Let's see...what did we do last week anyway? Ah yes, we went on a dive looking for coral diseases on Thursday. That was kinda fun, only because we got to have a little more independence in terms of our buddy teams and whatnot. We also had our final rescue scenario (remember those things?) as we were ascending and now we're RESCUE DIVE CERTIFIED YAY! In just four weeks we've all improved so much with our diving skills as well as our knowledge of the reefs where we're diving (I know like all the fish and coral species we see so yup). I'm just looking forward to continuing to grow as a diver and underwater scientist!
On Friday we had a workshop about our Independent Research Projects (I'll get to that later) and then went on a field trip to the sewage "treatment" plants and landfill of Bonaire. That was a most interesting trip for several reasons. Firstly, our tour guide was an old hippy man with a British accent who's a major environmental activist on Bonaire. He's probably one of the coolest men I've ever encountered. Secondly, we learned that they hardly treat their sewage/waste water and they dump it in trenches in the middle of the island. So that's a problem in and of itself. It also smelled just wonderful when we stopped by a trench and saw the ground stained black. And then, we learned that at another location they use the ground where they dump the crappy water to grow food for livestock. Just think of the chemicals. At the landfill, we saw mounds of broken kitchen appliances, cars, and just random garbage items. What caused a wave of emotion within me was seeing goats feeding on all of it. They were having a feast! To learn that this mountain of trash has no separation from the natural world (no liner in the ground to prevent chemical leakage into the soil, no gates around the property to keep out the goats, NOTHING) and that it is on an incline leading to the ocean struck a heartstring.
Oftentimes it is easier to turn the other cheek when it comes to things we typically ignore, such as what happens to our trash once the garbage truck picks it up from our house every week. What is more difficult is to address the problems in terms of our way of doing things and to question if what we're doing is actually the best for our health, our environment, and our children. Our tourguide, the British home boy, was an inspiration because he is doing what no one really wants to do: admit that we've been living in a dream and that if we don't address our mistakes now, these resources we take for granted may not be as abundant or pristine as we're used to.
After that trip, we all needed to sanitize ourselves and get ready for another night on the town. We went to one of the resorts in the southern part of town and then to our favorite place to dance our little hearts out, Havanas. The rest of the weekend was actually pretty uneventful because our research proposals were due on Sunday so Saturday and Sunday I spent working on my proposal. Fun times indeed.
Sunday afternoon there was a parade in town for Carnival (or Karnaval, as they spell it here). It was a little different than parades in the US because they didn't have any marching bands, paraders had an infinite supply of alcohol, the costumes were extremely intricate (see below) and everyone was just dancing to tropical music played from the floats. Basically the entire island was downtown and everyone was having a great time. It was fun to be a part of such a cultural experience. Everyone was happy and dressed up. This jumpstarted my excitement for the upcoming Karnaval week (I'm also on break so that's been lovely)!
On Monday we all did our trial runs of our research dives - mine went pretty well. We still have a few things to iron out in terms of data collection, but I won't bore you all with the details. I tried explaining my research to my lovely sister, Vicky, and our dear friend, Vinny, earlier today and they nearly fell asleep. Thanks guys. But anyway, my dive buddy, Wiley, is such a big help when it comes to my research, so I know we'll do a great job! Tomorrow we'll be diving twice for his research and we get to hammer some rebar into the ground underwater. Now that should be an interesting adventure!
Tuesday was Mardi Gras as well as Jul's 21st Birthday so we had a big ol' celebration at the house. We went down to the beach for a while, ate a ton of pizza and snacks, and had an awesome time. Around 10 pm or so (I actually don't really look at the time anymore...island time, ya know) we all hit the town because there was a parade (it was actually the same one as on Sunday). What made this parade even different (and better) than Sunday was that everyone in the crowd was able to join in on the dancing. Devon, Max and I were getting our dance on with a bunch of people in pajamas (that's what the theme of the costumes and float was). The music was amazing, the people were so happy, and everyone was having fun. I really felt a part of the culture of Karnaval in the tropics.
After the parade, the mass of paraders and non-paraders made its way to the stadium in the center of town, where we all waited until midnight for this thing called "The Burning of the Momo," which was a culmination of the whole of Karnaval. There are many traditional stories surrounding the Momo (ya should Google it because my rendition of the stories would only be disrespectful to the culture), but what we saw was a big statue/doll type thing dressed up like a king get doused with lighter fluid, then ignited, and then there were fireworks. Literally the entire island was gathered outside the stadium for this event. The parade and the burning of the Momo were the best way to experience Karnaval on Bonaire. I had so much fun and am happy to have been a part of such a great tradition.
After the Momo, we all headed to Havanas (our usual hangout) for some good ol' fashioned dancing. It was a blast, as always, and instead of just playing some techno American mixed with tropical island music, there was some traditional Dutch music mixed in. Its style really made me want to just bop up and down from side to side if that makes any sense at all. I'll have to show you what I mean.
Today we just spent hanging out on the dock making hemp friendship bracelets (courtesy, moi) out of the beads that I had as well as corals and shells we found on the shore. Ah, what a tough life. So far Karnaval week has been going swimmingly; it's nice to have a little break from our classes and get to experience the island life a little more. I feel more integrated into the culture now and we've only been here for a little over a month (seems crazy, doesn't it?!). Who knows what the rest of this week has in store for me, you'll just have to wait and see!!
THIS JUST IN: I went outside for a quick second and guess what I heard???!?!?!?!?!?!!!??!!!?!
Donkey's hee-hawing!!!!!!!! They sounded pretty close and OMG that was the coolest thing ever!!!!
OH and before I sign off: PICTURES!!!!!! YAY!
Goats just having a little snack on some chemicals. Yum.
The Parade on Sunday. Check out those costumes!! Look how intricate!
Posing with a family at the Burning of the Momo.
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