April 30

-Male Airport Thursday night-

JAPAN

Did I announce to everyone how many great friends I had in Japan?!?

Last night I saw my old Japanese student / friend and her husband at the airport. I am so thankful for those 15 minutes or so that we had! I don’t know why it meant so much to me, but it was the highlight of my week for sure! I would have cried when their speed boat pulled out if I had been alone. I missed them immediately.

And, I used to think the Japanese gift giving was too much and a waste of paper since they wrap things a hundred times and a waste of money to just buy gifts, but I am SO grateful for the Sakura (cherry blossom) castella (sponge) cake she brought me! It is wrapped one hundred times, but she got it to me without a wrinkle despite all their luggage and bags! Amazing! I would have had the bag torn and crushed had I been carrying it! I will completely delight in eating it and think about the spring I missed in Japan.

Again, I am grateful for the good friends and great students/friends I had in Japan. I had many great evenings at KWYC, many wonderful talks with some of them, and everyone was always so helpful and kind to me. I miss it so much right now.

I know I have the opportunity to make new friends here, but I am not interested for some reason… strange since many of the people I meet speak some English as opposed to most people I met in Japan! I know a part of me just doesn’t know their feelings about Americans, so I am unsure of their preconceived ideas. In Japan, I knew that Americans were generally liked. Here when I asked some students if they had been to America, they just laughed at such a question. I am not sure if it is because they wouldn’t dream of going to such a country because they think we are terrible, or if they are just so poor that to travel anywhere outside of Maldives is unimaginable. I didn’t think to ask that since I was shocked by their laughs. In Japan, people travel a lot and many have been to America and thus they want to improve their English due to their trips. But it is different here…

About speaking English, even my next door neighbor tried to talk to me today and her English was perfect, but I was feeling down, so I gave short responses to her questions. Later I regretted not following her lead and making conversation. I can’t blame the other foreigners here, but with some of them I tried to make conversation and it felt like they were bored and annoyed by my attempts. So, I had decided not to talk to people much and keep to myself more…but, maybe I should just stop talking to most foreigners! And, I should be my usual self with the locals…? Yes, maybe that is what I should try. But I wish I knew their preconceived ideas so I know how to approach them. Let’s see how I feel later though. Right now, I am just thankful I could see the Satos and wonder whether or not we have time to meet again; they are out on island I might not be able to get to since I am not a guest there.

TEACHING & ME

I think it is becoming more apparent that I am best suited for small group classes or individual adults that are self-motivated to learn. The level doesn’t matter to me but I prefer not to have mixed levels. And, I need lots of one-on-one time with them so I can give them individual service in their writing and speaking practice. It is not easy to find customers that can support my living that way, but that is what I prefer and I think those that like me appreciate that about me too. I am more the “let’s be friends and let me correct and introduce things to you” type… So, I don’t fit the mold of maybe what is needed in the majority of teaching situations, but that is me. I have been around some other teacher types here in Maldives (and on occasion in America and Japan) and they are just so self-assured and “in charge”. That is not my personality at all, but if you are in charge of large groups or of children, that seems to be the personality needed. So, I am a little worried about my applications to any jobs that won’t allow me time to work one-on-one or in a very small group. I wonder where this will put me… I do want to try proofreading more too. Yosuke asked me to help with his next TOEIC book on several levels, so I am excited to work on that too! I may need to drop by Japan this summer to work on things with him and just to be there once more…I was ready to leave there in March, but I feel I just need to know I can go back anytime. It is like weaning myself into my home culture again!

Sigh…but maybe I should move back to Japan…I just can’t do JHS again or the weekend language schools…there must be something better for me…no, I need to go try America for awhile since I do miss the conveniences and abundance there and because the other international applications I put out have not responded yet…Let’s see.

April 29

The ferry station for my island Hulhumale:

This is peeking around the corner at the ferry dock and ferries – not the entrance.

This is as I am walking up to the ferry station. The bus stop is there in front of it.

It has been over a week since I wrote! I just got hung up on other things and read “Becoming Madame Mao” – loved it. Let’s see what is on my mind…?

CLASSES

Angsana is great. I love the small class size (was 6 / 5 now) but really sad to see my Indonesian student ( a chef) drop out. He had a family emergency so he had to leave the country. He studied really hard and I liked him for that. The Japanese woman is great to have there since I feel at ease with her and another student is serious and I like that. Two others seem unhappy and one is a clown of sorts. I like them all but wish the two would be happy to be there. They are the youngest though.

Banyan Tree is a full class; I think there are 12. I am happy I just about have their names down! Only 2 of them I get confused still. It is interesting that the two Thai women don’t know many of the words that Maldivians know. It is good though having the Maldivians try to explain things (ex: “kidney” or “liver”). And it is interesting to note several times how against alcohol the Maldivians basically are. Of course it is illegal here and against Islam, but they have to serve it at the resorts. Some wrote that they hate serving it and yesterday one of them was pointing at everyone shaking his finger saying, “Liver disease! Don’t drink! Don’t drink!” I wish one student wouldn’t be so annoying in class! The levels are only slightly mixed but I wish we could separate by age sometimes…I have an old man in that class, and he is lost but with the young guy acting stupid and yelling things it is difficult for him to catch what is important unless I write it on the board.

Bandos is different and I am far from remembering all of their names! I started there during my 3^rd week and I am about to start my fifth week here. I think it is a 3 or 4 star resort, I hear the pay is lower than my other resorts, and the overall ability of these workers seems to be lower. Even their manners are not as strong as at my other resorts. Half the students are polite, thoughtful towards me, have great manners, and can catch what they should be doing in class, but the other half do not fit that description. So, I think it is interesting to realize the hiring standards and important to know what kind of company you will work for! If I were a worker, I would want to be at the other 2 resorts where they apparently train the staff better, are more selective in hiring, and they take better care of the workers (like nicer boats to ride in). Oh, and I think it opened in 1974 and is the 2^nd oldest resort in Maldives.

I think I mentioned this before, but the Maldivians I am working with seem to understand a lot of English less some vocabulary here and there. But their production is iffy. They get the structure and tenses mixed up a lot. Verb agreement is weak. I guess that can be said of many ESL learners, but it seems more true than in Japan.

Two huge differences from Japan are the acceptable behavior in class and the creativity. You tell them to make up a story about a picture (or you don’t want them to and they still will!) and they will just come up with all kinds of things! “She is looking for a husband.” Always: “He was playing soccer, and…”, “It’s a lamb in the back seat of the car.”, and so forth. It is funny to hear their ideas when I wouldn’t have thought such things at all! And the Japanese were not creative or perhaps they just wouldn’t speak if they did have ideas. And about talking, they are not shy! They are loud and want to be heard above anyone else! It is a nice change from Japan in those ways, but they don’t know how to take turns, be polite to let weaker students try, or even how to do “typical” exercises. For example, there was a Word Bank. They couldn’t comprehend taking a word from it and filling in the sentences. I would show them how to cross off the first word and then look for another word, but that wasn’t getting through the first day! They would just want to think up their own words and answers! I think they all have it now. But, it is interesting to see that activities we used in Japan or America are not typical here. Someone told me that they are used to just sitting and being lectured to and not doing exercises to think. I am not sure.

That brings me to another lesson I have learned (and should have learned years ago but think it has finally really sunken in) – DO NOT believe everything other people observe! Sadly, I guess that means you can’t trust all I am telling you either, but everyone seems to have their take on what is true in this world, and then I find it is not like what I was told. I won’t give examples here, but it is true. Everyone has their reality that they see. And those beliefs help them (me too) make sense of the world or help in the functioning there within, but it might not be fact or more likely, just not even 80% true… So, I am taking what people say into consideration, but no longer believing it out right.

EXPATS

I met some more people. Sarah the editor of Maldivian Traveler met me for dinner and brought her new colleague Neil. They are both from the U.K. and I couldn’t catch 20% of what they said! I had to ask them to repeat several times and it was work to follow them! Funny that we speak English but yet it can be so difficult to understand!

Sarah knows everything about Maldives it feels like! She has had to go to resorts, restaurants, and spas so she could do write ups on them! She hates massages, so she is like “I had to go.” – and she is complaining! Tomorrow they are spending 24 hrs at a resort as extras for a German drama being filmed!! They get to ride a sea plane, get meals, and paid $60! I wanted to go but they didn’t need anymore and I am not sure I had the clothes for the scenes since I only brought island type things – not something for a dinner party or white party. There are 2 more days of filming in Male, but I have to work those days. I could use the money though! Oh, we went to another new restaurant for me – Ailoi I think it was. It was really nice looking with good food that was in the $8-$15 range (fairly high for this country). But, I just can’t handle these outdoor cafes yet. I was just sweating all thru dinner yet the others seemed to be fine…

The Swedish guy that went to the Picnic Island with his family and all of us is now teaching 2 classes at Bandos too instead of Piper I think. He says the level is good for him since English is not his first language. He was a scuba and psychology teacher before I understood, but he said it is hard to get a job in scuba if you are not willing to live at the resorts. He has only been diving twice since here! Sad but without money, this place isn’t so great I think!

Speaking of that Sarah is suggesting many things we can do – places to eat, resorts to go to, but I feel I have to turn it down mostly since it is all money…You can drop $20 a meal easily here and though that wasn’t much before, it is when you don’t know when you will get real money again…and I forgot, I haven’t even bought a ticket to leave here! That was $1,200 to fly in, so maybe I need at least that to get out! I can see savings are slowly draining…

I guess I knew the financial side of this when I came, but I am disappointed since I imagined this to be a working vacation of sorts, so I thought it was worth it to pay the airfare plus insurance and such since I would have to pay something similar for a vacation too. But, this hasn’t been the dream I imagined. Perhaps if I had come with a friend it would have been a blast even without money, but trying to bond with new people for a short time or doing things alone (plus all the issues I have – see”Health” below) make it not the dream working vacation I had envisioned.

OBSERVATIONS

I wish I would take pictures of the average people on the street, but I feel shy to take random photos of them. Maybe I will one day. Here in Hulhumale, it is different than Male where there are crowds of people and I would just be one of many tourists. But here I stand out since it seems to be more like a community where everyone knows each other. I wish you could see it here though since the women’s clothing is varied yet almost all adhere to some form of the Islamic rules.

Someone asked why people stood around on the corners. I am not sure. I think they work but maybe they are on break? They own their own business so they have workers working instead? They have a day off? I am not sure.

And why don’t I go to Male when it is dark if it is so hot to sightsee in the day? I was told that drugs and violence are a problem there and if I am alone and happen onto a street without many people, I can be robbed or attacked for money, so I was told to only go to places I know by taxi. So, I don’t go for that reason, AND it is still miserably hot at night! It really doesn’t change much though you don’t have the sun beating down on you.

I did wonder another block over as I waited for my boat and found the National Museum (tiny building!) and the Sultan’s Park which must have been fantastic in its day, but not it is crumbling and overgrown with weeds through the cement and such. I heard it was best to take a translator to the museum, but I may go some day.

There seems to be more clouds every day. It hasn’t rained much yet but I guess it is gearing up for rainy season? However, someone told me that last year it didn’t rain during the usual rainy season so it was a problem. Tourist avoided the time they expected it and came when it did actually hit! He said you can see the climate changes affecting this area in such ways. And the bleaching of the coral is bad. My student said it is sad to look out and see the heat bleaching it so badly and slowly killing it off.

I feel I have a hard time adjusting to life here for many reasons but those include the music. All my music I brought just doesn’t fit in! I try listening to Salsa, Beach Boys, hip-hop, 1950’s - 2006, or ANYTHING and it just feels totally out of place. I am sure that sounds silly to think about such things, but it really is strange. I am in a totally foreign place where I don’t think they have ever heard the music I know and I don’t know what I am hearing at times during the commute. Their music fits! It is like Arabic, Turkish or something. I guess I should buy some, but I just don’t want to spend the money or try to figure out how to download it. But, it sounds fitting and all my music just doesn’t belong with what I see visually. Strange that would be true.

APARTMENT

Mixed feelings – It looks nice and is nicer than some places I lived in America, but the quality is so poor. I worry the chair I sit on will break one day since it sways, the bed has spots all over it that poke me, the fixtures in the bathroom have or are almost black though they should be silver, the AC isn’t incredible, and you just never know about bugs. And this is a brand new place with brand new furniture. But, I am happy to have my own place, and it feels western in some aspects of design and some of the furnishings. Japan’s apartments were better in some ways and worse in others. But I miss my kitchen and shower in Japan! It was so easy to care for there.

Clothes dry fast! Within 3 hours things are dry in here with the ceiling fan on and windows closed at least.

Piper lent me a hair dryer this week and I look forward to using it. Tiffany will loan me an iron and I hope I can manage without an ironing board. I really needed the iron. I have a pot and skillet, but still no gas to cook with. That’s okay though. I don’t want to spend time on food preparation though it might be cheaper than eating out? And I have some fresh things we bought in Male, but I don’t have storage jars to put them in when I cut them, so I am just trying to eat anything I open / cut at once. I invested in so much in Japan and left it (same in America), and I know I am not here long, so I just don’t want to invest in lots of items (and in cases like Japan – have the trouble of getting rid of it all when I move!).

HEALTH

Oh, the problems…I am tired of not feeling well. The most troublesome are my feet I assume for extreme walking or I guess it is from wearing shoe styles I am not used to. Luckily there aren’t hills I have to walk here though! But, the center of the heels hurt with every step. The left ankle hurts when I bend it sometimes (especially Tuesday I didn’t know how I was going to go to work Wednesday) and the shin is sensitive to the touch. I think I have a spider bite on the back of my leg since there are clusters of bumps. I didn’t wear long sleeves or sun block Wednesday and although I used my umbrella, I have Braille arms from reaction to the sun. There are small bumps on my scalp for 3 weeks. I can’t seem to stop sweating even when I am sitting in the night for over an hour. The water tastes bad to me and even the brand I did like now tastes bad to me. Trying to get fresh fruits and vegetables is a huge ordeal in Male that may or may not end in finding what I want. After like 5 stores Monday we found a browning cluster of broccoli. We never found spinach - and not one good avocado or soy milk. I haven’t been able to sleep again. When I first came I was able to get 8 hours of sleep, but now I am having trouble again. And I could go on with more issues but…the point: I am not cut out for “roughing it”, for wearing sandals, or for being flexible. Japan was always hard for me too since you can’t just go and buy kale or berries or anything you want. These experiences are making me think that America is just incredible and VERY privileged! Maybe the U.K. or other places are too; I haven’t been so I can’t comment. But the cities in America are amazing if you are at least middle class.

OTHER

I am bummed that I have to go exchange the last of my dollars I can afford to spare. My old student from Japan is flying through the airport though and I want to try and see her even if just for a few minutes. So, the 10 cents I have won’t get me to the airport! Oh no…I can’t pull up her airline to check the arrival time…I hate to go out there and wait and wait if she was delayed and I don’t know it…will have to wait almost 2 hours as it is…

Thankfully the Internet is working again on my PC. It stopped last night right when I finally reached my mom after several days! That was disappointing.

Jean’s last day is next Thursday. There’s a going away party for him Saturday night.

April 18

This is Jean, his sister Claudine and mother Matthea, his good friend Remas' wife and daughter, and of course me at Jean, Piper, and David's apartment.

BANDOS

I had my first day at Bandos and it was very different from the other resorts I work at. It seems much larger! They had news video updates in the lobby, several restaurants, a pool, lots of boats in the dock, large conference halls, and so forth. It is the second oldest resort in Male, but I don’t know how old it actually is.

They are not tight there! I am allowed a drink when I arrive, bottled water for my class time, and dinner with drinks before I leave! Dinner…was…amazing! There were tables and tables of food and I only had 20 minutes or so to scarf it all down, but it was great! The salad bar was still bad since they just don’t have the greens here…I had iceberg lettuce with corn, tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers basically…but it was salad…I had cabbage with cheese, steamed broccoli with butter, tuna salad, spaghetti , and some other things. The mixed fruit juice drink was incredible! Here is their website and you can see a picture of part of the restaurant I went to here: http://www.bandosmaldives.com/dining/English/gallery_restaurant/

I do have to watch the boat issue. It was an 8:00 boat return but they left at 7:50! And we got on at 7:48 and it was already full and someone gave their seat up for us since I was wearing white and hated to sit on the floor or metal bars. So, as Jean told me, we have to leave the restaurant at 7:40 at the latest! They don’t wait and the next boat is 10:30 or 11!

Jean will only go about 3 more times with me to Bandos, and then I am on my own to find the waiter that knows not to charge me or to find the boat to catch although there isn’t a name written on the side. But, I am really happy with the day and it makes me long to work at the other place my 5^th and 6^th days a week so I can have nice meals like that!

CLASSES

The director of training is not really on top of things I think. The students said they didn’t know when the class was to be held! So, poor communication with employees. My large class was about half Maldivian and half Bangladeshian. I think 11 out of 15 came to that. The smaller class had 4 out of 11 attending…they were all Maldivians.

The director seemed really shocked that I was not presenting with Power Point like Jean does. It would be good experience to get back into Power Point like I used to do at UCM, but I don’t think I want to take the time to create it since it will be a onetime event and I am more into learning by doing instead of lecturing – you know activities acting out the lesson point so they can feel they can use it on their jobs. It seems they may have a laptop I can use though, so I might see about using it to type things on the screen for the students; writing on the small white board is not very neat or quick. So, I would like that option perhaps. I will check into that.

HEALTH

I have not felt up to par recently. I think it is the change in diet the past 2 months. I am concerned about that actually. Land of the fried foods is not great for me. Also, I have a rash on my leg which may be related to the rusty razor I discovered today! I couldn’t believe it rusted so quickly! I will have to watch out for that from now on.

PARADISE

I am in paradise. What is paradise? It is sunny skies without clouds in sight that cause you to sweat like never before and walk really slow to keep from heat stroke; it’s drinking fruit juices while overlooking the harbor in a small, well-decorated restaurant although you are paying $4 for a 50 cent boxed drink which comes with the coveted AC for a short bit so you can recover; a place where nature is free and ants are everywhere you want to sit and found on your dinner plates as well; a place where you skim across the ocean waves on speed boats or classic wooden crafts you imagine are from the 1950’s which are terribly rough on your tush and back as it bounces you against the railings if you are lucky enough to get a seat at all that isn’t spraying you with questionably clean ocean water; it is where wind blows through your hair blinding you as your tresses whip your face and makes you a mess upon arrival; it’s a place where everyone is relaxed and not in a rush and you can’t get decent products or service in a timely manner because some woman in black Middle East attire wants to argue with the service people about the price of some item...or that is what you assume the loud voice and picking up and putting down of some product is about. Yes, this is paradise. And I will take it despite all the pitfalls because as Jean reminded me – this is better than sitting in a windowless office doing eye-straining paperwork day in and day out. I know that feeling and yes, this is much better! Looking out across the ocean at Male which appears like a city sitting floating on the water, or looking at the sunset over the water, or looking up at the brilliant stars as the boat speeds on - trusting that the boat owners will get you there in one piece – is…amazing. So, it isn’t exactly as I imagined it would be, but it is all the good of paradise imagined … with the bad of discomfort and reality, just like everything in life.

April 17

Looking out toward Male from Kudo Bandos.

Our group and other groups enjoying the ocean.

Our group on a boat for hire heading to the afternoon's outing.

PICNIC ISLAND

We made it out to the picnic island named something like Kudo Bandos. It means Little Bandos I think. It turns out it is next to the island I will teach at from tomorrow (Bandos) but it is open to the public only once a week since I believe the resort guests have access on other days to it. Sadly, I could tell that if there was a boat directly from my island, I could be at work within 30 minutes. But I have to take the 30 min. ferry to Male to catch another boat so it will be at least double the commute time. Oh well.

So, it was nice to meet many new people. There was a couple and baby from Zimbabwe. There was a single young woman (Sara) who is a travel magazine journalist who works here and her parents visiting from England. And another Maldivian couple and their child who are friends of Angie's. And I think everyone else I had met before: Piper, David, Jean, Matthea, Claudine, Remas, Shazu and their baby, Remas' sister, Joe, Angie and Bobby and their 2 kids, Yohn and Madeline from Sweeden or Switerland and their 2 kids. So, it was a large group of 29!

We ate a little that people had brought and swam. The reef was great there too. And, I saw another shark! But it was a small black-tipped fin reef shark. I didn't go out long since I just don't feel safe yet without an expert with me. When I swam with my student, he was constantly turning and watching all that was around us and knew what was what. So I felt very safe with him. I haven't learned how to turn and look around yet without filling my snorkel up! And I have no idea what I should be especially respectful to. But it was another tiring and enjoyable workout nonetheless.

I am still rocking back and forth almost 24 hours later from being in the water...I hope I stop doing that before the end of summer.

ROOMMATES

Matthea and Claudine will be staying another week. Claudine's flight to England was cancelled due to the volcano, so Matthea will stay behind with her too. I am sure her husband is not happy at all since I hear he is missing her.

FOOD

The nice restaurant on my island has an American breakfast that I tried. They don't know American. Corn Flakes in hot milk - yuck. But my South African friends say they never eat cereal in cold milk...I can't get used to it and I don't really like Corn Flakes anyways. It also comes with 4 (!!) pieces of toast, a chicken hot dog, and a fried egg. I never ate like that in America, but it is kind of normal, I guess?

I almost made a faux pas when asking what was in some "short eats" yesterday. I said, "Is it sau...?" and caught myself before I said "sausage". I keep forgetting there isn't pork here! I guess they may have assumed "chicken sausage" though...but I knew my intention. Everything is chicken, fish or some beef. I miss tofu...

WEATHER

I am tired of the sun. In Japan at least it was often cloudy with heat...so it seemed more bearable. I don't want rain really, but clouds would be great. I guess the desires of all the vacationers coming here outweigh my little wish.

My Maldivian umbrella already broke too...things just fall apart here it seems. My mattress pokes me. The furniture is cheap. My dish sponge fell apart. Etc...

CLASSES

I begin Bandos tomorrow. I will teach from Ventures 3 for the first time, so I wonder how they will be. I really dislike that the answers are written in my teacher's book on the student pages. I have to lay my book down next to students, so they can view the answers and I usually hold my book up to point to things. That is a negative about Ventures. In Interchange at least they put the answers on the opposing page which was a little more work for the teacher to find the answers, but very worth it in my opinion.

Pictures

I couldn't figure out how to intersperse photos in the blog, so I will just post them here. Oh...they came up in reverse order...sigh..

Sunset on the way back home.

Feeding the stingray in a position so we could see its mouth.

Here they are surrounding and jumping on Solah trying to get the fish parts from him.

Solah is showing us the tail and the stinger part that is sticking out mid-say down. He said they only sting in self-dense or if you step on them. Their teeth are like sandpaper. We learned how to tell which were male and female. And lots more! Very interesting!

Here is the part of the sunrise that was like a volcano. :-)

Day 15

I have interesting days daily again. :-) I guess that is why I left Japan too. Every day used to be interesting there, but I felt I got used to it and it just didn’t feel surprising anymore.

Current condition – tired. But, I want to write this before I go to bed although I can’t post it till tomorrow morning when I get to Internet again.

SUNRISE, SUNSET

I got up at 5:40 after a restless night watching the clock. Matthea, Claudine and I had agreed to be out the door by 5:50 to catch the 6:02 sunrise on the beach. We made it and the colors and clouds before it rose were wonderful. When it finally came up, it was a bit cloudy, but then it reminded us of a volcano in the distance. Then, we continued our walk to a new area. It used to surprise me to see the women in their long black robe/head dresses , but I am getting used to it now…somewhat. I did take a picture of one today because it just seems so odd to see a woman doing her power walk wearing all that and tennis shoes underneath. It must be hot! But not all women wear that here. There are a wide range of head coverings, colors or just other types of cloths like Indian styles. But, the 3 of us were the head turners since we wore none of that but wore our short pants and tanks or t-shirts. The burqas (but I haven’t seen face veils here)don’t turn heads here, t-shirts on women do!? (Actually probably not that either…just we are white, there is a group of us, and we are new in town…Who knows for sure!)

And my day ended with another great sunset from my boat ride home. For like 20 minutes I just watched as it changed, and I kept pulling out the camera every 2-3 minutes since it seemed to get more and more incredible!

SNORKELING

I finally made it out to my 2 resorts where I have been working and did my day of snorkeling! I am so lucky since all the guests pay loads of money for that honor! So here is how it played out: I went to the small island first and my student was working the Marine Center so he told me which signs in the water to follow to go out and where to come back in off the reef. It was high tide, so the currents were strong and I had a bit of a workout getting back to the beach although I was swimming back in the lagoon. I only went about 35% around the small island since I didn’t have time to do it all. The fish were amazing!!!There were so many sizes, colors and types! You have never seen so many types! I wore my bright pink shirt over my swimsuit and I swear it was attracting some smaller colorful fish that were pink, yellow and blue! Several times they swam right up to me! I wonder if they thought I was their pink leader of some kind since we kind of matched! The coral was not what I have seen in some films on TV (not so colorful) but there were so many shapes and types there too. Someone tried to explain to me about a natural ocean bleaching in 1996 that almost killed coral, so it is only half as spectacular as it was but it is slowly coming back and they are making efforts to support it at that resort by having monthly reef cleaning days where they go and remove things that kills the coral such as certain kinds of starfish. Some of the coral was like these mushroom shapes that must have been 5 feet wide. Oh, at this one point, there were these wide yellow (top) and purple (bottom) kind of fish that were chasing the tails of the other one so the colors looked very cool as they twirled in circles chasing each other’s tails!

Then I got a tour of a model villa from the director of training. The shower in the villa is outdoors! Maybe there was a roof overhead, but it was open air. The room itself was rather small but it had a door to the beach where you had a private swing and lounge chairs and entrance to the beach. So it felt private. But they were $700-$800 per night! I didn’t see the model at the second resort, but those go for $1000 per night he said! I forgot to ask but I wonder if meals are included for that price… And he took me to the spa and it was nice! They keep it natural, so again, it was all open air with bamboo walls for privacy. Each area was up on a wood deck with a Jacuzzi tub on one side, a shower on another – indoor and outdoor ones – and 2 massage beds. Their goal is low tech, high style. I wish…

Then we went to the bigger island and my other student was doing the presentation on feeding the sting rays! So interesting and amazing! It was very educational and amazing to see them jump on him like dogs trying to snatch the fish parts from his hands! They have trained them for years to come right up to the beach since they don’t usually do that. After, he took us snorkeling to the turtle sanctuary where they are protecting young green sea turtles til they are big enough to survive well in the wild. Again, educational and fun. After most everyone left, he offered to take me out on the reef for a snorkel. SO glad I took him up on that!! First, we ran into a big sea turtle that has this hook mouth that can be dangerous and he played with it so someone could get good photos underwater. Then he took me out to the edge where the ocean dropped off from the reef and it was so deep and amazing! (I hadn’t gone out far alone at the 1^st island) AND he dove down deep to look under the shelves for lobsters that usually come out for their night snorkeling. He didn’t see any but he did see a shark! I saw it once he pointed it out and I was like “move on!” though I think he wanted to get it to swim around some. Later there were 2 more in the shallow reef area, but I couldn’t see them. For me, there was just too much to look at – coral and fish that I couldn’t pick the sharks out! (Or I chose not to see them since they scare me?) We went back in and I showered in the public shower outside (but like in the jungle feel) and met the director for a tropical smoothie. He is from India and super organized and on top of his job. As I had mentioned before, I think the lifestyle is sad for married people. He got married in December, but hasn’t seen his wife this year! He will go back for the month of May only.

Another person I talked to some was a Maldivian woman I have seen around some. She is a petite athletic woman who, as I suspected, is a dive instructor. Zona will be leaving on vacation in a few days though. (So much for building a new friendship with her right now.) She’ll be gone for 40 days as her and a group of 9 friends climb Mt. Everest! She has been in snow before but has only been climbing coconut trees for training since there is nothing to climb here! I am not sure if she was joking but possibly not since there aren’t any hills to climb – only stairs in a few buildings if you go to Male! So, I hope I can hear about her story when she comes back.

DANCE

I was riding the company boat to the resorts and this guy in a tie (rare to see ties) asked if he could sit and visit. He is a Sri Lankan insurance salesman who teaches ballroom on the side! He said it can be dangerous and hard to do here since 1) there isn’t any space to do ballroom so Latin is easier to do on people’s rooftops and 2) the radicals here discourage people who dance and certain types of music. So, he tries to do classes privately only for expats. I hope to have the chance to try a class with him, but it is $100 for 1.5 hours…so, I can’t afford that. But, I think we will meet for lunch sometime so if we become friends, maybe I can get a free lesson somehow. He is 31, studied dance for 18 years, and perhaps a bit of a big talker?

JAPANESE

I met another Japanese who is resort person in the Marine Center today. I used all my Japanese on her and I think she enjoyed it. She is from Osaka and looked to be about my age perhaps.

PICNIC

The last I heard, it is on again for today, Friday. After Thursday’s long outing, I am not interested really, but will since it may be the only time it happens. I have no idea what food to take…maybe I will buy bananas and oranges…blaw I know, but it is healthy and doable for me.

FOOD

Matthea cooked a South African dinner for us the other night! It was so good! There were meatballs, a kind of casserole rice and squash. The dessert was milk tart pie. I WISH she was staying and would take care of all of us! ;-) We love her.

VOLCANO

Speaking of Jean’s family, Claudine (also wonderful!) is to fly back to England Sunday… I wonder how that will work out with cancelled flights. Hmmm, will she be staying here longer?

SUN

I have tried to keep the sun off of me, but I haven’t worn sun block on my feet the last few days so I have dirty looking feet where I have tanned around my sandals. I almost always carry my umbrella now. It is just too hot for me without it.

CLASSES

I start my Sunday / Tuesday class at Bandos Sunday…I hope that goes well. I teach 2 levels back to back. Luckily Jean goes to the same resort on my boats, so he will teach me how to find this more elusive company boat. Sadly, it sometimes goes to Jetty 3 and sometimes Jetty 7 and that is a quick run actually and the boats don’t hang around long for people…so, I have to learn how to pick their common boat out by ID #s!

SLEEP

Sleep…that is what I need now!

Day 14

MONDAY’S SUNSET

Above is part of the sunset I saw from the boat on the way home yesterday. I love that I can see them at least 2 days a week. It turned crazy colors too! It started to look like cranberry juice with a light shining through it and later it was such a crimson color. I don’t remember seeing one like that before.

DINNER

I had dinner with Piper in Male. Luckily the taxi driver made a wrong turn and we got a long tour! Since most streets are 1-way, it takes awhile to get where you need to go. The roads were narrower than some in Japan I think! I was really impressed with the driver! Sadly, our restaurant was closed for renovation, but we went to one of the best in Male I think (though not expensive by U.S. standards). Here is the webpage if you are interested: http://www.salathai-maldives.biz/about_us.php Nicer pictures of restaurant than what I took! The owner knows Piper well. He is German and his wife is Indonesian. Anyways, very good food and near the pier I exit twice a week! Hmmm….Thai food more often? (But expensive for a volunteer…$8 for a dish.)

KUREDO RESORT

It’s looking more likely I will work there…I am nervous though because it will be tons of work and will mean I only have 1 day a week to shop, do laundry, relax, or anything else…but it may be a good challenge and the main thing is that I can experience life at a resort. I also have to pack and travel 2 nights a week, but again, at least I don’t have to prepare food since I can eat meals there, and I can access Internet through my pc. I will have to continue job searching and helping with Yosuke's next book on the side too...Too much going on and such slow Internet speeds to work with.

TODAY

It rained some and is sprinkling on and off so I cancelled the snorkeling at my workplace.

I really enjoy the trip to and from class and getting to visit sometimes with students during the boat ride. We are still on the one hour slow boat since the 30 minute speed boat is broken, but it is nice in a way since there is lots of room so people lay down and nap and we can enjoy the sunset.

Friday the picnic may be back on since the island reopened. I guess it depends on whether the rainy season has really begun or not.

Roommates Matthea and Claudine leave Saturday sadly. Jean will be so sad as we travel together for my 1^st day at Bandos. I may have a new roommate from May 1. I forget which European country she is from. Not one I am familiar with I know.

I have to do lesson plans today but so distracted with another teacher doing a private lesson here in the room. Will try…

Day 13

About to go back to work for my 3rd day. Not feeling good about it since I have assigned so much homework and I need to grade it all quickly in my one free hour before departure from the islands...but, let's hope for the best!

It is not final yet, but I MAY have the chance to work here:

http://www.kuredu.com/

Kuredu Resort

Since my Internet is so slow, I can't surf all the sight, but it looks nice from what I can tell!

If they get the contract, it means I will fly up there and spend one night a week since seaplanes are not allowed to fly after dark. I would have 4 or 6 hours of teaching, but I should be able to enjoy the staff pool, gym, and I hope live in one of the rooms as opposed to the dorms. Bobby has stayed several nights and only once had to stay in the dorm since the rooms were full! So, good food, and a chance to be living at a resort is super tempting! It is not required in my contract, but I think I might do it if it is offered....

Check it out!

Back to job applications...where will I be later this year...??

Day 12

Above is a picture of my apartment building. My place is on the back without a balcony. It is good, but once the rains come, trying to get to the entrance will be a challenge! (dirt, trash, mud from street to where I am standing)

SUPERSTITIONS

I am curious to find out more about the people here. It seems they have some interesting superstitions but I don’t know the details since I heard it second hand. For example, if you whistle 5 times at night, it will bring out evil spirits. My roommate did it and a Maldivian friend freaked out and scared her daughter and such as she explained you can’t do that but since it was 1 whistle it would be okay this time! I think the Japanese had that superstition too that whistling at night brought bad luck…

And they believe that trees have evil spirits too. I think that might come from long ago when they were brought here from Sri Lanka or other places by a king or someone and they didn’t want them to leave the islands so they had them cut down trees so they couldn’t make boats??? Again, I am just making that up from somewhere, but I can’t remember where I got that idea, so don’t quote me yet! But, this all is interesting so I want to hear more.

MOVIE NIGHT

I got my wish of 2 nights ago and got to sit on a couch, eat popcorn, and watch Bourne Ultimatum last night! Tiffany and Joshua who live under Piper invited us all over. It was cozy but great to escape into the American movie world! It’s amazing how that feels “real” to me when it is just a movie which is totally unrealistic! What would be real is sitting on the stoops here and milling around the streets with people. That would be reality but…!?

SNORKELING

I’m postponing snorkeling until perhaps Tuesday. I have a runny nose I think from using the AC. I don’t want to exhaust my body in the sun, heat, and long travels just before working this week. I am better off to spend my time doing more job applications or preparing for tomorrow’s classes. I hope I don’t lose the chance though since rainy season should be hitting any day now. Hopefully Tuesday will be cloudy but not rainy. Let’s see.

Day 11

Day 11

Above is a picture of the international school on the left and the island’s mosque on the right. My apartment is about 2 blocks in the distance on the left. The school I use the Internet at is 2 blocks to the right of the mosque. Yes, it is a small community and everything seems to be within 2-20 minutes (including the ferry) – but at a very slow stroll to avoid overheating.

Last night was hard for me. Being in new places and experiencing the world is great, but sometimes you long for “normalcy”. When you can’t get access to it, it just makes you long for it more. Last night I just wanted to go sit on a couch in my own home and watch a video or go walk the 3^rd Street Promenade area in Santa Monica, or something that used to be a normal Friday night for me. Back then I could read people and the mood of the crowds I felt.

Last night I would see or be walking on the street and I couldn’t catch the mood of what was around me. Someone pushed someone – is it a fight or just horsing around? It was just guys joking with each other and then laughing. People are walking in small groups or pairs and talking excitedly – has something important happened or are they just visiting? I have no idea. I can’t sense if things are serious or not, if people are worried or not.

And I am amazed that there doesn’t seem to be entertainment. Of course they don’t have bars, dance clubs, movie theaters, and as far as I can tell, there aren’t even video stores. I don’t know of a community center where they take pottery classes or watch dance performances or the like. There are a few guys that ride their scooters up and down the street in pairs…just cruising back and forth…How do they stay calm and content? There are some teenage boys it seems on a corner near me that live in a top/4^th floor apartment and in the evenings they play music really loud for the whole block to hear. Last night I knew the song – Eminem! Of all things! And it made me want to dance, but no one dances here I think. I don’t think it is illegal, so I can’t understand why the youth aren’t trying to do hip hop or something. I imagine this is kind of how it was in the early 1900’s in the U.S. cities? People just sat out on the stoops since their homes were hot and they didn’t have money to go out or organized community centers to do things at. Oh, there is a “youth center” under my office. Men of all ages are in there playing on some chess tables and pool tables. In Korea there are men playing board games under the trees on benches like you see in China Town in San Francisco. But, they aren’t doing that here…seems like a good way to spend time as opposed to just sitting and staring at people, but, I haven’t tried either, so who am I to judge!

Oh! There is a tent outside from Yamaha promoting helmets (since no one here wears them) and maybe some other things. Luckily they play like some great music on huge speakers like once an hour! I am loving the party feel! But...no one is partying, but I appreciate the club sound! Yea! Wish this was daily! But, I guess the 105 degrees (41) keeps people from dancing much! Well, it is 90 degrees but with humidity - 105...

I got up this morning and prepared for the Picnic Island trip. Dressed in my swimsuit and prepped my bag and was about to go buy food. Luckily, I ran into my roommate as they were going out to breakfast and I found out the trip had been cancelled! They are spraying the trees on the Picnic Island for worms, so we are not going anytime soon for sure. I have tons of work to do always, so it is fine, but the adventure would have been nice.

I need to go explore Male and I really need to go find some foods l need, but it just feels so troublesome to go over there. It’s too bad it is dark when I return from work in the evenings since I go through Male. And it is perhaps not a good idea to go in the mornings before work since then I would have to carry food in the heat all day. But…I have to go figure out where to shop soon. I can feel that after 2 months of being topsy-turvy in my life since I decided to move from Japan, the imbalance in my diet is starting to hit me. I will not make it here 4 months eating the deep fried foods and oily things they cook here; it feels like it is wearing me down quickly since I wasn’t up to par already. I need avocados and lettuce and such. Although they do have tomatoes and cucumbers, so I will start to buy them. I am eating ginger some too. Hoping it will help with that rocking feeling I get after riding the boats??

Also, I need to apply for some jobs today! Although I think I could get work easily in Korea, I am leaning toward applications in America. (But will still do one application in Korea since it looks like an interesting opportunity) I think small towns there will bore me to death within a year, but I am just craving comforts of big supermarkets and a society I can comprehend. I know I will understand things better here soon though. And, I really do want to keep aiming for the West Coast in America, but let’s see. The pay and benefits are just better abroad. Abroad I don’t need a car so all those expenses are gone and they usually pay my health insurance and sometimes even my housing. In America it is rare to find any situations like that yet the pay is the same!

Thanks to Lisya’s inspiration, I will consider making a presentation at a conference next year too about teaching in Japan and/or here in Maldives. I have to start working on the application in about a month. I think the deadline for my presentation to be considered is June.

I think I will also go sit on the stoop one morning soon. Always there are men sitting out there doing nothing but watching the people strolling by in the heat. They don’t even talk to one another. I look at them sometimes since they are just staring and I give them a nod but they don’t move. I need to go see what it is all about. Maybe it is fun to observe the world like that!? I will let you know!

Day 10

It is hard to come here to the school (see pic above) and have time to check e-mails, do lesson plans, and update the blog since I get tired of being here for hours. I am hoping they can find a power strip in Male today so I can at least have power on my pc at home so I can type up files to bring to school later where there is Internet. I am often in the mood to write about my day in the evening, but I can't plug in my pc in the outlets they have here.

So, here is something several days later... not fresh on my mind sadly.

LANGUAGE

I am encountering the language differences between Japan and here of course. The other day, I couldn't figure out what a shopkeeper was asking me. She kept saying, "What island are you from?" In Japan, everyone seems to know the word "country" or at least they start giving me possible answers like "England?". So, I was running options through my head of "What island am I staying on?", "What island I am working on?", "What island am I going to today?", or maybe "What country are you from?" and yes, that was what they were aiming for. I guess "island" is a common word they know.

In class, it seems that "s" at the beginning of a word will come out as "sh", so "suit" will be "shoot". They also misplace "is" a lot as in "What favorite is your place?" instead of "What is your favorite place?" I tried to get everyone to catch the problem as I had the student repeat his sentence several times, but only the Japanese girl could see the problem since that is not a common error in Japan.

STUDENTS

It is interesting to me that the male resort workers are typically from Maldives, but the female workers are from abroad. But, I have only met about 19 workers so far, so my experience is limited. 4 females and 15 males. Only 1 male from abroad.

A Thai gift shop worker that isn't in my class rode on a short boat ride with me and we talked a lot then and later as I waited again for a boat. She married another resort worker who is Maldivian 3 years ago and they have a 7 month-old baby. But, she says it is against the rules for married couples to live in the same housing. Yearly she puts that in the suggestion box that the married couples can share a dorm room... You would think happy workers would make for a happier work place... And their child lives in Thailand with her mother now. Kind of sad I felt.

I spoke for almost an hour with another student who was riding a boat with me. He is 23 and really energetic. He explained some about their education system here. As for him, he finished school in 10th grade and then went the vocational track for hospitality training. He has been working for his company for 5 years already. They have 5 different grades and he is in the 2nd grade now so he is allowed a flight to Sri Lanka twice a year so that he can experience another culture (though they don't pay for his hotel stay!) But, he is choosing to save up several of those trips so he can take a further away flight like to Singapore. Incentives you know. Other incentives are the training options like taking English classes.

Since the workers live there on the islands 11 months of the year, they have sports teams as well. I see them practicing Maldives #1 sport of soccer out on the beach. I hear that there are 2 or 3 of Maldives national champions working at one of my hotels, so they are hopeful that in the inter-island resort competition their hotel will win! They also have a volleyball team at this particular resort.

RESORTS

I heard about a sister resort to one of mine which is very exclusive. On the island there are only 6 guest rooms and these go for $2,000 per night with a 5 night minimum. I think there were like 22 staff members to serve them - 1 resort host per room who would clean and interact with their assigned guest, 3 chefs, some sailors and so forth.

I am hoping I can visit my resorts casually this coming week since I have a day off and Piper and David will be there for work. On one island I will just have a look around and on the other island I will snorkel since it should be so much better in those areas.

ROOMMATES

My two roommates are just wonderful! They are only here til the 18th I believe, but they have been so kind to me and I have enjoyed stories about South Africa immensely. I might have said that before... Last night, Jean's mother encouraged me to join them at Jean's best friend's (here) home. He lives above Piper and David and is Maldivian. They have an incredible view from their top floor patio and we sat out there for several hours and watched the stars above us and the lightening in the clouds in the distance - a variety of a light show! The hosts are Rimas and Shazu and they were nice but they speak so softly and there are the ocean waves in the background, so I couldn't hear much of what they said sadly. Rimas' sister was there with her 9-year-old daughter who just loves Jean's family since they played lots with her - pulling her in the ocean on a tube, helping her ride a bike, and so forth. She didn't want to return to Male so we 3 ladies (thanks to Jean's mother's insistence!) rode the ferry back with them at 9 p.m. last night and then we went to a restaurant that the little girl recommended!! Luckily she knows nice restaurants! We had fish and chips on a 2nd floor terrace and then came back to Hulhumale. It was kind of impulsive and nice to get to know everyone better.

Jean's sister is really outgoing and comfortable to be with. She has lived in England for like 10 years and visits New Jersey to see family there sometimes. I hope to introduce her to some of my NYC friends since she is into doing anything and everything and has a great time doing it all.

His mother is really trying to get me out of my shell some, so she invited me to go to the "Picnic Island" on Saturday (tomorrow) with everyone. Piper hired a boat and everyone will split the costs and take some food to share once there. It is a public beach I guess with lots of trees and a chance to go snorkeling. So, I will meet Rimas' family again, the Sweedish family, perhaps Bobby and his family (he had been my first contact with Maldives and I finally met him briefly yesterday), and some others. I think there will be 20 people going so the cost is only like $7 per person I believe. I am only worried about using sunscreen again since I am not sure what caused my rash on my face earlier this week...but I have to wear it since I will be out so much then. We will see.

ADJUSTING?

No, not yet really. It helps to have the roommates to take walks with or such. I just feel so different from the people here and I am not comfortable with the money yet, so I feel out of place. I may always feel that way though since I always felt different in Japan too. I just wish I was okay with food here... Shazu told me that in Male I can find avocados, broccoli and such. It is just unlikely to find it on my island since if someone does bring it over, it is snatched up quickly she said.

I wanted to go explore in Male today, but I haven't done my job searches recently, so I guess I should do that instead.

Saturday is the picnic, Sunday I hope to go my islands to have a self-guided tour and snorkel around for the 3 hours Piper and David teach since it will be my last week of working only 2 days (will work 4 days from the 18th and maybe 6 days later), and then it is work and lesson plans as usual.

Wish me luck with the heat, sun, and exploring!

Work Photos

Here are pictures of my new work place and commute.

Not bad, huh?

At Banyan Tree after class as we wait for the boat.

Piper only came the once with me. I will be on my own in the future.

This is Angsana at the pier. This is just before my first class.

This is at Banyan Tree. These kinds of chairs were used by the sultans of Maldives long ago.

This is in Male while we waited for the boat. Most piers are not this nice (wooden with a ceiling), but this is the President's Peir, Peir 1.

This is looking at a sunset cruise boat as we headed back toward Male and then back to Hulhumale.

This is the distance from Angsana to Banyan Tree. It is about a 5 minute boat ride.

Litter

Since I mentioned how trashy Hulhumale is, I thought I would show you some pictures of it. As I said, the resorts are pristine, but the citizen's areas are not so. I am not sure if the government doesn't have garbage service set up or if people have just never thought about not littering...It's a shame since so much of it washes into the ocean. That which they do collects is burned on another island though.

If you can't see the picture well, click on it and it will enlarge.

Day 6

(posted the following day)

What an incredible day! This is what adventure is about for me! The day was filled with so many unique experiences that were unexpected and fun. I will just try to organize thoughts / events under headings again.

WORK

I had my first day! I went to Angsana Resort (http://www.angsana.com/EN/Properties/Ihuru) and then to their jointly run Banyan Tree Resort (http://www.banyantree.com/en/vabbinfaru/overview) which was one island over and in sight about 5 minutes by boat. I really liked Angsana because the class only had 6 people it in and they were friendly and happy. At Banyan Tree I had 12 students and some were friendly but some didn’t look so happy. The problem at both is that the rooms are very small and crowded and neither had good white boards to write on. I was impressed with their abilities too! They are high beginners technically (they were tested) but they can all communicate just fine. Their grammar isn’t perfect, but communication was wonderful.

At Angsana, I had one Indonesian from Jakarta (head chef), one woman from Kobe, Japan (front desk), and the rest were from Maldives. At Banyan Tree I had two women from Thailand (spa and gift shop) and I think the rest were from Maldives.

One issue: time! The class is only one hour so I had to give lots of homework since we just couldn’t do much in such a short time. Wednesday will be really bad since I am supposed to cover one whole unit then! Including Reading, Writing and all other sections! It is impossible to do what they expect. But…there isn’t a choice but to try and pick and choose what to cover.

I had a terrible time with names! I just couldn’t say half of them at all! I tried to explain that they are totally new words for me, but, I will try to get someone to practice with me before Wednesday. However, Piper has already spent about 10 minutes with me on the trainer’s name (kind of our boss there) and I just can’t remember it! It’s “Vaibhav” from India. That sounds like “Vibe Have” (if I remember right?)but with a British “have” sound. So hard for me! Luckily I think Piper is slightly entertained at how bad I am rather than just shocked.

I am not sure how the students felt, but I hope they are all happy and do their best.

I was planning to go again today because Piper and David teach there and while they teach I can have a look around. There was no time until the last 45 minutes to see anything. I was rushed from the boat to the classes at both places. It would be the same really tomorrow, but at least I will have 1 hour on each island to take a look around. But I am sitting here now not feeling so well, so I think I will postpone that til next week. The week after that I start the other job so I won’t have this chance again.

TRAVEL

I worked 2 hours but was out for 8.5 hours! This is how it went: Bus 12:05, ferry 12:30, walking, waiting, speed boat 1:30, boat 4:15, slow boat 6:30 (speed boat that takes 30 minutes was broken so we took a big boat that took 1 hour), walking, ferry 7:30, walking, arrive at school 8:15.

Today I enjoyed it but I wonder if it will get old…

As I sit typing most of this at the end of the day, I am rocking back and forth as if still on the boat! Wonder if I will adjust to that and not feel this motion every day!?

INTERESTING THINGS

There is “island time”. So although in Maldives it may be 2:15, at the resorts it is 3:15! They do that so there is plenty of sun for activities. And, guests don’t want to get up at 6 a.m. for something, but if they think it is 7 a.m., they don’t mind as much. So, that was confusing since I thought I had an hour before class but when I arrived I had to rush to the class.

Some people are truly religious about prayer time. One of the workers on the slow boat back laid out his prayer rug in the direction of Mecca right in front of us and I watched the whole routine! Standing, kneeling, head to the ground and back up about 5 times slowly. It looked similar to the S. Korean Buddhist prayers I saw 2 years ago. Great stomach and leg exercises five times a day!

At the ferry station, they had a TV on and they were reviewing the proper way to perform the noon prayer…an educational type program I guess!?

At Banyan Tree, they have a feeding of sting rays! I couldn’t see it since I was in class, but next week when I go with Piper I can see it. I saw a picture of it on their website too. I saw 3 big ones that swam up early anticipating the daily feed. They were huge!

At the Sun./Tues. resort I will start on the 18^th, I will get a free meal after class! Yesterday my roommate went to watch her son teach and she said the buffet was amazing!

Today at Banyan Tree, Vaibhav treated us to free drinks. I had a mango coconut. Yum! I have been adjusting to Maldive’s monetary system of Rufiyaa, so when I saw the menu I thought 2.50 or 1.20 but things were like $25 and $12 for many drinks but some were $1,080!! Yes, there was some good wines on that menu! And lots…like many $80 glasses of wine! No…I couldn’t be greedy and have that!

Room costs: She told me that at Banyan Tree the rooms start at $400 or $500 per night. I walked around some and saw some private glass hut /rooms and with hammocks and lounges right on the beach. I almost got into a hammock since it was so inviting before I realized that was someone’s private area! At Angsana, I think the rooms start at $150 and the resort is more family oriented.

The sunset was a bit cloudy but still beautiful to see the clouds and orange sun over the ocean!

The water is so clear out there. And the beaches are just like you see on the Internet! No trash. They were perfect!

It rained in the morning! That was my first light rain. It was great to have a mostly cloudy day!!

My face and neck have sores on them…both cheeks and neck. I guess it is a heat rash? Or an allergy to my skin sensitive sun block? I didn’t use sun block today though in case it is that, but it was worse by the end of the day. Hmmm… not good. (Note: Jean’s sister gave me antihistamine allergy pill and said that might clear up anything. If it works, I have to figure out how to buy them. I hate to take it daily for 4 months, but this looks bad and actually it hurt to lay on one side of my face while I slept.)

I found out that flying for long periods without enough water and exercise causes swollen ankles! I have flown 15 hours from Japan but I guess this 32 hour trip did it to me. My ankles finally looking normal today. My roommate told me a bad experience she had had with that. I didn’t know that was why they were swelling! So, good to know everyone – drink lots of water and do ankle twirls while on long flights!

I am still hungry…I have had the café deliver my lunches to the school the last two days but I just had the rest of my expensive lettuce from Male for dinner. I tried to get more food delivered but Jean had a class at the school. I tried to buy “short eats” at a store, but they were almost sold out and didn’t have what I had liked the day before. But, I am so tired that I would rather sleep than eat.

Oh, those of you who know me well know that I have had a morning shake for breakfast for 5 years. I will stop that here. I was going to try but trying to get enough fruit for it is too hard. Kiwi and pineapples are only found in Male, etc. But, I should still be fine doing what fruit I have…just not the shakes.

I hope to explore Male on my own this weekend so I can know where to find things on my own.

There is more but I need sleep….