28/10/13 Dealing with the Dialect
How do I sum up the last month
here? I was excited and apprehensive; if
it wasn’t for this program I wouldn’t have known Seychelles was a country, and
someone who had spent the last 4 years living in Hawaii I thought this place
wouldn’t hold a candle to the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. I was wrong, so very
wrong. Hawaii doesn’t compare to the beauty of Seychelles.
Excitement came naturally, I
guess I am a 21st century explorer and geography geek so naturally
wanderlust is in my blood.
Apprehension came because this
means I would have to travel to the opposite side of the world, going to a
country that everyone back home kept asking for its geographical location, and
telling your family that you were going to Africa alone didn’t bode well with
them.
Mahe Island is beautiful;
Victoria is this quaint capitol where everyone is helpful and friendly. Upon my
arrival I spent 3 days in the capitol and couldn’t have for a better
experience. The market place was alive and busy with local farmer’s selling
produce and merchants pushing their goods.
So after 3 days we caught the van
here. Cap Ternay is a national marine park and my job as a coral surveyor would
be necessary to ensure it stays that way.
The staff has been absolutely
wonderful. Everyone is very nice and easily approachable. There are about 22
volunteers here on any given basis, with many nations of the world representing
his or her country. We went from being
22 random strangers, to friends, then to a family of dive geeks.
What I find humorous the most has
been the differences in English dialect. A rubber to the Europeans means an
eraser, a rubber to this American means something completely else so whenever
someone asks for a rubber to clean their slate I start giggling immaturely.
Diving happens every day here,
some of my most memorable dives have been seeing sharks, squid, rays, turtles and
eels. I wake up every day excited and happy as a clam which I has seen many of.
I have also had way too many amazing dives to pick just one.
We are also very involved in the
local community as well. Once a week we mentor the children of President’s
Village- a local children’s home, and teach the children of The International
School of Seychelles about the importance of protecting the oceans. This program has been the most rewarding part
so far.
In conclusion, this place is
amazing, I have meet some pretty awesome people, had some amazing experiences,
will never be able to look at coral the same way ever again, and I still have 5
months left.
-
Marianne, Divemaster intern
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