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Published: November 16th 2009
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I’ve been in love with her as long as I can remember. Since before first sight. We share an existential bond. Some call it fate. Others, destiny. Whatever linguistic name tag you choose to slap on her lapel, I assure you we were born to be together. It’s been a long year and a half since we last embraced, but alas here we are, she smiling at me with a glimmer in her wide blue-green eyes. She is the ocean, and we are in love.
I still can’t believe I’m even here. I never thought people actually won these things. Until a few weeks ago, every contest or promotion touting great adventures worthy of mythic folklore was simply that…fairytale. But no more. Once again I give myself the metaphorical pinch to ensure it’s real. Yep, sure is. I’m riding high aboard the Scuba Cat Express, heading eight knots due south straight for Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. We are about to embark on our first official Reef Check survey.
Two months ago I was visiting friends in Los Angeles after being drafted by the American Unemployment All-Stars. There, I met up with Laura and she told me about a cool
promotion for Malibu Rum. It was called the Reef Check Beach Internship. Malibu was sponsoring a non-profit organization, Reef Check, with the objective of raising awareness about coral reef conservation and rehabilitation. The gist was that Malibu was sending ten lucky people to Thailand for ten days to train and become certified Reef Check ecodivers. As an avid scuba diver and lover of everything Thai, this contest sounded right up my alley (in fact, Laura even hesitated to tell me about it for fear that I would win instead of her). Long story short, Laura divulged the necessary information, and although it sounded too good to be true, we both applied with one day left before the deadline. After all, what did we have to lose? It’s not like I had a job holding me down back home. Two months later, we were both going to Thailand! Apparently people really do win these trips!
So here I am, leaning over the railing of the Scuba Cat Express, swaying atop my lover’s wavy aqua hair on our way to Koh Phi Phi. We’re about halfway into our ten-day trip and it’s been smooth sailing so far. The interns all met
up in Bangkok and after a day of “watting it up” (checking out the city’s temples and cultural sites), our rapport was already as solid as the Emerald Budha. We were an eclectic group of silly misfits from all across the Unites States, but we instantly meshed like Velcro. With no one scared to act a fool, the banter and laughter was perpetually compounding. Which is quite fitting considering our host nation is deemed “the land of smiles.” There were delicious dinners, drunken karaoke, a Malibu Rum cocktail competition and plenty of random rousing in between. Our mornings were spent huddled round a long rectangular table in the meeting room of the Ban Krating resort, as Greg, Kim and Awe schooled us in the ways of Reef Check surveying.
In case you were wondering, there are three categories of a Reef Check survey - fish indicators, invertebrate indicators and substrate indicators. There are specific species for each, relevant to a given region of the world. For the purpose of this trip, ours was the Indo-Pacific. So every morning for a few days we learned how to identify the various indicator species for each category, then spent the afternoons snorkeling
outside our resort, putting our newfound knowledge to use.
Around day five, we were ready for a true Reef Check survey. The real deal Holyfield. So we set off for Koh Phi Phi and spent the day diving beneath her silky turquoise skin, analyzing the coral reefs that make up her beautiful bone structure. For the three-hour boat ride back to Phuket, we imbibed on Malibu Rum and Absolute Vodka while dancing beneath the dangling pink DJ that was Laura’s new waterproof iPod stereo. As the sun set on this glorious day, we all wobbled off to The Boathouse for an elegant dinner under the stars. An elixir of sea legs and red wine caused Karla and Angela to pass out at the table for a few, but we all ended up safely back at Ban Krating plump and full, and comfortably content. This day perfectly epitomized the essence of our trip. Scuba diving, drinking, laughing and eating.
The days that followed were no less satisfying. We made a cultural expedition to harvest rubber trees and rice fields as well as paint our own batiks. Some of us did a night dive. Others sang more karaoke. We all
took another day trip for more Reef Check surveys, and even shot our own “I’m on a boat” music video. Malibu style, of course. As the trip wound down, we flew back to Bangkok for one final hoorah of Thai massages and bottles in the club.
In the end, it’s safe to say that the Malibu Rum Reef Check Beach Internship (or Operation Green Curry, as I like to call it) was the best time of my life. Not only was I reacquainted with my oceanic love, but I also made a handful of really good friends in the process. Not to mention it was free! So thank you Malibu Rum and Reef Check for making it all possible. Thank you Laura for telling me about the contest. Thanks Morgan, Avril, Greg, Kim, Awe and Sarah for organizing the whole shebang. And finally, thanks to all my fellow beach interns - Angela, Aaron, Ryan, Geoff, Drew, Diana, Laura, Karla and Meredith - for making this trip even that much better.
And to whoever’s reading this, check yourself before you wreck yourself - do your part to help save the world’s aquatic ecosystem. It affects us all. In more
ways than you can imagine. At the very least, help curb overfishing by watching what you eat. Learn more about how you can help the cause at ReefCheck.org.
Peace, I’m out.
-Feder is Better-
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