Turks & Caicos Adventure

Holli Behrens/// 20 /// Beloit College ~A blog for my semester abroad in South Caicos, Caribbean ~

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HOW many days?!

Oh boy. I just finished with three final exams. But that's it, I'm done with classes for the semester! It's time to face the sad truth that I'll be leaving in 17 days. That number is terrifying. A few weeks ago, I was dying to go home. The homesickness was awful. But now I've realized that I'll be leaving this beautiful place in two and a half weeks. In that amount of time I will be finishing up my eagle ray research project. This current week consists of snorkeling twice a day and chasing them around video taping them.

Besides research, I'm going to focus on making the best memories. In these last few weeks from spring break I've been super busy with schoolwork but still managed to have fun. I've been exploring abandoned houses (there seems to be a lot of them), making really good friends out in the town, giving swimming lessons to the little kids every weekend and getting to know the people in my study abroad program better. I feel like a clock is constantly ticking in my head and the knowledge of the number of days goes through my thoughts several times a day. Time is running out and pretty soon the relationships I've formed with the locals and the people in my program will be (mostly) over. Therefore, my friend Emily and I have made a bucket list for the things we need to do before we leave here. Here are a few:

Swim to Dove Cay (little uninhabited island on the edge of South Caicos) and spend an afternoon there

Hang out with our professors in a nonacademic setting

Explore the rest of the abandoned houses

Explore the (giant) abandoned hotel at the tip of the island

Go night swimming

Prank our program leader

Go sharking

Go cliff diving (!!)

And many other things..... ;)

I am SO excited to do these last few things. However, the thought of leaving this island and leaving these people behind is so hard to accept. Its kind of evil that we are put in a tight knit community and at this small field station with 33 other people, form these friendships and then be forced to leave all of that behind. In the past. All I'm saying is..... even though I miss my friends and family back home, getting on that plane to head back to Wisconsin is going to be one of the hardest things I'll ever have to do. And saying goodbye to all of these people is going to be one of the saddest goodbyes I'll ever have to make. Here's to making these last several days count!!!! YOSCO <3 <3 <3

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Field Trip and Spring Break!

*Very lengthy, rambling, unorganized and probably many mistakes, I’m on a busy schedule, sorry!

Wow! It’s been a while! I’ve been busy with midterms, field trips and spring break. I’m back to South Caicos starting the second part of my semester. But boy, were the last few weeks amazing! After three days of midterms and two days of celebratory activities we got on a ferry to North Caicos to start our field trip for our Environmental Policy course. The ferry took us across the Caicos Bank from one end of the chain of islands to the other. It was about an hour long ride through blue-green waters. Once we arrived to North Caicos we brought all of our stuff to a campsite set up the backyard of one of the local’s houses. The house was owned by our tour guide for the next few days. He cooked us dinner both nights and set up a campfire for us.

Monday: North Caicos is one of the bigger islands in the chain, but has the lowest population of only around 125 people. We took an old rickety school bus to get us to our destinations around the island and its neighbor, Middle Caicos. On the first day, we visited an old plantation and toured around the 200 year old buildings that housed the slaves. Very interesting experience. At that point our day was pretty much over and we went back to camp. I had to share a 2 person tent with 3 other people. This tent had to have all four of us PLUS our bags for the next week (so they wouldn’t get rained on). This was extremely uncomfortable. I actually slept-walked out of the tent with my sleeping bag and wandered to a concrete wall to lay on. I woke up to the sound of swarming mosquitoes at four in the morning and realized where I was and went back into the tent. This campsite had a “long drop toilet” that was terrifying. There was a rat that lived in the toilet shack. Also, there was a freshwater shower that we could use but in the shower shack lived a giant spider. I’ve never seen a spider that big before, so there was no shower for me in those two days!

Tuesday: During the second day of camping, we took a long school bus ride to Middle Caicos. North and Middle Caicos are connected by a short gravel path built on top of the water. Once on Middle Caicos, our first stop was the caves. I’ve never been in a cave before, and had no idea that I’d be doing this while in the Caribbean! Walking into the entrance, I couldn’t stop thinking that it looked so fake, like something you would go in at Disney world or something. We weren’t allowed to touch the walls because diseases live on them. If we looked up to see a bat we had to make sure our mouths were closed so nothing dripped in our mouth. I actually had gross water drip onto my head and almost into my eye. After reading about the Ebola Virus in eighth grade, I was freaked out about caves! I think I’m alright thoughJ. We walked through tiny crevices being careful not to fall into the stagnant dark deep water. We went into pitch black rooms (with flashlights) and rooms with very tall ceilings. It’s so amazing to think that this is all underground but it’s such a giant area not filled with dirt. We got to a really dark room and shut off our flashlights.  The tour guide instructed us to look towards a little pond of water in the corner, and it glowed! This is apparently because of reflected light. So one part of the pond goes into a different room with light but the light is still seen in the deepest part of the cave. One of the cave stories was that people would go into this dark room and sing Christmas songs. So that’s what we did. And it was one of the strangest and silliest things I’ve ever done.

The next stop on this day was to Mudjin Beach. OH MY GOD, if you ever get the chance to go to the Caribbean, go there. It was the most beautiful part of this entire study abroad experience. Walking to the beach, you go down a small hill into the 70 foot hollowed out cliff. I’m not even sure if that’s the right way to explain it. There were places to sit under this overhang and look out onto the bluest water I’ve ever seen. We climbed to the top of this overhang by going up the back way and there’s a stone path that leads to a hole in the ground. The hole is a staircase made of clay and rocks that spirals down to a private section of the beach. I can’t even explain this right… I’ll post a video. This beach was truly amazing and I was upset that we only had two hours to spend there.

Wednesday: The next day we packed up our tents (glad to be done with that) and took a short ferry to Provo. Right after arriving on Provo, we began our 8 hour long beach survey day. We walked up and down the beach, probably totaling 3 or 4 miles, asking tourists questions about tourism in Provo. Super exhausting but at least I got a tan/burn! Then, the moment we were all waiting for….. the hotel! Oh MY! It was SO wonderful to check into an air-conditioned hotel after that camping trip. I took my first hot water shower in 45 days and it was the best thing ever. I’m not even exaggerating. I got a cushiony large bed all to myself and it was the best sleep I had gotten in weeks. The next day we visited the conch farm and a local golf course and then we were released for spring break! No more curfews, no more responsibilities, no more being yelled at, no more homework, no more rules!!

Spring break began with lunch at Jimmy’s Dive Bar & Grill. It was phenomenal! The entire inside of the restaurant is covered in people’s names, favorite quotes and any other graffiti. My friend Emily and I wrote something each and then we also wrote “YOSCO… you only south caicos once <3 SFS Spring Break 2014.” I hope to come back some day and see it still there. I think that is such a wonderful thing for vacationers to do. Every other time I walked by that bar during the rest of break I just had a smile on my face and a warm heart. Something about it just makes me feel so happy. I’m not sure how to explain it without sounding this cliché… but it felt kind of déjà vu-y. It somehow felt that I belong there/belong on that island. I was super sad to have to walk away. Later that day we did some shopping for souvenirs, ate dinner at a pizza place and spent more time at Jimmy’s. We also checked into our beach villa.

Thursday: Thursday was a day of relaxing. The beach was right at our back porch of the villa. So I spent some time laying on the beach reading a book. The view was amazing. Not like the view from South Caicos isn’t, but it was nice to see the ocean from the opposite side of the island chain. For dinner, we went to a fish fry event. It was kind of like a farmers market with fish kiosks, live entertainment, and little tables with handmade souveniers. It was kind of interesting to see everything to do with culture at this event. As a “local” (kinda) we know what the actual Turks and Caicos culture is. But a lot of this event was not really true. It was to “wow” the tourists and make them think that the locals dance around in feather hats to a funky beat. That’s not what the culture here is like. Later in the evening we spent a lot of time at a place called Danny Buoy’s. Lots of tropical drinks, dancing, karaoke and talking to tons of new people!

Friday: Friday was, by far, the funnest, most craziest day of spring break. This was a day/night I’m going to look back on when I’m 70 years old. Early in the day, Emily and I went to Club Med Turkoise. So basically this hotel should’ve been then one we all decided to stay at. Guests pay one price for all day and night free drinks, free food, and free activities. These activities include kayaking, snorkeling, windsurfing, sailing, water aerobics, yoga, and a bunch of other fitness activities that were less interesting. At night, the activities include entertainment (we saw a trapeze show – amazing!) and a party. People who aren’t guests can buy a $55 day pass for all day and then a $85 night pass for all night until 2am. Emily and I bought the day pass and started our day out with fruity drinks and snorkeling. Interesting combination but it was great. The snorkeling experience wasn’t as good as we have on south, but we did follow a baby turtle for a while! Then we had lunch. Club Med’s policy is that you must sit with someone new at meals. Going into it, I was skeptical and didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but I’m glad I did! The food was buffet style (but numerous choices and fancy quality!) and the company was great. After lunch, we went to try out trapeze! They give you a short training (15 minutes) and then they make you go up this rickety tall latter. They hook you to ropes so your safe and then you hang by your arms by a bar and hook your legs on and then let go and you swing through the air upside down. I’m surprised I could do it! We then had a snack at the Sharkies Bar and met a Canadian school teacher and his super rich friend that owns a bunch of boats and villas. We talked for three hours, and it was great!

Six o’clock came around and our day passes expired, BUT we managed to sneak around and get free food, drinks, shows and parties without buying a night pass. Tee hee ;) but HEY we’re college students.. and we spent enough money as it is. We had a long dinner with this old couple that we talked to until 9PM! After that, the trapeze show started and it was mind blowing. Women and men flying through the air and spinning on ropes and hanging upside down. Shortly after that, we were caught and were kicked out. However!, we snuck right back in and continued with the party until 2AM! I became friends with the photographer guy, named “LouiDor” who walks around taking great quality pictures for people to buy. We had a good chat on the beach and kinda helped us out with not getting kicked out again. The employees there are called “G.O.’s” for some reason and basically have the best job ever. They live on the island and get to join the party as part of their job. We talked to a few G.O’s for a while (who also helped us out with not getting kicked out) and then our night ended. All of that for only $55 dollars and a little courage to sneak free food, drinks, shows and parties was definitely worth it!

Saturday: Saturday was a relaxing day just hanging out at the beach villa. Later on we went to a fancy Italian dinner with Emily’s parents. There were appetizers, wine, delicious pasta entrée and even dessert! Later on we went to Danny Buoy’s again and had another great night. More dancing and meeting new people. Ran into LouiDor again, too!

Sunday: Sunday morning, we visited Club Med again. Did some water aerobics with a bunch of old people, more trapeze, took a nap in a giant spherical $4000 chair thingy, met more people and ate more food. We had the same plan to stay through the evening without buying a night pass and even talked to our friend Frandy about helping us. We attempted but we got kicked out by three security guards this time at 7pm. It was worth a shot! No regrets! Except that we never got to say goodbye to the G.Os and guests we met. Super bummed about that.

Monday: Well that was it…. Spring break ended on Monday with some more shopping and one last good meal and shower before returning to cold showers and awful food at the research station. We boarded a plane back to South Caicos and that was that.

It’s rough coming back to South Caicos where there are no supermarkets, restaurants, resorts, pools, tourists to talk to, or even cheerful optimistic locals. South is extremely different compared to Provo. I hope to return back to Provo sometime in the near future. Everything there feels right (I know, cliché, right?) and somewhere I would really enjoy living at. I spent way too much money but this is the only spring break that I would be anywhere but home. I have one left and I can guarantee you I’ll still be in snowy Wisconsin working at my job. I do miss home, a lot. But only 42 days until I return! The homesickness will go away once I get busy with classes again. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing research on eagle ray behavior and finishing my courses. This may be my last blog post for a while. Last quarter of this semester was a bit rough and I need to kick myself into gear if I want to get good grades and a good research experience. Miss you all!

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One month?!?!

As I sit on this bench at the edge of a small cliff looking out onto the ocean, I realize that this is the first overcast day we have experienced. I hear thunder in the distance over the sea and dark clouds begin to surround the island – such a melancholy and dismal feeling. I am realizing that I have been in South Caicos for almost a month now, and every single day has been bright sunshine and the sea has always been unrealistically blue. To have this change is almost a like slap in the face… like “oh yeah, crappy weather still exists, and even paradise has its rough days.” But then I think “it’s below zero back home, I am warm and happy – life is good!”

It has been a while since my last blog, simply because I have been accustomed to what is normal and have gotten into a steady routine of everyday life at the School for Field Studies. Out in the community, I know a lot of people by name and see them on a daily basis as I go out to shop or explore. I have even gained my OWN island name already. My nickname is “Tribal”, because practically every single new person I meet shoves their face in my face to look at the gauges in my ears and gawks. “Did that hurt?!”, “How did you do that?”, sometimes even “You’re a freak!” or “That’s totally flippin’ cool, guuuurrl!” Even the kids freak out. Because of the small population, everyone knows each other and people talk. I’ll get unfamiliar people who shout my name from across the street or the bar simply because they heard about my “tribal ears.” I find this all so hilarious. As far as the being accustomed to the norms at the field station, things are pretty consistent throughout each week. Classes in the morning, snorkeling in the afternoon, dinner, and an activity. Homework too of course. I’ve been through three organism ID tests which consisted of roughly 50 scientific names I had to memorize for each test. Now that those are over I feel like I have much free time and it is so nice! However, mid-terms are coming up. We celebrated being done with the ID exams by camping out on the beach last night. There was a giant bonfire near the water, we ate s’mores and shared scary stories! Then we slept in tent that we set up in the sand and woke up this morning early enough to get back for breakfast.

It is still unbelievable that some of my classes are literally on the water. Like yesterday for example, we had to observe lionfish (an invasive and very unliked species in the Caribbean) and note their habitat and behavior on an underwater slate. We also saw a HUGE loggerhead turtle that day as well. I have become a pro at duck diving, chasing fish, and writing on a slate even as waves push me over. Before we got in the water, we saw a mother and baby whale breaching about 300 metres in the distance! This was the closest I have ever seen them. I could even see the details on their body! We were are all screaming and shouting as we watched them fly out of the water, land and make a huge splash. It is truly amazing, to see such a beautiful creature in the wild, unharmed and untouched by humans. They are free and happy and that makes me so happy that tears come to my eyes. I have never felt so passionate and loving about anything like this in my life before. I’m in love with this life.

In a few weeks it will be spring break! A few days before spring break we are going on an excursion to the other islands in the Turks & Caicos and will be camping out for a few days in random places. I’ve heard that we will be exploring caves and beaches and cliffs and oh boy… I can’t wait! Then we get to go off on our own. A group of us have decided to rent a villa on Grace Bay beach on Providenciales to stay for our 5 day break. I can’t wait to be able to relax and not have to worry about classes. Oh, can’t forget the showers I will take! I’ve been here for almost a month and have taken a total of TWO count ‘em TWO showers. It’s not as bad as I thought, though. My hair is very salty and sand but forming nice beach curls/tiny nasty dreads that look decent! Nobody really smells though because we are constantly in the water. After spring break, we all start our directed research projects! I’ve heard that some of the projects have to do with eagle rays or sharks. This is a lottery process so hopefully I get my first choice (probably the eagle rays). There are other projects like surveying fishermen and managing fisheries. I plan to use this research for my thesis so hope that this lottery process works out for me! Wish me luck! While we do these research projects we don’t have many other classes. So my last month and a half here will be doing research and (almost) only research! I am BEYOND excited. If I get a good project that is…

I am starting to miss home and my friends and family. However, it is SO easy to be distracted here which is a good thing. I am constantly doing something, studying, diving, socializing, blogging, homework, reading, activities, and meetings. I’ve never fallen asleep at night so easily. Only when my day slows down and everything is done for the day do I start to think about my friends and feel sad that they are not here experiencing what I am experiencing. In the month that I have been here I have experienced more than I have in my entire life combined.

Getting familiar with the culture and the people who live on the island

Observing the saddening poverty and sickliness of the animals

Giving swimming lessons to children

Climbing cliffs and feeling the sensation of being on top of the world as I look out on the open ocean

Holding a baby turtle, swimming and diving with sharks and other dangerous creatures

Snorkeling every day and feeling like a friend to the fish, who aren’t scared off

Falling asleep under the stars (which are more abundant and 10 times brighter here)

Dancing, hulahooping and running through the streets laughing and yelling under the moonlight

Exploring haunted abandoned houses during the day AND at night

Traveling distances on a boat going 50 miles an hour over 3 feet deep aqua crystal clear waters and tearing up at the beauty.

Scuba diving twice a week and doing something amazing each time. For example, last Wednesday we swam to the “wall” which is about 60 feet underwater where the ocean floor suddenly drops off into a dark hole of nothingness. Floating over this gives you a sensation of flying. You are hovering over an 80-100 foot drop and you are not falling down. You are simply on top of it, looking down on it, not moving, just hovering and getting butterflies in your stomach.

Every time that I do one of these things I say “this is the coolest/bravest/most amazing thing I’ve ever done.” Each and every single time. I never want to stop doing these things. Every day I am amazed at what I do here and the memories I have made. If it weren’t for the people that I love back home, I’d chose to live here for the rest of my life. If I was rich, I’d bring everyone here. While I have become good friends with people here, it simply isn’t the same to hog all of these cool experiences to myself. To have everyone that I love be here with me would be the happiest days of my life. Crossing my fingers that I become rich someday and come and revisit this place!

Being here has also opened my eyes to my future. I am beginning to seriously consider my options for after college. For a class exercise we practiced interviewing techniques on the interns. The interns here are alumni of this program and come back after they graduate to spend a gap year interning here. I am considering looking more into the internship to do it after I graduate. A full year interning on an island in the Caribbean sounds very scary, but it would be something that I love. They drive the boats, do their own research projects, direct the student’s research projects, data collection on water clarity and beaches, and simply being a staff member for students to go to. This all sounds like something I would really love to do, even if meant being away from home for that long. I need to get used to that idea though. What I want to do is not possible in Wisconsin! I’ve been looking at internships in Florida as well, which would involve me moving there. Up until now I have said no to any grad school ideas. But, after all of this, I sort of do want more out of my education and want to go further. I do want to take a gap year to gain more experience though. So many things to think about!! South Caicos truly has given me different perspectives on life.

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Climbing Long Cay! On top of the world in the Caribbean and couldn't be happier :)

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Culture Experiences

My days here are starting to mesh together and pick up in speed, now that I’m in a routine of waking up early, going to class/snorkeling or diving. My first organism ID test went well. It’s hard to believe that my classes here consist of going out on a boat and snorkeling in crystal clear waters and learning about organisms as we come across them. Completely different than a boring lecture back at home! We do have lectures in our other classes here as well, but it’s so much different when it’s something you actually care about. I have two more ID tests in the next two weeks and it’s a lot of memorization, so my free time is being taken up by going over flash cards! But I’m living the life ;)

I’m living on an island where poverty is one of the primary concerns. Walking around, I see houses that are barely standing, yet still acting as the home of a family. Roofs are falling apart and I’ve even seen rocks holding together pieces of metal and keeping it from blowing away. Almost every other building is an abandoned/run down building with caved in roofs, junk sitting around and windows broken. A few of my classmates are a part of a “friendship family” program where they go into a family’s house and visit with them for an hour every other week. They came back and shared their experiences, some were happy some were terrible. Working toilets are rare to come across, bags of garbage sit around in people’s living rooms and things are just not good. A lot of families stay positive during this poverty, and the kids seem happy. However, there was one family with two blind women and the story that was shared about them was heartbreaking. The two blind women were in their night gowns lying in bed moaning and crying while the man in the house shyly visited with the few students assigned to that family. Just hearing that experience made me tear up, I can’t even imagine actually being there to see that.

On Thursday night, we had special guests join us for activities and dinner! We had a group of about 8 or 9 women at our center. They are a part of a club called Soroptomist, which is an international women’s organization dedicated to improving the lives of girls and women in local communities and throughout the world. They taught us a few “ring games” to play that they used to have fun with before the time of television and video games. Ring games are when you stand in a giant circle, clap your hands, sing songs and run around under the moonlight. There are many different songs and dances that we did and everyone was all smiles and giggles. It was such a happy night. Another club came in that consisted of about 15 boys aged around 10-15 who played drums. Despite their age, I was truly impressed by the music that they created with just a bunch of drums. The beat was contagious and we all got up and danced in a large group, Soroptomist ladies, SFS interns, students, professors, lecturers and all! All of us could not stop smiling.

Saturday morning was dive and outreach day! I went scuba diving to a new site and it was the best one so far! It’s so surreal that I get to swim next to hundreds of colorful tropical fish and they don’t even budge. While I’m 50 feet underwater floating over gorgeous coral that houses many beautiful fish and other organisms, all I can think of is that this is a whole new world down here. It’s as if I’m on a different planet, in a different galaxy, exploring something that many people do not get to see. Later that day, the kids came to the field station to do crafts, games, sports and swimming with us. I signed up for swimming lessons and I’m glad I did. We had six groups of six kids, where they swim around with us one on one. Many different ages and levels of swimmers! A lot of them are great at swimming and just come to get a chance to swim with us. After going around town and talking to the adult locals, they all say that they learned how to swim at our center when they were kids, which is amazing tradition! The main employment industry here is fishing, and a lot of that fishing includes free diving to grab conch and lobster with bare hands 20-30 feet down. Learning to swim at the center is an important part of their lives here on the island. Oddly enough, a few of the students actually requested me to be their swimming lessons teacher. They know me and I don’t even remember meeting most of them! Which I feel bad about, but I’ve met lots of kids in my two weeks here. It was so great to swim around with them and be a part of this important time in their life, something that they will remember forever.

Back on a sadder note, I apologize, but what I’m about to share was a big part of my culture experience so far. Last night (Saturday), we went out to celebrate one of our classmate’s 21st birthday. After hanging out for a bit we came across this dog. Most of the dogs are wild here, but there are some that are owned. This one was wearing a collar so we assumed it was owned, but obviously not taken care of. Its ribs and hips were very visible, showing us that it was starving. It had scabs and open sores all around its tail and eyes and ears. Fleas were all over, and its collar was fused to its fur. We bought it some chicken from one of the nearby bars and led it back to the center with the chicken, feeding him along the way. This was a struggle because of all the other dogs that wanted some as well. They began to viscously fight with each other, even though the starving dog barely had enough energy to fight back. While we were taking him down the street a car that was heading towards us did not move to the other lane to avoid hitting us. It hit the starving dog in the back end of his fragile body, horrible sound, and drove away without stopping to check if it was okay. He ended up okay, surprisingly. Leading him to the center in hopes of showing him where he can always get food and care, took around a half an hour. Slowly but surely we lead him to the back of our kitchen where we found some leftover food for him. The dogs that belong to our center are very territorial and doing this quietly and out of sight was difficult. This is so hard to see here, because there is no one to call to take legal action. No ASPCA, no veterinarians, no serious cops. I say “no serious cops” because we are certain they wouldn’t do anything about it. They are a part of the island’s drug trade and I’ve even seen them give people rides TO the bar. So yes, the cops here are not serious. After getting the dog situated we heard a screaming baby horse. We look over to where the noise came from and there are adult horses, several wild dogs, and the screaming baby horse squirming in the grass as the dogs beat it up. The adult horses occasionally chased the dogs away but they came back every time. The mother did not do much to protect her own child. From what we saw, we assumed that the horse was lame and couldn’t fight for itself. The dogs saw that it was vulnerable and attacked it. Waking up this morning, we found out that the horse had died. I suppose that this is the way that life works for wild animals. But, had there been someone to call to come take care of the situation, I would’ve felt much better.

On a completely different note, spring break plans have been made! A group of about 18 of us will be staying in a villa on the beach in Provo! Super excited and look forward to the best spring break ever. I hope to give you a happier blog in the near future.

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Survived my First Week!

I've officially been here for 8 and a half days but it feels like a month! Waking up at 6:30am every day, then jam-packing a million things into my schedule and going to bed at 11pm makes it feel as if one day equals three days. We snorkel at least once a day, dive at least twice a week, have 6-8 hours of class, and are involved in cleanup activities and community outreach.

On Saturdays, the kids from the island come to our SFS field station for activities such as arts and crafts, puzzles, sports, and even swimming lessons! I volunteered to help with art and crafts. Everyone calls this day "organized chaos" because we get around 65-80 kids running through the field station. This is a time to get to know the cultural differences that exist between the kids and ourselves. It also motivates the children to be sustainable and do things to better the environment. All of the activities are focused on the impacts we have on the environment and the species we share the environment with. These kids look forward to this time... even gathering at our front gates as early as 4 or 5 hours before we open!

On Sunday, I did my first ocean dive! It was a really windy day and the waves were so large that our boat felt like it was going to flip over. When we anchored an prepared for descent, I became nauseous (some people actually threw up) and I couldn't stand another second on the boat. I never knew I would be the type of person to be seasick, as rollercoasters and long car rides don't bother me. But these waves were massive, and it was the worst condition that they will ever let us go out on. Finally, we descended, very slowly might I add, to allow our ears to equalize and acclimate our bodes to the increased pressure. We reached 37 feet and began swimming towards "The Arch", which is the name of this dive site. The tropical fish don't even budge when we float right above them. The seagrass, anemones, and sea fans moved along with current, which is way less strong than above the water. The actual arch was amazing. It was an arch of coral and hundreds of fish. There was some kind of giant fish right under the arch and I wanted to swim under it. However, as an "open water diver" I was unable to go under any structure. It was a great first ocean dive and I look forward to the 30 + more dives I will do.

Later Sunday night most of us went to the only hotel on the island for one of my classmate's 21st birthday. (Interesting fact!: there are two other hotels on the island that are in the process of being built. But with the little money and low rate of tourism on this island, they have been being built for the past 4-5 years and aren't close to being done). We had to walk through this long nature trail to get there. On the trail is a huuuuge abandoned haunted house that used to belong to Miss May, the old district commissioner's mistress's house. She died in the house, so I hope to explore it later on! The hotel is very fancy, compared to where we've been living in the past week. I believe you can even order lobster there. We got a few tropical drinks and then danced with some of the locals. It was a super fun night, and many hilarious photos were taken.

On Monday night, I went on a night snorkel! I've always been afraid of the dark, and especially dark, cold water. It was really terrifying but I got through it. We went to the coral reef in front of Long Cay, the long uninhabited island half a mile south of South Caicos. Using our flashlights, we explored the reef and saw lots of parrot fish (who were sleeping) and an octopus! The octopus was so much cooler than I thought it would be! It was turquoise and purple and glided along the coral to run away from our lights. It changed color as it moved over a new section of the coral and I was amazed. We watched it for several minutes then had to move back to the boat. We were instructed to turn our flashlights off and wave our hands really fast in the water to see the bioflurorescent tiny plankton thingys. They glowed and it was so awesome! Getting back on the boat and speeding away from Long Cay was so beautiful. The moon was half full, but it was enough to illuminate the cliffs on the island. I cannot describe how amazing and beautiful this moment was. All I could think of was that that was a moment I would remember in my 70's and wish I could go back to. Truly spectacular.

During Tuesday afternoon, right before our snorkel trip we saw whales breaching in the distance. First we saw their spouts of air and water above the water and then they started lifting fins up and several of them jumped all the way out of the water. We were all gasping and screaming and cheering the whales on! It was like watching a firework show, all the "ooohs" and "aaahs" except more enthusiasm. Couldn't get any pictures because they were too far away. It was a had-to-be-there moment and I'm so glad I was there.

Early this morning, we dived to a plane wreck! It wasn't nearly as creepy as the plane wreck I saw when I got certified. I felt more in control of my buoyancy and ear equalizing than my first dive. Getting more and more experienced in diving is so exciting! Our instructors keep saying that we will see a shark or a turtle at these sites, but I still have yet to see one :( There's still plenty of time though.

The courses I'm taking here are starting to pick up. I have a huge ID test tomorrow where we have to know the scientific names of about 60 organisms. I'm feeling pretty okay about it, though. It helps to be able to go out and snorkel every day and study by picking up an organism (sea stars, sea urchins, etc.) and stating it's scientific name with it in my hand. This is the "hands on" (literally) experience I've been needing in my education. In my resource management class, we are learning a lot of equations to estimate reproductive success, fish catches, fish size and tons of other things related to fisheries.

Thanks for reading!

[tacosandcabbage-blog]

My Experiences So Far...

*please excuse any typos. Posting before wifi cuts out

So much has gone on since my last post (which was only a few days ago) that I’m not sure if I can recall it all! Hmmm… on Wednesday we went out on our first snorkel trip off the island. The boat rides are soooo fun, they go so fast and you’re surrounded by crystal clear aqua waters. I didn’t know there was anything so beautiful in the whole world. I may have teared up a bit… shhh ;). We rode out to Long Cay (pronounced ‘key’”) the long inhabited island directly south of South Caicos. They have a snorkel park set up out there. Who knew that was a thing? A snorkel park has signs spread out with info and pictures on the organisms. There was lots of coral, a few sting rays hiding under the sand and hundreds of tropical fish! I really wish I could explain it better, not even pictures with a million words would suffice. The beauty here cannot be captured unless you are actually here. Because of this, I wish I could bring all of my friends and family.

Later that day, after dinner, about ¾’s of my class went out to the bars. The dogs and cats walk with us down the streets as we pass by locals on bicycles and wild horses chillin in the street. Once we get to the bar, in which no one else besides the employees are there, they bump up the music as we crowd in. We meet a lady named Suzet, who gives us shots of Bambarra rum. Bambarra rum is from the Turks and Caicos Islands and comes in gold and coconut flavors and is super strong, I love it. The other employees were a big man named Richard but everyone calls him “juice” and a shy teenager named “chunkey.” After we got a few drinks we sat outside to cool off and met a guy named Carlos who sat and talked with us for a while. At this point a wave of happiness rushed over me. I was sitting with a few people who I really liked in my program and was so elated to be on a Caribbean island drinking Turks & Caicos rum and chatting with locals and my new friends.

The next day I was “student of the day”. This means I show up to meals 10 minutes early every day and help set up and clean after meals. I was also on kitchen crew. Kitchen crew does the dishes after lunch and dinner. It’s not that bad actually. We stand in a line and get it done in a hurry. We’ve started classes and they seem really interesting! In Marine Ecology we do a lot of classification of species and get to go out and snorkel and ID real live organisms. In Environmental Policy and Socioeconomic values we learn about the social science on the island and local policies. We get to go out on the town a lot and learn about history and the way things are done in their culture.

Today we started our Resource Management class where we learn about how the ocean provides for the world and its environmental impacts, which are usually bad. I have lots of reading to do but it should all be very interesting. We also went on two snorkel trips today. We went out to the south side of Long Cay and snorkeled in the reef. The waves were so strong and staying above the coral and not crashing into it was very difficult and freaky! But we saw eagle rays, sting rays, sea urchins and many many many tropical fish. We then took a long windy and splashy ride to the north side of South Caicos to the mangroves. It was very shallow, about two feet, so it was very difficult to keep from kicking the ground and touching it with our arms. This was terrifying because it was basically a jellyfish field and any wrong movements resulted in a razor burn type feeling. There wasn’t as much to see here but it definitely got my adrenaline going! I came face to face with some sort of eel (haven’t learned the organisms yet, bear with me). I stood still as it stared right at me. I went to tap my buddy and alert her and it darted off super fast. This made me jump because I thought it was coming for me! Scariest moment yet, but my other classmates have had scarier they said.

It has all been so crazy here! Feels like I’ve been here for a month and it hasn’t even been a week. Tomorrow is Saturday, but we still have classes. We also have our first dive tomorrow as well! Super excited… should be even better than the snorkels. Be prepared for my blogs to be less often. It’s about to get super crazy and busy here and there won’t be much time for writing.

[tacosandcabbage-blog]

This is where I am! The left highlighted circle is where I flew in from Charlotte, North Carolina... and the highlighted circle on the right is where the field station is that I'm staying at for the next three months.

[tacosandcabbage-blog]

I'm here!!

Greetings from South Caicos in the Caribbean! I am currently sitting on a bench at the edge of a cliff that over hangs the aqua clear water. Things are amazing! Today was jam packed full of awesome things! Let me first start out with my arrival….

We arrive in Provodenciales, one of the tourist islands with the main airport. Looking out my plane window I was speechless with the beauty of the water. The line for customs was overwhelming and sweaty but I got through it. We then board a small plane that was really sketchy and the air conditioning comes out like mist! By this point, I had met many people from my program and we were all laughing about the plane. We take a short 10 minute flight to South Caicos, the smallest inhabited island on the Turks & Caicos chain. We get picked up by our program directors in a few pick-up trucks and vans. Some students even got to ride in the bed of the truck, I was jealous. Riding through the tiny town was awesome. I was surprised to see stray dogs and wild horses and donkeys! With mange, ticks and fleas of course. Finally we arrive at the field station. On our short tour around our new home our jaws all dropped. We are on the edge of the island with an endless view of the Caribbean Sea. Our dining room, activity room, computer room, game room and other hang out spots are all the open. No closed doors, No walls closing us in, we are basically outdoors! We are assigned a room to share with 3 other people. Two bunk beds, one small closet and 5 little cubbies for clothes. We share a bathroom among the 4 of us. There were three cockroaches and one gecko right off the bat. It’s pretty awful, but do-able. At dinner time I barely had an appetite, too much anxiety… my luggage hadn’t arrived, all these people were new, unsure of how I felt. The internet comes and goes… and I’m having trouble coping with my social media addiction. My phone doesn’t receive calls or texts, so I am out of contact with my closest friends.

I woke up this morning feeling much better! I had gotten enough sleep, and even though I was sweaty and sticky.. I was in a good mood! Breakfast was at 7am sharp! Then we had a bunch of morning meetings to allow us to familiarize ourselves with each other, the station’s policies, the laws of the island and dangers to avoid. We then went out on the town in small groups! Turns out that the entire island is around 3 miles in diameter. Everything you can possibly get to is within walking distance. There are less than 20 cars on this island. Many churches, many run down shacks, many abandoned buildings with crumpling walls and roofs! There are about 4 or 5 bars, 2 restaurants and 6 or 7 little shacks to buy groceries. All of the natives are super friendly and know us all by “SFS people” or as the kids say “SFFS” or “School for Field”. This little boy waved to us shouting “HEY SCHOOL FOR FIELD” it was super sweet.

We did a short swim and snorkel test today in the sea it was great! I can’t believe how salty the water is! But I felt pretty safe, as long as I don’t think about all the things that can sting me. I’m in the deep part and I can see my feet, man… I can even see the bottom! I am amazed. The only thing that’s missing is everybody that I love and miss. If I could bring them all and have one big party for the next three months my life would be complete.

Adios!

[tacosandcabbage-blog]

The Beginning

Hello readers! My semester abroad on the South Caicos Island in the Caribbean starts today! I am a junior at Beloit College with a passion for marine biology. This semester will be filled with scuba diving, beach camping, hard classes, spreading environmental awareness and community involvement. Internet use is limited, phone is turned off, shower once a week, laundry in the ocean water.... basically I'm going off the grid for these next three months. However, my social media addiction may tempt me to log onto Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, etc and I will give families and friends as many updates as I can!

I am sitting in the Charlotte airport in North Carolina. I arrived just a few minutes ago from Milwaukee. The flight was smooth even though my worries and anxieties would not subside. As I sit here charging my electronics before I board my next flight, I have trouble focusing on this post because of my people watching habit. There are many different accents, languages, behaviors, faces and manners. People watching has always been one of my favorite things. Finding my gate, I was surprised to see a few things. First, a shoe polishing station where you sit in a fancy chair while workers shine your shoes. Who knew this was a thing? Many Starbucks, many gift shops, and surprisingly many differnet bars! My favorite, "The Rum Bar" appears to only sell rum, MANY kinds of rum ;). If my layover was longer, and I was 21, I'd be there in a heartbeat, definitely my kind of place!

Saying my last goodbyes was hard, but I'm eager to meet new friends on the adventure in South Caicos! My phone is blowing up with goodbye texts, Facebook notifications and "I love you"'s from my mom and best friends. 

Till my next post.... 

P.S. Many people forget the name of where I'm going.. "Turks & Caicos" and thanks to a good friend, he renamed it "Tacos & Cabbage" hence the url of this blog :)