Day 19

Today was awesome!  We had class all morning (which was less awesome) but our afternoon dives were great.  We went on two dives today, at Andrea II and 18 Palms again for AGRRA data.  (AGRRA is a program for collecting data on fish and coral and stuff.  It's boring.  Forget about it.)  At Andrea II we saw a lionfish AND an octopus!  It's the first big lionfish I've seen, and the first octopus I've ever seen out and about.  Then the octopus got a little too close to an eel--and the eel attacked!  The octopus rolled all its tentacles up around itself, and bounced away like a little basketball.  It was definitely the coolest thing I've seen since I got here!

Lionfish!  They're invasive and poisonous!

Octopus!!!

I LOVE OCTOPI!!!

Me, not doing work.

Charlotte, doing work.

Underwater bear hug!

Spoooooonge!

Me, doing work.

See the little spotted thing in the upper left corner?  It's a
Flamingo Tongue!  (Click to get a bigger photo, it's easier to see.)

Tonight we had our first Papiamentu class.  Papiamentu is the language of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.  It's a combination of Spanish, Dutch, and English.  Our teacher is a lively Arubian woman, and she taught us a lot tonight!  Now we can greet people, ask where things are, and make simple sentences.  It's a very simple language, and very similar to Spanish, so I'm hoping to pick it up quickly.  Fun fact: the word "plake" means 'money'... but also 'penis.'

I've also (finally!) got pictures of daily life.  First up is Cultimara, the grocery store.  It's a much, much different experience than in the USA!  For starters, everything is in Dutch.  Soy sauce is "China Salsa."  The apples are mushy, but the cucumbers and bananas are cheap and delicious.  Ketchup comes in toothpaste-tubes, in tomato flavor and curry flavor.  Milk comes in a variety of fruity flavors, but fresh normal milk is almost impossible to find so we've started buying it boxed.  (It's okay for cereal, not so much for drinking.)  Ice cream is $14 for a half-gallon.  Normal cooking ingredients like butter and flour are hard to find too.  If you go on the right day the store is fully stocked, but go on the wrong day and you'll walk out empty-handed.  They don't have scanners, and they don't give bags.  It's different, but trying to figure out the Dutch is fun!

The verdict: ehhh, I guess it's edible.

Christmas stuff is on sale... nomnomnom!

Curry ketchup doesn't actually taste like curry... more like BBQ sauce.

On the way home from Cultimara on Wednesday, we came across a freshly dead iguana.  We didn't know it was dead at first!  It was completely white--we didn't know that iguanas could change color!  We held a short funeral for Iggy.  It was touching.

"Here lies Iggy..."

"He was a good iguana."

"May you rest in peace, Iggy."

I've got a meeting at 8am with the director of the Marine Park, to (hopefully!) get approval for my peacock flounder project.  If I don't get approval... well, let's just say that I'll be spending my Friday night researching a brand new project.  Wish me luck!