I made out with a dolphin named Dot

Well this is my first entry. I wish I had something significant to say but I don’t. My mother made saying goodbye pretty easy. Camille was adorable and said “Keep a weather eye on the horizon.” Thank you Capt. Jack Sparrow. On the plane, Caitlin was 2 rows behind me and we were talking over the seats. I heard someone mention Hong Kong and Vietnam so I turned around and asked if she was traveling with SAS. She said yes then there was a 7 seat radius of about 6 students who said “YEAH – US TOO!!” It was a nice reassuring feeling to see other people. As always, I introduced myself to everyone. We took off late, thanks for President Bush landing in Air Force One. He just wants to stall me from leaving the country. No Bush – I cannot stay in your country any longer

We finally took off an hour late. I woke up for the last half hour and watched us fly over the water. The sea is aqua green and a deep blue – the colors lay in the water like dye before it is mixed, quietly blending into the white sand on the beaches. When collecting our luggage, I met Andrew from Berkley and the three of us shared a cab. The taxi driver’s name was Sysco and was the Bahamian friendly. It was the perfect Caribbean sunny day. It smelled of sand and salt. I could feel the beach air on my tongue. What is odd about the Bahamas is that they drive on the left side of the rode but they don’t have a standard side for the steering wheel. Some cars are American while some are Japanese. So each car – the steering wheel is on a different side. Every time I tried to get into the front seat I was wrong as to which door to open. At least I tried to blame it on that and not the fact that I am partially a loon.

Nassau Beach Hotel is nice – we had a balcony and were two minutes away from the beach. Cait and I laid out then explored the resort. It felt like Disney Resorts – everything is there for you and you never have to leave their land. It’s a little discouraging because everything is so expensive and it’s hard to leave to find something cheaper. Cait and I had pizza (woo American food – it was the cheapest thing they had) and talked for about two hours, discussing politics, women’s rights, philosophy, and anthropology. Then we realized we were discussing important issues in the casino with large old women inserting quarters into slot machines and eating Buffalo wings. Also – the employees do everything for you. They clear everything and pay attention to every need. It’s unnecessary in my book; I don’t want to be pampered like that by other people. I feel guilty. Well we headed back to the room and crashed. It was a ca-raaazy first night!

Second day, Kristina arrived around noon. I was so glad to have her here with me. We laid out on the beach and got free drinks and free food. They charge everything to the room and we said we didn’t have a credit card set up and they just gave us drinks and food for free. Can’t beat free Bahamas Mamas! Then we had dinner at this restaurant in the resort. The food came out quick and Kay’s macaroni & cheese was cooked like a cake and came out like a slice on a plate. It was neither bad nor good. Haha Then Kay and I got ready to go out. We told our cab driver to take us where there will be young people and he took us to Senor Frogs. At first, there were waaay too many drunken middle-aged women running around dancing with the natives. (Americans can be so embarrassing. That’s when I say that I am Canadian.) It’s only a small lie. Eventually we met one SASer, then two, then four then about sixty. We all congregated on the dance floor and asked the standard, awkward first questions: “What’s your name? Where are you from? What are you studying?” Then finally everyone was dancing. (I think I am destined to be a fag hag because they just seem to find me wherever I am.) Everyone seems really chill. We also met some boys from NH who sailed down from Maryland to Nassau. They aren’t going on the voyage with us but they invited some of us to go back to their boat with them then it turned into the entire of Senor Frogs was going. There was such confusion and drunken messes that Kristina and I took a cab home. Our driver was very politically aware and we were discussing Hilary and the war. I was impressed with his American political knowledge.

Friday, Kristina and I laid out – again. (Kay is a tan-aholic and I believe now officially black.) Then we took a bus to a ferry that took us to Blue Lagoon Island where we swam with the dolphins. Our instructor, Jonathon, loved us (naturally.) We put our life jackets on (because we are too cool to wear the wetsuits.) We climbed down onto a floating deck with 8 other people and put our feet in the water. It was a little scary initially because the dolphins would pop up at random and blow water at us as instructed by the trainers. But soon enough you got used to them. The water was so clear, gratefully, so you could see them coming towards you. First we felt their smooth skin, which they shed every two hours. Erlack. Then we each received hugs and kisses from the dolphins. I must say, it is an honour to get to first base with a dolphin named Dot. Her lips were quite smooth, actually. We got to play with them a little bit then we had to sit back on the deck. I was chosen to demonstrate how to prepare yourself to be picked up and pushed across the water by the dolphins. He let me then get into the water to go first. Nervously I laid in the water, waiting for my dolphins to pick up my feet with their noses and push me across the water. Finally, Jonathon blew the whistle and I heard them splash into the water then came up and pushed me from laying flat to a good 75 degree angle standing on the water. It felt magnificent!!! It reminded me of the Rescuers: Down Under when Cody flies across the water. They are such majestic creatures. When you look at them, they really look at you back. You stare into each other’s eyes and there is some sort of small connection between the species. It reminded me of riding horses and how these beautiful friendly creatures have something in them that gives you a connection to them. I have to be honest and say that I felt that looking into the dolphin’s eyes. It’s just a small reminder of how we are all connected in this world – no matter what. Sorry for being cheesy.

We made our way back to the hotel and took a nap and went out to Senor Frogs again. Saw Andrew and a bunch of people we’ve met previously. Oddly enough, our trainer from the dolphins was there. He was a good dancer (naturally I presume) and was tons of fun. It was nice just to mingle around everyone and chat it up. Cait and Kay were getting tired and we had an interesting cab ride home with these old men from Boston (boo!) who were chauvinist pigs. They got out of the cab and tried to go inside without paying, leaving the bill for us. The driver caught them though. Scum.

Saturday, Kay and I laid out all day! We laid on the beach and swam in the clear blue water – playing our floating game.

I’ll write again soon! Infinite xo .. Amanda Panda