Shipping Our Belongings

The School for Field Studies (SFS) is paying to ship up to 300 lbs. of our belongings. This is really nice not only because it costs a small fortune, but because we won't have to lug so much around the airports or pay for extra checked bags. We're not bringing that much either, barely half the total weight. And that includes all my new SCUBA gear (I ended up shipping it early because none of the local refresher courses are being offered in the next two weeks).


Moving is complicated when you don't own any gasoline powered vehicles. You have to plan ahead, leave extra time for bicycle transport, and hope for favorable weather. We had several offers of assistance in this department, but the truth is, I wanted to bring our boxes to the UPS store on my bike! And it only took two trips. My only regret is that nobody I knew saw me doing it.


The things haven't actually been shipped yet. They're waiting at the UPS store for us to get final approval from SFS. I'll have to make one more trip back there to fill out the paperwork and get receipts for the reimbursement.

The Most Valuable Cargo

Tuesday we shipped all of our possessions, but today I shipped the most valuable piece of cargo. Jessee is on her way. I dropped her off at the airport shuttle just about an hour ago. In all the commotion, however, I didn't get a tracking number or delivery insurance and completely forgot to thoroughly tape her to withstand rough handling!

Even though we're starting on this big adventure, it was really sad to take these steps. Our apartment is starting to look like people don't live here (because most of our stuff is packed up), and 5 weeks apart seems like a really long time! Luckily, Jessee's flight is late tonight, so we had the entire day together. It was a beautiful day (which makes leaving even harder), so we spent much of it outside. First we went out to lunch at the Russian dumpling place - we've been meaning to go there for a while and this was our last chance. The menu was simple. Really simple: meat or potatoes. We got one of each. They were good, but I'm not sure they were that authentic - they had curry power and cilantro on them - we'll call it a "mexindianski" flavor.

After that Jessee wanted some frozen yogurt from the dentist-office-sterile yogurt place. It's supposed to be really fancy (and healthy), but the place is so clean, white, and florescently lit that it feels like an operating room. I didn't have any. We sat in the sun on the patio, and I thought about how even at 45º north latitude my pale Lithuanian skin was cooking. For some reason, my Jewish blood doesn't seem to help - aren't they desert people?

We spent some time wandering aimlessly around the city, saying goodbye to some of our favorite places. The dumplings weren't much, and I hadn't had breakfast, so we decided to check out another restuarant we had be meaning to try: Best Chopsticks, a Chinese place with a $6 lunch special. Usually when you first move some place you tour around and sample the restuarants. We did it on our way out.

On our way home, we walked through the park and salmon hatchery. From the bridge we could see dozens of young salmon futilely trying to make it up the falls. We couldn't figure out what they were doing. They were too young to be going to spawn - 4 or 5 inches long, bigger than fry, but smaller than adults. The Parks & Rec. employee wasn't sure either. It was hysterical to watch though. They would shoot out of the water at all different angles, rarely in the direction that would give them progress. Some made it to a small pool above, but there was no where to go from there. Even adult fish struggle to make it up the stretch of river higher than that. Maybe they were looking for food higher up, but at that age the salmon should be headed for the ocean. Poor confused little guys.

The time to go finally came, and I walked Jessee up to the bus station. We were both especially sad to leave our wonderful apartment. I'll be here for another two weeks, of course, but it won't be the same. She's on the shuttle now, and by tomorrow morning, she'll be in Philadelphia. She'll stay there for few days with her parents before heading up to Boston for training (did I mention the School for Field Studies is affiliated with Boston University?). On 4 June, she'll head down to TCI and start work almost immediately.

I am SAM, SAM I am.

Actually it’s me, Jessee, finally posting my very first blog entry. (Entering my very first blog post?? …I’m new to this.) In any case, it’s true. My new official title, as of the first of June, is Student Affairs Manager at the School for Field Studies center located in the Turks and Caicos Islands (i.e. SAM at SFS in TCI – just FYI). Whew!

I’ve been asked many times recently to explain what kind of work exactly I’ll be doing down there for the next year (although the text version of this question lacks intonation and therefore fails to convey its typically blatant insinuation that ‘work’ in this case is undoubtedly a euphemism for some sort of girls-gone-wildesque extended Caribbean vacation), so I figured that posting a brief description of the job as I understand it would be a good excuse for me to finally contribute something to this blog. Here goes…

Basically, four times a year a new group of undergraduate students arrives in TCI to study a range of topics from Tropical Marine Ecology and Resource Management to Socioeconomic and Environmental Policy in the region, and to carry out a range of independent research projects. In order to earn their 16 credits per semester, or 4 credits per shorter summer session, they are in class most mornings and in the water most afternoons. A good deal of the research actually takes place underwater, for example surveying the coral reefs or identifying other types of sea life. Here’s a quote from the SFS website:

“Nearly 50 species of corals as well as spotted eagle rays, sea turtles, sharks, groupers, snappers, and dolphin fish are easily spotted in the clear, warm waters just steps away from our field station.”

Wow.

My job is to help them get adjusted upon arrival (orientations and safety trainings), get to know one another (teambuilding activities), get along with one another (conflict mediations), get involved in the local community (plan service projects and integration activities), get active (did someone say ultimate frisbee?!), get productive (work with the faculty to set up a schedule that factors in class time, fieldwork, downtime, etc.), get focused (inevitably the girls-gone-wildesque extended Caribbean vacation rumors have will reached some of them), and pretty much just get the most out of the experience that they can.

Now, I’ll be sure to blog to you all (it’s a verb too, right?) again in a few weeks to correct the record once I’ve arrived in TCI, settled into the job a bit, and learned that everything I just wrote is either utterly incomprehensive or altogether inaccurate. Stay tuned. And don’t forget to keep us tuned into your lives over the next year too. Send us e-mails to read when we’re sunburned and homesick and eating conch eyeballs for breakfast for the twenty-seventh day in a row. Of course, I’d be every bit as happy to read your e-mails when I’m tan and meeting interesting people and snorkeling for the twenty-seventh afternoon in a row. I would read them here or there…


P.S. I made an effort this time, but I may have to leave the fancy photos and creative visuals to Brett in the future!

Unexpected Expenses

As it turns out, the SCUBA equipment available at SFS (School for Field Studies) is limited. In fact, all they have is tanks and weights! I found this out Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, I had spent almost $500 at the local dive shop.

There was no way in heck I'm moving to TCI and not diving. I managed to get a great deal on some used equipment. They had a $600 buoyancy compensator for $125, and an $800 set of regulators and gauges for $225. They're in good condition too. I snapped those up really quick. I had to buy fins new, but luckily there not too expensive.

A dive computer would have been really expensive, but fortunately I still qualify for a prodeal on Suunto products through REI. They make several nice ones, but I ordered one of the basic models - it's actually quite advanced compared to what was out when I was first dive certified 8 years ago. It hasn't arrived yet, but this is the stock photo of it (I got the black one).

In all, I'm getting extremely good deals on this equipment. I just didn't expect to have to purchase it all at once and so soon. In the end, it's worth it. How could I go to this place and not dive?! I've wanted to start diving again for a while, and now is my opportunity. Besides, I should be able to recoup most of my expenses down the road if I ever sell this gear.

The next feat was getting a replacement diver's card. I lost mine when my wallet was stolen in Paris years ago. Getting this was more difficult than you would probably think. I had none of the materials they asked required for verification - a copy of the old card, dive log book, name of the certifying instructor, name of certifying shop. But I was able to convince a very grumpy person at the NAUI offices to search their records. The new card is in the mail. Now I'll be able to take a refresher course here, before I leave.

The only obstacle that remains is finding people to dive with in South Caicos - it's not really the sort of activity you can safely do alone. This shouldn't be that difficult, but I really don't want to do it through a commercial outfit (they just charge too much). My hope is that enough of the staff (or even the students) at SFS will be into it, so that I can go frequently. I'll probably mostly be snorkling because I can do that solo while everybody else is working or in class.

A New Camera!

I couldn't stand going on this trip without a proper still-picture camera. Ever since my old Nikon died in Europe, I've had to settle for sub-par equipment. I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on the Digital SLR that I've wanted for a while now, but I got a new digital point-and-shoot that has received very good reviews - the Samsung TL34HD. It takes whopping 14.7 megapixel photos! Incredible clarity and very good color. Not only that, I got it at almost half price by purchasing the display model! It only cost me about $150. Here's what Jessee thinks:

There's No Backing Out Now

The plane tickets have been purchased!

Oh, what a headache that was. I recently heard a report on NPR that people will search for flights an average of 3 hours to save a measly $8 or so. 3 hours would have been easy! I don't even want to discuss how much time I spent searching. I did, however, save something more like $150 for my efforts. Maybe if I just stuck with it, I could have found tickets for free. But I guess the law of diminishing returns would have kicked in at some point.

I wanted to visit my grandparents in New York and Florida before leaving because travel from the islands isn't going to be as easy as travel from Washington (despite being geographically closer). Logically, it would make the most sense to go to New York first, then Florida and fly from Miami to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Miami is a large airport and the closest one in the US to TCI - so one would think it would be the most direct and cheapest. Wrong!

The only flight I could get from Miami routed me through Philadelphia, then Nassua in the Bahamas where I would have a 20 hour layover (!!!), and finally to Providenciales (Provo) in TCI. Also the lower demand in air travel these days has, evidently, caused airlines to cut out some routes - I could not fly from Seattle to Albany with fewer than two connections (three planes). Some options had me on four different planes just to travel that leg of the journey!

Seeing that I would be routed through Philadelphia anyway, I decided to search for flights to Provo from Philadelphia. Turns out they're quite cheap - $262! So now I had a new plan: I'd visit my Leitner grandfather in Florida first, then my Matulis grandmother in New York, then I'd travel to Philadelphia (getting to see Jessee's parents as an extra bonus) before finally making my way down to the TCI. I still couldn't avoid the 3-plane flight from Florida to Albany, but it was cheaper all around this way. Another added bonus, my visit to Florida will overlap with my mom and step-father's visit there, so I'll get to see them too. My itinerary is as follows:

26 June 2009: Seattle -> Florida
1 July 2009: Florida -> Albany
4 July 2009: Albany -> Philadelphia 0n a Greyhound bus (would you believe the bus and plane both take 5 1/2 hours, but the bus is 25% the cost, less stressful, and doesn't require getting there hours early?)
5 July 2009: Philadelphia -> Provo

I still haven't purchased a ticket for the last leg of my journey - a 20 minute "island hopper" plane from Provo to South Caicos - but that's just because the website of airline that provides the service wasn't working. Hopefully, they keep their planes in better condition than they do their website!

Just to emphasize the absurdity of the route I'm taking, I've added a map (including layovers). In all, it's 8 different flights and a bus ride!


View Confused Wanderings on the Eastern Seaboard in a larger map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&source=embed&msa=0&msid=104781959957579632954.00046a539c1a26e98cfa1&ll=36.809285,-95.800781&spn=67.568977,158.027344&z=3).

The Island From Space

Cockburn Harbour, South Caicos

View Cockburn Harbour, South Caicos in a larger map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&t=h&source=embed&msa=0&msid=104781959957579632954.00046a01a0e9694f2defd&ll=21.494822,-71.534901&spn=0.009903,0.01929&z=16).

This is the town we'll be living in - Cockburn Harbour - not to be confused with Cockburn Town, which is located on Grand Turk island. Notice how blue the water is! It was simple to locate using google maps, but I wasn't sure exactly where in the town we'd be. So I went to the School for Field Studies website and found some pictures of the facility.


This picture is of the marina directly in front of the center. I used it to locate the center on the map by scanning the coast in the satellite images! See the blue pin in the map below.


View School for Field Studies in a larger map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=104781959957579632954.000469d55caf7499445c9&ll=21.490819,-71.53349&spn=0.002476,0.004823&z=18).


There was also this image of the center's salt water pool, which was equally easy to locate in google's satellite images - see the yellow pin in the map above. I'm not sure where in the facility we'll be staying, but it's certainly pictured in the map. Zoom in, click, and drag the maps to see more of the island.

What I'll Miss Most

Mountains: Flat places just aren't as exciting.


An Ideal Location: There's world-class rock climbing, year-round alpine ice climbing, winter waterfall ice climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, road biking, sea kayaking, sport rock climbing, sailing, and ice hockey all within a small area. Though it will be good to get back into diving without having to wear a 14mm wet suit! Bellingham itself is a good size with plenty to do, and has easy access to Vancouver and Seattle for the bigger city feel.

Gray Wolf: This is the best job I've ever had. Who pays somebody (reasonably well) to do the sort of activities they'd be doing anyway? Backpacking in the Olympic Mountains, backpacking in the North Cascades, kayaking the San Juan islands, kayaking on Ross Lake, skiing at Mount Rainier, and hiking on the outer coast. Plus all the perks like free cookies, the cottage, and patagonia clothing (yes, I know I listed cookies first). It's only because they're small operations that companies like this don't end up on the "Top 100 Employers" list.


My Friends from Gray Wolf: And (believe it or not) the Gray Wolf residents. You are the real reason that job is so much fun. Please come visit us in Turks and Caicos!

The REI Bike Shop: REI... not so much. But working in the shop has been a lot of fun. There's just something about a shared appreciation of two-wheeled transportation, fine Brooks leather, and well adjusted bearings.

Our Apartment: We were on the waiting list for two and a half years to get this place, and now we're not even finishing the lease! It's right downtown on the main street, has 20 ft ceilings, and a spiral staircase that leads to the loft. The windows overlook the waterfront and San Juan islands. And it's affordable (you can't get that in a big city).


Idiom Theater: Who would have thought there'd be so much talent in such a small place? Their claim to fame is that they put on more original productions than any other community theater in North America - mostly due to their 48 hour theater festivals where a series of plays are written, directed, produced, and performed in just 48 hours. Sadly they "went dark" for last season to expand and improve, so we they've been much less active for months now.

Dave and Maggy: You guys are a lot of fun and we're both sad to be moving so far away. Fortunately, South Caicos is a good meeting point between Germany and Washington (right?).

Kasi: Dave can't take Kasi to Germany, and we were first in line to adopt her if we stayed in Washington. And we nearly decided to stay just to have her!


Hockey: I don't imagine there's much ice on the tropical islands.

---What I Won't Miss---

Bad Pizza: The Italians came to New York and never left. What they call "East Coast" style out here is barely better than frozen pizza.

Bad Bagels: I guess the Jews didn't leave New York either (too much rain for people originally from the desert, I guess). Would you believe that our local bagel shop doesn't have toasters?! How's place like that stay in business?

The Rain: Out here, when summer finally comes you really feel like you've earned it. Winter days are short (sunrise at 8:30am and sunset at 4pm), and you can go days without seeing the sun through the clouds. I used to try to act like this wasn't a big trade off for so many other Pacific NW benefits, but I gave up. To be fair, the summers are dry, sunny, and temperate, and they can't be beat.

Moving Is A Lot of Work

My boss recently used to the term "logistical quagmire" to describe the trouble he had in coordinating the exit from the field of three kayaking groups unable to make it to the rendezvous point due to bad weather. It might be a bit dramatic to describe our move with that same term, but it certainly is not an enjoyable process.

Anybody in the market for a couch, chairs, coffee table, dining room set, desk, bookshelf, cupboard, or futon mattress? Or, perhaps, a great downtown loft apartment in Bellingham, WA? Actually, the apartment is in pretty high demand, so we aren't having much trouble getting our lease taken over. But it's been a full time job just responding to the craigslist ads we've posted.

On top of that, packing is just a miserable process. We're not sure we're coming back to Bellingham (though it's probably at the top of my list of favorite places to live) or how many years down the road that would be, so there's the added complication of what to get rid of and what to keep. Fortunately, my brother-in-law is letting us use his garage for storage. Now I just need to figure out how to pack for four things at the same time: things that are being shipped to South Caicos, things I will need in the mean time, things for storage, and things that I will need for my last hiking/kayaking outing with work. The overlap between those categories is what makes it really complicated - not to mention that fact that we don't have a car anymore so, besides what we put in the Uhual, needs to fit in my bike trailer!

Even with all the moving work, it's not hard to stay excited about why we're doing it.

A Picture of South Caicos

Moving to the West Indies

There's a certain amount of egocentrism associated with blogging about one's own daily life. Am I so vain as to believe complete strangers will be interested in reading what will be posted here? I should hope not. Rather, the reason I decided to start this blog is more personal than public. As I have in the past when exciting events are happening in my life, I've decided to keep a journal that I will be able to look back on years down the road to recall these times. Since blogging is a convenient way to store journal records and share them with friends and family that are interested, I thought I'd give it a try.

Yesterday, Jessee and I decided to move to the tropical island of South Caicos in the British West Indies. We had been planning to live abroad since finishing graduate school, but this option only recently surfaced on our radar. In fact, it all happened quite suddenly. I was actually out of town and out of communication for the entire duration of the process (I was kayaking in the San Juan Islands here in Washington State with my job). Jessee found the Caicos job, applied, interviewed three times, and was offered a position all before I even knew about it! Fortunately, she thought it prudent to stall the process long enough for me to return and talk it over before accepting the position. Start to finish, I only had a few days to think it over and decide to go. Jessee only had a few days more than that.

Not only did it come about fast, we have to leave much sooner than we were originally planning. Jessee will leave in less than 3 weeks! I'll be sticking around a bit longer for work, but should be arriving in Caicos in the first week of July. This means we need to move our things into storage, sell all our furniture, find somebody to take over our lease, and pack for (at least) the next year.

Jessee's job is with the School for Field Studies (SFS). I still don't know much about the program, only that it is a study abroad program for undergraduate students. The students come from all different universities to conduct research and study in one of SFS's five locations: Mexico, Costa Rica, Kenya, Australia, and Turks and Caicos. Jessee's position is the Student Affiars Administrator for the Turks and Caicos field station. She'll be responsible for the students' residence and building the community. To tell you the truth, I don't know many of the details on that either.

What I can say is that it's a pretty good deal for us. The job provides us both with room and board, and her with a salary. I'm sure the residence is small, but we do get our own bathroom. I wasn't expecting that I'd be getting my meals provided too, since I'm not actually the one being employed, so that was welcome news. Not to mention getting to live in an "island paradise" completely free! On top of that, we'll have access the program's SCUBA equipment and boats. I'm not sure how that will work yet, but they told her as long as I get dive insurance I'll be able to use it. They're going get her dive certified. I already have a diver certification (though I should probably do a refresher). I imagine (and hope) diving will be my biggest past time while we're living there - honestly, there's not much else to do.

South Caicos is only about 21 sq. KM, one of the smaller islands in the Turks and Caicos chain, and has a population of about 1500. It's located southeast of the Bahamas, east of Cuba, and north of Hispaniola. It's a Crown Colony - meaning the govenor is appointed by the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II - the head of government, however, is the Premier, who I believe is elected by the citizens. From what I know so far, the climate is not as humid as I would have expected - a huge relief. It's still hot - high 80s and 90s - but hopefully not so sticky. There's also supposed to be consistent breeze from the Trade Winds. As you would imagine is the case on small dry islands, fresh water is very scarce - we've been told we'll only be allowed one shower per week (the toilets even use salt water). Considering how much sunblock I'll need to be using, I'm afraid I'll be a bit grimy. I'll just need to get in the Ocean each day... which I suppose will leave me a bit salty.

Considering that Jessee's job will provide me food, shelter, and entertainment, I'm not much concerned that I won't have a job. Besides, I've been saving money for travel. If a job opportunity comes along, I may work, but I'm not too worried about it at this point. I'll have plenty of time to work on my PhD applications, and likely continue my research.