One thing I want aspiring or incoming JET participants to know is this: you need to show up in this country with your A-game, because more often than not, you are expected to head straight into an onslaught of activities upon arriving...jet lag, lack of sleep, churned-up digestive system, and culture shock be damned. I was lucky that I didn't feel much of these (maybe lack of sleep), though my comrades certainly did. The biggest struggle for me was that I am used to SO much time alone, and SO ...
Happiness
A Weekend in Portland
I had one little thing on my to-do list during these few months I've been in Canada, and that was visit my friend Sarah in Portland before I left for Japan. We had been talking about this for ages - I first met Sarah in Roatan (she arrived shortly after me) and we were soon neighbors and friends. When she moved back to Portland last year, she left the island and I promised the next time I was in Canada that I would come see her. So I did! I only had a short weekend, so we decided to make the ...
The End of an Era
At this time I'm usually trying to whip up a belated roundup post, but there wasn't anything to round up. I haven't written any posts. I wasn't even on Roatan. And a lot of big things are happening. So this post is an ode to the end of an era instead.Let's get to the point: I'm leaving Roatan. For good.It's not an easy thing for me to write. Putting something out there like that on my site seems so final, and set in stone. My readers who have followed me on this crazy adventure know that ...
The Snorkeling Trip That Changed My Life
Kind of a bold title, isn't it?It's 100% true.That blurry photo is me. It's me during the second time I ever snorkeled in my life. (The first being a very sketchy set up off a catamaran in Cuba in 2005. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised I made it out alive.) I know it's hard to see, but my face is full of joy. I am at home in the ocean!I even know what day this was - February 5, 2012. I was on my very first trip to Roatan with my friend Steph, and it was our second day on the ...
Turning 30, Island-Style
Well, some people celebrate turning 30 by drinks out with friends, or maybe a fancy dinner. As you might have guessed, I am not 'some people'.When I realized that I would be celebrating my fourth birthday in a row on Roatan (wait, what?? how and when did that happen!?) and it was my big 3-0, I decided I might as well make it one to remember.So how does one celebrate turning 30 in a memorable way?Island-style, of course:Full pig roast with all the fixins.Reef-themed birthday ...
The Last Day of 2014
Hello again from the Caribbean!After a somewhat unintentional month-long blog hiatus, here I am. At first I was just feeling uninspired, with not much to say. Then I was feeling censored, as there were a lot of things happening here on Roatan safety and security-wise that people were asking me about, but I couldn't write about it on my blog. I'm sure many of you don't know this but there are plenty of islanders who have found out about my blog and read it. While I'm always happy to have new ...
Two Years as a Scuba Diving Instructor in Paradise
You guys. I've been a dive instructor for two years today. TWO YEARS. What the hell!? Where has all this time gone? I feel like I was just writing about how I wasn't sure I'd even get my other courses done in time to do my instructor course. And now I've been teaching people how to dive for two effin years already!the first day of my instructor course in october 2012... so happy that i am still in touch with all my fellow candidates!I have written a few posts about being a ...
Surfing in Ucluelet, BC with Wick’d Surf Camps
The last time I was on a surfboard was quite a few years ago. Some friends and I were camping in Tofino, on Vancouver Island (BC, Canada) and there were two guys who knew how to surf, plus me and another dude who had no idea what we were doing. We rented gear from a local surf shop and the guys who had surfed before told us they'd give us a lesson. Well, after 20 minutes of flailing around in the whitewash, the guys who knew what they were doing abandoned us in pursuit of bigger and better ...
My First Whale Shark!
I have crossed nearly everything off my "diving in Roatan" bucket list - remember when I saw a pod of wild dolphins, TWO hammerhead sharks, and found a GoPro Hero3??Well, the only thing left on the list was a whale shark. To see one of these gentle giants (they can reach up to 60ft long!) was one of my lifelong dreams, and one of the reasons I ended up settling in Roatan...they are often spotted here and by the next island over, Utila, and I was determined to see one.I had ...
Lady Luck is a Mermaid.
I've talked before a few times about how lucky I've been here, and how expat life here is like a roller coaster with some pretty big ups sometimes. Well, lady luck has been visiting me again...and this time underwater!In the past month, several times I was not supposed to have been on certain dives... I pestered my co-worker to switch, or got on a different boat because my student asked to switch, etc. And holy crap, have I ever been rewarded!First... a pod of 30 wild dolphins ...