I am now a Padi Open Water Advanced Scuba Diver.

Last night I dove my first night dive. It was amazing. The dive boat was a catamaran and there was a smooth ride out to the dive site at sunset. We hung out on the boat, chatted, then had a briefing as we waited for it to get dark enough to call it a night dive. Starlight reflected off the crests of the ripples in the watter as our instructor told us about the 4 wrecks we'd be seeing, and how to use hand signals with a flashlight. We giant strided into the dark atlantic ocean and entered another world. René, Phil and I were transfixed for the next 38 minutes, as we explored the nighttime world of Carlisle Bay. Wrecks appeared out of nowhere in front of us, starfish crawled magically across the sandy ocean floor, shrimp, crabs, a jillion varieties of fish and dozens of different corals appeared magically in the small cones of light produced by our flashlights. the highlight for me was answering our DM's summons and going over the top edge of a wreck to find myself face to face with a sleeping hawksbill turtle! I gasped in about half my tank of air, but the turtle slept on. Near the end of the dive, we turned off our lights and moved our hands through the water and watched as the water was lit up in blue sparkles like pixie dust, the phosphorescence of the photoluminescent plankton. It was magical. Swimming on our backs back to the boat at the end of the dive, we saw millions of stars and a small quarter moon above us. It was really the perfect dive.

Today was a busy day. There was a naming ceremony for a little baby in the community. Okay, so I promised myself I wouldn't use this as a complaining spot, but I know if I expressed my displeasure at this out loud vocally I would be a whiner. I understand that I'm in the Caribbean. I understand that people here are more easygoing, and I also consider myself easygoing. But, this baby naming thing was supposed to start at 10 a.m. I was playing the violin so I needed to be there a bit early to set up. I got mad at my parents for running late. I'm trying really hard not to get mad at them so much but it just seems to happen. But I only got mad at them in my head, not out loud, so that's an improvement right? So we find the place, arriving at about 10:05. There's one car outside. 15 minutes later my mom calls the mother of the baby being named. "sorry, can you let everyone there know we're running late?" ok so here's the deal. it's 10:22. you live 45 minutes from the place the thing is at, and you have the keys. you're still at home 22 minutes after the thing is supposed to start?????????? ARGH!!!! They arrived at 11:40. THe house had to be opened and aired, the chairs set up, the room prepared... readings had been chosen, but all the readers weren't there, a couple of performers who had committed to the event had also done the no-show. it started at about 11:58.
Does easygoing and laid back have to mean that everyone else's time is less valuable than yours? Am I being uptight because I don't want to sit doing nothing and waste 2 hours waiting for something to start??? is it a double standard if i say it's okay to be, say 15 minutes late, but not okay for half an hour, one hour, 2 hours?
This is one of the may reasons I can't live here. I can't deal wit hthe fact that although it started 2 hours late, everyone who was there at 10 was still there at the start, many people actually showed up between 11 and 12, not expecting it to have started yet, or maybe expecting to come in time for the ceremony to be over and lunch to be served.... i dunno. i can't handle it.

How is it possible for a place to be so hot and muggy??? I'm in Barbados now. If ever I thought that maybe I could live in the Caribbean, It's really being reinforced now how much I hate the weather here! I can't believe people come here for vacation, it's so hot and humid and muggy.... However, the time I'm spending with my parents is great. The new house they bought is beautiful and peaceful and relaxing. I have 2 months to just rest and relax, and dive - I can't really complain can I?

So far since I've been here, I've been to Convention, my first weekend. I did a programme with the junio youth for that. We made magnets and studied the Ridvan message. Thanks Vi for the magnet idea! They loved it, I loved it!!!!

I took part with the choir in the 12th day of Ridvan programme. I accompanied them on the violin and sang the bass part in a song.

I had some friends over for dinner on Friday night. I know while I was here my friends were pretty few and far between - quality, not quantity. But in addition to that, many have now left Barbados, and the ones that are still here are starting to marry and procreate... It was an interesting dinner. I have friends that I met while I was here, going to school, Baha'i friends, and friends from Barbados who I met in Trinidad. It was really interesting bringing some of them together because they all knew each other before, but in different contexts. In addition, there's a Baha'i visiting from Montreal, doing his residency at the hospital here for a couple of months. He dives :o)

Life is good in general. I think my missing the World Centre is taking many forms, however the feeling of being on vacation helps. When you're on vacation you try not to look at the part where it ends and you go home, and I think that when this ends and I go to Europe then find myself in Spain, it will really hit me that this is now where "home" is. I dunno. I miss a lot of things about the BWC though but mostly it's my friends, and the way we interact and having people around who i feel comfortable with and just being able to be myself. I feel weird around my parents, we're so different....

That's it for now. I'm blogged out.