Encounters with Dolphins
March 29, 2009 Posted by: ERIN

Last weekend in Nassau wasn't all business with the spelling bee, Alexis and I also took a little time to relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a perfect opportunity for me, because Tom never want to do "touristy" things. And what is more touristy than swimming with dolphins?!

Actually, we not only swam with the dolphins but got to hug them, dance with them, feed them fish, run their bellies, and kiss them. The two dolphins in our encounter were Princess and Miss Merlin, and they were amazing. They were so strong, but very gentle and graceful. Their skin was so smooth and soft and they had the most beautiful, knowing eyes. I was giddy the whole time we were in the water, and afterward my face hurt from the goofy grin I could not wipe off my face. The highlight of our swim was the "foot push", where we would float on our stomach in the water with arms out to the side. Then the dolphins would come up from behind and use their noses to push on our feet and propel us across the water. It felt like flying, and it was really really cool. (I have the whole thing on DVD if anyone is interested.)

I will admit that at first I wasn't so sure that I agreed with "swimming with dolphins" on principle. I was worried about their potential explotation. But Alexis really had her heart set on it, and as soon as I saw the top-notch facilities and happy dolphins my qualms disappeared. I would higly recommend Dolphin Encounters to anyone visiting Nassau. They use their resources not only to take excellent care of their dolphins, but they also fund a varity of marine conservation research and education programs. And they did a really nice job of teaching us about dolphins and the struggles they face in the wild, before we were even allowed in the water.

So now I'm back home, missing my dolphin friends. Maybe I'll drag Tom to visit them again. Either that or I'll have to train Zipper to do the foot push.

The National Bee
March 26, 2009 Posted by: ERIN

I spent this past Thursday through Monday in Nassau for the Bahamian National Spelling Bee Finals. You might remember that last year I coached a yound lady named Alexis for the Regional Spelling Bee. Well, we were back at it again this year. In February, with the correct spelling of 'perennial', Alexis won the regional competition to become one of the top 20 spellers in the country and earn herself a spot in the national bee.

We studied almost daily in the weeks leading up to the bee, neither of us quite knowing what to expect in Nassau. We were provided with a study list of 1150 words, a subset of which would be used in the intital rounds of the competition before moving on to the dreaded "unseen list". So we drilled words like bureaucracy, pfeffernuss, wasabi, cacophony, and gesundheit over and over.

Once we got to Nassau, there were a few days of activities before the main event. We visited the Clifton Heritage Park to see historic colonial ruins, had an audience with the Bahamian Misiter of Education, and were entertained by a candy-throwning ventriloquist who sang songs about respecting authority (I kid you not). The other contestants and their coaches were from many different islands throughout the Bahamas, so it was fun and interesting to get to know them all. Aleka from Andros, Jasmine from Abaco, and Wendera from Acklins all became particularly friendly with Alexis, while I really enjoyed chatting with the coach from Long Island. All school children in the Bahamas wear uniforms, so I also had fun comparing all the different styles. (My favorite? A bright green, cuffed, short-sleeved, button-down shirt with pleated khaki skirt, khaki necktie, and dark brown tights!)

Alexis and I were also interviewed for ZNS Network, the Bahamian national television station. The video would later be played during breaks in the live broadcast of the bee. Alexis was asked about her hobbies and how it felt to win the regional bee. Then I was asked how I helped to prepare her for nationals and what words of encouragement I would be giving her. I was sort of nervous to be on camera, but I talked about how proud all of San Salvador was of her and by doing her best she'll be a winner. Cliched perhaps, but if that doesn't inspire a young speller, I just don't know what will.

The morning of the bee was a bit nerve-wracking because it was mostly sitting around and waiting for things to get started. But once things finally got underway, the competition was fierce. The spellers ranged in age from 8 to 13, there were 5 boys and 15 girls, and they were all at the top of their game. As a coach, I got to sit in a special section in the front where we were provided with the official list and order of words to be asked (so we could follow along) and appeal forms in case we felt that our contestant was unfairly eliminated. Over the course of the bee, about 5 appeals were filed by various coaches, but only one was deemed legitimate by the judges. In that instance the speller was reinstated into the competition after the pronoucer had severely butchered the pronouciation of 'gulden'.

The bee ended up lasting for 31 rounds, the last 15 of which were a particularly grueling head-to-head battle for first place. In the end, 13-year-old Abeni from Nassau clinched victory over 11-year-old Safa from Freeport by correctly spelling 'mezzanine' and 'tromba'. Abeni now has the honor of representing the Bahamas at the Scripps National Spelling Bee to be held in Washington DC this May. While Alexis didn't place ('borax' proved to be her downfall), it was still an awesome experience for us both. She is already planning to be back next year, and now that we know exactly was to expect, with hard work and dedication she might just be unstoppable!

One more trip around the sun
March 16, 2009 Posted by: TOM

Over the weekend we celebebrated Erin's 27th birthday. Her birthday (Pi Day, by the way), fell on a very busy day for me, with 94 people arriving at or leaving the station, and so I wasn't able to plan a very exciting day. I did manage to take advantage of a charter flight coming in from Fort Lauderdale to get her some birthday flowers, which under normal circumstances is a very difficult thing to get here on the island. For her birthday cake, some of the ladies who work in the kitchen here, baked her a carrot cake from scratch. We've been enjoying a bit of it each day since her birthday, and I must say it makes a very nice breakfast cake - if you are in to that sorta thing. While I did not have the time to plan a party, it turns out that there was a fish fry going on just down the road and so we headed there, chatted with some friends, did some people watching, and had a few birthday drinks.

On a only slightly related note, I've managed to create a drink that tastes almost exactly like Robitussin cough syrup, by combining rum, Goombay Punch, and fruit punch.

Under the Sea
March 13, 2009 Posted by: ERIN

Tom got me an underwater digital camera for Christmas, and let me tell you, taking pictures underwater is hard! Getting the lighting right is difficult, trying to frame a shot while wearing mask and snorkel is difficult, and holding steady even in calm water is difficult. So what I'm basically trying to say is that I'm not very good at it yet. Here are some shots from one of my recent attempts:

This first one isn't awful (I'm not even going to bother posting the awful ones), but it is a bit washed out. This is partly due to the slight murkiness in the water than day and partly due to my failure to position myself appropriately with respect to the sun. However, right before I took this shot I saw a giant barracuda, so I will admit that I was more concerned with my positioning as it related to the big fish with sharp teeth.

This one shows some nice detail of a group of sea fans, but it's overexposed around the edges. I think this is why it's not advisable to take photos straight down into the water ... the reflection of the sun off the sandy bottom becomes blinding.

Look! Blue Tang!! They may be a bit blurry and washed out, but at least I still managed to capture them, unlike the many other fish I saw that day.

And finally, while not all that dynamic, this turned out to be my best shot of the day. It's a star coral. Lighting, clarity, and focus all turned out fairly well. And when we zoom in ...

... we can see some decent detail of the individual coral polyps, which is pretty cool.

I'm hoping with more practice I'll get better at the art of underwater photography, and of course I'll continue to share my successes and near misses along the way.

Enchilada Update
March 12, 2009 Posted by: ERIN

Two things.

First, we've been getting quite the harvest of plum tomatoes and cayenne peppers from the garden. We also had three dozen tamales in our freezer, courtesy of Tom's lovely Aunt Fina. I thought a batch of enchilada sauce would be both a perfect compliment to the tamales and great way to make use of the fresh tomatoes and peppers. The sauce recipe called for dried red pepper flakes, but I substituted those with diced fresh cayennes, and the result was really tasty. This fortunate discovery has been noted on my recipes page.

Second, Tom used some of the sauce the next morning to create the most delicious eggs. Using a bit of leftover ham from the cafeteria, he scrambled together eggs, diced ham, a generous dollop of enchilada sauce, and some shredded cheddar cheese. I will admit I was a bit skeptical at first ... the ham and enchilada sauce pairing didn't intially strike me as a good one. But I am glad to say that I stand corrected, because the eggs were absolutely divine. We're talking really, really good. I've already tried to recreate them, but I can't do it quite right, so I think "Tom's Special Eggs" have been born.

Anyway, that is the latest around here as far as enchilada sauce related news. Stay tuned.

A Hard Day's Night
March 8, 2009 Posted by: ERIN