Diving and Dragons

I was finally able to get the pictures of my first scuba diving experience uploaded to my computer here. I had a blast getting ready for my dive, but just as I was about to jump into the water, I'll admit I was a little nervous. But I got over that the second I opened my eyes and was surrounded by schools of fish that I'd never even seen before. My instructor and I got down to about 18 meters (60 ft) and that was the first time when I've been in underwater and hadn't been able to tell which way was up, I couldn't see the sunlight which usually gleams above me when I'm in the water which was actually kind of exciting. Right before I was about to hop out of the water after my last dive I saw a huge octopus hanging out in a cave just beneath me. On the island where I was diving at, Samalona, I was talking to a local (in Indonesian!) and he said that during the first or second week in October there's a pod of dolphins that always hangs out at the island as a stop on their long migration. I don't think I'll be able to leave. 

And a really funny thing happened to me about two days ago. I was in a parade that celebrated an important holiday on the Buddhist calendar, invited by one of the Rotarians who happened to be a Chinese Buddhist, holding a sacred torch that would light one of the floats in the parade on fire (to symbolize the burning of material possessions and other cool Buddhist things) and I was thinking, how the heck did I end up here? A year ago I was been tailgating at one of the football games at school and wondering which dress for homecoming would go better with my nails. I still have to pinch myself and remind myself that I'm here sometimes and this isn't just a really crazy dream. 

I have a lot going on right now, preparing my dancing routine at school for the big competition in Yogyakarta, getting ready for my week-long diving/research trip with the University of Hasannudin (in Makassar) and also finally going to Toraja to visit the indigenous tribes that live there! (Toraja is an 8 hour drive from my city and in the mountains, it looks sweet). 

I'm doing really well here and am glad to be finally settling into a routine!

If you'd like to send a letter or anything my current address is: 

Jl. Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo No. 64, Gowa, Sulawesi Selatan, 92111 Indonesia