STRANGE LOWS FOR MALDIVIAN POLITICS - SCUBA MEETING, MALDIVES

As if we really needed another reason to be utterly infatuated by the Maldives.
I will warn you that this is somewhat ancient news however upon reading about it I couldn’t pass up a blog post highlighting further evidence on just how bloody cool this place really is. 

Back in October 2009 a cabinet meeting was called with all state officials to discuss the impact global warming was (still is) making on the low level island nation of the Maldives. Whether you’ve been lucky to have visited the picturesque country or not I’m sure you’ve heard the fearful chatter of rising water levels and debates on just how many years before this luxury destination is completely swallowed by the surrounding crystal clear seas.

In an attempt to bring global attention to these very real concerns and in light of their impending Atlantis status, President Mohamed Nasheed along with fellow ministers reached a whole new political low. A six metre low to be exact.
On the 17^th October, 2009 the Maldivian president along with other state officials all squeezed into their wetsuits, strapped on their flippers & air tanks and proceeded to conduct the first ever official underwater cabinet meeting. [SO MUCH YES]. This fantastically fishy meeting took place at a specially structured table down on the sea bed roughly 20mins out from the island capital of Male. 

I mean really, why all Maldivian cabinet meetings aren’t held underwater I’ll never know. When you’re surrounded by such vast and thriving sea life who’d want to pass the time or be forced to make important decisions cooped up in tiny offices anyway.

President Nasheed was already an experienced diver and holds his advanced open water license and those who didn’t were trained by the Divers Association of Maldives in the weeks leading up to the event.
Each member was accompanied by a diving instructor along with military personnel on guard and a handful of snorkelling journalists lurking up above trying to capture the iconic event.
During the meeting attendees communicated with hand signals and marker boards while President Mohamed Nasheed signed a declaration calling for action on climate change which would go on to be presented at the UN climate change talks held in Copenhagen later that year.

The cherry on the cake? Or should I say the air in the tank? Okay, no. That was really lame. Moving on. All diving and scuba gear used during the meeting were later signed by officials and auctioned off to raise money in support of coral reef protection projects throughout the Maldives.

Now I don’t know about you but I’m thinking underwater meetings ought to be fast tracked to mandatory, worldwide. Great Barrier Reef? Queensland ministers? Here’s looking at you.

Still not convinced you need to visit? Take a look at this phenomenon of glow in the dark beaches! (Bioluminescent Plankton) Or tour the tiny island capital, Male.

Can't get enough of the Maldives picturesque views? Follow me on instagram for daily pics! 

PHOTO CREDIT: PRESIDENCY MALDIVES, Photographers: Mohamad Seeneen, Mauroof Khaleel
Follow the link to view the full set of photos from the day.

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10 LESSONS LEARNT WHILE LIVING IN HOLLAND

There is no such thing as bad weather; just inappropriate clothing.
I’d really like a little sign stating this so when I’m in Australia or the UK I can hold it up each time I hear a girl complain about how bad the weather is while trying to navigate through the snow in heels or wonder why she’s cold in the belt she’s passing for a skirt. Dress appropriately people and you will never be uncomfortable! ;)

Credit cards are a life choice not a necessity.
As the Dutch mantra goes; we don’t spend money we don’t have. Based on my credit history this is advice I really should have taken on a long time ago!

Santa lives in Spain. (Or Sinter Klaas as he's referred to in Holland)
Sinter Klaas graces the Dutch shores each year via boat mid November. After making his way through the country with his black faced sidekick-slave in toe. (Swarter Piet) In the weeks leading up to Christmas the streets are lined with the tiny shoes of blissful children eager to wake up in the morning and find them filled with papernoten (a small gingerbread like ball) and other sorts of sugary goodness. Also, forget coal. If you’re naughty this year kids you run the risk of being put in Swarter Piets bag, thrown onto his boat and taken back to Spain. Really the story of Sinter Klaas needs and deserves its own post so I'll leave the rest for another day!

Patat met mayo & pindasause. Enough said.

Biking is the best way to get anywhere.
However if you have to bike any further than 8-12minutes to get somewhere then it’s too far away. This made me giggle each time I heard someone argue or whine our destination was too far to bike to. I could drive to Belgium in less time than my daily commute has taken me back in Sydney. I felt lucky to even have the option to bike somewhere in Holland.

If you can move it with a car or a van you can move it with a bike.
Riding a two wheeled bike with a wooden carriage on front - packed full of five children, a dog, a sofa & carrying an umbrella to shield them all from the torrential rain is a perfectly normal way to start your day. Holland is known for the crazy rain and blow you over wind yet biking is still the no 1 mode of transport. You haven’t experienced Holland until you’ve battle-biked home with one hand on the bike trying to counter steer the wind, one hand up holding your hood in place as you’re half blinded by your hair, soaking wet and unsure if you’re crying from the sharp raindrops piercing through your eyeballs or it’s just another splash from the stream running down your nose.

Urinating in the middle of a busy plein is not only accepted but encouraged.
So you’re just biking along minding your own business when suddenly like something out of star wars a giant silver cylinder begins to erupt from beneath the pavements. Without warning the immerging robot startles you enough sending you toot-sweet off path and into a stack of parked bikes. What the eff just happened. What just happened was it’s coming into peak hour and one of the many pop up urinals has opened up (or popped up in this case) for business. You can find these open air urinals all over Holland joining the party during peak hours outside and around clubs or populated night life areas. An idea to free up some of the tiny bathrooms and discourage men from just going anywhere, anyway.

Albert Heijn is the answer to all things food.
Unlike Australia there is really only the one kind of supermarket. Other than the little corner stalls Albert Heijn has no competition & there’s basically one on every block. This makes sourcing out the awesome envy-inducing food in other peoples cupboards fantastically easy to acquire.

Open windows, no blinds. Because we have nothing to hide.
I knew Holland had changed me when I returned to Australia and couldn’t help but feel sneaky or a little shady each time I closed the blinds in my house. Majority of the homes in Holland boast large open glass windows that look straight into bedrooms, kitchens, lounge rooms or any other room for that matter. I must admit it feels pretty weird the first few times you’re sitting there having dinner or lazing around in your pjs watching TV in plain sight of any pedestrian or biker that happens to pass by.

It is not possible. Even when a little running around would make it so.
I’m going to use this excuse as the reason for my complete lack of attention to this blog lately.
Sorry, it just was not possible to post anything new recently. 

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JET BLAST MAY CAUSE DEATH - Blown away at Maho Beach, St Maarten

Photo Credit: Bennyzheng Photography

An experience that blew me away. Literally. By blown away I mean fighting with all my might to keep vertical, squinting my eyes in the wind and shielding my face from the rocket sharp stabs as each grain of sand came pelting towards me. I’d anticipated it being quite a blast, not quite to this extent though. At no point did I expect to end up naked. I guess that’s what happens when you stand behind a 747 jumbo jet as it’s revving up to take off...

Sitting at the beach awaiting some planes

A few years back I was lucky to tag along on a weirdly exciting family adventure to the Caribbean. I call it weird because believe it or not it wasn’t the white sandy beaches, the clear waters nor the intrigue of island life that motivated booking the trip. It wasn’t even the allure of cruising with Royal Caribbeans latest and greatest ship to grace the waters- the Oasis of the Seas (though that was a well welcomed bonus!). We were actually traversing half way across the globe to sit at an airport and watch some planes come and go. Say what now? Yes. You read correctly. The one and only pull for my father booking the trip was the desire to sit on Maho beach and oogle at the jumbo jets as they made their journeys to and from Princess Juliana Airport in Sint Maarten.

What makes this beach special? 

Forget about quiet mornings, blissful sunsets or moseying about on the beach in peace. While the Caribbean is known for its quaint and peaceful beaches Maho beach is definitely the exception.  Why? Because it happens to lay a mere two car lengths away from the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. With a harrowing runway length of only 2180 meters in order for the jets to land they must swoop in at minimum altitude skimming right over Maho beach and casting an epic shadow over any beach goers. You can literally lay on the sand and through a rock up to the plane that’s how close they are. However I’d suggest against doing that.

For those brave enough it's probably your one and only chance to line yourself up behind a plane, dig your feet into the sand and feel the magnificent force being blasted from the rear.

If you’re lucky this may mean playing a serious game of tug of war with the wind or if you’re unlucky... (or luckier depending on your thrill seeking desires) it’ll be a quick trip straight out to sea. 

Need to see it to believe it?

Youtube is full of fantastically funny clips of tourists a-flyin' You can see one of my personal favourites here Plane vs Japanese Tourist. Be wary though taking on the force isn't for the faint hearted. Particularly that of the big name jumbos. There are a number of (almost humerous) large red warning signs stuck up along the fence warning and advising the potential for bodily harm or death via jet blast. Yes, death via jet blast. The beach has become quite a tourist destination in its own right with little Caribbean beach bars being opened up for business, some even sporting large arrival and departure signs to notify tourists exactly when to prep your panties for the show. One of the beach cafes I sat at went as far as broadcasting live radio transmissions that went between pilots and the control tower! 

The fun and games aren't just for tourists though – Look over to the sidelines of the beach or up along the apartments and I'm sure you'll find a collection of locals having a right old laugh watching on as the tourists are willingly or unwillingly blasted away.

How to get there?
Other than the obvious option of flying directly to the airport Saint Martin port is a typical port of call for many cruises making their way through the Eastern Caribbean. If you're already on the island there are a number of tours that run through Maho Beach though I'd suggest just getting a cab from the main port of Saint Martin and heading there yourself. A cab directly from the port to the planes will cost you around $8.

Photo credit: Mark Wippel

A word for the wise

Don’t wear a strapless dress to the beach that day. Being the thrill seeking anything-once traveller that I am there was no way I was missing this experience, even in my little yellow sundress. Mid blast, eyes squinted, sand pelting from all angles & holding on for dear life to my father’s arm I could feel my feet begin to lift off the floor. It all happened so quickly though within the next 3 seconds I fought, lifted, swung, fell & at some point during this sequence of movements... my dress flew off. I kid you not. I’m sure somewhere on the internet I’m actually a youtube sensation due to my naïve decision to wear a little strapless sundress for a day of taking on the ultimate blast of wind. If it wasn’t for my dad leaping quick smart to my rescue I would have ended up doing half naked cartwheels out to sea. Thankfully it wasn't quite that bad, much to the dismay of the two German tourists who had their camera glued to the scene... though I’m sure it was still a sight not to be missed. If somewhere in the big wide web there is footage out there... you're welcome youtube.

Whether you’re an aviation enthusiast, a thrill seeking tourist or just looking for another out of this world thing to gawk at, Maho Beach has it covered and is definitely an edition worth adding to your Caribbean adventures.
For another intriguing beach side phenomenon take a look at this bioluminescent plankton lighting up the shores of the Maldives!

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ABC, 123 & WORKING OUT THE PLAN: Spanish Journal W1

Hola, mis amigos!
I’ve come to the end of week one for my latest challenge: Teach myself Spanish in the Maldives. (Read about how it started by following the link)
First and foremost can we just take a moment to absorb the fact that it’s actually been a week since Fin de año? A week since I was sitting on a rock watching the fireworks and welcoming the New Year out here in the middle of the sea. How time flies. So far so good with sticking to my NYS resolutions! How’s everyone else done? As promised, here is my weekly language update & progression.

Semana uno (week one) GOAL CHECKLIST
[x] Spend 30mins a day practicing
[x] Read online resources and guides on teaching yourself a language
[x] Learn a Spanish preschool song
[x] Make flashcards & use daily
[x] Be able to recite the alphabet
[x] Count to 20
[x] The basics; Greetings
[x] Days of the week
[  ] Months of the year
[x] Time words (Year, day, yesterday, last week, tonight etc)

Resumen semanal (WEEKLY SUMMARY)
I feel like the week went well! 9/10 checked off the list – not too shabby! I haven’t ticked off months of the year yet as I am only just getting around to them tonight.
It’s incredibly daunting when you begin to learn a language. I’ve been speaking English for 22 years and I’m still learning new words here and there. Yes, it’s intimidating to start from scratch and it’s incredibly odd to read, hear and recite (something you’ve done all your life) though this time in a completely foreign way. However I’m finding when I let myself be intrigued by the ambiguity rather than let it deter me, the unknown can be really exciting! This is one of the main factors I’ve taken into account this time around (unlike my French learning) I have changed my mindset. I found myself regularly frustrated before when I felt I’d learnt so much and yet couldn’t understand the French News Channel when I flicked it on. How to fix the problem this time? STOP SETTING UNREALISTIC GOALS. I was incredibly naive to think that after a month or so of 30min practice here and there I’d be able to fully understand each and every segment of the news in French, much less spoken at the fast & frank speed of a native French speaker. This time I’ll be setting small and simple goals and not let the frustration of not being fluent immediately get the better of me. How crazy is that? I actually found myself regularly annoyed that I had not reached fluency all the while not really trying nor putting in the time to ever do so.

¿cómo lo hago -HOW DID I DO IT?
(Some of the resources I used or memory tricks)

• To start off with I jumped on Google and copied down the basics- the alphabet, vowels, numbers and greetings with a second list explaining how to pronounce each word.
• I hit two birds with one stone when I learnt the days of the week (Los dias de la samana) through a childrens song. I found a great one on youtube to the tune of the Adams Family! Ask me any time of the week what day it is- and I’ll now be able to tell you. (Possibly after a little sing along, *da na na na, click, click*)
• To help assist in remembering the numbers I carried around a piece of paper to refer to if I got stuck & would count in my head. I’d count as I took steps, folded laundry, typed or basically anything that could be counted… I counted.
• I used the TEACH YOURSELF SPANISH program to learn the basics of pronunciation, be introduced to simple grammar rules, the alphabet and basic greetings. I didn’t spend as much time on this as I’d hoped, though I’m hoping if I ease into it and make learning the basics as fun as possible there will be less chance of becoming bored with my learning.
• I made a flashcard for all the new words I learnt as well as greeting phrases. I ended up carrying them around and whenever I had a moment to myself at work or while walking around I got them out & practiced. 
• To prep myself I've also downloaded a bunch of apps on my phone. (Duolingo, Sensei, Translate, Learn Spanish Free) I'm LOVING Duolingo and Sensei. They have catchy little games and actividads to assist your learning as well as fun ways to introduce new words and concepts. (I have a a samsung running android so you'll find these apps in the Google Play store. I'm sure you apple heads can find them on itunes also.

That marks the end of semana uno! (week one)
The goals next week? Numbers 20-100, Pronouns & articles (I, we, you, this, the, that) I’m going to also start setting a weekly conversation goal so bit by bit I can hold small conversations on various topics right from the start. I also plan to make a Spanish speaking friend on the net somewhere to help assist me as a language partner. If you speak Spanish or are learning English and would like to be that friend, get in touch & let me know! Gracias, hasta la próxima vez!

Some study in the sun esta tarde. (this afternoon) 

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