I try to change lanes because I'm certain that someone will be swooping into my new lane from the other side or maybe a car will shoot in out of nowhere.  What's more is that Miamians rarely use turn signals here so you never know where anyone is going to go.  It's been too long since I drove through the Bronx to be able to compare NYC to Miami, but all I can say is that trying to drive, attempting to find parking, and navigating the streets (even with gps) is one of the most stressful things I've ever done in my life. If I don't get used to the aggressive and non-courteous drivers, I'm going to go nuts.

Over the course of the week that I've been here, I have been extremely productive and everything really has gone my way. Here is my entire to-do list copied right from my notebook (with necessary elaborations since “Joe” wouldn't make much sense to anyone for instance). Everything here is what has already been completed:

-Find the library to use internet
-Talk to the viola professor about schedule
-Find where to get a parking permit
-Call Rafael about housing
-Call Taylor (high school connection now living in Miami) to touch base
-Choose a bank to open an account with
-Email Dr. DiResta about changing lab time
-Find marine student frosh orientation and sit in on the introduction
-Figure out health insurance
-Find an ASE certified mechanic
-Talk to UM about housing options both temporary and long-term
-Call King Automotive and schedule a time to leave car
-Open Bank of America bank account
-Email Dr. McNeill about adding geology
-Call dive shop for potential employment
-Call Taylor to meet up
-Email Joe who I met in St. Maarten and lives in southern Florida
-Figure out a meal plan
-Put money on student ID card
-Schedule a meeting with marine science secretary
-Turn in tutoring application
-Email Dr. Olson about working in his lab
-Pick up parking permit
-Figure out something for temporary housing until I can move in with Rafael
-Formally add the geology class
-Find classrooms for each class
-Call UPS about package delivery
-Call Andrew about package delivery

Many of these tasks involved a lot of driving or walking thus it took me a few days to get all of this done. That being said, sometimes I could take care of several things in one place. Anyway, for anyone interested, that's what I've been doing here.

In terms of the university, I'm in love. Granted I've only gone to 2 classes, but by and large this place is spectacular. The campus is stunning with very clean, new, and modern facilities, the orchestra sounds professional not to mention it has 12 violas, a gorgeous pond surrounded by palm trees, incredibly friendly and helpful faculty and staff, gardens scattered across campus (I have a thing for tropical flora), and school spirit is at a whole new level. If I leave after one semester (which is still a possibility), it is going to be for something truly incredible. The only thing I have to watch out for is not to be razzle-dazzled by the things listed above; I'm here to check out the school for marine science, not gardens and ponds.

I feel as if I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Sure I have obstacles like housing. Sure I can only laugh about being in classes where everyone's age is 5 less than mine. Sure I get super stressed out every time I get behind the wheel. However, I really believe I'm right where God wants me to be. This was the only school I applied to and the only doors that have closed in my face have been nothing more than sliding doors with motion sensors. I have the strong feeling that I am exactly where I need to be and the amount of comfort that it gives me is astounding.

Synopsis of Egypt

I have now spent nearly 8 weeks without leaving the boundaries of Egypt and I consider that a fair amount of time to have a reasonable opinion about the places I've been, food I've sampled, and people I've met.
I spent over 2 weeks in Marsa Alam, about 2 weeks in Sinai, over 2 weeks in and around the waters off Sharm el Sheikh, at least a week in Cairo, and several days in Alexandria, so I can only speak for these places.

Locations:
Egypt is a desert. There are few clouds, endless stretches of sand, hot sun, cool windy nights, and very very little humidity. I did not see a single drop of rain during the course of my entire stay and nearly experienced dehydration while drinking several liters of water daily. The thing that never ceased to amaze me about the country's flora and fauna is that while it is entirely desolate on land with scarcely enough brush to imitate greenery, the underwater world of the Red Sea is home to one of the most vibrant marine ecosystems I've ever laid eyes upon.
Marsa Alam is the best example of the contrast between the vast desert and booming reefs. It is a sparsely populated desert with scorching temperatures and no shade. The marine environment on the other hand is pumping with life (see last post about the awesome pinnacle dive).

Crystal clear water, crowded with fish

While Sharm el Sheikh boasts some of the world's best diving, the shoreline has been built up as a tourist haven. Large hotels, casinos, fast food chains, European restaurants, and large plots of grass that look completely out of place litter the coast and prices are often advertized in Euros or US Dollars, a sure sign of tourist price inflation.
From what I saw of the inner Sinai peninsula, I've determined it is an expansive mountainous desert region. Here in the highlands the bitter cold at night can be very fierce while the sun during the day is relentless. It is a beautiful area scattered with large valleys between gorgeous mountain ranges and cinematic-quality sand dunes sprinkled in the mix. Do not be fooled by the beauty of the region though: it is a very harsh and unforgiving terrain with very few usable resources.
Alexandria is Egypt's prime port city on the Mediterranean coast. It is very full of life and incredibly rich with a very long and elaborate history. Transportation is quite cheap and relatively straight forward for a savvy traveler. Although efforts are made, the city is not competent with litter control and the drivers do not know how to use the lanes drawn so well on the roads. While some streets are presentable, other backstreets regularly flood from the ground up and reek of dead animals but these streets are almost never visited by typical visitors to the city. The highlight of this city is the Biblioteca Alexandria which is without question, the best, largest, most extensive, cleanest, well-designed, impressive library I have ever seen. If you go, do me a huge favor: go to the "aquarium" or "underwater museum" at the Citadel, pay the fee to bring a camera in, take pictures of every sign/caption, and send them to me. Not doing this is my only regret of being in Alexandria and perhaps the biggest regret of my life.
Alexandria was a nice break from Cairo which is easily the dirtiest city I've ever stepped foot in (soundly beating out even prime contenders such as Nairobi, Kenya; Manila, Philippines; New Orleans, LA months after Katrina; and even Maputo, Mozambique, the former title holder). That being said, it is one of the safest cities I've ever been to. I did not feel threatened being out on the streets at any hour day or night whether in company or alone. It is very rich in Egyptian history, housing the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphynx, and the Egyptian museum. The museum indisputably holds the most comprehensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts on the planet, incidentally presented in more of a warehouse fashion than a standard museum (no cameras are allowed, and if you have the money then get a tour guide because there are no informational pamphlets). Litter along the streets is abundant, condensation from air conditioning units drip along every sidewalk, and the entire city's color scheme is brown (a combination of the building materials and the layer of dirt covering everything). The city's natural soundtrack of incessant car horns is so persistent that the only respite can be found in the short time between about 4 and 5am although many shops are still open and streets are not empty at any hour. The city is English-friendly and the people are incredibly outgoing and welcome foreigners with open arms, but more about that later.

Food:
The Egyptians have a wonderful array of traditional foods with a collection of original recipes as well as dishes influenced by the surrounding Middle East and Southeastern Europe. Pitas, rice, various pastas, chicken, fish, beef (kofta), and vegetables (primarily cucumber and tomato) make up the main diet. Those are all complemented with chick peas, lentils, eggplant (babaganoush), okra, hummus, fried onions, marvelous sauces, and best of all very fresh and very sweet fruits from the lush Nile region. For quick meals, shewermas and felafels make excellent lunches. I lack the skills of a food critic to be any good at describing what these foods taste like, but they are indeed marvelous. I had the unfortunate experience of becoming tired of it briefly after having it 3 meals a day for 7 straight weeks, but upon leaving the country I still regard Egyptian cuisine as one that is absolutely worth trying.

People:
Egyptians are the most outgoing group of individuals I've ever come across, always intent to say hi, introduce themselves, welcome you to Egypt, ask where you come from, invite you for tea, etc. From the relationships I formed throughout my time in the country, most of this friendliness is entirely genuine. On the other hand, they have led me to consider where the line is drawn between being friendly and overbearing. Apparently within the Egyptian culture, it is very unusual for anyone to be alone; it generally means something is wrong. This tidbit of information finally allowed me to understand the fact that it is impossible to walk around Cairo for 10 minutes without being stopped. Please note however that there is a difference between understanding something and accepting it. Being outwardly friendly myself, I do not object to saying hi or stopping for a brief moment to chat, even to a stranger. However being as independent as I am, I find it annoying to be stopped by 30 people along the streets asking me the same questions, half of them insisting on walking with me as we talk, several bringing me into their shop to “give me a business card” and try to sell me something. The overly assertive description I've provided is primarily exclusive to the Capital city but can easily be found throughout the country.

Overall:

Typical scene during the desert safari

It's a fantastic place to visit with the understanding that a long stay in Cairo is avoided or if you have financial means to stay in a hotel and book private tours to all attractions (again, only for long stays). That being said, if you are looking for cheap housing, then check out Dahab Hostel. Do however make sure to spend a day walking around downtown regardless of your traveling style. Experiencing downtown Cairo firsthand outside the confines of the tourist bubble is WELL worth it and you will not experience Cairo unless you do it this way. I became tired after several days of it, but it's the kind of thing that really should be experienced once as long as you're there. If you are a diver, you must not miss out on the opportunity to dive here. If pushed for time, Ras Muhamed National Park around Sharm is the place to go but try to get south to Marsa Alam where the amount of divers is reduced by about 90%. Egypt is definitely family friendly and can accommodate many languages and nationalities so don't let language deter you.
Will I go back? Honestly, no time soon. I'm very pleased and grateful that I had the opportunity to go and I feel very blessed that I was able to see and do what I did. However there are dozens of places I want to go that I've never been, and even within of the list of countries I've visited, there are others I would rather return to before going back to Egypt (Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, France, South Africa, etc).

Bottom Line:
Egypt is a wonderful place to see once and check it off the list.

Paradise at the Base of Desolation

In the sweltering heat, the boat set off from the pier filled with 8 divers, a captain, and a bursting sense of enthusiasm. All smiles, we moved away from the barren desolate desert of Egypt that is made up of little more than sand and rocks. It was the final dive of the day and we were all worn out from a long skill session for the rescue course. A very short thirty minutes of laughter brought us to the location of the dive and after a quick backward roll entry we found ourselves in the water. As much excitement as there was to be found, no one knew what wonders were awaiting us beneath the surface.

The descent brought the group down to the base of a large pinnacle – a monumental cone protruding proudly from the ocean floor towering like a giant above the soft sand below. The pinnacle itself though made of stone was covered with a dense and diverse range of soft and hard corals and the entire surface was alive and moving with a multitude of fish. Imagine what New York City must look like to a giant alien – glowing, bustling, flourishing, flashing, and alive in every way. Circling the pinnacle left me utterly awestruck and the dive so far had only gone on for 15 minutes. Ready to go around again, I was upset when our guide motioned us to head away from this marine wonderland.

A minute's swim led the group to a jaw-dropping sight. Another pinnacle more vibrant and spectacular than the one before. Starting at the base, we made our way around the peak in utter bewilderment. The small orange reef fish were so abundant that they looked fake. There were groupers and soldierfish lurking under every crevice. Unicornfish with their distinctive long spike on their heads kept their eyes on us as we passed as if they had never before seen a diver. Anemones swayed in the steady current and their orange and white inhabitants watched us with a defensive stare. Parrotfish with their vivid color schemes maneuvered around the corals with their smiling beaks finding an abundance of food in the environment around them. Colors on the gargantuan pinnacle spanned the entire spectrum with every shade and tint of every color being utilized.

At the top of the peak, the aquatic scene opened up to a trevally feeding frenzy. The slender bait fish stayed in a tight school near the corals seeking refuge in numbers while the trevally swooped in from the blue to catch one of them off guard. Hovering 5 meters below the surface in a swarm of reef fish watching large trevally chasing the immense amounts of small schooling fish was the cherry on top of the sundae. Not only the amount of fish themselves but the number of different types of fish was beyond measure. It was more crowded than you will ever find in a healthy aquarium. I could have easily hovered there below the surface watching the frenzy for hours but being the responsible diver that I am, the group needed to surface. I have no pictures from this particular dive but the memory will be with me for ages to come because it was one of the top 5 dives of my life. Welcome to Egypt!

Training

After the WFR course was finished, a good friend of mine from Denison drove out to meet me for lunch: Brynn. She spent a year in Tanzania, we lived in the same dorm freshman year, we traveled to Italy together with the music department, and she's really cool. Although from Colorado, she moved to North Carolina recently and that's how she was able to come meet up with me. We had a great time reminiscing about Denison, talking about the past year, and discussing the future. Good times.

Training has been a lot of fun. It was located at a Christian retreat/camp in Oxford, North Carolina which ended up being a great setting. We played a lot of games but between them there was a lot of learning that took place. This afternoon we came back to NC State's campus where we finish off our last two days of training.

Just as a head's up... I'm not allowed to say anything specifically about work so my posts for the next couple months will be very highly censored, including this one.

Woofer

Wilderness Medical Associates is a medical training company that specializes in a variety of different medical qualifications in wilderness settings. One of these courses they offer is called Wilderness First Response, or WFR, colloquially known as “woofer.” The duration of the course is about 72 hours spread over 8 days: a semester class fit into one week. The caliber of training is on par with EMS training minus the extensive medical vocabulary. I went into it expecting it to be interesting and came out of it with my mind totally blown. I was already an Emergency First Response instructor, a basic first aid with primary and secondary care including CPR which takes all of a day to complete. After finishing the WFR course, I feel like I can actually save anyone in any situation. I feel foolishly like a super hero. Our daily simulations were extensive and complete with fake blood, vomit, impaled objects, bruises, and all sorts of makeup. After talking to Robin, one of the two instructors, I learned that after being certified, I can essentially walk right onto a lot of ski patrol teams on the East coast and some out West as well. Among stabilizing and fixing a slew of issues, I am certified to administer epinephrine, reduce dislocations, remove impaled objects, tend to and clean severe wounds including amputations, load patients onto backboards (legit and improvised), and assess spinal injuries. I not only know how to do these things, but considering my lack of real-life experience, I can do them pretty well. If anyone is ever in an emergency, I'm your man. Well, if there's no doctor, EMT, or other medical professional nearby.

Turn, Turn, Turn

I'm writing this after being back in the states for a while but I am waiting to post it and backdate it due to the fact that I am making a surprise visit to graduation and don't want to give myself away.

The day trip to Saba was a lot of fun. The diving reminded me a little of Bali, minus a lot of fish. Landing on the tiny runway was great and then riding in the car was dizzying. You see, the tiny island is nearly like a cone and all roads up or down snake back and forth all the way up and down the mountain.

Likewise, the final days of St Maarten were essentially as expected although it all seemed very sudden. I'm so used to packing up and leaving places that it didn't phase me a lot. It wasn't until the plane was lifting off the ground that I fully grasped the fact that St Maarten had just turned into a chapter of my past.

I flew into Charlotte and stayed in the house of Mike's parents (Mike is the boyfriend of my sister). Over the past 11+ months, I've seen malls, cities, buildings, cars, paved roads, and fast-food chains. Those were not particularly special. However, seeing a neighborhood was captivating. Houses were lined up one after another with yards full of lush green grass with signs of lawn mowers.

Guyton and Susie's wedding was wonderful. Relatives I hadn't seen in ages were there and I had the pleasure of meeting some new folks as well.

The real bit of interest comes after arriving at home. Flying into CAK from Charlotte, I was separate from my parents and my flight arrived a few hours prior to theirs. Without a car or phone, the only way to get home from the airport was to arrange a ride and in stepped Mark to the rescue.


I have to recover the other half of this post. It will come later.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Notice the gap between this and the last post. It's pushing an entire month. YIKES!

Tons of things have happened since then. I won't go into too much detail about Saba because in terms of diving it was like Bali but without as many fish. It was great however to have some variety from St Maarten. I'll put up pictures tonight and try to finish up writing about going home and then post that update.

This is me having fun on the first dive.







On the right you can see a fireworm. Very very very very very painful. Do not touch. If I had, I would have been in the hospital.







I still think stingrays are incredible.




And of course barracudas are always great finds.

What a Sensation

I'm too charged to sleep.  I close my eyes lying in my bed, awake.  What a sensation.  My bed.  At home.  In Ohio.  With my family.  Safe.

I sift through memory after memory as they pop up in my head just like the balls that decide the winning lottery numbers.  They come in short snippets, sometimes just images, other times full experiences.  Some come just as feelings while others are series of events.  Memories.  I have been gone for a year and now I’m home.  I’ve been to the ends of the Earth alone and have made it back safe and sound.  At home.  With my family.

My body is relaxed but my mind ticks through memories of the year.  Sitting on the porch in Hawai’i, the view of Arthur’s Pass in New Zealand, the Hindu ceremony in Singapore, finishing and passing the scuba instructor exam, the dogs I passed on my way to work in St Maarten, cleaning the rail on the sun deck of the yacht, and biking through the coconut farms on my way to work in Indonesia.  Memory after memory comes to mind then is replaced by another one just like leafing through a textbook and looking at the pictures, stopping occasionally to read a caption.  But now I’m in my bed.  In Ohio.

I still can’t sleep but I’m enjoying the feeling too much to move.  Everything at home is just as I left it, almost untouched.  The memories keep coming to me, almost as if my mind doesn’t want me to forget.  Everything is as I left it so my mind is afraid that I’m going to pick right up where I left off as if nothing ever happened.  It does already feel like it was a different life, like it was a different me.  As the memories float past, I remind myself that they are my memories.  It wasn’t someone else, it wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t a parallel universe, and I didn’t imagine it.  I went to the other side of the world and now I’m back.  In my bed.  Safe.

As I lie awake with all of these thoughts swimming in my head, I can’t help but think of the future.  I’m excited to see friends, go to church, drive through town, and even in the more distant future like working in Egypt and going back to school.  It’s all going to be an adventure.  I’m ready for it but I don’t want to rush it one bit because I am enjoying too much the feeling of being safely at home, in Ohio, with my family, in my bed. What a sensation.

Day Tripper

I'm taking a day-trip to dive the nearby island named Saba. It supposedly has the best diving within hundreds of miles. Not only that, but it has one of or possibly THE shortest runway of any commercial airport in the world. That will certainly make for a fun flight. I'm going with our Dutch divemaster-in-training Rene and both of us are pumped for a great day. I will take my camera and post pictures later.

Photo of the airstrip from partway up the mountain

I just certified 3 more scuba students so my certification count has jumped to somewhere in the teens at least. Yes, quite shameful for a guy who's trying to pay his bills as a diving instructor for the past 10 months but hey, I have to take what I can get.

Singing the Blues

As I've said before, I have very little excuse to complain based on where I'm living, what I'm doing, and how much fun I'm having along the way. However good days wouldn't be good unless you have bad days to give perspective. If there were 365 days of happiness a year, life would be boring. Feelings of sadness, frustration, or anger are not only normal but necessary for a healthy balanced emotional life. Sure this is coming from someone who hardly knows the difference between Freud and Pavlov or Plato and Confucius, but considering how much I love life no matter what obstacle it throws at me, I would say that I have at least a little room to talk.

Where were we... ah yes, singing the blues. It would be painfully dull for everyone to get a narration of the goings-on of every downer I've had and I wouldn't wish anyone to read a post like that. What is much more relevant is how I Feel about things. The problem is that I don't really know how to describe my feelings in words. I've experienced a high concentration of humbling conversations over the past week. It started during my last few days on Passion and continued well into my first several days back at my old job. It's a varied combination of people being tired of me, sick of talking to me, disagreeing with my actions, reprimanding me for not doing something a particular way, and scolding me for asking questions. I can deal with quite a bit being dished at me, but the fact that it is incessant is getting under my skin. All of these feelings lead me to believe that I'm not very professional, competent, fun to talk to, or a hard worker. I know myself and I know that I have all the best of intentions and I'm always just trying to do my best but sometimes it's simply not enough of a consolation. Sometimes, people can just make you feel so small that you can't even be seen, then someone else comes along and takes the liberty of crushing you down even smaller. It's interesting how every once in a while a ton of negativity comes crashing down at once.

These thoughts then lead me further to the heart of those feelings to discover that I am weak and alone. I have no friends or family here. I am alone in the crowd. There is no one here to talk to, to hug. No one who understands who I really am.

In a couple days I'll be completely over it all (actually I already feel better), but for now I'll keep hanging in there. As I was saying before, without the bad days, good days just wouldn't taste as sweet.

Lifestyles of Those Working for the Rich and the Famous

Dear Friends,

I do apologize for not updating as I should. I have had a few opportunities come and go but my motivation has been lacking. It's easy to forget that after yachting consumed my life for over 2 weeks that many of you are still not sure what it's like. I have about 30 minutes before I plan to head out and go catch How to Train Your Dragon at the cinema. Until then, I will try to explain what it's like to work on a private charter mega-yacht.

Pictured above is a typical guest cabin

Schedules rotated regularly from day to day. The first 3 days, I was on the 12-4am watch which meant I could go to bed at 7pm, wake up at 11:30pm, and be on deck ready to work at 11:55. The first order of business at midnight (or whenever the last guest went to bed) was to move all the bulky chairs on the aft deck where the guests eat every meal, sweep up the crumbs, spray K2R on every oil spot on the floor, scrub it away with a pad and water on hands and knees, scrub away all skid marks made by guests dragging chairs, rinse the deck, dry it off, clean and dry the main and two side tables, then move all chairs back. More often than not, I would also have to rinse the decks which meant getting out a hose, spraying down all hundred feet or so of an exterior side deck, wipe it off with a squeegie, then touch it up with a chamois. Additionally, every hour on the hour I would have to fill out the boat log with environmental and boat conditions. At 4am when the next watch came, I was able to get about 4-5 hours of sleep after briefly checking the engine room.

During the day, things would be different. Any time we took up anchor, the swim platform on the far aft of the boat would have to be packed away. Tenders and jet-skis had to be lifted out of the water up onto the second deck and then they needed to be quickly rinsed, washed, rinsed, dried, and secured. Kayaks, life jackets, noodles, rafts, goggles, snorkeling gear, etc had to be thoroughly rinsed and packed away. As the anchor was hauled in, I would go into the bow to flake the chain, making sure it didn't pile up on itself and become clogged or tangled somehow. When we arrived to the next location, all the tenders, jet-skis, noodles, life jackets, rafts, goggles, snorkeling gear, towels, etc were brought back out and would stay out until either the next move or until sunset.

The hardest part about the job was not the constant work, or seeing people relaxing on vacation right in front of me. The hardest part was trying not to screw everything up. Never being on a yacht before, I was very uneasy as to the particular details of what needed to be done and how it had to happen. I felt as if I was constantly doing things wrong and would regularly ask to make sure. Not only in terms of the work, but joining a team that has been working together for years is not easy. They know each other almost down to how everyone else thinks. It should come as no surprise as they all live together in close quarters 24/7, as well as eat, work, and hang out together. It's not easy just to jump into a group like that.

In stark contrast, my cabin - I sleep on the upper bunk.

So the big question is whether or not I will do it again. Even I don't know the answer to that. I'm going to focus on the definite things such as spending the summer in Egypt and the almost definite things such as taking a semester at U of Miami. Any bridge that comes up after that will be crossed as necessary. If I have a few months between one thing and another, yachting is definitely a good way to bank a lot of money in a short amount of time, and I will keep that in mind. However in the meantime, Passion is about to leave for the Mediterranean thus I'll focus on trying to get my temporary job back at the dive shop. Wish me luck!

I'm on a BOAT!

Just to let everyone know, I've been working on Passion for about a week and a half now, 6 days being spent on the boat with guests on board. It's been a lot of work but also a lot of fun at the same time. Would I do it again? With this group, yes I would. One of the things that's easy to forget is that this crew is not typical: everyone gets along. Apparently on a ton of boats, that's not the case.

Unfortunately the best shot I have of the exterior

We've been from St Maarten to St Barths, BVI, and now we're sitting at port in either St Thomas or St John, US Virgin Islands. We moved when I was asleep and so I'm not exactly sure. I get to go to shore relatively frequently as well as snorkel, play beach football with the guests, swim, go tubing, sail the laser, and ride jet skis. Sometimes my going ashore consists of taking out garbage, but at least I get to see more of these islands than those who stay on board. Most of my work consists of rinsing, cleaning, rinsing, and drying off again. I don't think being a deckhand on a private yacht is what I want to do with the rest of my life, but it might be a perfectly viable option to make money for a year or so. First thing's first, and that's getting course selection approval from the University of Miami where, by the way, I have been accepted. Until next time, don't sleep in so late, stop to watch the birds every once in a while, and eat your vegetables. Peace!

Right Place, Right Time

The one guy I had contact with before coming to the Caribbean is the captain of a 173-foot yacht and his name is Colin. Colin gets the credit for me being on St Maarten. If it weren't for him (having one little distant connection to this island), I would probably be in Barbados right now. Last week he offered me what is called “day work” on his yacht. Day work involves scrubbing, cleaning, polishing, washing, rinsing, drying, staining, waxing, etc. If the yacht was a butcher shop, I'd be the one killing the cows. It's eight hours of physical labor under the sun in the heat of the day and it sure ain't glamorous. Imagine detailing cars 8 hours a day in the summer sun for a week. It's not pretty, but it pays the bills, I'm getting to know more people, I feel very productive, and … well, I'm getting to the next part.

I came in early (per usual) on Thursday, my last scheduled day of work, and bumped into the temporary deckhand having breakfast. One of the first things he tells me is that he spent all night deliberating and finally decided to take a permanent position on another boat. I bumped into Colin later and he asked me when I was planning to leave the island and how work was going with the dive shop. After answering that I'd be here for a while longer and work at the dive shop was completely off and on, he asked if that meant I would be available to leave the island for a couple weeks at a time to which I said that I certainly could.

This little conversation left me with a smile on my face because I was expecting that I might be able to work for him a little bit more sometime before leaving the island. I was not prepared for what happened. A coupe hours later he called me below deck and asked me flat out if I wanted to work for him as a deckhand on a 16-day charter beginning in 2 days. He made sure to explain the details and the large amount of work that would be involved and within the hour the deal was sealed. So tomorrow marks my first day on a yacht (I did spend a week on a schooner, but that's completely different), my first day as a full-time (though temporary) deckhand, and my first time with guests on a yacht in my life. I don't have any experience or any qualifications to take this job, but because I was there when Martin was leaving, I got the job. Well, and because Colin is really cool.

The charter will take 12 guests, all of which are regulars on the boat and will spend 16 days going to St Barths, the British Virgin Islands, and St Thomas. I'm thrilled to be a part of it and expect that I'll have a great time doing it. I will have internet access but they made it sound as if I will be busy all day every day so my access will be limited. For anyone interested, here is the link to Passoin:
http://www.mycharter.com/PASSION/index.asp?pass=952891

Post-date

I threw a post up for the 26th of Feb. I know it's out of order but I forgot that I never wrote about it. I'm working on getting caught up:
Finding Blaskie
Playing for Money
Yacht Life (this probably won't come for at least a week since I'm not going to start working on a yacht until Monday)

The latest news on my life plans are this: try to get into University of Miami to take a semester of oceanography classes. If I decide it's awesome, I'll stay another semester and so on. If I don't like it, I'll get the STCW yachting certification and spend many months on a yacht while I figure out what I want to do with my life. If I don't get into U of Miami, maybe I'll just be a scuba instructor until Christmas time. Or apply somewhere else that's not as good.

3.14

Today marks the completion of 23 years of being alive. Hooray! I made it! I'm feeling a bit older but I still have the world at my fingertips.

I haven't yet told anyone it's my birthday b/c I'm sure that as soon as I do, people will start insisting that I go out and insisting on drinking drinks that they insist on buying for me. It is easier to just let it go and celebrate with people I know when I go home.

Work is going very well so far, exploring the island has not happened yet, I get my first paycheck on Monday, and I'm trying very hard to find a cheaper and better place to live.

As for post-summer plans, I don't have anything figured out yet. I am really considering taking a semester of oceanography courses and then 6 months or a year of working on a yacht to decide what I really love. Yes, it would postpone grad school (if I go - remember it has always been only a possibility, never a definite plan).

Until next time, keep checking back for more, take care, and live your life with a purpose.

Standard Life Crisis

This post is much more for my own immediate good than anything else. It not so much an update as it is me recognizing the necessity to put all of my possible plans down in writing. It is a perfect day to think about my life because it is very gloomy and rainy outside. The possibilities start with the simplest and go up to the most extreme.

At the end of the summer, I will continue with my original plan of being a basic scuba instructor somewhere (perhaps Red Sea or Great Barrier Reef) for about 3-4 months. Christmas will be spent at home (hopefully including a quick ski trip somewhere!) and then grad school would start in late February in New Zealand. After two years of obtaining a masters degree, I have no plans.

By the time late August rolls around, I will get on a plane to London Heathrow. During the final month of the racing season in England, my work is going to consist of cleaning boats (decks and hulls) while perhaps gaining experience sailing on any boat that offers me a position. The money and experience will be well worth the travel expenses. When the weather turns for the worst and the boats leave in search of warmer waters, I will move probably to the Red Sea and spend 2-3 months working as a dive instructor before going home for Christmas (hopefully including a quick ski trip somewhere!). Grad school would then start in late February in New Zealand. After the two years that it takes to receive a masters degree, I have no plans.

Immediately after Broadreach is over in late August, I will spend a semester taking university classes in oceanography and/or marine biology. The benefits here are that the subject matter is interesting, I will receive a proper introduction to marine sciences, the benefits of being a student would be back (discounts, clubs, organizations, many cool people my age, etc), health insurance would be covered under my parents' plan until I'm 25, and as long as the university is near water I could keep up with diving and boating. However, the downside is that I will be paying a lot of tuition, living in an expensive American apartment, I will have to deal with winter, and I won't be living somewhere exotic like the life I've been getting used to. After going home for Christmas (hopefully including a quick ski trip somewhere!), I will either move out to New Zealand in late February for a masters or decide that I like the school so much that I end up staying there for a degree. Two years after completing a masters, I have no plans.

My last option that I've given to myself is going to be the farthest from my original plan. Before training starts in May, I'm going to fly up to Florida to get what's called the STCW95, a basic qualification required by most boats in order to work even as a simple deckhand. Once I finish working with Broadreach in late August, I'm not sure where exactly I will go but what I will do is definite. With my degree in Physics, experience as a diving instructor, loose grasp of the French language, and the STCW95, I will find a long-term position on a yacht. While on this yacht, not only will I be building experience but I will be training as an engineer. Once leaving the yacht, I will be able to get my yachtmaster qualification and then do more training as an engineer. I'm not sure about the details but training off and on boats will continue for 5-6 years at which point I will be able to work as chief or second engineer on a large (150 ft) yacht of my choosing. The benefits are that my job consists of fixing things, I will be living on a yacht, my work by nature will consist of traveling to beautiful coastal areas, there is a very high demand for engineers that will only increase over the next 5-10 years, if I decide yachts aren't my thing, I'll have plenty of training that can be applied to a lot of other things, vacation time is long and frequent (sometimes 2 months on and two months off), and depending on the boat I could easily be making 6 figures before 2017. On the other hand, it's a huge commitment and I don't really know what the yachting life is like – I don't scare easily but making a decision like this would be the most frightening thing I've ever done.

I'm not an idiot – this fork in the road is not like a game show where I pick what's behind doors 1-4 and that's that. I of all people am well aware that things change. If I don't end up taking one of the four proposed paths or any combination thereof, other opportunities come up which can change everything. One thing is for certain though: whatever I end up doing before Christmas, it will affect (not necessarily determine) the rest of my life. Let me also say that I of all people understand the beauty of life as a full journey. I'm not looking at these options like “Oh no I have to pick one!!!!” but my attitude is more along the lines of “Alright, here are some of my top options. Which one will I most enjoy?” Ideas and input are always welcome but I think prayer is going to be my best bet.

Oh the Possibilities

One of my diving students is really cool. I've been hanging out with him a ton since he came in last week. He works on boats and we were talking last night about the jobs that are available for divers in the sailing/yachting industry. He told me that during the English racing season, work is easy to find cleaning boats or even working on the boats as part of the crew. Apparently it is very lucrative and he pretty much guaranteed that he could find me a job for a month after summer camp is over. I haven't made any plans post-summer camp and so working for a month in England for all the boats coming through sounds quite appealing. Certainly there's a lot to think about and many other ideas to consider. I'll keep the blog very up to date with any ideas that come my way.

Parmesan Rolls

I got back from a great night dive and all of the markets seem to close at 9 and thus I was stuck to eat whatever I had left waiting for me at the crew house. This consisted of two rolls, a small container of parmesan cheese, and juice. Here's my secret recipe for my marvelous gourmet dinner so you too can share my experiences wherever you are:
Tear two stale rolls horizontally by hand and place on a plate.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese liberally onto one half and place the other half on top.
Microwave for 12 seconds.
Do not let cool.
Serve with cold juice.

This is what my meals are turning into. I make it work, but I've seen better culinary days. I'm probably going to swing by Subway right now on my way to the dive center. It's a shame, isn't it. In my defense, St Maarten doesn't have much traditional food of their own so I'm not really missing much by going to an American chain. I would not do it in Indonesia or Philippines unless overtaken by nostalgia.

Settling In

Believe it or not, things have actually been going my way since I've been on the island. I ran into an unexpectedly rough start when the airlines lost my guitar. Otherwise I made it safely to the crew house and got settled in. The island seems to be very Americanized. I've been living for 4 months where left is right and right is wrong so now I'm dancing with everyone on the sidewalk trying to get out of their way since I want to stay left and they want to walk on their right. Looking left before crossing streets is also proving to be difficult too but I'm a quick re-learner and I haven't caused any accidents yet. English is the most widely used language, American chains abound (ACE, McDonalds, Subway, Baskin Robbins, KFC, etc etc etc), and the thing that tops it all off is that the US dollar is the most widely used currency here.

3 Caribbean reef sharks looking for a snack

Thanks to a distant connection, I got in touch with Dive Safaris and was able to go with them on a dive in search of sharks. Boy was that ever a success! We found 5 (out of many) sharks that apparently hang out at a particular reef on a regular basis. I thought to myself that if this dive was any indication on what was to come, I have found the right place to dive. As it turns out, St Maarten does not have the best diving. After several days of diving (for work and for fun), I can equate it to the diving on the Gili Islands. There are some redeeming traits such as wrecks, sharks, stingrays, and barracudas, but by and large it's nothing compared to the pristine diving I found in the Philippines.

The crew house I'm in is expensive but the money from the part-time work at the dive center is juuust enough to cover it plus food. They keep me very busy there. In other words, I keep myself very busy there by helping fill tanks, set up gear, wash equipment, carry tanks, etc. The more I help out, the more chance I have to be the first one in line for work there. The people I'm living with are a different breed. I can't really explain them, but maybe I'll be around them enough for a story or two to come up.

The only other thing on my mind is that I'm reeeeeeaaaaaly thinking of going for the STCW95. This is the most basic qualification that is usually required by all boats, sailing or motor. My dream has always been to work as a dive instructor on a sailboat and this seems to be the next step to see that dream come true. I have to look into it a bit more, but I really would like to pursue it.