IS THIS REAL LIFE???

BUT SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS. THIS IS INSANE.

First, the airplanes: Yesterday I woke up at 3 am and headed to Logan airport. Six other TCI students and I flew from Boston to Miami, and then 16 of us flew from Miami to Provo (one of the bigger islands). Eventually all 36 of us arrived in Provo, and we flew to South Caicos.

And then...oh my goodness. We arrived at the center. The main part of the complex is open to the air, with tile floors and flags and paintings on the walls and buoys hanging from the ceiling. There's a classroom, a computer lab (which is air conditioned), a kitchen, and a pool. We live (usually) four to a room, in bunk beds and under mosquito net tents. As I'm reading this I'm realizing that this description makes this all sound a lot more civilized than it actually is, but I can't post pictures yet (slow internet, and besides, I haven't taken any!). If you want more evidence that I'm basically camping, a moth just pooped on my computer screen. Not a figure of speech, actual poop.

BUT THE VIEW. AND THE LOCATION. AND THE OCEAN. In case you have never been to the Caribbean  the water actually is that blue. And that clear. And that amazing. The center has a gorgeous view of the ocean and a couple of small keys, and we can hear the waves from our rooms. We all eat meals together in the outdoor "dining room," and hang out on hammocks hanging from the edge of the roof. Needless to say, last night I slept like a rock (which may have had something to do with the intense game of volleyball that we played until it got dark).

This morning we went on a tour of the island. I love this island. It's so small and wonderful. The customs building is a shack, and the post office and the bank are the same small house. The bank is only open from 11-2 on Wednesdays. There are small grocery stores, houses, an outdoor basketball court, a library, and a bar that serves buckets of grilled chicken and hot sauce every week for a dollar. When we finished our tour we tried fried conch, which was actually delicious.

After lunch we learned all about waterfront safety (and there are four waterfront interns, and a whaler, which sort of makes me feel like I'm at Saranac...), and then took our swim test. Treading water in an ocean this salty is a joke. Then we went over snorkeling skills in the pool, and were set loose. So we all went snorkeling. In our backyard. AND IT WAS AWESOME. Tropical fish, coral, sea grass, life conchs, everything. In our backyard. We can go snorkeling in the water in front of the center whenever we have free time as long as we have a buddy...!!!!!

We finished the evening by playing an interactive game of Clue that involved running all over the center, and culminated in eating ice cream. Now we're just hanging out, playing guitar, playing Bananagrams, and making friendship bracelets. So if there was any doubt, this is definitely the perfect abroad program. So all of you other abroad people, you were wrong. This one is the best.

Love Pools, Hate Shopping

It's getting closer...and I'm starting to freak out. In a good way, but still. There's just so much stuff to think about and get done, and I'm going to be in TCI for three months. Insanity.

Yesterday I got to try out my new (well, used but in extremely good shape) SCUBA equipment in one of the local pools. And good news! I didn't drown! So it all works, and I'm all set to go. Also, diving in a pool is actually really fun. You know when you're little and you figure out how to sit on the bottom of the pool, but you can only do it for like two seconds before you have to come up for air? YOU CAN SIT THERE AS LONG AS YOU WANT! It's awesome. 10-year-old me was so happy. And current me is PSYCHED.

And then today I went shopping. I hate shopping. It's frustrating and time consuming and there's no way to do it efficiently. Also, people kept looking at me like I had three heads when I asked for summer stuff, and then would explain veeeeery slowly where the clearance rack was.  It's like they're saying "Don't you know it's January outside?" and I'm like, "No, I must have missed that while I was trudging over snowbanks. Thanks for telling me, guess I'll go buy winter coats instead." But seriously. I should wear a sign that says GOING ABROAD TO THE OCEAN or something.

In defense of the poor store workers who were confused by me, it is very difficult to find sundresses and skirts in New England in January. I feel like I've been to every clothing store in Western Mass. But I did find shorts and skirts, plus sunscreen and biodegradable soap (for ocean showers!). So now I just have to pack it all. Somehow...

Also, in case anyone missed my post about this on the book of face, IMDb lists Toy Story 3 as a comedy. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT. Did they watch that movie?

Oh Hey Everyone

Yup, it happened. I started a blog. But I have a good reason for it! In just over one week, I am leaving for the Turks and Caicos Islands on a three month program with the School for Field Studies! So now you guys get to hear all about it, lucky you.

For those of you who are now picturing me living in some resort hotel, let me enlighten you. We will be on South Caicos, which has a town of 1,500 people (according to Wikipedia) and a marine lab. And that's it. SFS runs the marine lab, and that is where we will be living. It's dorm style, with possibly around five people to a room. And we are only allowed to shower once a week to conserve fresh water.

That being said, it's going to be BEAUTIFUL. Seriously. The view from the station is insane. If I could figure out how to add the pictures in from the website I would, but I'll just put the link at the bottom. There will be snorkeling and SCUBA diving, as well as classes, research projects, and community outreach. And I get credit for this. It's insane.

So right now I'm trying to figure out how to pack all of my stuff (including SCUBA equipment) so it weighs less than 75 lbs. Near impossible, but I'll make it happen, even if I have to wear my wetsuit on the plane. Wish me luck, and I promise this will get more exciting once I'm actually in TCI and not just sitting on my couch thinking about TCI.

Program link: http://www.fieldstudies.org/tci/semester

And yes, the title of this blog comes from Peter Pan. What did you expect?