Back again

Ah, yes. Back to the land of snow and cold. Well, okay, it's not terribly cold today, but the forecast is for snow. It is hard to believe that just a couple of days ago I was walking around barefoot and feeling very warm. It really makes you realize how big our world is - I didn't even go a quarter of the way around this huge globe, and yet the conditions there and here were so very, very different!

The culture and people are different too. The same, but different. As one might expect, there is a more laidback attitude in Barbados than in North America. And people are friendlier. As you drive down the street, you hear horns honking, but it's not the irritated lean-on-the-horn honking you hear here - it's a hi-i'm-here kind of honking. And it was very strange to drive around here yesterday seeing all these huge, bloated vehicles that we drive. It seems just so wasteful after being reminded of how small a vehicle can be and still be incredibly comfortable. Even the shuttle vans are narrow, but spacious inside - like they were designed to be means for moving people around rather than means for intimidating others on the road.

But that's beside the point.

It's wonderful to be home again, but the vacation was an absolutely necessary break from the usual. The break between terms was filled with travel and frustration, so when I suggested we still needed a vacation, my wonderful spouse jumped at the idea and made all the arrangements for us. How sweet! So all I had to do was show up! Which was really nice, since the last couple of weeks before our break were all-out pedal-to-the-metal breakneck work speeds.

I also had been getting very depressed about my progress and feedback on the dissertation and I was really struggling to keep working on it. I've had tough spots before, but this was the worst by far. Although I can't say for sure that everything is absolutely fine, getting away from everything has given me some perspective on the whole project, and I feel hopeful that this will translate into a renewed effort and inspiration.

Let's hope so!

We got our open water scuba certification while we were down there. So now we're officially divers! I'm still waiting to get photos back, but if any turn out, I'll post them. It was tricky getting in all the dives we needed to in order to get certified, but now we can go to other neat places to see other neat things. I'm looking forward to adding diving to the list of things we can do while on vacation because it really is a memorable experience. There's something simultaneously terrifying about breathing underwater (that part of the reptilian brain that keeps screaming that IT'S ALL WRONG!) and something incredibly peaceful and beautiful about it.

We saw a lot of wildlife you don't get to see when you're on land, and I think just for that factor, it was worth it. The one day we saw a ray, and the next a turtle, and both were just such majestic creatures as they swam through the water. It's a strange relationship we have with water - it's an incredibly unnatural environment for us, and yet so vital to our survival. Dangerous and beautiful. I'm really looking forward to our next opportunity to dive!