Getting from the door of my apartment in Germany to the door of my hotel room in Fiji took 38.5 hours. That includes one 2-hour train, two 10-hour flights, one 6-hour layover, four 2-hour movies, three glasses of free wine, and one complete inability to sleep on planes. I decided to recover from the jet-lag in the Mamanuca island chain off the west coast of the main island of Fiji.

The Mamanuca islands are a favorite amongst tourists, bringing to Fiji the heftiest portion of income from foreign dollars. It is said that “the sun always shines on the magical Mananucas” because there is little semblance here to what life in Fiji is really like and the harsh realities experienced by most Fijians. This became so much clearer to me as my experience continued.

The sun was definitely shining today, that’s for sure. It was a really beautiful day.

I spent the day on a tiny little island that required only about 5 minutes to walk all the way around.

After lunch, there was a bit of culture with traditional singing and dancing.

I did some exploring of the waters around the island, and unfortunately saw signs of a very unhealthy reef-system. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t have spent so many years studying marine ecosystems, because ignorance really would have been bliss in this case.

The damage that un-managed tourism can do.

To end the day, I rode the boat around some of the other Mamanuca islands. Most notably was the island of Monuriki, where Castaway was filmed. Do not, however, get this confused with Castaway Island, which has nothing to do with Tom Hanks and Wilson.

Monuriki

Alright, time to get to what this trip is really all about…work!

I have always wanted to be a Marine Scientist…even before I saw the ocean.

My parents never told me it was a silly idea, that I would never make any money, or that I was just a whimsical little mid-western girl with a dolphin-fascination. They never squashed my dreams. I then met an amazing man in SCUBA class, who never told me to give up my dreams in order to follow him around the world and be his military wife. He never squashed my independence.

I am eternally thankful for them and their support, because marine science has taken me a lot of places and taught me a lot of things:

-Snorkeling through stormy seas on the Great Barrier Reef taught me the dangers of swallowing sea water.
-Facing-off with lemon sharks in the Turks & Caicos Islands taught me that fear is only in the eye of the beholder.
-Sea kayaking with orcas in the San Juan Islands taught me the simultaneous power and vulnerability of the human species.
-Wrestling with baby seals and sea lions in Sausalito, California taught me what I needed in order to be a happy person.
-Rescuing sea turtles in Costa Rica with my five favorite ladies taught me the limitlessness of self-timing.

Saving Aunt Terri from falling in the river in Costa Rica!

So, I am taking the things I have learned, the faith I have in my own dreams, the courage I have to be independent, and going to Fiji! I am going to volunteer my time and skills to merge the career I have and love, with the career I dream I still might have someday. I am going to research a resident dolphin pod and teach the local community how to sustainably benefit from their presence.

I am going because the people who love me have never held me back.