Right, it's been a while.  I actually forgot I had my own blog until I started hunting for blogs about  my soon-to-be new residence (more on that later).  I feel I should continue this for future Kwaj residents, my friends and family (though in these next blogs the pictures will be also available on FB), and myself.  Years from now my time on Kwaj will have seemed like a blip on the radar.  My blog might help myself, in my golden years, remember how active I was when I was young.  We'll see.

Moving on.

The benefit of living and working overseas (if you're not working for the government) is NO U.S. TAXES!  Woo!  But, there's a catch.  At  least for here.  You have to establish non-residency (of the U.S.) to claim foreign-earned income.  It's actually kind of boring, tax-wise, but was the catalyst for my 6-week trip to South America.  You see, in the Marshalls, to establish non-residency, I had to be OUTSIDE the U.S. (and all territories) for 330 days.  I burned up 20 or so of my INSIDE U.S. days over Christmas break (whilst visiting home), so I had to say out of town.  So, where to go? Enter: Colombia.  And we did.

My parents and I headed to Cartagena, Colombia, for the majority of our Stay-Out-Of-The-U.S. adventure.  I don't believe any of us had ever been to South America, so woo!  New continent!

First, let's talk food. 

I'm a big fan of Anthony Bourdain, so of course I had to try La Cevicheria in the Walled City of Cartagena.  I was not disappointed.  We went there twice.














Ceviche, for those living the culinary dark, is seafood cooked by the acidic powers of the citrus in lime juice.  Mix it with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, maybe some avocado, and bam!  Delicious, fresh, and filling. 

Of course, the buildings were spectacularly colorful. I couldn't get enough of all the brightly painted walls and brilliant fauna in the Walled City. 

This is Part 2 (though it might be out of order) of my multi-part catch-up series.   

Spring Break 2012 - Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

I went to Pohnpei (PAWN-a-pay) with a group of friends for a 5-day, 4-night trip.  We took the one plane west, touched down in Kosrae (KOH-suh-rye) for about 45 minutes, and then continued on with our flight.  United, west-bound, hits a lot of islands in the Marshalls and FSM.   Pohnpei and Kosrae are popular destinations since they are so close. 

We stayed for two nights at The Village, a fantastic, honeymoon-esque style hotel with thatched huts and excellent food.  There were mosquito nets around the beds, and a sheet suspended above to catch all the lizard droppings.  Yes, there were lizards everywhere.  Sadly, due to land ownership disputes, The Village has shut its doors as of March 2013.  Other hotels in the area are popping up, but The Village was truly the best.  I'm so fortunate to have stayed there!
To the right, I'm contemplating certain death.  I think the fall was maybe 20 feet.  Or 50.  Felt like 100.  After about 10 minutes of deliberating, I took the plunge.  Turns out, getting OUT was the scary/hard part.  A rickety rope-and-bamboo ladder hung from a precarious perch on the rocks.  Every time I stepped on a rung I'd smash my toes against the rocks.  So, obviously, I only jumped once. 

Besides jumping from great heights and navigating ruins, people dive, drive around, check out some local bars, and go on hikes.  It's different, and a great change of scenery, to have mountainous views to enjoy.  It was an awesome trip.

"Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there."

-Sebastion, The Little Mermaid



I finally did it! I finally SCUBA dove! (Dived? Whatever.) As you may (or may not) recall, I had bought all my SCUBA gear back in September of '10. And it's been hanging neglected in my closet ever since. But last Saturday I rounded up all my various underwater attire and biked to the SCUBA shack to do a walk-in dive off Emon Beach.

Turns out, the two most important components of a dive outfit (the BCU - Breathing Control Unit - and the regulator) of mine were busted. My AirII hose had no shut-off, and I was missing some hose. Luckily for me, my dive instructor came prepared with extra equipment, so the dive got underway without a hitch. Well, besides that first hitch.


We dove to 42 feet for about half an hour on a lovely, barely-cloudy day. The outside temp. was around 87 degrees F, and the water was around 80 degrees F. I'm a big baby, though, and still needed my 3 mil shorty!

I have no sightings of super-awesome things to report (such as: sharks, mantas, octopi, whales, etc.), but I DID see thousands of tiny fish, and some wrecked thingamabobber.



After the diving and photo-taking and coral-investigating, I commenced my check-out test.


1. Fling regulator from mouth, hang out for a bit
without air, insert regulator again.

2. Flood mask, then clear it of water.

3. Take mask completely off, open eyes underwater,
replace mask, and clear it of water.

4. Take cheesy peace sign picture.

I passed!

*Update! I just asked Doug, my dive instructor (who's office is about 20 steps from mine at the high school library) what that thingamabobber is. He said it's an old aluminum navigation bouy. Cool!