do good, avoid evil, and see things as they are....

Sunday evening we all met at the staff jetty for a sunset cruise on the dhoni. We all sat up on the top deck, took photos and had some light conversation. After sunset, we all came back,  ate dinner at the staff cafe, and then met in the common area where we had a few drinks. It was a mild night with a carton of beer between a couple dozen people and some classy drinking of champagne from the bottle. Later that evening, a few of us went down to the beach and hung out for a little bit - this was the best part of the whole evening.  

It was a rather quiet week upon return to the dive centre. Less guests then previous weeks over easter so there was a lot of hanging around the dive centre, retail work and maintenence, joking about and having lots of laughs with the guys. Tuesday evening there were plans for some of us staff to get together and have a beach party. Everyone was really looking forward to this and it was all the talk... just before we were going to meet, we had been watching lightening for a good hour or so. Before long - the rains came and all hell broke loose! Thunder and lightening, flash rain - it was incredible! Hardly like anything i had experienced before, and I live in tropical Queesland where tropical storms are common. Unfortunately I was in my room and the only place I could see the event was through my bedroom window to which I only had a tiny area where I could see the sky. It powered down for some time before it was safe to leave the room, but even then, i needed a canoe to get around outside!

There were a few trees down and palm fronds in places where there were no palm trees in sight! The following night before the end of the clean up, I tripped on a fallen coconut! Usually the ground is clear and clean, but in the dark before the end of the clean-up, a sneaky lil coconut was just waiting for me to trip over it! For the next couple of days we had afternoon/evening storms with lots of rain, thunder and lightening. I was told that it is a change in Monsoon, and it will last for approximately 10 days.

Friday was ANZAC DAY - In the morning I was up early for a boat dive with a fellow Aussie. I had been pretty good and was sugar free for 3 days, but I felt un-Australian if I did not have an ANZAC biscuit (AKA oatmeal boat cookie) so I just haaaad to eat one! For my lunch break I went to the staff break with my sister from another mister on the resort, and we took some happy snaps together and enjoyed the beautiful calm waters before heading back to work. It was a quiet afternoon again in the dive centre and time for a quick meal before meeting for a night dive. 

We met around 7pm for the night dive, just before the sunset and we had two of the most gorgeous Aussie ladies as guests, and I was leading three staff. It was a great crew on board which made the trip even more enjoyable. Before leaving, we had a last minute change in boats, and unfortunately one of the staff had his equipment on the previous boat - ‘The reef 20’. We were on board the ‘Reef 6’ and had arranged to pick up the equipment on the way to the dive site. They say everything happens for a reason, and there was definitely a greater reason for the equipment being stuck on the other boat.

Upon coming up to the Reef 20, there was a turtle to the right of the boat, caught in a massive fishing net. Without hesitation, and no time to put on my scuba gear, I jumped off the side of the boat with only half my wetsuit on my body. The boat crew threw me my fins once I was already in the water. The turtle was completely tangled by this massive fishing net the weight of the net holding the turtle back as she tried to swim downward. I took deep breaths and ducked under the water and untangled the net from behind the back flippers and the shell. She was struggling very hard to swim downward where the net was cutting in under her front right flipper. I grabbed a knife from the boat to cut the net around her front flipper free but it was so tightly cutting in to her flipper it was not safe that I tried this. Another diver jumped in the water and helped me to lift her up onto the boat. One of the other staff took the knife and cut the rope free. We then flipped her over and released her back to the sea. Upon inspection when we cut the rope, it didn’t appear there was any sever damage to her flipper, though underwater it appeared it was cutting quite deep. The poor love swam straight back to freedom as soon as we released her. Adrenaline was pumping through my body and people were asking me, what type of turtle was it? How big was it? All of these specific questions that I could hardly answer. All I remember was focussing on the net and how I could release her. Thankfully, One of our lovely guests took photos of the whole experience so I can soon look back on these and share. I am so lucky that I have photos to look back on this incredible experience of saving a turtles life.

I first wanted to get into diving in order to save turtles somehow. The defining moment for me where I decided that diving would be my dream job, was during a holiday in Malaysia. I did a dive where there ere some 30-40 turtles  on my dive. During this trip, I also went to a turtle conservation island where we collected turtle eggs and buried them for release once they hatched. We also released those turtles that had hatched, back to the sea. From this holiday, I wanted to make a difference and help turtles, and I felt that diving was going to get me there, and incidentally, it did. I felt like my life purpose was fulfilled from that single experience. It really hit it home for me just how much I love these animals and how rewarding it was to be able to make a difference. It was such a reality check for me, that there are far greater things that I can be doing with my life, than sitting behind an office desk paying insurance claims. My heart was filled with so much love. I also recommend that if people do go on holidays, that they incorporate some type of local conservation experience, for if a life changing experience and career choice, at lease what you can learn so much, and do something to make a difference in the time you are there.  Every little bit helps. There is so much destruction in the world, and unknowingly a lot of us contribute by buying products which destroy habitats or otherwise. For each good deed we give back, we are tipping the world scale from bad to good, thats got to make a difference right?

Following the incredible turtle rescue, we reached our dive site which proved to be a really lovely dive. Amongst other things, we saw two giant marble sting rays, the second one which was so curious of us, he kept following us and looking directly at us! It was actually a little unnerving! When we came back onto the boat, we looked up at the stars and it was a really clear night. I just mentioned how finding a shooting star would be a perfect end to the evening, and just as I said that, a shooting star launched overhead. It was amazing. ANZAC day in the Maldives was a really incredible day. I was very mindful of all those who had served (especially my pa) and still serve in wars. Whether they are for meaningful purposes, or bullshit greed and destruction, my thoughts were for those who are out there in the front line.

Friday night after the dive the front office team were having a bbq on the beach and I was invited to join. I was so happy as friday night meals in the staff cafe are less than desirable for me. I got the beach and they had cooked some beautiful big fish on the grill, we had a table with chapati and coconut which I wrapped all together and it was a flavour explosion! I wish I could eat that for every meal, I would be very happy! We had lots of laughs and reggae music which was very calming. Afterwards it was quite late but I was trying to find someone to have a beer. I went up to the bar where I knew a few colleagues were a couple of hours earlier and I found them with my two aussie friends! We chatted for another hour or so, looked back on the photos from the dive and heading off just as the rains set in.

The following day I had the day off due to the quite schedule in the centre the following day. It was good timing as I had a slight aggravation to my left ear, and we treated it before infection, so it was nice to have a day off to rest out of the water. I spent the day pottering around the room, doing laundry and bits and pieces. In the afternoon I had a three hour nap on and off which was quite nice. In the evening it was another less than desirable evening for me in the staff cafe so I ate a little before canning it.

The two lovely ladies invited a couple of us to meet at the seabar at 7pm and I was really looking forward to putting on a nice dress and hanging out. We enjoyed a cocktail over sunset before they invited us on to eat with them. We went to the Arabic restaurant over looking the sea. We enjoyed a mix of hot and cold mezze and shared everything between us, I loved that - my favorite type of meal. After stuffing ourselves with lots of little delights we headed downstairs where we enjoyed a shisha and lots of conversation. It was so lovely to be invited out by such wonderful people and had a genuinely enjoyable evening. I know I say this a lot, but I love good people!

Sunday was a reasonably quiet day again. In the morning, the girls were so kind to bring a box of mangoes to the dive centre along with bunches of bananas and a papaya. A gift fruit box! What sweet hearts. In the afternoon I had the pleasure of taking a father and daughter out for a discover scuba diving experience. I must have pretty good because they have signed up to do a course. This is so rewarding seeing the excitement, especially of children after a dive. I took out a 10 year old boy for a discovery dive a few days earlier and his eye were as big as his dropped jaw as he exclaimed “that was awesome!!” and I asked him, what was the best part? and he said “everything was the best part!!” He also went on to do a certification course. This is really great, being able to introduce people to the underwater world, and seeing the change in them and them wanting to take this further and become a certified diver.

Sunday evening was sunset cocktails and meet with guests. I spoke with several guests I had seen come through the dive centre, and of course my dearest Australian friend. After the cocktails, I was so kindly invited to dinner where there was endless conversation. The similarities we shared, the authors and books that both changed our lives, it was incredible. One of the gals is even from a small town in NSW, right where my sister lives. Such a small world. Let alone looking back on falls festival photos and videos the other night and me in my friends being in one of the videos in the background! It is so heartwarming to meet people you just connect with right away, and you know its not going to be the last time you see them.  Its hard to believe that I am staff and they are guests, rather than it’s just friends hanging out together. Really special people who have made my time here so worthwhile.

When you can, share some of your time and good health to use your powers for good and maybe get involved in a beach clean up, or volunteer. I don’t promote sending cold money to charities, but if you do not have the time to volunteer, this may be a better option for you. I personally prefer to have the hands on experience. Project AWARE is a great organization, and you can sign up and keep up to date with their projects on their website. Also Sea Shepard is a great organization that I love to get behind. There are so many great organizations out there, and with the disgusting damage that the Australian government is doing to our country, between the shark culling (makes my blood boil!!! I CANNOT believe it is still happening!) and the fracking and endless other destructions, let alone with the rest of the world - we need to stand up and do everything we can, as clearly they are not representative of the public nor the environment. 

Do good, avoid evil, and see things as they are.

Lots of love to you, the environment and the all animals

Kassie

success!

I am an Instructor!!! It’s incredible, at last, all of this - everything I have worked for has come into fruition and I have made me dream come true! There have been tears, laughs and everything in between. I have been tried and tested and things have nearly come apart a couple of times but my strength and determination has kept my intentions for myself on track. Its Easter sunday, and unlike many of my friends back home who are camping, fishing, partying and having fun... I sat the day in class completing exams and presentations. This is one easter I will not forgot for some time to come. It has been a very emotional and stressful two days of the IE.

Before I go into that, lets take it back a few days and re-cap on the week. We finished up with our final requirements for the IDC which was a lovely relief. We all passed and were being put forward for the IE. The next 4 days we spent it completing our speciality instructor courses. I had initially chosen to do the oxygen provider course upon suggestion, however once in the course, it didn’t feel right and I wasn’t sure that it was something that I wanted to go on to do. To really get the message that it was not something that was aligning with me, I got this severe pain in my stomach. Then I knew, this was not something that I was meant to be doing right now. I get pretty strong feelings if things are right, and this severe jab in my stomach was that feeling. Thankfully, the drift diver course which I wanted to do most was back on (it was not looking like it was possible, hence the oxygen provider course). I am so pleased I would be able to do this.

The next day a dhoni was hired to take us out for deep and UW photography dives. When I saw this dhoni arrive at the jetty, I thought it must have needed some assistance from the island. It didn’t appear to be the most... reliable.... looking boat... I had a little bit of doubt instilled in me and I decided not to take any valuables just in case! Once we loaded up and set up our equipment, we made quite a joke about it, and were able to have a laugh which made everything a little bit lighter. We had a wonderful deep dive experience. I spotted a honeycomb moray eel which was really cool & on the photography dive we saw 9 eagle rays! Just amazing.

The following day when we did the drift dive speciality, the first dive there was no current but on the second there was which was great and we saw two giant marble stingrays and a gorgeous hawksbill turtle. I nearly ran into the guy who was right in front of my face on the wall which I was drifting along, such a pleasant surprise! These two dives marked my 100th and 101st dives in total for me which is quite an achievement and also the prerequisite for the IE so it was a good day! No nude diving to mark my 100th dive though! Incredible that about 92 of those has been racked up in 10 weeks - so thats more dives per week than days in the week! Very cool.

This week, I also finally made it to the local island one evening this week for a coconut juice. And with the new arrival of apprentices, came an evening of drums singing and dancing - it is so great to watch. Followed by a late night stake out for the left over seafood and then a plate of desserts with “good luck” decorated in chocolate sauce around the plate! I love my pals. So thoughtful.

Soo, Yesterday was day one and we were prepared a day prior with an outline of what to expect and a schedule for the two days. Saturday was intended to be the theory day of exams and presentations, so I had spent Friday night and Saturday morning preparing for this. Come Saturday morning, 9 am start became an 11am start to which we just sat around for 2 hours. We were then told by the examiner that we would be spending the day doing our water skills and presentations and Sunday we would do our exams and classroom presentations. Not only this, but we had 1 hour to eat lunch and prepare all of our Confined & Open water presentations in & out of the water, do a skill circuit and also rescue exercise 7! We all freaked out and I nearly lost my shit. For a ‘no suprises’ two days - this was a pretty shocking suprise! I was angry and I was upset. I got to my room, plugged in my earphones and listened to Chet’s soothing voice while I tried to prepare my presentations. I kept making mistakes, mixing up confined to open and stressing about not having any time to practice these presentations nor the skills to ensure they were perfect before the examination. I managed to write some stuff down and then we all met in the living room to have a quick debrief before we walked together to the dive centre. I asked a couple of questions to help assist me with my presentation and was given an unkind response to which, being already in such a distressed state, did not help me. I got up and walked away. I then went to my room and broke down in tears. I was so upset at how the day had unravelled and I was so concerned I would not be able to perform under such pressure - most of which I was putting on myself. After again listening to some music, trying to meditate and pull myself together, I splashed water on myself and walked outside to where a few of the guys were waiting for me to walk together. We walked to the dive centre all very frustrated at what had been heaped upon us and trying to offer each other support.

First we prepared our equipment and then we went into a small classroom where we gave our briefings. During this time when the examiner turned off the air-conditioning, so now we were all hot and bothered! I couldn’t get the distressed look of my face no mater how hard I tried. We then went into the water where we did our Open water presentations, things went pretty well. We then did the rescue exercise which again went well and then onto confined water presentations. We then completed the skill circuit and our briefings. Upon completion, we were given our grades which I got a 4.8/5 4.8/5 and 22/25 which I was pleased with - I passed! In the evening I was so exhausted and emotionally drained it was hard not to fall into a heap as soon as I got home. I pumped some music and had a long hot shower to wash away the day. I met the guys for dinner and we were meeting a little later on to go through our classroom presentations for the next day. I managed to pull mine together with a couple of quick practices before falling into a deep sleep.

This morning we started with the dive theory exam which I was most concerned about. Once completed we then did our knowledge review presentations and the standards exam. It was such a relief to find out that we passed everything once all completed. Such a weigh off my shoulders. The examiner then checked over a couple of pages in our paperwork in front of the whole class before we finished. In doing so, he spoke aloud of the people who would be making monetary donations to project AWARE. He came to mine and noted I had not opted to make a donation and made a comment about me not caring for the environment. I don’t care whether he made this comment as a joke or not, however my personal financial position - or lack there of, has no  correlation with my care for the environment. I replied and said I would be happy to volunteer my time for any cause as required. I am was pissed off. How bitter sweet I was now feeling. We then all went down to the beach to get photos together. After getting photos together it was a geniuses idea to get one more photo together to which he jumped in front of me flicked a pile of sand into my mouth, all over my face and down my shirt. Great. Thanks. Hot and sticky and sand all through my clothes. Those bitter sweet feelings continued.

After all the funny business was over, I went back to my room got straight in the shower and jumped into bed with my laptop, curled up and listened to music. What a perfect way to celebrate, curled up in bed! At 6.30pm we are meeting at the staff jetty for a sunset cruise to celebrate our achievements... so i’ll pick up from here next time

Thank you for all your support in helping me achieve this great milestone in my life. Without the shoulders to lean on, the wise advice, the encouraging words and strength that you give me, this would have been a much harder or even non existent experience.

Support your friends, your family and even strangers in any good that they do. A kind word, a smile or hand of support may be all they need to push them over the line in what ever they do. Don’t give up on them. They will have challenges, you will have challenges, but lets support each other and celebrate in each others victories.

With relief and joy,

Kassie

Padi Open Water Scuba Instructor 

Nitrox, UW Digital photography, Deep, Night, Drift Instructor

countdown to instructor

Here I am! In the midst of the life-changing program I have been waiting to commence for 7 months. Monday was the first day of the IDC and it was a welcome and easy going day. We all met for breakfast before we kicked off at 10am. We started by setting up the classroom and finalising some important paperwork, Andy ran us through the course orientation and we had an overview of the PADI system. When we finished up in the afternoon, I decided to use the first day of the IDC as the starting point of when I started back at the gym! It had been months since I had consistently maintained any regime and I was ready to give it a go again. I did 80 minutes at the gym between walking on the treadmill and cycling on the bike. I realised how much of a wonderful outlet it was for me to detach and float away to my favorite music (Chet Faker). It was perfect, really just an excuse where I can listen to music without interruption. I was not pushing myself and getting right back into the style of training I used to love so much, walking with a couple of short bursts of running was enough to get me back into the swing of things - I mean, anything is better than nothing. I love to enjoy the dessert treats that we have most days, and something has got to give - and right now - sweets is not one of them - so the first step is back in the gym! The other reason is because I wont be diving as much during the IDC, I wanted to make sure I stayed active because so far the diving has been keeping me pretty balanced after all the indulgences!

Tuesday through Sunday have been long days between the classroom and the water. In the class we sat in both presentations from Andy (teaching us to teach) and conducting presentations ourselves. Luckily I have no problem speaking in front of people, even though this did make me somewhat nervous, I think its just because I know how much I have riding on this, i’ve changed my life to follow this path and I want more than anything for it to work out. In the water, we did both skill circuits and conducted in water presentations. It was a lot of fun because not only were the other candidates pretending to be my four open water students, but Andy would tell them things to do wrong, which I would also be assessed on - if I could pick up the errors and correct them... It was challenging but also a lot of fun and the most perfect way to learn as it will be in a real life situation. I've found that the way the program has been conducted so far has been a perfect was for me to learn. We are taught in different methods and always applying practically, as it will be when we are instructors ourselves. He is always springing suprise questions on us so we are getting a lot of repetition in remembering important information - Project AWARE stands for = Aquatic World Awareness Responsibility Education !!

Following the long days, we spend several hours in the afternoon/evening reading, studying, preparing our presentations for the next day and working on a marketing project we have been given. Us candidates have been splint into two teams to which one I am the captain of. The project is to create two diving companies and Andy is going to be a mock customer enquiring about coming to dive with us. So we have created a facebook page, and we handle all of his e-mail enquiries. At first it felt like it was a little much on top of all that we were managing, but it is coming around to be a lot of fun and I think that our project of 'Coco Diver's' is coming through aces! 

Something that I am truly appreciating is all the friends and people I have taken the time to now in the resort. It is so lovely to walk around the place and the people I know stop to say hello and have a little chat, and always being invited to play pool/darts/watch a movie or something else.Tthe other day one of the other candidates said "oh my god you know everyone!". This is going to be the hardest thing about leaving - is saying goodbye to everyone I have met. I don't know if I can do it! But I'm not going to worry about that just yet, i'm just going to enjoy every moment we share. Thursday night I went down to the beach with the boys where there were 3 guitars, a guitarleili and a drum box and as usual, they were all sitting around making music singing and having a laugh... my favorite. There are such wonderful souls around the place and i know that we will always be in touch but the thought of leaving is really hard now, let alone in two more months, I can't even imagine.

My Four Seasons drink bottle has been recovered!!!! It was all a very mysterious disappearance and there was definately a number one suspect. I just so happened to question this suspect the day before the finding and behold! This suspect happened to be the person who found it! And you won't believe where it was found... Sitting right next to the nitrox compressor in broad daylight! Unbelievable! It's all become a bit of a joke and when Sabrina's pink jacket went missing for a few days, it was all suspicious around the pink theif! Haha I couldn't care less about the circumstances of disappearance and reappearance, the most important thing is I have my prized possession back! I lathered the bottle and the lid with my name about 30 times with peace symbols and hearts! Ain't nobody going to try and hold that now!

During the week a new member of the Landaa team arrived... And it's a person this time, not another green turtle.. Dane from Cali! He had a slack line set up between the trees and I manager to get up! I walked four steps and I think with some practise I'll be able to make the whole length, then I can practise my jump turn around! After admiring the hippies in the park at Burleigh doing this every Sunday and never giving it a go, it's taken me to get to the Maldives to give it a go!

Speaking of green turtles, my beloved Coco the little green turtle has been released! I knew it was coming up but I didn't expect so soon! I didn't even get to say goodbye! So sad, but I will always love that lil cutie. I'll find out tonight if they put a transmitter on her, that way I can keep track of her.

Friday was officially 1 month in the Maldives! The time has gone both so fast, but at the same time it feels like i have been a part of this place for so much longer. We finished up in class a little earlier than usual but i was going a little stir crazy so I decided to join Ken & Sabrina on a snorkel at the staff beach before dinner and preparing for the next day. It was quite a distance out until the reef line but I was willing to give it a go. The current was quite strong and we were against it the whole time which was quite difficult, but my compromise for the gym, so it was welcome. There were no suprise creatures on this snorkel but it was just nice to get out there.

In the evening I stayed up until 11pm and staked out in the kitchen for the ‘left over’ seafood buffet. It was totally worth it. Getting there early meant I had dibs on the lobster - sooo fine! I also enjoyed some mussels and prawns and of course the lemon chicken - incredible. Friday nights are the best!

During the week, the long anticipated arrival of my care package from home landed. It wasn’t anything like jars of vegemite and packets of tim tams, more so shoulder length tops and knee covering pants. I was really few and far between after coming from Thailand and I was really over the couple of baggy diving promotional t-shirts I had picked up along the way. It was so nice to have a few items from my own wardrobe to call upon and be adequately dressed for the muslim culture (covered shoulders and knees). I also had a few pairs of earrings and packets of hair ties which are very well needed! I bought my own stash of each from home, however had already lost all the earring diving and most of the hair bands had snapped!  The cons of diving! Mum had also added in an aussie t-shirt which was so funny and so typically her. I really appreciated this and wore it straight away the next day and even found a way to incorporate it into my diving presentation!

I have never at all been one to really appreciate how much I have back home. I mean, I acknowledge and appreciate it, however I guess it nearly has never rung true until being here. I am so far away from “normal” and having access to anything, I am on a small atoll in the middle of the indian ocean... even the “store” which sells drinks and chips and a few toiletries is only open for a few hours each day... to think that back home I have a wardrobe stacked with shoes and clothes, drawers, cupboards, a room full of my favorite things and a COMFORTABLE bed and pillows, a wonderful home, parents and pets... I’m starting to miss this and look forward to getting back to comforts sometimes and having so much at my disposal... and other times, I like just getting by.. but having this package arrive with some things that I am familiar with, really made me realise how much of a wonderful life my parents have given me, and continue to give me.

The last couple of days have tested my patience a little with some particular personalities which i have in close proximity for many hours during the day. I haven't managed this the best that I can for myself, and i have been a little cranky in the afternoons... I am so sensitive to other peoples moods, personalities and energies and absorb so much of this myself, and I need more practice to detach from this more, i think this is going to be a continuous learning curve for me, and i’m so thankful I can see this and know what I need to do. Lots of negative comments and negative talk really brings me down as does certain personality types... its an interesting world out there mixing with many people in such close proximity that you would not usually have much time for back home. It almost feels like a bit of a social experiment. Being locked away on an island and learning to live and adapt to those around you which perhaps you would not even dare to share a coffee with back home!

Sunday evening was GM sunset cocktails and as usual it was so lovely to get dressed up and mingle with the guests. As per normal, i knocked a couple of people off their feet wearing non polo shirt, boardshort and leather sandal attire! Following was a birthday celebration for a great soul i’ve met and who works in the diver centre. We met at ‘After hours’ aka the recreation room, sung happy birthday and shared chocolate, sweets and ‘non-alcoholic carbonated beverages’ !! Then as what is becoming the norm, I headed down the beach and it was guitars, drum box and sheesha with the pals. Too bad there is no swimming allowed at night. It was so hot and humid that a dip in the ocean at night would be the most perfect end to the evening.

As for the week ahead, I have a couple of days left in the IDC, then three days of speciality course training and then over next weekend is the IE which will consist of one day written exams presentations and one day of water skill evaluations. This time next week, I might just be signed off as being an Open Water Scuba Instructor & Speciality instructor in 5 courses! Unbelievable right! From corporate sell-out to scuba instructor... that’s livin’ and from here - who know’s where to next... Mexico? I think that would be suitable considering that Andy has given me the nickname of Gonzalez! haha I don’t know how it came about, the first morning at breakfast, i think because of my long double barrel surname, he decided to add another one to the mix? A funny guy, and I am starting to refer to myself as Gonzalez now haha

Upon reflection of the week, I am quite happy with how well I have achieved a healthy balance of hard work and play. Some of the other guys, after spending 10 hours in class, they spend like another 5-6 preparing for the next day. I think i’ve achieved the work smarted not harder philosophy, and after no more than a couple of hours post class, I thoroughly enjoy my evening being a social butterfly. During breaks in the day, i’ll go to the beach a couple of times a week and most of the time tidy my room and catch up on laundry, exchanging uniforms and general chores...

It's a wonderfu life here for what it's worth. For some people it is much more difficult, they love the big cities, and they find it more difficult. For what suits my ideal lifestyle, this is it. Living in an island paradise, less than 5 minute walk to work, less than 5 minute walk to the beach on my time off. Laundry, food and all basic requirements just a few steps away. Great people, and modest entertainment... But as I discussed yesterday. This would be a perfect place if you were ready to settle down for a couple of years. If you have itchy feet and you want to experience more travel, cultures, partying, being young and free - perhaps to continue around the globe would be a better option - I think this is where I am at. Exciting times ahead. Once I complete the IE, I have 6 weeks left here interning as an OWSI, from there it's time to explore employment options around the globe. I am feeling Mexico/Central/South America - I can just picture myself there, a hammock on the beach, a coconut in my hand and part time lessons learning Spanish - usually done more so over a bar with tequila shots than in a classrom! hehe well something like this! But who knows, should any opportunity come my way, in any part of the globe - I would be all for it. There is such a great big world out there to explore, so much to see and feel, putting it in order of where to go first is so difficult, but i am sure I can manage ;)

Follow your dreams, and if you are living your dreams, and doing what you want to do... be happy. Don't complain and be negative. Stop making other peoples problems your problems. This will ruin your experience. You can't always escape from the influence of others, and there will always be people you dont agree with, so dont let them get to you. Let go and worry about yourself. Focus on the positive.

With love,

Kassie

dhoni's drums and dancing

On Tuesday it was was toilet paper and alcohol collection day! Availability to buy and collect alcohol only occurred between 11.30am-12.30pm and 2-4pm on Tuesdays which is also the times you can go and collect toilet paper! I was really torn about buying a couple of bottles of wine or a case of beer... but the inner man inside of me prevailed and I got the beer! That evening we were having a party for a colleagues birthday and considering the Tuesday before everyone forgot to buy booze, this time we all got plentiful amounts! At around 10pm I walked down the path to the common room where the party was. You could hear the music pumping from every corner of the island! They had set up an incredible sound system which was pumping some brilliant party beats. I had fallen asleep for an hour beforehand so I was still rubbing my eyes when I got there, though it was not long before the music truly woke me up. Upstairs it was dark and the only lights were all the disco lights which covered the roof and every wall. It was a legit set up and seemed a little over the top for the dozen people that were there... well, so i thought. Everyone was a little shy and quiet and it was remnant of an awkward year 7 disco. To break the ice one of the guys started with a drinking game - a very popular category of games on the island! I have learnt some brilliant games which I just cannot wait to bring home. Jodie, Neddy, G and pals: things are going to be even more hilarious than usual, you just wait!! Get the pool table prepped because when I am home we are going to have to test all of these out!

Anyway, so we played a couple of games which loosened things up a little bit. Many of the longer standing residents got the dance floor pumping and it was not long before I was dragged on up and then next minute - dancing on tables! We had a conga line going there for a while, a bit of interpretive dance and some heavy dirty beats which got us getting low. We danced without a break for 2 hours and out clothes were drenched in sweat. I only had 4 beers and only a couple of others were drinking. The rest were all locals and as alcohol is illegal they don’t even touch the stuff so they were just high on life and were killing it in the dance floor more than the rest of us combined! It was soooo much fun and i really enjoyed just letting it all go and dance like nobody was watching. It was incredible how much you completely forget where you are and it feels like you are in the middle of some crazy nightclub or dance festival - and thats exactly what the local residents said - they do this every now and again, so that you can just drift away and party like you are in some big city club, not stranded on some remote island in the middle of the Indian ocean! To top it all off at midnight when we had to call it to an end, the birthday boy had prepped a shisha for us! For three weeks I had been saying how much I wanted to go to one of the guest restaurants here where you can order a shisha, and little did I know, one was available in the middle of my neighbourhood. We all sat down and chilled out after our dance party and had a couple of puffs before all disbanding for the night. What a great time!

Whn I first considered my new hange of carrer, the thought of doing my first night dive really worried me. Before leaving home, I knew that it was something that I would have to do and I was scared. I managed to dodge the bullet in Thailand, and arrived in the Maldives with zero night dives. I told myself to not knock it before I tried it, and tried to be open to the experience when it may come. Shortly after arriving here, I was scheduled to be on a boat night dive. That evening I missed the boat by some 20 seconds. I think the universe was conspiring with me as subconsciously i was not prepared, though consciously I thought I was. I managed to talk myself around by telling myself that I have been on day dives with less than 1m visibility, and on a night dive, I will have at least 5m visibility. Therefore “not seeing” was no longer an issue. After doing three dives on the house reef I was loving night diving and was looking forward to my first one on the boat in the big open sea. On Tuesday evening at 7pm, i was quite tired as I had been working since 7.30am that morning but I was still excited all the same. We were at a dive site named Mileidoo and I had been there during the day and did not find it particularly interesting. But boy, was I surprised when we went down!

We saw a massive Hawksbill turtle, 2 octopus, a stingray above us, a squid, a Napoleon fish, a cuttlefish hunting fish (it is so cool when you watch an animal hunting, it’s a rare and fascinating experience) a squid, nudibranch, lion fish and much, much more. The coral was spectacular - it is so magnificent by night, day really does not do it any justice. Soft and hard corals of bright pink, yellow, orange, blue and green... some that were yellow and orange and looked like mini sunflowers. This dive completely reinforced my love for night diving and that I actually prefer it to day diving. Unfortunately there was a person in our group who did not make the experience very professional nor enjoyable in the end so it was a very bittersweet dive and we really just had to focus on how good the dive itself was, and try and forget about the other bs that went with it.

I guess it was another reality check that no matter where you go, you are always going to have people that are not your type of people. You just have to learn how to deal with this yourself, because you cannot necessarily change who they are or how they do things. You need to be able to just do what you do independent of them. You and are a bigger person by deflecting their attitudes rather than absorbing them and multiplying their negativity.

On wednesday we practiced our 20 dive skills in preparation for the upcoming IDC. I was really surprised and happy with how well I had improved. Though I am still tough on myself, apparently it is much more than I should be, and I am doing quite well. I had very little if any feedback for improvement which was reassuring. I think I finally got my weighting right which is the most important part (the amount of lead weight that I add to be buoyant underwater - it is 2 kilos more than I need if I am diving normally, and I need to share it between a belt on my body and in my BCD pockets. So pleased I finally got it right, it was becoming a real sore spot). I look forward to doing these skills more with Andy, as each instructor has a different way of teaching and preference to the way a skill is done - but if I can take a little bit on board from each, but execute it as Andy would like it, i am sure I can blitz the Instructor exam and skills.

On thursday morning I was buddied up with one of the local divemasters who was a certified scubapro service man. We serviced a regulator first stage and a low pressure hose. At first I was quite disinterested as I really wanted to be on the boat diving, but soon as we started - I was hooked. I really enjoyed pulling all the pieces apart and cleaning them before putting them back together. At first I was really doubtful that we would be able to achieve much because by the look of the parts, it seemed there was little hope. But with a bit of love and elbow grease, it as looking brand new. I got such a great sense of satisfaction out of it to know that I did that! I wouldn’t be able to do it blindfolded, but with a little help I could definitely do it again. Doing an equipment servicing course is something that I would most definitely love to do and would be very highly beneficial in my career.

In the afternoon things went a bit crazy. I was distressed and very frustrated and just wanted for the day to finish and for me to have some chill out time. For those three days, the dive life was definitely full of of many highs and some small blows, but it was really only because I let other people's attitudes and actions affect me too much. I really needed to just draw away for a short time and centre myself.

In the evening I had a knock on my door and Ken suggested that we have a couple of beers and go to the beach to have some chill time. My prayers were answered by my favorite UK friend. I fluffed around for a while, changed all my linen and towels, did a clean and tidy and even rearranged a couple of small furniture items I had in the room. It was cleansing and I was already starting to feel much lighter. I then went down and met the boys at the beach, Ken had an Iphone app called ‘Nightsky’ which is probably the most convenient and coolest app ever in the history of the universe! Well, to me anyway! So we pointed it to the sky and found some constellations - Gemini, Leo and a couple of others which we thought were pretty cool. We also got familiar with the names of the bright planets and stars and then made up some hilarious constellations ourselves. Ken has got such a dry sense of humor and I love it. He felt that that astronomers are too modest with the constellations they make and they should be made covering a larger area of sky. Therefore, he made a couple of extravagant constellations and I made one covering the farthest reach of stars you could see and named it ‘The beach ball’. It was a barrel of laughs and one of my most favorite things to do... to stargaze. It made me think of some of the most wonderful evenings Dom and I had back home in Burleigh (yep, I’m claiming it - Burleigh as home) in the couple of months we had frolicking around on holidays before I came here. Stargazing and making up funny pictures in the clouds. This made me even happier.

On friday I again had my photo taken with a few others for a magazine. I am loosing count of the companies that have taken my photo since being here. I just hope that somehow they make their way back to me so I can share them with you when they are published. Friday was another crazy afternoon. I was running solo for a short time in the dive shop and I got caught out with 6 customers and the phone ringing and I freaked a little. I had to bluff my way through with confidence, then thankfully after a few minutes of juggling everyone a couple of staff came in gradually and were able to assist me. In the evening again I got super busy registering many customers which was great and they were all such lovely people and I didn’t get home until after 7pm. That night also the three interns from the Kuda Huraa resort came over, it was proof that things were about to get serious!

Friday night, there was a local fundraising dinner happening at a local island for the school. A few of the Maldivian boat and dive staff I work with asked me to come. I wasn’t sure if I would because the boat was not leaving until 9pm. I then had Marce’s (Mum's) voice running through my head ‘Oh I’d be bloody doing everything I could while I was there’ and I thought, She’s right! What was I thinking. I have to grasp every opportunity that comes my way. H2 called up and put my name on the boat and I would meet my pals there at 8.45pm. I had time to come home and relax from the crazy day, I then had time to take my valuables to security where I had to have them registered. Apparently if I don’t register my personal items, then they get held for a few days before they are released for me. I guess it is for my own safety and asset protection. I have already had my most favorite ever four seasons water bottle which was my arrival gift “go missing” and that has upset me enough! I enquired about getting a new one but unfortunately I will have to purchase one which (is expensive) is not very fair considering the circumstances of its “disappearance”. Shortly before 9pm we all signed ourselves on to the Dhoni (boat) which looks like a giant double-decker gondola. I climbed up onto the top deck where everyone was cheering and dancing and so excited to be ‘set free’ from the island! It was really funny. It was a smooth and calm ride to the local island and the stars overhead were perfect. The temperature was very warm but comfortable.

We arrived at the island and we boat hopped from ours, across another to the land. It was cool to see an authentic local Maldivian island! We walked to what i think was a school, where they had set up stacks of tables and chairs with pretty frangipani and banana leaf centre pieces.

Undercover, there was stretches of tables stacked full of all local foods. I had no idea what anything was other than the chapati (which I am addicted to FYI). It was just a guess at what I was putting on my plate and then we went to the bbq grill where there was whole baked fish of every variety to choose from (of course it was full of spices and I just had to deal!). I took a delicious coconut juice which had some sweetener added and pieces of the most delicious and soft coconut flesh I have laid a mouth on!

We sat down and ate our meals which were a real treat while enjoying the locals singing, playing drums and dancing their little hearts out. The Maldivian way of dancing is a full body movement, arms and legs going while moving up down and around. It is a really joyful and free dance to watch and looks like so much fun. I kind of got involved with their awesome dancing the other night at the party. Before long it seemed like we were right back on the boat coming home. It was such a cool experience and I am soo happy that I went, and glad that the fear of doing something new and unknown did not stop me.

Saturday we had our first instructor course. It was for Emergency First Response which is a course on teaching primary and secondary medical care. It was a good refresher for all of us and I was very comfortable with the skills as I had done the course only a few weeks ago in Thailand. We took it in turns in being ‘the victim’ ‘the guide’ and ‘the instructor’. I was remarkably right at home when being the in the teaching role. It made me feel very pleased with my career choice and I look forward to being in a full teaching capacity. There was a lovely family including three children I had met in the past few days, I registered for diving and spent some time speaking with them and they enquired about me and I told them I was here on an instructor internship - the mother and all three kids rejoiced and said what I wonderful teacher I would be and said many nice things about me just after meeting which was very encouraging to know they believed in my just upon first impressions. They were such gorgeous children and a beautiful family which was so nice to spend time with as it is something I guess I didn't realised how much I missed this dynamic from back home. It was also another wonderful coincidence that when the mother found out I was from Australia, she told me how her youngest daughter was obsessed with being a mermaid and there was a mermaid company in Australia which she follows and we continued to discuss the Mahina merfin! Again, I continue to attract mermaids into my life! Perfect! I am on the right path! I also came across my first Aussie’s this week which was a breath of fresh air. usually when I go overseas if I hear the Aussie accent I want to turn my head and escape, but it was so welcoming and the Father really put it on for me too “G’DAY KASSIE HOWZ IT GOIN MATE” Ohhh it was really cool to have a chat in ‘strayln with such lovely aussies. I love people.

Saturday's course was tiring and it finished with a big fat exam. It was open book, which was still a lot of hard work to find the answers if I was not a 100%. Plus it was a tricky one because it was full of those questions which state at the end (tick all that apply). Therefore if you miss one answer, or get one wrong, you did not get part marks and you fail the question... But luckily enough I passed!!! I am now official an EFR Instructor! I got 88% which was 7 questions wrong which were because of the tricky "tick all" questions.

This morning (Sunday) I had a whole day off however I voluneteered to work on the boat and guide two guests as we had soo many they needed a hand.. and turns out I would have asked to be on regardless of my volunteer! So it was a 7.30am start and we went for a two tank dive (two dives). The first dive we saw a giant stingray and on the second dive we saw a turtle and an octopus. It was great diving, and my guests were really great and we talked the whole time between dives. I found out later that they were raving about me to the centre manager when they returned which was singing to my ears. When we came up from the second dive, it was pouring rain and a big swell. The boat came and picked us up and it was quite difficuly to get up the ladder on to the boat. We were crashing through the waves back to the resort and I was giggling the whole time. The boat crew were saturated and everyone was all over the place. Towels were thrown over valuable equipment and crashing water was flowing through the cabin of the boat, it was intense but lots of fun. A welcome change to the 33 degree days and perect sunshine and still water, you can't have it all the time!

After lunch I ran into Ibbe who is the 'Orchid Godfather'. I had been hangning to spend some time with him ever since I got told of his magical orchid reviving hands. Being an Orchid lover myself, I was hoping he would give me a tour of the Orchid greenhouse, and that's what I got! At 2.30pm I met him and we walked to the greenhouse which houses hundreds if not a couple thousand orchids. We walked up and down the isles laced with orchids and he explained to me the variety of orchid, explained to me special varieties that are found in Australia and had a general chat. The orchids are used as displays in the front office, rooms and throughout the resort. They stay out in the resort for a couple of weeks, he then brings then back for some TLC and exchanges them for fresh ones and he keeps then alive for some 8+ years! This guy is amazing and his passion for orchids is second to none. If you want to look at the most amazing creations in nature - google: lion orchid, monkey orchid, dove orchid, hanging naked man orchid, dancing woman orchid, donkey orchid.. and from there you could probably find a few more. The resemblances are incredible! Truly amazing! Spending an hour talking Orchids with Ibbe and strolling through the greenhouse was just beautiful. Considering it had just finished raining, there were beads of water on all the flowers which just added to the beauty.

In the early evening I went and met Andy at the dive centre, he bought chocolate, like seeing him wasn't a treat enough! Instantly I knew he would be reviving us with his enthusiasm and making learning a lot of fun. It was great to see how much rapport he had with the staff at the resort he has known over the years. A little later in the evening we went down to the staff beach where we had a bbq. It was lots of yummy food and many laughs. I love that everyone here is not reserved at all when it comes to food. Everyone I have come across loves there food, some more than me (I know, how is that even possible!) and no one is shy when it comes to picking off each others plates or sharing cutlery, I like that.

 The Maldivian's have such a great sense of humor and I spent so much of the evening laughing. As it got later, many people disbanded, and then the Shisha came back out, then a guitar. I sat on the big beach swing with a couple of others, where they played guitar, we all sang to the backdrop of crashing waves on the shore. It was magic, I didnt know if i wanted to look at the happy people around me, the sea infront of me or the gorgeous stars above... but when I did look up I saw a shooting star and I was so at peace. It was like a fantasy. At midnight I thought it would be a great idea if we all went for a swim, so we jumped in with our clothes and had a swim, the sea was full of plankton and when you moved your arms, the little guys lit up all around you. We spent our whole time trying to catch them and called ourselves the 'Plankton hunters'. It was all fun and games until security hussled us out of the water. Apparently you cannot swim after the sun goes down which was both new, and unfortunate news to me. At least I got to experience it once.

I came home with half the beach with me at 1am and slept very well. Up for a 9am breakfast date with Andy and the candidates ready to begin out new journey together!

Do not let the fear of the unknown, or unfamiliarity stop you from trying something new. Life starts at the end of your comfort zone.

Safe travels through life and the unknown.

Love Kassie