I never want to see snow again. for serious.

Palau Updates:
1. I am now SCUBA CERTIFIED! I went on my first two dives this weekend, which were ridiculous amazing first dives. The first was this reef wall that extends down 2,000 feet. You swim up to it and it looks like you have to jump off this cliff to descend, but you’re in water, so you just float down about 85 feet and look around. The second dive was Ulong channel, which is this channel created by two huge reefs with a valley in the middle. The reefs create a current and you just float down the channel in the current and feel like you are flying. For most of the dive, we hooked onto dead coral and baited the water so that about 30 sharks swam around us. Apparently this isn’t dangerous in Palau because there is so much to eat here in terms of fish that we humans are not appetizing. It is, admittedly, hard to remember this when they are eyeballing you from 4 feet away.
2. I took a day trip to the Ngardmau waterfall yesterday. It’s about 200 ft (?) high and totally freaking amazing. You have to hike through the jungle and river for about an hour to get there, which was treacherous and felt a little bit like the scene in anaconda where everything is all peaceful until a huge snake jumps out of the water and sucks the breath out of you. Luckily that didn’t happen. Palau is ridiculous to me because it has all these islands with white sandy beaches, but then also these rivers with fresh water and jungle and waterfalls. It’s like a made-up paradise where all the fun stuff you ever wanted to do is within an hour drive/boatride from town. I find it impossible to believe that even us egocentric Americans didn’t know about this place until I got this job.
3. Go rent Survivor Palau. It’s a stupid reality show BUT it’s a beautiful film about Palau otherwise. IT’s filmed on Ulong beach, which is one of my favorite beaches, about 45 minutes from Koror by boat.
4. I have killed roughly 15 roaches so far here. I am becoming a woman of nature. My kitten kills a lot too, which is another reason she is so awesome.
5. Palau time is wayyyy slower than American east coast time. I’m working on becoming a patient person and practicing by spending 45 minutes in line at the bank and going to 5 different offices to get my car registered. I am still very bad at waiting, but slightly better than before.
6. Someone asked me the other day if I was Palauan!! If you are white here, you stick out like a sore thumb. They call us “howleys.” So to be mistaken as Palauan was super exciting. Of course, it was a teenage boy at the supermarket, who may have been lying to hit on me, but exciting nonetheless. I like to think that this means my tan is going well.
7. I’ve learned some Palauan words: Ma Kukluk means see you tomorrow. Alii is hello, Mesulang or just sulang is thank you or thanks.

Four weeks today!

Hello everyone!

I know, I know, it's been a really long time since I've updated this blog. The internet here is hard to come by and I'm doing my best. I'm working on a picasa account so you'll be able to see all my pictures, but for now I'll upload a couple highlights.

Basically, here's what I think about Palau: If I could wake up anywhere and be doing anything, it would be here, doing what I'm doing. The work week is pretty much the same as home, except that here my weekends are all ridiculously amazing. Last weekend it was this man's 70th birthday. He lives on a sailboat, so he had a party on one of the deserted islands (Ulong, which is actually where they filmed survivor). HE looks about 50 years old because he lives on a boat and lives an amazing life. Lesson: try to be happy, you'll look younger.

So this deserted beach was completely beautiful. Every beach here, in fact, looks like you've jumped into a screen saver on a computer screen. Ever wonder where they take the pictures of white sandy beaches and colorful fish? it's here. About 60 people came out for the party, by boat, and what's great about palau is that everyone knows everyone, and for the most part, they all get along, regardless of age, nationality, religion, politics, etc. We spent the day playing frisbee, hiking, snorkeling, grilling and talking.

The picture of everyone coming straight down a cliff is just that. We went on a "hike" which started with a vertical climb up a rope. Being the wuss that I am, I stayed in the water and took pictures as everyone else scaled the cliff. It looked intense, and someday I might be able to do it, but it wasn't that day.

The next day I went to another deserted beach and did all of the above all over again. We ate lunch out of banana leaves, which are huge and make great plates that are recyclable too!

Oh, one last note. I got a kitten. Pets here arent treated well and kittens frequently get eaten. so this one showed up on my friend liz's doorstep and I took her for "a week." Then I took her to the vet, and she needed a month of medication because she had a horrible bladder infection. 3 and 1/2 weeks later, I am in love with this cat. She's mostly better and she's the sweetest kitten in the world. Her name is francis, and I call her baby, after (of course) Dirty Dancing.

Also, I'm getting scuba certified. It's totally scary, but really the most amazing thing I think I've ever done.

Katie: I would like you to know that I'm ROCKIN the ultimate frisbee field. I play 3-4 times a week and I'm planning on being totally awesome by the time I come home. so get excited.

I'll try to write again soon. There's so much more to be said. Like how I ate fish out of a fish carcass last night and how it was really delicious.