Tick-Tock

Can't believe it, I just have a few days left and there is still so much I haven't done on this tiny island! I am definitely not ready to leave yet. Yesterday I said my first definite goodbye to two dear friends and it felt horrible! Both bid me farewell with a confident "You will be back soon!", but who really knows?! So far I told everyone to have an open ear and eye for any job vacancies but the unemployment rate here is above 30% at the moment. Still I don't want to give up hope that I will make it back here next year. Sooner rather than later, otherwise the German way of life catches up on me and I wont be brave enough to take the leap...
Why do I want to be here? Guess when I try to explain it, it won't become clear but I will try.
I met fantastic people who welcomed me into their life without hesitation. Pretty much everyone on the street is friendly and helpful and always in for some small talk or at least a smile (that reminded me a lot of New Zealand!). You get used to the "Hi Baby"-talk and even those guys drop their act when you don't react to the flirting (OK, sometimes there were quite open offers too but a friendly decline is all you need). Even the vendors or souvenir sellers are the most friendly people. When you say no you get a "Have a nice day" in return and quite often I ended up chatting with the guys before they went their way. Everyone knows everyone which can be a bitch sometimes but so far it has been an advantage most of the time. My friends range from a street-kitchen chef to a high level diplomat with pretty much everything in between and one of them definitely knows the person you are looking for. People are relaxed and are hardly stressed out by anything. Guess you can't be miserable in this kind of climate and with those views. Sure, punctuality would be nice but I guess that ship has sailed. With all that friendliness around you would think the people have to be pure gold in the service industry but something seems to happen as soon as wages are involved... It's quite horrible actually... I was already thinking of setting up a hospitality and service training school! People mumble and don't even try to speak up even after you asked them three times already to please repeat what they just said. Fast moving is out of the question (especially for women) and sometimes your plate or glass is taken from you, even you are not done with it... And it can take ages till you finally get your order and then it might not be complete... From that point of view, it should be easy for me to get a job in the service sector ;) The main reason and now probably most of you think I had too much sun is my martial arts class. I just simply love it and them! My Sensei is just great and the guys in the class are amazing. They took me in right away and it was never an issue that I was the only girl and the first new student for a very long time. Everyone of them was happy to teach me. Guess the fact that I asked stupid questions and my total lack of limb-coordination raised the fun level a lot, so that helped ;) I am totally hooked and the effect it has on me is what I heard meditation is supposed to do. Tonight is my last class and the thought of bidding them all farewell scares the shit out of me. Sure, there are good classes in Germany too, but I believe a group like that and a charismatic teacher like Gregory are hard to find. Plus the fact that it's not just Karate or Kung Fu but a mix of pretty much everything that comes in handy in a possible fight. I suspect there is another reason, but I can't wrap my finger around it, don't know if I make sense right now...
So I am not sure if you can understand my wish for staying here longer or if you think 'Yeah, she has that everytime she is abroad and still comes back'. Maybe I have, but maybe I should stay at some point...

I better start from the beginning: I live in a flat that is attached to the house of a very nice couple from “my” church community. We pretty much adopted each other and Alison (Mom) sometimes even introduces me as her daughter from Germany. It's a little bit like being a teenager again, since there are no secrets as of when I am getting out of bed or back home at night and whenever the door is open, I step in for some small talk or one of them steps out to say hi. On Saturdays her maid comes to do some cooking among other things and quite often I get my vegetarian pot too. Last weekend I was down with a cold (no joke) and she bought me some tablets, vicks (Wick) vaporub, kept checking in on me and brought me food. Really sweet! They showed me around the Island quite a bit already and before I had the scooter, Alison was my ride.. Handel (Dad) worked for the last 2 years on Carriacou, so we went to his place for a long weekend. Since Carriacou is even smaller than Grenada, every one on the island knows him and we stopped at almost every car or person on the street to say hello. Just on the same weekend the Grenadian Radio Legend George Grant was broadcasting with a live audience from Carriacou and of course he knows Handel and Alison too... So before we went to see him perfom live on Sunday morning, he came to our place on Saturday night for a BBQ, which he mentioned positively the next day ;) Knowing him caused me some funny trouble with my guys from work. One day he called Sean to ask for my number, because he wanted to meet all of us for lunch, but Sean thought I made contact with the local media without consulting him beforehand, so he was quite concerned about me being out of control...

Nevermind, so Alisons daughter came over for a visit, because she won't make it over Christmas, so they had Christmas early and I was invited to Christmas dinner too ;) It is still strange to listen to Christmas songs when you are just coming back from the beach and still wearing flip-flops... Yesterday in Church we even sang Silent night, Holy night!!!

 

My Landlord's family is quite big and they own some land on the island and complete Sugarloaf Island, which is a small cute Island just off Levara beach in the north. So last weekend we went there for a day, just for a change of scenery. Hanging out on the beach is different over here. Its not sitting on the beach with occasional dives into the water, it's rather the other way around. Everyone is standing or floating in the water, with shades on, drink in hand and relaxing like that. You just get out to get another drink or to towel off and go ;) And when you do sit on the beach, it is definitely under a tree in the shade. Even now, that it's cooling off a little. The wind has picked up and finally there are a few waves on the beach, which makes the whole floating thing a lot more fun!

A few weeks back I got the honor of reading some passages from the bible in church. I was humbled that I was asked and by the reaction of everyone. This community really welcomed me. Nice feeling!

I finally did some diving! I met the owners of a dive shop at a hash and since we got along really well, I decided to go diving wth them. After a refresher course in the pool (my last dive was more than 7 years ago) we went out the next day to Dragon Bay and Flamingo Bay. My buddy was Rob from England, a really fun guy who kept me calm. My biggest problem is usually to balance the air in my jacket, but this time it went perfectly and I even had a lot of air left after we finished each dive. The reefs were amazing and full of fish and even a few lobsters. Sadly we just missed a Manta ray and I still haven't seen a turtle, but I keep my hopes up for the next time. An introduced pest here is the Lion fish, an actual beautiful fish, but since it was introduced, its usual predators are not used to it here and it just multiplies like bunnies in Australia and it is a danger to the native fish population. So every dive center has the license to kill them and on each dive, there is a spear present for just that purpose. We just saw a few but this week they are planning to go on an actual hunt with BBQ afterwards. Not sure if I am really up for that...

On a small island like Grenada pretty much every one knows everyone, same goes for the Germans on the island, it seems. I met the German consulate and she asked me if I would want to sit her house while she is on vacation, which I did a few weeks back. So I had a change of scenery for a week and a half in a more local area. I even had a housemate at the same time, since Rich changed his travel plans again. Was nice having a whole house to live in, but I was happy to have company. The house had a nice wooden deck in the back where I could practice some of my martial arts forms, it was perfect! (Did I mention that I joined a martial arts clas here? It is fanatstic and the guys teach me a lot, I am totally hooked!)
We even had a maid coming every morning and when I asked her about cooking, she transferred me to the help in the garden for the dish I wanted to prepare. So he wrote me a shopping list, I went to the market and one day we were cutting and peeling and cracking and grinding Veges and coconuts and seasoning to prepare a big pot of vegetarian Oil-down. Its the national dish and usually prepared with saltfish and pig snoutsand stuff, so it's hard for me to find it suitable for me on the street. It was great and delicious!

After a few weeks without hashing I finally went on a hash again last Saturday and it was a really nice one! Through nutmeg, banana and cocoa plantations, with orange and starfruit trees on the side, really nice! The stories about smelling the spices all over are total nonsense, but even without the smell the plantations are a nice experience. And as far as I have seen it no monocultures. Its always a mix. Yesterday we made it to another set of waterfalls. The first one was right at the end of the street and to the second one we had to hike a little bit further. The trail included another plantation, some farm land, very lush bush and several river crossings and it was so worth it! The fall is beautiful and the whole scenery around it just breathtaking. We felt like in a scene of Jurassic Park and the mosquitos had a similar size too... Afterwards we went to meet our ride over to Hog Island, a small island just off the coast. It's a well-known liming spot on weekends, especially for the sailors anchoring in the bay close by. I would say, that was a pretty good use of a weekend ;)

Oh and cruise ship season finally kicked in and there is a big pot anchoring in St. George's every day now and more tourists running around town. Hope they spend a lot of money on the island ;)

My time is running out, I just have about 3 weeks left and the thought about it terrifies me! I love it here! The people are so nice, relaxed, open and friendly, the whole scenery is just amazing and there is still so much I haven't done yet! I am still hoping, we can work a plan out to send me back here next year and apart from that I keep my eyes open for a job over here. Apart from that I need to think of some thank-you- and parting-gifts for my family, my work and my class. Any ideas?

Well, time...

OK, I just give it up, I am too lazy, I will not promise again to write regularly... My time here is almost up and I don't want to leave. What a surprise!
What happened since I wrote last... Hmm, had an early Christmas dinner with my family because my sister is here for a visit, went diving in some great reefs, still waiting to come across a turtle, though, went to Belmont Estate to get some of worlds greatest chocolate, went to Carriacou, went to Sugarloaf Island, sitted the German consulate's house, went completely underdressed to a fancy conference and met even more importnat people, made my first oil-down from scratch, went to an indian student show, finally went to another waterfall and wore for the first time in ages a skirt! Since I am already talking clothes: I honestly consider buying some longsleeves since I find it a bit chilly in the evenings (we are still talking over 20 degrees)...

Pics!

I forgot those funny fellas! They are everywhere and almost every other day I have to deport one from my flat

Fishermen on Sugarloaf Island

The beach at Sugarloaf Island

View from Sugarloaf towards the main Island

Dried fish in the making

Cocoa!!!

Some Creatures

Did I mention that I found a scorpion in my bathroom?

My buddy O.G.

Hummingbirds are all over the place

As are these guys

O.G. again. I haven't managed to touch him yet, but he doesn't seem to mind me being close

This one is actually lime-green and about the size of a big garden spider (Kreuzspinne). I used my telephoto lens and my headlamp to get this shot. She just comes out after dark

Scrawny street puppy

Some Palm Tree Pictures

Hashing time!

And finally more pictures

Kenny and his cutlass

Well, some beach...

Sugarloaf Island and Bathway beach

The Waterfall (2 of the 7 sisters/ St. Margarets) after heavy rainfall

On the way to Mt. Qua Qua

Grand Etang Lake (Crater lake)

OK, I have to admit that I didn't keep my promise to write more often and therefore my sincere apologies!
A lot has happened since. We finally managed to get everything straight for the workshop, a lot of the people that were invited actually showed up and it was a huge success. We all were very satisfied with the outcome and the in- and output of the workshop itself! The report is completed and now we can focus on the next steps. There was even the idea of implementing a post for me here for a bit longer, but so far it's just an idea. Wish me luck that it comes through, though! I would love to stay longer and it feels amazing to be part of such a big thing (although Grenada is that small, the process really makes some waves and the international support is big)!
Apart from that, I spent some time with our international guests, one of them my "boss" from Germany and we had a lot of fun. I drove almost all of them around on my scooter and they are all still alive. Quite proud of that achievement.
On the weekend after the workshop, we convinced my boss to go hiking and since he didn't bring any appropriate footwear, he walked in my hashing-shoes, while I slided behind in some other trainers. Never expected them to be that slippery. But I made it up Mt. Qua Qua and back without any serious injuries, razor grass cuts don't count as such... We made it just back right in time before the heavens opened and it started pourig down for over half an hour which is a really long shower here. Usually its just a few minutes and the sun is out again... While we were waiting to mount our scooters again, we met a chinese single-travellig lady (!) who was on her own adventure and who made the wait very enjoyable. Seems her task was to gather as many bragging rights as possible and to fulfill the chinese stereotype of just eating anything. Hope she crossed out many more points off her list and enjoys her holiday! While it was pouring dwn, we decided it's probably ways too muddy to drag my boss to the hash and so we "just" wanted to visit one of the waterfalls here and head back. Well, that was a hash of its own and we (at least me) were covered in mud and sweat afterwards like after every real hash too. To get there, we had to follow a guide whose first impression was rather unpleasant, because he didn't let me choose my parking spot, was carrying a machete (cutlass) and chose whistling as way of communication, which really pissed my off... It got even scarier, when he plcked me a flower, gave my some nutmegs he had in his pocket, cut me two walking sticks out of the bush and commanded the guys to offer me a hand on the slippery parts. When I tried to refuse it, my boss just hissed at me "Did you see how he handled his big knife??? When he tells me to help you, I sure as hell will help you!" and I think he had a point. It all seems very gallant now, but at the time I was a bit worried if I would be allowed to leave the forest, especially after Richard announced that he would settle the deal for a six-pack of beer... After a while he (Kenny) told us, that he was pretty much deaf, so that explained the strange communication and we all got a bit calmer. The forest was beautiful and especially after the rain very lush and oh-so-green. Eventually we made it to the waterfall which was very pretty and we had the plan of going in there, after taking a few pictures. Thank god we took those first, because when I turned around, the water in the pond has risen already and was still going. So we grabbed all our stuff right in time and jumed out on to the trail again, when the water really started gushing down the waterfall. It seems we were just a bit ahead of the rainwater, we just witnessed coming down before. It looked as if the amountof water coming down just doubled all of a sudden and it carried a lot of mud with it too. There was a smaller waterfall underneath and on a nice day, you could have just sit in the pond under the big one. At this time, the chances were good of just being washed down the other waterfall by the mere force of the water. It was a great sight, though! Kenny was a bit afraid and looked at the thing from a safe distance up the trail. After that experience we refused to hike to another fall and made our way back to the scooters. We all were allowed to leave and afterwards we agreed that Kenny was actually a very sweet guy, although he gave me a very tight hug for a picture of us two, but I guess he earned that much ;)

OK, before everyone gets the wrong picture: I AM WORKING HERE! I am assisting the Conference of Churches with their negotiations with the government about Grenadas options. The Country is in very high debt and IMF is already on it to suggest measures to get some money back in the treasury. Right now we are organising an workshop with international participants about debt relief options for the country. What am I doing exactly? Good question, I ask myself everyday... We rarely have meetings, so all information is passed on in mails or on the phone with the effect that not everyone has all informations. And meetings tend to pop up spontaneously. So getting a mail in the morning with a "reminder" that "the meeting" with the minister starts in half an hour is something I have to get used to. Or that a conference is set up at 9 in the evening, stuff like that. Being constantly on standby doesn't leave as much leisure time as it might seem.
Funny thing: the venue of the workshop was changed on Tuesday after we (I) sent out all invitations. Always a great idea, especially if you (me!) have no email addresses were you could send the new information to. So the last two days I was pinned to the phone to ask several secretaries to put me through to the secretary I needed, to get an email address which quite often didn't work, to send out the agenda, the new venue info and half of the time the initial invitation too, since it was lost on the way from the front desk, where it was hand-delivered to, to the desk of the minister. Great. And there are a lot more stories like that. Will this teach me patience and keeping my calm? I am not sure. Right now it drives me up the wall constantly. And every one of my decisions is double checked with one of the guys I am working with. Feels awesome!!! So this is just a glimpse of what my work days look like. Do I want to write about it all the time? No, that's why I am writing the fun stuff. Believe me, it is an internship and that is exactly how it feels, I am just not 16 anymore...

In the last few days the universe sent me some signs that might indicate that my time on earth is running out, or at least is getting more challenging. So I thought before that happenes I will post some more stuff ;)

First of all: I got a scooter!!! And I love that thing! Its more a real bike than a scooter and it is speedy, that makes it so much fun. I am getting used to the potholes in the street, so far that works fine, knock on wood.

On Sunday I went with some friends on a great kajak-trip along some stretches of mangroves and around an island. To my surprise the steering worked really well; I expected more zig-zaging from my side, but there was none. One of my friends (although I should consider redefining his status) was joking the whole day that I would probably fall off my kajak at one point, even when we entered the marina after this great trip. I was lining up to get to the dock and was holding on to some metal thing to stay in the shade, when that metal thing started moving and crashed on top of me and tipped my boat over. My first thought was "WTF??? just hit my head???" and the second "can't believe he was right about me falling from the kajak...". When I emerged from the water, the tour operator was totally shocked and really worried about my well being, told me to make no sudden movements and asked how I felt and so on. I still had no idea what actually happened. Apparently I tried to hold on to a dock-ladder (heavy metal thing), that wasn't fixed onto the dock. Me touching it set it in motion and it crashed into my head. Knowing that, I was really lucky. When I got out of the water all others were still really nervous and one ran off to get some ice and I still didn't know why they were acting like this. Till I touched my forehead. I was growing a second head and after that short time it was already  the size of a chicken egg. Felt interesting and I can't believe no one took a picture. So I got an icepack almost immediately, some painkillers, water, arnica cream and special attendance and I was relieved from unloading the kajaks. I really felt fine, didnt even have an headache. I must admit, I was expecting it to hit me later, but it never came. Even riding the scooter afterwards was no problem at all. After an hour of icepacking my forehead it was almost back to its usual size and you had to know what to look for to actually see it. I guess it could have damaged me a lot worse, but still, that was the first attempt that day. When I drove home to my place (up a steep hill in the dark), the neighbouring dog thought it would be a great idea to chase my scooter and make a jump at it. While I was driving uphill. In the dark. So that almost made me loose my track which was very close to a nice edge. I did mention I was on a hill, right? So, that was that. Yesterday I found a little scorpion in my bathroom. Didn't even know there were scorpions in Grenada. And then the owl as a sign of death a few days before... Well, someone is trying to tell me something, I guess...
PS: Today the area of impact changes colour, will see how that develops...

Yes!!! It looks like I am getting my scooter tonight!!!

Hash- Impressions

                                                    Mal ein paar Sonnenuntergänge...

Das ist übrigens die ganze Insel, größer ist sie wirklich nicht. Ich wohne in dem helleren Teil außen rechts.

So. Ich muss mich erstmal entschuldigen, dass ich seit Ewigkeiten nichts mehr geschrieben habe: Entschuldigung. Hatte ich einen guten Grund dafür? Zählt Faulheit? Klar hatte ich auch gut was zu tun, aber ich gebe zu, meist war ich zu faul um zu schreiben. Ich schiebe es mal auf die Hitze. Oder besser: ich passe mich an den karibischen Stil an ;) Feste Zusagen gibt es nur selten, alles kann, nichts muss. So ist zumindest bisher mein Eindruck. Habe schon eine Menge Angebote bekommen, vonwegen Inselrundfahrten, Essenseinladungen, Unternehmungen usw., aber wenn davon auch nur die Hälfte irgendwann mal Zustande kommt, bin ich schon froh. Soll jetzt aber nicht miesepetrig klingen, ist nur etwas an das man sich gewöhnen muss. Anfangs war ich noch bei jedem Angebot über allen Wolken, mittlerweile sehe ich es gelassener. Aber bevor der falsche Eindruck aufkommt: ich finde es super hier und würde auch gerne länger bleiben. Ich habe nur noch 3 Monate vor mir, das macht mcih jetzt schon nervös, ich will nicht weg! Schon gar nicht im Dezember nach Deutschland.. ;) Hier knallt die Sonne täglich und fast ohne Unterlass, da macht dann auch ein Regenschauer nichts aus. Mittlerweile bin ich ja auch umgezogen und wohne absolut paradiesisch! Auf einem Berg mit einer bombastischen Aussicht! Ich kann den kompletten Strand von Grand Anse überblicken und an der Küste mehrere Buchten weit sehen. Traumhaft! Und dadurch, dass ich auf nem Hügel lebe, bekomme ich auch schön Wind ab, was die Hitze erträglicher macht. Aber wehe ich muss hier runter, oder schlimmer noch: rauf... Wenn alles gut geht, kann ich ab morgen einen Roller mieten, dann muss ich nicht täglich Bergsteigen. Meist kann ich ja bei meinen Vermietern mitfahren, aber eben nicht immer. Die ersten Male dachte ich beim Hochfahren, dass das Auto doch eigentlich kippen müsste und ein bischen Bammel hab ich da beim Roller auch. Aber es scheint auf der ganzen Insel gut zu gehen, also probiere ich es einfach.
Die Leute hier sind der absolute Wahnsinn! Jeder grüßt sich, nen Schnack hat man ganz schnell am Laufen, spätestens jeder Zweite fragt wie es einem geht und wünscht einen schönen Tag oder sonstiges. Selbst die Tourigedönsverkäufer sind nach Absagen superfreundlich und entspannt. Gerade nach Nepal ist das eine unglaubliche Überraschung... Habe nette Bekanntschaften geschlossen und entdecke nach und nach die Insel. Ganz großartig dabei: Hashen (http://www.grenadahash.com/) Eine Horde Menschen läuft (runners and walkers) mal auf Wegen aber auch gerne querfeldein durch verschiedene Gegenden der Insel um sich danach bei netter Musik ein (oder auch zwei oder drei) Bierchen zu gönnen. Ich habe mal nachgelesen, dass das die Briten erfunden haben um vor dem Trinken wenigstens noch kurz ein bischen Bewegung zu bekommen. Nach vier Hashes habe ich den Eindruck hier liegt der Sinn darin, möglichst unmögliche Strecken zu überwinden und hinterher die Schlammspuren möglichst bis zum Hals zu haben... Ein Mordsspaß, auch wenn ich dabei ganz schön am Fluchen bin, wenn ich mal wieder auf dem Hintern einen Hang runterrutschen oder auf allen Vieren hochkrabbeln muss. Aber so sieht man Ecken von der Insl, die einige Locals bestimmt auch noch nicht kennen ;)
Meine Vermieter sind übrigens ganz große Klasse! Ich bewohne eine Ein-Zimmer-Wohnung im Erdgeschoss ihres Hauses und bin an sich völlig autark. Allerdings bekomme ich ständig irgendwas zu essen, darf den Obstgarten (Grapefruits, Orangen, Mandarinen) nutzen, werde gefahren, arbeite von ihrem Balkon (der größer ist als meine Wohnung in Hamburg!) aus, wir gehen zusammen zum Strand und Samstagseinkäufe machen usw.. Fühle mich eher schon wie ein Familienmitglied, sehr nett. Muss mich dringend revangieren, kriege langsam schon ein schlechtes Gewissen... Ach ja, zwei Hunde haben sie auch, die haben mich auch schon adoptiert ;) Dadurch, dass ich ja mit der Conference of Curches arbeite, gehe ich auch regelmäßig Sonntags zum Gottesdienst (um 7.30 Uhr morgens!) und die Gemeinde ist ebenso freundlich und offen! Ist jeden Sonntag ein großes Hallo und ich bin schon vollständig aufgenommen in ihrem Kreis. Die Uhrzeit klingt erstmal völlig wahnsinnig, ist aber nicht schlimm, da es meist ab 6 Uhr schon so hell und warm ist, dass man gar nicht viel länger schlafen kann. Dafür ists auch schon um 19 Uhr dunkel und 20 Uhr fühlt sich an wie 3 Stunden später.
Was ich noch nicht so ganz raus habe, ist die Sache mit der Vermeidung von Sonnenbrand. Allerdings schätze ich, dass sich das auch dann legt, wenn ich nicht mehr Ewigkeiten durch die Sonne latschen muss um nach Hause zu kommen. Generell gibt es hier ein grandioses Bussystem. Minibusse fahren praktisch den ganzen Tag die ganze Insel ab und halten praktisch auch überall. Ich wohne nur ein paar Kilometer von der Hauptstadt weg und in DEM Touristengebiet, auf nen Bus musste ich noch nie warten. Meist sehen die ihre Fahrgäste schon von weitem und warten dann kurz. Und alles zu nem Spottpreis, wirklich prima. Leider fährt keiner meinen Hausberg hoch und der Aufstieg dauert 20 min und wenn ich oben bin muss ich erstmal duschen... Deshalb der Roller. So, das war erstmal ein kurzer Überblick und ich verspreche mich jetzt mal regelmäßiger zu melden ;) Ach ja, gestern saß ich mit meinen Vermietern und Freunden noch auf dem Balkon (überdacht), als plötzlich eine Eule unter unserem Dach direkt an uns vorbei flog und sich dann recht nah auf die Mauer setzte, irgendwann noch kurz zwei Runden neben uns drehte um dann doch in die Dunkelheit zu verschwinden. Fand ich eher ungewöhnlich... Was auch ungewöhnlich aber unglaublich super ist: Muskatnuss-Eis!

First Impressions of St. George's

 

 

Die Kerlchen rennen hier überall rum

So, zu allererst einmal: bin gut angekommen :) Die Insel ist traumhaft schön, die Leute unglaublich nett, jeder grüßt sich auf der Straße und es ist gerade Mango- und Avocado-Saison. Hier nur mal ein paar Eckdaten: Wassertemperatur: super, Sonne: knallt von 6-19 Uhr (grob), Regen: kaum und wenn dann kurz, Essen: lecker, allerdings sehr Fleisch- und Fischlastig, vegetarisch muss man manchmal suchen, vegan nicht möglich wenn ich nicht immer allein essen will, Früchte und Gemüse: viele neue Sorten die ich durchtesten kann, Mücken: vorhanden und hungrig, aber nicht so zahlreich wie erwartet. Verkehr: Fahrstil wie in Nepal, nur auf asphaltierten Starßen und mit Geländewagen. Bin mir nicht sicher wo ich mehr Angst hatte... War gestern eine Stunde Schnorcheln und habe mir den Sonnenbrand meines Lebens geholt. In näherer Zukunft bin ich erstmal Bauchschläfer... Alles in allem: es ist toll, ich freue mich hier zu sein und alles zu erkunden. Da ich bisher auch noch nichts für meinen Job zu tun hatte, überlege ich gerade ob ich einen Kurs im hiesigen Budo-Sport-Club machen und mir nen Scooter zulegen soll... Vor letzterem habe ich ein wenig Respekt: die Berge sind nicht ohne und die anderen Fahrer haben wesentlich mehr Blech um sich rum...