Please don't make me leave.

Hey all!

I've been putting off this post because, well, how does one write about white sand beaches, crystal clear water and days filled with beautiful nothingness and new friends while the people at home are trudging through snow, bundled against the cold, waiting for more daylight?

I am hoping that sentence alone was like the band-aid being ripped off and now that your hideous, cold, pale skinned-wounds are exposed, I can just go on about the currently perfect conditions of my life and trust that the worst is behind you? (If I'm wrong, you should probably just stop reading now...)

I'm staying at the Sairee Cottages, (on Haad Sai Ree) which are most satisfactory. Its on a quiet stretch with other cottage resorts but there is plenty of fun at the end of a very short walk in either direction. I am, in fact, staying for free in my happy little cottage because I'm also learning to dive here and for 9000 baht, they not only teach and equip you, but also put a roof over your head. Stellar.

My first day on the beach, as I tried in vain not to scorch some of my still-pale spots, I met a handful of very funny Irish "lads" who have gravitated to this spot because several of the dive instructors here are also Irish.

Irish people and scuba did not used to go together in my mind, but, as with many things on this adventure, I've been proven wrong.

So between the friendly people on the beach and in the cottages around me and everyone's link to the dive instructors here, I sometimes feel like the belle of the ball, waving hello to all sorts of folk as I pass the time in this most gorgeous of spots. Funny to think I thought traveling alone would be lonely. Turns out, it just makes it easier for everyone else to talk to you. Ha. Something new every day...

Yesterday, I also felt like I finally acclimatized to the pace of beach life. My first two island days as I lazed about like a beached whale, I kept thinking "I should get up! The day's passing me by! What am I missing?" but now, well now I've got it down pat:

• Get up before the room becomes an inferno (no later than 10 am)
  
• Head down to the beachfront cafe and get coffee and fruit (avg. 1 mango/day for 2 wks.)
  
• Enjoy breeze, shade and company of strangers until I feel the urge to take a dip
• Float aimlessly, chat with others in water, contemplate navel, etc...until very, very pruney
• Get out
• Lay in sun
• Move to shade to read/reapply sunblock
• Go back to beach
• Repeat as necessary (or as time allows)

Yesterday I actually started my Scuba class...talk about an imposition on my routine! This has been very exciting and also bit nerve-wracking because they tell you upfront about all the things that can happen to you when you try to live in an environment that man was not made to live in. Mom, don't worry. Its nothing. I love you and I'll be fine.

My class is composed of our instructor (Lorenzo, from Italy but living here for 6 years now,) our assistant instructor (Mira, from Finland, still in training, arrived in December and hasn't peeled herself away yet) Anders from Sweden (student) and me (student.) That makes a grand total of 4 - 2 teachers and 2 students. Pretty good ratio, right?

Everyone seems great and Anders will make a fine first dive-buddy for me. After our class last night, we bonded over food, our new workbooks and a couple of beers. We are now fast friends. He even told me that if I gave him the "out of air" sign, he wouldn't wait for me to sign to him that I wanted to share, he'd just offer me his regulator. God bless Anders.

(Mom: running out of air doesn't happen if you pay attention, please don't worry! I'll stay SHARP!)

Hmm, I just tried to post some pictures and this computer is not working with me. I'll try again...yep, nothing. The more photos I get, the more neurotic I am about something happening to my camera or memory card. In Bangkok I thought I had lost my camera...that was an ugly moment. Of course it was just buried under the debris of ticket stubs and foreign currency that have created a bog-like mat at the bottom of my bag. Phew.

Anyways, this just means no pictures for today. But tomorrow, when I'm on another computer, I'll try again and so far, that method has worked for me.

Well all, I'm off to take a dip, eat a little snack and meet my dive "class" (just Anders) for a little review before our 1 pm session. We'll be putting on all the gear and getting in the water. Just knee deep water, but man am I excited!

Love you guys. Miss you. too. Can't wait to sit and tell you about it all, face to face. Of course, you might have to book tickets to come here to hear about it, because I can't even begin to contemplate leaving!